Celebrate the season with jazz musicians Noel Freidline and Maria Howell
December 7, 2021
Powerhouse musical duo returns to the CMA for a holiday concert
The Columbia Museum of Art invites you to celebrate the season with pianist and arranger Noel Freidline, vocalist Maria Howell, and their all-star jazz band at Baker & Baker presents Noel and Maria: Together Again for the Holidays on Friday, December 17, at 7:00 p.m.
On the heels of their 2019 album Merry Christmas, My Dear, Noel & Maria created an annual holiday show called Home for the Holidays. After nearly two years of a global pandemic, they decided that togetherness is what they want to celebrate this holiday season. Noel & Maria are joined by an all-star ensemble — tenor saxophonist Juan Carlos Rollan, bassist Zack Page, and drummer Al Sergel — as they reinterpret Christmas classics as well as contemporary holiday favorites through a jazz lens.
Howell is back by popular demand. Well-known for her role as the choir soloist in the 1985 Oscar-nominated film The Color Purple, she is a captivating, dynamic performer, combining an endearing stage presence with a musicality rarely heard in vocalists. A native of Gastonia, N.C., Howell has been known to leave audiences mesmerized with her powerful, sultry, smooth voice, mixing R&B, gospel, and soul into her renditions of jazz classics. She has shared the musical stage with such legendary artists as Nancy Wilson, George Benson, Ray Charles, Earl Klugh, and Ronnie Laws.
Freidline rounds it out with his exhilarating pianism and smart vocals. Based in Charlotte, N.C., Freidline and his band have opened for many jazz legends, from Dave Brubeck to Rosemary Clooney. His repertoire brings out the best of every subgenre of the jazz world, including swing, show tunes, and everything from soulful and edgy reinterpretations of Patti Page to Africanized arrangements of Simon & Garfunkel.
Doors at 6:30 p.m. | Concert at 7:00 p.m. | Cash bar.
Individual tickets: $35 / $28 for members / $5 for students. Four-person tables (includes one bottle of wine): $200 / $160 for members. Limited tables available.
Program presented by the Baker & Baker Foundation.
Jazz at the CMA is supported by the following sponsors: Gold Sponsors: Rick and Nancy Layman. Silver Sponsors: Barbara B. Boyd; Dr. and Mrs. Harold I. Friedman; Howard Gilman Foundation. Friends Sponsors: John and Mary Kessler; Becky and Earl Ellis; Amy Sander Montanez, D.Min.; Mary Baskin-Waters and Samuel C. Waters; The Braddock Group of Janney Montgomery Scott LLC.
For more information, visit columbiamuseum.org.
