Nate Najar Trio Salutes Charlie Byrd at Blues Alley September 19, 2011

Nate Najar Trio Salutes Charlie Byrd at Blues Alley in Washington, DC; Monday, September 19, 2011 (8 & 10 PM Shows).

Nate Najar Fingerstyle jazz guitarist Nate Najar will appear at Blues Alley for one night only, accompanied by bassist Tommy Cecil and drummer/vibraphonist Chuck Redd. "The music of Chuck Redd and Nate Najar was beguilingly timeless and truly evocative of Charlie Byrd," noted one reviewer of the well received 2011 Labor Day performance at the Monty Alexander Jazz Festival in Easton, Maryland.

This evening with two of Washington's favorite jazz sons, Redd and Cecil, will showcase Najar's melodic interpretations in tribute to Charlie Byrd. A student ofguitar and piano innovators like Barney Kessel, Django Reinhardt, Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans - Najar considers musicality central to his compositions and performances. Seeing the acoustic guitar as a piano, he elicits remarkably rich and unique sounds, a result of his ongoing mastery of the finger-style nylon string technique for the classical jazz guitar.

Najar will also debut selections from a new jazz album set to launch in early 2012, celebrating the music and influence of Charlie Byrd. The night will be infused with references to swinging jazz, a healthy dose of Duke Ellington, and the rich Brazilian rhythms of Antonio Carlos Jobim. Mark this Blues Alley show on your must-see calendar!