Attucks Jazz Club: Joel Ross, vibraphone at Attucks Theatre

Critically acclaimed vibraphonist Joel Ross brings a sound DownBeat hails as “lush, high-powered and full of luminous energy.” A Blue Note Artist, Ross has changed the conversation around vibes, incorporating the instrument’s unique sound in new ways.

Virginia Arts Festival’s Attucks Jazz series brings great jazz artists to Norfolk’s historic Attucks Theatre. In an intimate club-like atmosphere, where every seat provides an up-close experience, jazz fans can enjoy the gifts of acclaimed artists who regularly play top New York clubs and jazz festivals across the U.S. and abroad.

Curated by one of the region’s jazz giants, pianist and educator John Toomey, the Attucks Jazz Club series attracts some of the hottest players in the jazz world; in this season alone, Clubgoers will hear a Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra member, a Hampton native who’s been a star of the New York jazz scene for decades, singers who have collaborated with the greats, and more. A favorite of local jazz fans, Toomey is a dazzlingly gifted pianist, and his namesake trio performs with the featured guest artist in each Attucks Jazz Club show. When he’s not performing, Toomey teaches Jazz History and Jazz Improvisation at Old Dominion University, where he also directs the Jazz Combo and Jazz Choir.