Jazz Great Dr. Lonnie Smith to Make Segerstrom Center Debut, 2/21-22

Segerstrom Center for the Arts welcomes jazz master Dr. Lonnie Smith in his Center debut on February 21 and 22 in Samueli Theater. He will be joined by guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg and drummer Johnathan Blake. Musician, composer, performer and recording artist, the Doctor is a guru of the Hammond B-3 organ. With a career that spans more than five decades, he is affectionately dubbed "The Turbanator" and has been featured on more than 70 albums and has performed with some of the best in the music industry. Today, a new generation of audiences and music makers are happily discovering and sampling his innovative and boundless grooves.

Tickets for Dr. Lonnie Smith start at $49 and are now available online at SCFTA.org, at the Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling (714) 556-2787. For inquiries about group ticket savings for 10 or more, call the Group Services office at (714) 755-0236. The TTY number is (714) 556- 2746.

Dr. Lonnie Smith has recorded and performed with a virtual "Who's Who" of the greatest jazz, blues and R&B musicians. Consequently, he has often been hailed as a "Legend," a "Living Musical Icon," and as the most creative jazz organist by a slew of music publications. Jazz Times magazine describes him as "a riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a turban!" Always ahead of the curve, it is no surprise his fan- base is truly worldwide.

From an early age he was immersed in gospel, blues and jazz and had a gift for music. In his teens, he sang in several vocal groups including his own - The Supremes - formed long before Motown's eventual iconic act of the same name. Smith also played trumpet and other instruments at school and was a featured soloist. In the late '50s, with the encouragement of Art Kubera, who owned a local music store that he would visit daily, young Smith was given the opportunity to learn how to play a Hammond organ. By completely immersing himself in the records of organists such as Wild Bill Davis, Bill Doggett and Jimmy Smith, as well as paying rapt attention to the church organ, he began to find his musical voice.

Dr. Smith has been amused to find himself sampled in rap, dance and house grooves while being credited as a forefather of acid jazz. When questioned about his consistent interest in music some consider outside the jazz "mainstream," Smith shrugs. "Jazz is American Classical," he proclaims. "And this music is a reflection of what's happening at the time...The organ is like the sunlight, rain and thunder...it's all the worldly sounds to me!"

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is unique as both an acclaimed arts institution and as a multi- disciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence on all of its stages, offering unsurpassed experiences, and engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring programs.

Previously called the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center traces its roots back to the late 1960s when a dedicated group of community leaders decided Orange County should have its own world-class performing arts venue.

As Orange County's largest non-profit arts organization, Segerstrom Center for the Arts owns and operates the 3,000-seat Segerstrom Hall and intimate 250-seat Founders Hall, which opened in 1986, and the 2,000-seat Rene?e and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, which opened in 2006 and also houses the 500-seat Samueli Theater, the Lawrence and Kristina Dodge Education Center's studio performance space and Boeing Education Lab. A spacious arts plaza anchors Segerstrom Center for the Arts and is home to numerous free performances throughout the year as part of Segerstrom Center for the Arts' ongoing Free for All series.

The Center presents a broad range of programming each season for audiences of all ages from throughout Orange County and beyond, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, intimate performances of jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family-friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events. It offers many education programs designed to inspire young people through the arts. These programs reach hundreds of thousands of students of all ages with vital arts-in-education programs, enhancing their studies and enriching their lives well into the future.

In addition to the presenting and producing institution Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the 14-acre campus also embraces the facilities of two independent acclaimed organizations: Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the future home of the Orange County Museum of Art.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is also proud to serve as the artistic home to three of the region's major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and the Pacific Chorale, who contribute greatly to the artistic life of the region with annual seasons at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

DR. LONNIE SMITH
Segerstrom Center for the Arts - Samueli Theater February 21 & 22, 2014
Friday and Saturday at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.
615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA Segerstrom Center for the Arts
Start at $49

The Box Office is located at 600 Town Center Drive Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Open 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily SCFTA.org or by calling (714) 556-2787. Open 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily (714) 556-2746. Information provided is accurate at the time of printing, but is subject to change. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is a private, non-profit organization. "Segerstrom Center for the Arts" is a registered trademark.