A jazz intellectualist who has studied the history and roots of the music genre will take the Reichhold stage in January.
Joe Sample, who has four decades of piano and jazz music under his belt, will perform Saturday, Jan. 14 at 8 p.m. at the Reichhold Center for the Arts on St. Thomas.
"The Reichhold Center is very excited to be bringing Joe Sample’s intellectual take on Jazz to the Virgin Islands audience," said the center’s Co-Interim Director Pamela Sanes. "Our audiences have always rallied to Jazz performances, and with Sample, we are looking forward to enjoying the soul as well the sound."
Two St. Thomas musicians will introduce Sample. They are Louis Taylor and Dr. Ron Nimmo.
"As a young musician I wondered, where did our music come from?" Sample said in a press release from the Reichhold Center. "I’ve become a bit of a historian of jazz and African American music."
Sample began studying piano at age six native Houston, where he now lives. He was influenced by gospel, soul, bebop, blues, Latin, and classical styles of music.
Tickets are available at Parrot Fish, Modern Music (Havensight), Krystal & Gifts Galore, Connections on St. John, UVI Bookstore and the Reichhold Box Office. The Reichhold box office phone number is (340) 693-1559 and the Web site is www.reichholdcenter.com/.