Houston Jazz Festival:
Mark Gross & Veronica Swift
Produced by Houston Jazz Collective

Tickets will be available here starting September 19 at 10:00 AM!!

This performance will also be livestreamed! You can choose to watch it on our website here, our YouTube Channel here, or Facebook here!

Enjoy a breathtaking performance as Modern Jazz Masters perform music from the Cannonball Adderley catalogue.

Grammy winning alto saxophonist Mark Gross of the Duke Ellington Orchestra will also be joined by special guest Veronica Swift as they perform from the iconic 1962 Nancy Wilson – Cannonball Adderley Capitol release. The evening will be informed by and feature masterworks by acclaimed Texas artist John Alexander.

As a native son of the South, Cannonball had the rare ability to play bebop with a soulful gospel infused feel. Mark shares with Cannonball’s legacy an unparalleled beautiful tone, maturity, artistry and passion.

A graduate of the “University of Nat Adderley”, Mark Gross is one of the only living alto players uniquely qualified to interpret the music of Cannonball Adderley.

Veronica Swift is simply one of the finest jazz vocal artists of the modern era described by Downbeat as “… a Supernova…. One of the most irresistibly talented vocalists of her generation.”

In addition, Mr. Gross will be joined by members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and the Jazz at Lincoln Center family as they perform standards from Cannonball’s  instrumental songbook.

John Alexander is a Beaumont native whose work is in major museum collections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, as well as many other distinguished public and private collections worldwide.

Mr. Alexander is all Zen, all Chops and all Soul.

His paintings draw you into the mystical primordial wonderland that is Southeast Texas. Then as a jazz soloist does, he delves even deeper still into the essence of the place. He takes us on a journey that visually explores new harmonic and melodic ideas that help us connect to our humanity.

Jazz and visual art have a long history of spiritual and intellectual interplay.  Tonight’s happening continues that legacy.

In the Spirit of Jazz, The Houston Jazz Collective’s mission is to enrich, entertain and expand the community for Jazz through performance, education, and advocacy.

All performances at Miller Outdoor Theatre are FREE!

This is a ticketed event for the covered seating area. Free tickets are available (4 per person over age 16 while they last) from our website one day prior to the performance starting at 10:00 AM through noon the day of the show, or until tickets run out. We always reserve plenty of tickets available for in-person pick up at the box office, which opens an hour before the show starts. As always, open seating on the hill. Our shows go on rain or shine!

For more information on tickets and seating click here.

Photos are being taken at this event and may appear in Miller Outdoor Theatre’s print or digital communications or marketing materials. By attending this event, you hereby authorize MTAB to use your photograph in any and all use related to the educational mission of MOT without compensation.

All performances at Miller Outdoor Theatre are funded in part by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.