In LA, summer offers several perks: the crowded beaches, the stuffed coffee houses along Ventura Blvd, and the incredibly balmy weather that allows outdoor venues like the Ford Amphitheatre to come alive with the sounds of the season.

This year, in conjunction with the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, Instrumental Women present the Ninth Annual Lady Jazz Concert “Lady Jazz In The Key Of Grand” on Sunday, August 31^st, 2008 starting @ 6pm at the Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Los Angeles, CA 90068

Pianist Karen Hernandez, to be honored this year at the event will play a blend of latin and blues riffs throughout the evening’s jazz repertoire. Other incredibly talented musicians and artists appearing are: La Carol Miles, Corky Hale, Nedra Wheeler, Carol Chaikin, Maria Martinez, Estaire Godinez, Ann King, and Alisha Marie Ard. Members of the Pasadena Young Musicians Orchestra will also be playing during the event to be hosted by ABC7’s Jane Monreal and Jazz radio personality James Janisse.

A bit of a teaser from the song list should you happen to be a connoisseur of the genre:  “Sister Sadie,” “Oh Happy Day,” “Life’s Too Short,” “Cherokee,” “Green Tomatoes,” “Riverside Drive,” “Over The Rainbow” and “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was,” among others. 

The event will be preceded by a limited Art Exhibit of select works created by Huichol Indian artists who live in the mountainous region of western, central Mexico.  The exhibit, on the Ford Plaza, will open at 4:00 p.m.

For tickets call:  323-GO-1-FORD (323-461-3673). Buy online at www.fordtheatres.org.  Tickets are $35 and $25. Children 12 and under are $12 each. Groups of 8–15 save 10% on the regular ticket price; Groups of 16 or more save 20%. For Group Sales please call 323-769-2147. For further information about Instrumental Womenâ, please visit www.instrumentalwomen.com.

This event is part of the Ford Amphitheatre 2008 Season, a multi-disciplinary arts series produced by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission in cooperation with Los Angeles County-based arts organizations. For a complete season schedule, directions to the theater, parking information, and box dinner menus, log on to www.FordTheatres.org.

On-site stacked parking costs $5 per vehicle for evening shows and FREE non-stacked parking serviced by a FREE shuttle to the Ford, is available at the Universal City Metro Station lot at Lankershim Boulevard and Campo de Cahuenga.  The shuttle, which cycles every 15-20 minutes, stops in the ‘kiss and ride’ area.

Photos:

From top to bottom: Estaire Godinez, Karen Hernandez, Carol Chaikin & Corky Hale

About The Artists:

ALISHA MARIE ARD (Trombonist and Vocalist) recently debuted as a leader with a self-titled quartet album.  Ard is also a composer, arranger and lyricist.  At the age of 10 she picked up a trombone and fell in love with its warm sound.  She idolized the great jazz players, and devoted herself to that genre.  A resident of Los Angeles, CA, she has performed in stadiums and arenas and has traveled to over 20 countries.  To learn more about Alisha Marie Ard, please visit the website www.alishamarieard.com.

PHYLLIS BATTLE (Artistic Director and Co-Music Director of Instrumental Womenâ) has toured with The Fifth Dimension for 16 years (1985 to 2002).  Battle has toured the world with Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, Rita Coolidge and Donna Summer.  Her studio roster has included sessions with Stanley Clarke, George Duke, Bernard Ighner, David Peaston and the S.O.S. Band.  She toured Houston and Miami with The Fifth Dimension to perform in the Fats Waller musical, “Ain't Misbehavin.”  Battle continues to keep a busy schedule performing, teaching vocal lessons and serving as the Executive Director of the P.E.B. Foundation.  From May 2000 to September 2002 Battle served as Artistic Director for Instrumental Women’sâ annual Jazz concert series, which she is overseeing again this year.  A resident of Inglewood, CA, she is responsible for formatting and scripting the show this year.  To learn more about

Phyllis Battle, please visit www.phyllisbattle.com.

