Event

The Billy Strayhorn Project

The BILLY STRAYHORN PROJECT is a celebration of the life and music of William Thomas "Billy" Strayhorn (November 29, 1915 May 31, 1967), an American jazz composer, pianist, lyricist, arranger, and LGTBQ artist best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades.

The BILLY STRAYHORN PROJECT features Tyrone Brown (lead vocals), Nate Omdal (music director and bass), Michael Owcharuk (piano), Jacques Willis (drums), playing original arrangements from the Billy Strayhorn songbook such as "Take the 'A' Train," "Chelsea Bridge," and "Lush Life."

"Tyrone Brown and the able Nate Omdal Trio in "The Billy Strayhorn Project," a loving celebration of the man musician Duke Ellington called 'my right arm, my left arm my brainwaves in his head, and his in mine.' Brown resembles the prodigious Strayhorn somewhat, relates his too-brief life story, and sings the man's haunting, hip and sophisticated tunes caressingly between swinging instrumentals." Misha Berson, Seattle Times