CSP Artist Series
Please join us as we present a series of intimate performances of high quality artists at the historic Bristol Statehouse. Our series will feature a diverse array of world class performances with a close up view of the artists for an immersive artistic experience.
October 1, 2022 at 8:00pm
Nicolas King has been performing since age 4. He was seen first on Broadway in ‘Beauty & The Beast’, then in ‘A Thousand Clowns’ opposite Tom Selleck, and ‘Hollywood Arms’ directed by Hal Prince, all before age 12. Other credits include 8 consecutive annual performances on The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, ‘The View’, ‘Today’ show, ‘Liza & David’, ‘Sally Jesse Raphael’ and twice on ‘The Tonight Show’ with Jay Leno.
Nicolas went on the road with his mentor Liza Minnelli to perform as her opening act from 2002-2012. The Mabel Mercer Foundation awarded Nicolas their coveted ‘Julie Wilson Award’ at the 2010 Cabaret Convention at Lincoln Center. He’s the recipient of the 1995 Talent America Award, 2012 BISTRO Award for Outstanding Performer of the Year, 2015 AMG Heritage Award for Artist of the Year, the winner of the 2019 Legends Award, as well as receiving a Grammy consideration for his latest album, “On Another Note” with jazz great Mike Renzi (available now on CDbaby, Apple iTunes and other music retailers.)
Gray Sargent was born in and spent most of his life in the Boston area. He began playing guitar at the age of 11 and is mainly self-taught. Originally inspired by his mother’s keen musical ear, appreciation and a handful of jazz records, he was able to assimilate the language of jazz by careful study of the recordings of Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Kenny Burrell, Roy Eldridge and countless other great jazz musicians.
Gray spent many years as a freelance jazz musician in the New England area, which also included extensive traveling. Gray has appeared with and recorded with many greats traveling through Boston, as well as venues and Jazz festivals throughout the world, including: Chet Baker, Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge, Scott Hamilton, Dave McKenna, Benny Carter, Rosemary Clooney, Henry Mancini, Ray Brown, Warren Vache, Ruby Braff, Phil Woods, Jo Jones, Big Joe Turner, as well as countless local and world renowned jazz greats. Gray is a Concord Jazz recording artist with his own recording, “Shades of Gray”, and is featured on several other Concord releases.
In 1997, after hearing Gray perform at Tavern on the Green in NYC, Tony Bennett decided, after many years of being accompanied by a trio, to add Gray’s talent, forming a quartet. This has proven to be a wonderful musical collaboration and mutual admiration, with Gray accompanying Tony on several Grammy winning recordings, as well as traveling and performing with him, throughout the world, for 24 years until Mr. Bennett’s recent retirement.
Famed jazz critic Whitney Balliett from “The New Yorker” magazine wrote: “As a guitarist, Gray possesses the unique ability to simultaneously play inspired, intelligent, swinging lines, while punctuating and accompanying them with richly harmonic chords; the whole time coaxing a wide range of sounds for his guitar. His tremendous knowledge of jazz and its practitioners, combined with his own keenly defined style make him one of the most exciting musicians of his, or any generation.
Tonight's show will feature Nicolas and Gray as they explore the American Songbook, accompanied by Mark Teixeira who in addition to being the longtime drummer for Duke Robillard, has played with Al Kooper, Ruth Brown and Scott Hamilton to name a few, and Alan Bernstein, executive director of CSP on bass.