CAROL CHAIKIN (Co-Music Director) After receiving her BA degree from the Berkelee School of Music, she moved to New York where she found her niche playing in clubs, recording and writing music for television.  She was a member of the faculty and an “Artist In Residence” at the Aspen Music School.  Chaikin has recorded with Chris Botti, Astrud Gilberto, Lea DeLaria, Sweet Baby J’ai, Diva, Unpredictable Nature, Mary Watkins, Maiden Voyage, Maria Anadon, Erin Wright, Mark Lambert, John Margolis, Vana Gierig, Nate Tiffe, Art Lillard and Jennifer York.  Her latest CD with Ms. Ecstasy Records is entitled “Lucy’s Day Off.”  She is working on another CD, and can be found performing along with Jerrie Thill & Friends at El Cid’s in Silverlake, CA at the Sunday brunch.  Chaikin has performed at the Grammy Awardsâ with Alicia Keys and the BET Awardsâ with Sheila E.  She was Musical Director for the second time at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre for Instrumental Womenâ in Jazz in 2007, as well as a featured performer and leader.  This year as Co-Music Director, she coordinated and hired the musicians.  A resident of Los Angeles, CA, she has performed on DVD with Chris Botti and on screen in the jazz club in “Spiderman 3.”  To learn more about Carol Chaikin, please visit www.carolchaikin.com.                                                    

ESTAIRE GODINEZ (Percussion) The Oakland, CA born Mexican-American has recorded on more than 20 albums.  From stints with Prince to Pete Escovedo to the Brothers Johnson, to George Benson, she has proven herself a stylistic chameleon capable of wearing dozens of musical hats.  She has lived and performed throughout the world.  By her late teens, she’d left her native California and signed on as both singer and manager for a Salsa band in Amsterdam.  Soon they were sharing the stage with acts like Peter Tosh and Bow-Wow-Wow at the infamous Paradiso.  From there it was off to Spain where she was involved in a number of projects: backing Duncan Due and pop star Joaquin Sabina, sitting in with house bands for popular television shows and fronting Madrid-based all-original pop-rock mainstays, Estaire Godinez and the Face Band, to name a few.  Godinez resides in Santa Monica, CA.  To learn more about Estaire Godinez, please visit www.estairegodinez.com.

CORKY HALE (Pianist, Harpist and Vocalist) Hale has played harp for Liberace, Judy Collins and Frank Sinatra, piano for Billie Holiday and Mel Tormé, and has sung with the bands of Harry James, Ray Anthony and Jerry Gray.  She has performed at The White House with Tony Bennett, soloed with Barbra Streisand in Central Park and at the Hollywood Bowl and performed with Björk on her MTV Special in London.  Hale has also appeared with George Michael at London’s Royal Albert Hall and RFK Stadium.  Her sold-out performances at the Oak Room at the Algonquin in New York, Davenport’s in Chicago, the Cinegrill in Los Angeles, the Plush Room in San Francisco, and Pizza On The Park in London have led Los Angeles Times’ jazz reviewer Don Heckman to observe that Hale is “more than a triple threat,” and Philip Ellwood of the San Francisco Examiner noted her performance is “one of cyclonic proportions.”  On November 22, 2007, Hale made her debut at Carnegie Hall as a Soloist with the New York Pops Orchestra, under the baton of Guest Conductor, Barry Levitt.  “LADY JAZZ IN THE KEY OF GRAND” marks Hale’s debut at the Ford Amphitheatre.  Hale resides in West Hollywood, CA with her husband Mike Stoller.  To learn more about Corky Hale, please visit the website, www.corkyhale.com.

KAREN HERNANDEZ (Pianist and Honoree at the Ninth Annual Lady JazzÔ Concert, “LADY JAZZ IN THE KEY OF GRAND”) began playing piano in her church and for tap dancing classes at the age of nine. By the age of 15, she was already performing on the jazz club circuit. She came to Los Angeles from Salt Lake City, UT in 1968. She has worked with Lorez Alexandria, John Bolivar, Keisha Brown,Clora Bryant, Larry Gales, John Heard, Gene Harris, Herb Jeffries, Indeya Jones,Jack LeCompte, Al McKibbon, Anita O’Day, Earl Palmer, Andy Simkins,Billy Thompson, Nedra Wheeler, Spanky Wilson and Ricky Woodard, to name a few. A resident of Burbank, CA, she has recorded six CDs and performs on Tuesdays at Town House in Inglewood, CA; Wednesdays at Colombo’s in Eagle Rock, CA; Thursdays and Saturdays at Barone’s in Valley Glen, CA and Fridays at Jax in Glendale, CA. She has also played with the Baker Boys in the film, “Pretty Woman.”  To learn more about Karen Hernandez, please visit the website, www.karenhernandez.com.

