Dr. Phillips Center Launches Jazz Roots Series Featuring GEORGIA ON MY MIND: Celebrating Ray Charles, An Evening with Chris Botti & More!

The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts announces the highly acclaimed JAZZ ROOTS - A Larry Rosen Jazz Series to play in the Walt Disney Theater for the inaugural 2014-2015 season. The concert and educational Jazz series includes GEORGIA ON MY MIND: Celebrating Ray Charles, PINK PANTHER 50: Tribute to Henry Mancini, AN EVENING WITH CHRIS BOTTI and A NIGHT IN RIO.

Season tickets for the 2014-2015 JAZZ ROOTS series go on sale Thursday, June 12. Subscriptions for the four-concert series range from $94.40 to $327.80 and single tickets start at $25.50. Series subscriptions can be purchased by visiting the Dr. Phillips Center's website, visiting the Box Office located at 455 S. Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL 32801, or by calling 844.513.2014. Single ticket sales will be announced soon.

"JAZZ ROOTS is the most important new jazz and education series in America....It is simply Imperative!" - Quincy Jones

"The synergy of outstanding jazz talent with the program's passion for education and community will make for a universally engaging experience," said Kathy Ramsberger, President of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. "We have formed a JAZZ ROOTS Advisory Council consisting of diverse members of the local music and educational community who will be advisors and ambassadors to promote and advocate the goals of the series throughout Central Florida.

"We are honored to bring our JAZZ ROOTS concert and education program to the Dr. Phillips Center," said award-winning producer Larry Rosen. "Our series focuses on presenting world class artists who represent the great history of the Music of the America's. We feel it is extremely important to entertain audiences and give opportunities to local artists, bring students to our unique Sound Check Education program, while celebrating our great American music style that is respected all across the planet."

The Dr. Phillips Center 2014-2015 JAZZ ROOTS series kicks off a spectacular season with the support of our community partner Morgan Stanley:
JAZZ ROOTS: GEORGIA ON MY MIND: CELEBRATING RAY CHARLES
Featuring Take 6, Clint Holmes, Nnenna Freelon, Jovan Jackson, Shelly Berg, UM Frost School of Music Big Band and an Orlando Based Gospel Choir

November 20, 2014 at 8 p.m. - Walt Disney Theater

The 2014-2015 JAZZ ROOTS season kicks off with a spectacular concert celebrating the musical genius RAY CHARLES, an American treasure who transcended racism, cultural upheavals, and spread his gospel, blues, jazz and country sound around the world. From the Georgia State Hall of Fame to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, RAY CHARLES won every major award including the Kennedy Center Honors, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Celebrating his music is an all-star cast of award-winning performers including ten-time Grammy Award-winning vocal sensation and recent inductees into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame, a capella group TAKE 6, whose collaborations included one with the late great Charles; Emmy Award winner CLINT HOLMES, whose soulful stylings have been selling out concert halls around the world; six- time Grammy Award nominee and Downbeat vocalist of the year NNENNA FREELON; award-winning saxophonist JAVON JACKSON; and SHELLY BERG, three-time Grammy nominated music director and

Dean of the UM/ Frost School of Music. Joining in the celebration are the University of Miami's FROST SCHOOL OF MUSIC BIG BAND and an ORLANDO BASED GOSPEL CHOIR, to bring the local community to this debut show.

JAZZ ROOTS: PINK PANTHER 50: TRIBUTE TO HENRY MANCINI
Featuring Monica Mancini, Tony DeSare, Nicole Henry, Cyrille Aimee, Tom Scott, Shelly Berg, Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra
January 16, 2015 at 8 p.m.
Walt Disney Theater

The Dr. Phillips Center and JAZZ ROOTS will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the iconic film The Pink Panther with the music of the 20-time Grammy Award-winning composer Henry Mancini. PINK PANTHER 50 - Tribute to Henry Mancini features amazing music and film projections from Mancini's many hit films and TV shows, including Moon River, The Pink Panther, The Days of Wine and Roses, Charade, Breakfast at Tiffany's and many more. The concert will feature performances by Grammy nominee Monica Mancini - daughter of the late Henry Mancini; national sensation Tony DeSare; one of the jazz world's most praised vocalists, Nicole Henry; multi-Grammy Award winning composer, arranger, producer, musical director and saxophonist Tom Scott; Cyrille Aimee, French vocalist who has recently won the Sarah Vaughn International Vocal Competition and the Montreux Jazz Festival's International Vocal Competition; multi-Grammy nominee Shelly Berg, and the UM/Frost School of Music Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra.

JAZZ ROOTS: AN EVENING WITH CHRIS BOTTI, presented by Morgan Stanley Featuring Chris Botti with special guest stars
February 13, 2015 at 8 p.m.
Walt Disney Theater

The Dr. Phillips Center and JAZZ ROOTS will feature an evening with the Grammy Award-winning, top- selling instrumental artist in the world, CHRIS BOTTI. The platinum-selling jazz trumpeter began his rise to fame during his global tour with Sting and has since established himself as one of the most innovative figures in the contemporary jazz genre. Boston Globe said "Chris Botti's tones are beautifully formed, the man's high notes can charm a crowd." Botti has performed with legendary musicians, including Barbra Streisand, Andrea Bocelli, YoYo Ma, Herbie Hancock and Josh Groban. Botti, who earned the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album, will present an evening to be remembered with performances from his Billboard-topping albums When I Fall In Love, Italia, Chris Botti in Boston and Impressions.

JAZZ ROOTS: A NIGHT IN RIO
Featuring Sergio Mendes and Eliane Elias

April 17, 2015 at 8 p.m.
Walt Disney Theater

The Dr. Phillips Center and JAZZ ROOTS will turn Orlando into Rio on April 17, 2015, with A NIGHT IN RIO, as top Brazilian jazz musicians honor the indigenous Indian, African and European roots that define the genre. The new Brazilian sound, refined in the 1950s by composers Joao Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Dori Caymmi, combines samba and jazz to form a romantic mixture called Bassa Nova. Grammy award-winner and undisputed master of Brazilian jazz pop, Sergio Mendes, brings his unique musical blend to the Dr. Phillips Center. Mendes' fusion of Brazilian roots with American jazz and R&B combine to create an all new sound that has led to collaborations with the famous hip-hop group The Black Eyed Peas. Mendes will be joined by Grammy-nominated pianist, singer and composer Eliane Elias. Elias is known for her distinctive musical style, which blends her Brazilian roots and her sultry vocals with her impressive instrumental piano jazz.

In addition to award-winning jazz programming, JAZZ ROOTS includes educational and community outreach programs designed to focus on the musical DNA that connects communities and peoples, while celebrating the music of the Americas. For more information, visit www.JazzRoots.net or www.drphillipscenter.org.