Acoustic Guitarist, Singer, and Composer Doug Wamble
Opens Show During Bowl Debut
FRIDAY, JULY 23, and SATURDAY, JULY 24, at 8:30 PM
July 23 sponsored by Lexus; media support provided by KRTH
July 24 sponsored by 21st Century Insurance; media support provided by KOST
Fellow Marsalis Music recording jazz artist Doug Wamble opens the two evenings. The 31-year-old singer/songwriter makes his debut at the Bowl, bringing his unique fusion of jazz, blues, gospel and country to the concerts.
Over the past two decades, HARRY CONNICK, JR. has proven to be among the world's most successful and multi-talented artists. Connick first reached a mass audience as a pianist, singer and bandleader, securing his place in the public eye as a renaissance man and versatile entertainer. His love of music and performing dates back to his childhood in New Orleans, where he studied piano with such luminaries as James Booker and Ellis Marsalis. He first performed publicly at age five, appeared on his first jazz recording at age ten, and released his self-titled major label debut for Columbia Records at 19, only a year after his high school graduation and his move to New York City. Already well-known within jazz circles, Harry Connick, Jr. entered the American consciousness with the soundtrack to 1989's popular film When Harry Met Sally. A major celebrity, he diverged into an acting career. His Hollywood credits include Memphis Belle, Little Man Tate, Copycat, Hope Floats and Independence Day, and small-screen triumphs include the ABC production of South Pacific and his recurring role on NBC's Will & Grace. All of these achievements -- not to mention his album sales of over 20 million, multiple Grammy® awards, Tony Awards® / Emmy nominations, and being a featured artist of Oscar® and Golden Globe® nominated songs -- reflect a creative energy that make Harry Connick, Jr. unique in the world of contemporary entertainment. Only You, with its emotionally compelling performances, keeps Connick's string of triumphs alive in his most heartfelt musical creation to date.
Drawing from the musical interpretation of Louis Armstrong and Hank Williams, DOUG WAMBLE has been a growing force in the jazz world since 1993. A thoroughly modern musician with a sense of history, a country boy at home in the city, and a cutting-edge leader of his quartet, Wamble is nothing if not an original. After receiving his Masters from Northwestern University in 1997, Wamble moved to New York and focused exclusively on guitar. Since migrating to New York in 1997, the Memphis-reared guitarist has kept a low profile but garnered heavy credentials: on Wynton's Big Train (Columbia), on Wilson's Traveling Miles (Blue Note) and in Steven Bernstein's Millennial Territory Orchestra. Some fine-tuning of the instrumentation and three talented friends from Wamble's college days helped create the astonishing quintet heard on his band's first release, Country Libations. The Tennessee native offers a music that is true to his roots in blues and gospel, his love of jazz and popular song.
One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the HOLLYWOOD BOWL has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922, and in 1991 gave its name to the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, a resident ensemble that has filled a special niche in the musical life of Southern California. The 2004 season introduces audiences to a revitalized Hollywood Bowl, featuring a newly-constructed shell and stage and the addition of four stadium screens enhancing stage views in the venue. To this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's concerts. While the Bowl is best known for its sizzling summer nights, during the day California's youngest patrons enjoy "SummerSounds: Music for Kids at the Hollywood Bowl," the Southland's most popular summer arts festival for children, now in its 35th season. Attendance figures over the past several decades have soared: in 1980 the Bowl first topped the half-million mark and last summer close to one million admissions were recorded. It is no wonder that the Bowl's summer music festivals have become as much a part of a Southern California summer as beaches and barbecues, the Dodgers and Disneyland.
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:
Friday, July 23, at 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 24, at 8:30 p.m.
Harry Connick, Jr.: Only You-An Evening of Romance and Swing
HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood
HARRY CONNICK, JR.
DOUG WAMBLE
July 23 sponsored by Lexus; media support provided by KRTH
July 24 sponsored by 21st Century Insurance; media support provided by KOST
Tickets ($3 - $93) are on sale now at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office, by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, at all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons May, Tower Records and Ritmo Latino locations), or online at HollywoodBowl.com. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount, subject to availability; call 323.850-2050 for further details. For general information or to request a brochure, call 323.850.2000.
# # #
Rachelle Roe, 213.972.7310; Sabrina Skacan, 213.972.3408; for photos: Ellie Lloyd, 213.972.3448