JAMES JANISSE (Los Angeles’s Gentleman of Jazz and Co-Host) is one of Los Angeles’s most prominent Jazz enthusiasts.  He was an on-air personality with radio station KKJZ, 88.1FM (formerly KLON) from 1992 to 2006.  His wide-ranging knowledge of Jazz filled the longest continuing shift on KKJZ each weekday night.  He continues to be the Voice of Jazz on Continental Airlines’s “The Jazz Beat” and Copa Airlines’s “World of Jazz.”  He can currently be heard playing Jazz and Blues every Friday at noon on Internet radio station klasfm.com, and he is the newest fill-in Control Board Operator, Program Host, and Staff Announcer at 89.9 KCRW.  His smooth voice and charming personality are often at the forefront of events related to Jazz, Gospel, Rhythm & Blues, The Blues and Poetry all across Southern California.  Janisse resides in Los Angeles, CA with his wife and two sons.

ANNE KING (Trumpeter) has performed with a wide variety of artists, including:  Eric Benet, Shirley Bassey, Guns N’ Roses (World Tour 1991-1993), Steven Tyler, Lenny Kravitz, Ray Charles, James Ingram, Stevie Wonder, Ronnie Milsap, Michael McDonald, The Brothers Johnson, Temptations, The Four Tops, Martha Reeves, Cheyenne, Celia Cruz, Don Henley, Lou Bega (2000 World Tour) and Spinal Tap and Katherine McPhee. Artists King has recorded with include: Take 6, Scott Henderson, Sheena Easton, k.d. lang, Mary’s Danish, Sponge, Poe, Carl Hancock, Warren G, Kid Ramos, Finis Tasby, Buddy Collette (2001 Grammy Awardânominated) and Jennifer Lopez. Movie recordings include “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues,” “Blue Chips,” “The Player” and “Labor Pains.”  Television recordings include: “Who’s Line is it Anyway?,” “BET Live,” MTV Awards with Guns N Roses and Elton John, “The Tonight Show” (five times) with artists such as Victoria Williams, Michael Feinstein, Maiden Voyage, Lou Bega and Katherine McPhee, “The Martin Short Show” and “Motown Live” with Lou Bega, “America’s Got Talent” and “American Idol.” A featured soloist with Maiden Voyage since 1980, she has also performed with the big bands of Frank Sinatra Jr., Les Hooper, Roger Neumann, Don Menza, Ray Anthony, Buddy Childers, and Buddy Collette. King resides in Los Angeles, CA.  To learn more about Anne King, please visit the website www.anneking.net.

MARIA MARTINEZ (Drummer/Percussionist) Born in Camaguey, Cuba and raised in New Orleans, Martinez is a drummer, percussionist, clinician and educator.  Her musical talents extend to the authorship of numerous book/CD packages and instructional DVD’s (all published by Hal Leonard) that span virtually every drumming style including Afro-Cuban and Brazilian.  She is also a contributing columnist for Modern Drummer, Latin Percussion Educational Newsletter and Percussive Notes, among others.  She has traveled the globe to perform, conduct clinics, and share both stage and studio with such artists as Lisa Haley, El Chicano, Rita Coolidge, Angela Bofill, Klymaxx and the late Barry White, Nell Carter, and Johnny Paycheck, among others.  Television and recording credits are numerous, including performances on The Nick & Jessica Christmas Show, The Drew Carey Show, Dukes of Hazzard, The Late Show and Soul Train among others.  Martinez resides in Chatsworth, CA.

JANE MONREAL (ABC7 “Eyewitness News” Traffic Reporter and Event Co-Host) has been the traffic authority at ABC7 on “Eyewitness News This Morning” since 2004. Monreal began her reporting career in 1994 delivering weekend and overnight traffic reports and eventually became the lead afternoon traffic reporter for all-news radio station KFWB. Her contributions to the afternoon news team earned her a Golden Mike Award. While at KFWB, she served as an airborne traffic reporter for three years. In addition to KFWB, Monreal was also broadcast on Los Angeles’s Smooth Jazz station, 94.7 The Wave, from 1998 to 2003. She graduated with honors from the University of Miami with a Bachelor’s degree in International Finance and Marketing. She was captain of the university’s dance team and was crowned Miss Asian-America Florida. During her free time, she enjoys traveling, golf and dance. A competitor in Latin Ballroom and Salsa, she continues to feed and share her passion for dance as ABC7’s resident dance expert. In 2006, she shot a special feature for Eyewitness News during a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she experienced her love of the Argentinean Tango firsthand. Monreal resides in Los Angeles, CA.  To learn more about her, please visit www.abc7.com.

