SCERA Presents Valentine's Jazz Concert with Gold Standard

Wander into Maxwell's East Coast Eatery in Salt Lake City any Wednesday night and the odds are excellent you will hear the mellow jazz sounds of Gold Standard, an experienced Utah trio that bridges the gap between old school jazz, soul and electronic music.

Think Michael Bublé with a touch of class and a dash of punk.

In the five years since Conn Curran, Rob Bennion and Bart Olson have performed together, their talents have taken them to New York, Boston, San Francisco, Las Vegas and places in between. And for one night in February the artists will share their often intimate-and just as often their energetic-vocal and instrumental talents at the SCERA Center for the Arts in Orem.

Gold Standard will perform Saturday Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. at SCERA, 745 S. State St., Orem. Reserved-seat tickets at $12 for adults and $10 for children (age 3-11) and seniors (age 65 and older) are available at scera.org, by calling 801-225-ARTS, or at the SCERA main office, open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

"This is an ideal way to celebrate Valentine's Day," says Adam J. Robertson, SCERA President and CEO. "And we are offering an additional option with a pre-show buffet-style catered dinner from Custom Catering at 6pm for those interested." Dinner is $15/person and reservations can be made by calling 225-ARTS.

At the concert audiences can expect a classic crooner style with electronic exploration.

"Jazz bands are a dime a dozen, but we offer something else," Bennion explains. "We love to take the American jazz tradition and give it a twist. We integrate turntables and remix popular hits into something new. People will hear versions of classics or popular groups in innovative ways. An example would be a change-up of Imagine Dragons' 'Radioactive' or John Legend's "All of Me.'"

Gold Standard has performed together for five years, although each musician had extensive musical experience before they merged their talents. Because they offer vocals (Curran), drums (Olson), saxophone, flute and DJ talents (Bennion), they have been in great demand for weddings.

"You know weddings happen every minute in Utah," Bennion says, "and we can give a whole package. "We are asked to do everything from strings for the ceremony to jazz for the reception. Because I am also a DJ, that is a popular option."

They don't use traditional advertising; word-of-mouth and Facebook usually give them enough bookings to make a full-time living.

Bennion and Olson met in Utah Valley 20 years ago when Bennion was in high school and Olson was attending BYU. He and Olson (who also runs Shadow Mountain records) have often merged their talents. Bennion frequently worked with Conn's older brothers, but when he added the smooth-voiced younger singer to the band, he noticed a distinct difference.

"Conn joined us in 2009 and I noticed his appeal right away. After a concert at Little America in Salt Lake City, all these girls came up to us to say how much they loved the band. They were looking at Conn out of the corner of their eyes all the time they were talking. He is charismatic and makes a real connection with the audience."

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