Nat Adderley, Jr. Comes to Parker Jazz Club Next Month

Renowned jazz musician Nat Adderley, Jr. will hit the stage at Parker Jazz Club (114 West Fourth St., Austin, Texas) on Sunday, Oct. 17. Nat will appear in concert with his band and special guest Kenny Williams to benefit THE ADDERLEY FOUNDATION, which provides scholarships and financial assistance for underserved students. VIP ticket holders are invited to meet Nat in an intimate champagne reception at 5 p.m. prior to the show which starts at 7 p.m., as well as attend an earlier ADDERLEY Conservatory performance of A... My Name Is Alice at 3 p.m.

"I lived in Texas for several years and have two daughters (local musician and educator Akina Adderley and musical theatre director Alana Adderley) who are both living and working in Austin," said Nat Adderley, Jr. "I have always considered the state my second home and I am so excited about bringing my quartet back to the Parker Jazz Club, where we had a wonderful time back in May."

Nat Adderley, Jr. is a renowned jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and producer. He is also the nephew of famed Jazz musician Cannonball Adderley. Nat is perhaps best known for his more than twenty-year tenure as music director for R&B legend Luther Vandross, during which time he wrote, arranged, and produced some of Luther's most iconic and beloved songs. He is also known for his work on the recordings of Kirk Whalum, Gloria Lynn, and Aretha Franklin. In recent years, Nat has primarily been seen performing with his jazz ensemble, as well as in the piano chair with notable jazz musicians including Vincent Herring, Regina Carter, Tom Scott, and Jay Hoggard. Nat has appeared at jazz festivals and venues all over the world including Beijing, Singapore, Cape Town, Vienna, Tokyo, and at the INNtöne Jazzfestival in Diersbach. In 2019, Nat's band headlined the Central Jersey Jazz Festival, produced by WBGO's Sheila Anderson. Most recently, Nat headlined the star-studded reopening of the storied Apollo Theater in Harlem. Nat's inimitable style-his authentic and reverential craft as a jazz pianist, mixed with his mastery of pop and R&B idioms, his unparalleled musical sensitivity and artistry, and his showman's charm and wit-make his shows memorable events that are not to be missed.

"I just can't describe how proud I am of my daughter Alana and my first wife Janet for bringing the Adderley School to Austin, Texas," said Nat Adderley, Jr.

As part of the benefit, Nat Adderley Jr's show will follow the performance of A... My Name Is Alice presented by THE ADDERLEY SCHOOL Conservatory. The lively revue was created by a wide variety of comedy writers, lyricists, and composers and offers a marvelous kaleidoscope of contemporary women. Sophisticated, bawdy, funny, gut-wrenchingly tender and insightful, the numbers portray friends, rivals, sisters, and even members of an all-women's basketball team.

Janet Adderley created THE ADDERLEY SCHOOL in 1993 in an attempt to teach her shy, young daughter how to be heard.

"I have spent the lion's share of my career impacting the lives of countless fortunate children who could afford to pay tuition," said Adderley. "As a woman of color from modest beginnings, who grew up in Texas in the late '60s, I was also one of the 'fortunate ones.' I was blessed with brilliant, dedicated parents who supported me and taught me by example to dream big dreams. They made great sacrifices to expose me to everything - theatre, ballet, music and art. Sadly, we are not all so lucky. My daughter Alana and I are determined to be role models for those less fortunate children among us who don't have the opportunities and support in life that we have had. Musical theatre changed my life. THE ADDERLEY Foundation will give countless children the opportunity to benefit from our life changing musical theatre school program."