PASADENA YOUTH MUSICIANS ORCHESTRA (Members of the String Section are featured) The Pasadena Young Musicians Orchestra (PYMO) celebrates over 50 years of performances, under the baton of Music Director and Conductor, Jo Rachel Stoup. The institution has provided musical training for gifted young instrumentalists of high school and junior college age.  Orchestra members represent 32 different schools, and come from diverse economic and ethnic backgrounds.  They all come together to work towards one common goal:  to learn how to play in a symphony orchestra.  PYMO rehearses and performs at Pasadena City College and is operated by the PYMO Association, a non-profit organization dependent on a network of volunteers and donors, including parents, friends, and area businesses.  Members of the PYMO’s String Section will perform in this concert.  To learn more about PYMO, please visit the website, www.pymo.org.

LA QUETTA M. SHAMBLEE (Founder and Executive Director of Instrumental Womenâ) completed her undergraduate degree in Business Management at Pacific Christian College in Fullerton, CA.  She earned a Masters degree in Business Administration from Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, CA.  After working as a Sales Manager for an auto sales and leasing company upon graduating from college, she worked at several adult vocational education schools as an Instructor, Registrar and finally as Dean of instruction for a private, Associate-degree granting vocational college in Northridge, CA.  She was an adjunct faculty member in the business division at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, CA for three years.  Her career in nonprofit administration is extensive, including time at the LA Gay & Lesbian Center as the first Financial Administrator for the Goodman Clinic, and as the Director of Employment & Training Services.  She served as the first Deputy Director for Caring for Babies with AIDS in Los Angeles before moving onto the Director of Programs & Services position at AIDS Service Center in Pasadena.  An experienced grant writer, she has been awarded funds for organizations in both staff and consultant roles.  She self-published Step-by-Step Guide to GrantWriting, a 150-page workbook, which is used in her popular grant writing workshop series launched in Leimert Park during 2000.  The Flintridge Foundation in Pasadena hired her to conduct the workshop in 2002; the series was offered at Monrovia Adult School for four consecutive years.  She maintains a busy schedule as an organizational consultant for nonprofits and small businesses, specializing in planning, board and staff development, fund development/grant writing and marketing.  June 1998 marked the beginning of her role as a producer when she developed and coordinated the first “Women In Jazz” Concert as a benefit for HIV/AIDS services for women and children at an agency in Inglewood.  That experience planted the seed for The Instrumental Women™ Project (IWP), a nonprofit cause-related arts organization based in Pasadena, she founded in 2000.  Shamblee is a resident of Monrovia, CA.

NEDRA WHEELER (Bass) is a bassist with a Masters of Fine Arts and a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Music Performance from California Institute of the Arts.  She has 16 years of teaching experience and 25 years of professional performance experience. A native of Los Angeles, CA, she is an educator and volunteer in the South Central community.  She teaches bass for the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz.  Wheeler also heads her own quartet.  Her debut CD, “Gifts:  Live at Birdland West,” features her original compositions.  She has performed with musicians such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Higgins, Cedar Walton, Billy Childs, Karen Briggs, Ravi Coltrane, and Alice Coltrane.  She can be heard on the film soundtracks for “Menace to Society,” “Malcom X,” “Chick Peas” and “Clockers.”   To learn more about Nedra Wheeler, please visit, www.nedrawheeler.com.

The Instrumental Women Project is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) program of the Congressional District Programs.  A six-member, Volunteer Board of Regents takes an active leadership role in fundraising and program planning.  The Founder/Executive Director, La Quetta M. Shamblee, coordinates all programming and is assisted by dedicated volunteers who sign-up to contribute their time on an ongoing or project basis.  “Instrumental Womenâ” is registered with the U.S. Trademark office as the sole property of La Quetta M. Shamblee, who has granted an exclusive usage license to Instrumental Women Project.  All musicians, artists, other performers and technical crew are compensated for their participation.  The Instrumental Women Project was established to educate the public about the role of women in jazz, as instrumentalists; to provide opportunities for instrumentalists to showcase their talents, to develop and support music training programs for female youth and to ensure that women are recognized for their longstanding roles as master musicians in the historical and current development of the American jazz art form.  For further information, please visit the website, www.instrumentalwomen.com.

drink.  The Ford is disabled accessible.  Portable wireless listening devices are available upon request.