Shelly Berg & Carmen Bradford

Monday, February 13, 2023 | 5:00pm (sold out) & 7:30pm | Crowninshield Community House

Pianist Shelly Berg returns to the Crowninshield with jazz vocalist, Carmen Bradford. Carmen’s soulful voice and Shelly’s technique make for a beautiful collaboration.

About the Artist

Shelly Berg

Shelly Berg is a Steinway piano artist and multi-Grammy nominated arranger and producer. His latest album Gershwin Reimagined: An American in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by José Serebrier and produced by Gregg Field (Decca Gold). The All Music Guide says “Shelly Berg is one of the finest pianists around in the early 21st century playing modern mainstream jazz.” His recording project The Deep with bassist Dave Finck on Chesky Records is widely praised for its versatility and virtuosity with 4.5 stars from DownBeat magazine. His solo project Shelly Berg: The Nearness of You (Arbors) and a two-piano album with Dick Hyman Meeting of Minds (Victoria) are also both critically acclaimed. His album Blackbird, recorded with the Shelly Berg Trio on the Concord Records label, reached #1 in US jazz radio and garnered Record of the Year and Artist of the Year nominations (Jazzweek, 2005).

Berg was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals category as co-arranger of “I Loves You Porgy / There’s a Boat That’s Leavin’ Soon for New York” from the album Rendezvous (2018) featuring jazz singers Clint Holmes and Dee Dee Bridgewater with The Count Basie Orchestra. He was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocals category for his arrangement of “Be My Muse” on Lorraine Feather’s album Flirting with Disaster (2015), as well as his arrangement of “What a Wonderful World” on Gloria Estefan: The Standards (2014), and “Out There” on Lorraine Feather’s Tales of the Unusual (2013). He was also nominated for a Grammy as co-producer of Gloria Estefan: The Standards in the Best Traditional Pop Album category.

Other recent recording and arranging projects include Seal’s Standards, Clint Holmes’s Rendezvous, Arturo Sandoval’s Grammy-winning Dear Diz (Every Day I Think of You) and Latin Grammy-winning A Time for Love, Reneé Fleming’s Christmas in New York with Friends, and Ray Sings, Basie Swings (Concord).

Carmen Bradford

2022 Grammy Nominee, and recipient of the Los Angeles Jazz Society’s Jazz Vocalist Award, Carmen Bradford,was born in Austin, Texas and raised in Altadena, California. Her grandfather Melvin Moore sang with Lucky Millender and his Big Band; Dizzy Gillespie’s Big Band in the 1940’s; and sang with the Ink Spots, making Carmen the third generation of incredible musicians. She has carved out a place in music history for herself and is playing an integral role in this uniquely American art form called Jazz. Carmen Bradford is jazz royalty.

At the age of 22 years old, Carmen was discovered and hired by William “Count” Basie and was the featured vocalist in the legendary Count Basie Orchestra for nine years. She has since performed and/or recorded with; Wynton Marsalis, Shelly Berg, Jeremy Monteiro, John Clayton, along with the Clayton- Hamilton Orchestra, Nancy Wilson, Lena Horne, Doc Severinsen, Tony Bennett, James Brown, Willie Nelson, Tierney Sutton, Liz Wright, Patti Austin, Byron Stripling, Dori Caymmi, George Benson, Frank Sinatra, Joe Williams, Kurt Elling, Jeff Tyzik, Freddie Cole, Benny Carter, Kenny Rankin, Lou Rawls, James Newton, David Murray, DIVA Jazz Orchestra, Dani Felber Big Band, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, along with the National Symphony, RochesterPhilharmonic, Dallas Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Vancouver Philharmonic, Philadelphia Pops, and countless artist around the world.

At Present, Carmen Bradford’s love for working with Big Bands and Symphony Orchestras across the world is keeping her very busy, as she pays tribute to the great Ella Fitzgerald in her her show called “A Century of Ella” created and conducted by jazz great Jeff Tyzik.  Carmen Bradford and the incredible trumpeter/vocalist, Byron Stripling, also pay tribute to the greats in their show titled, “Ella and Louis” for which they’ve received rave reviews.

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