Friends and musical collaborators since they met as students at the California Jazz Conservatory in 2009, vocalists Jua Howard and Andrea Claburn were the first two singers awarded CJC’s Mark Murphy Vocal Scholarship, given to “a vocal student who demonstrates exceptional creativity and artistic promise.” Since their days at the CJC, Andrea and Jua have each gone on to release critically acclaimed albums – Jua’s ‘Colors of Life’ and Andrea’s ‘Nightshade’ – and perform at venues across the country, both as a duo and in solo shows. Fourteen years after their first concert together at CJC – and four years after their last CJC engagement became one of the first pandemic cancellations – the two reunite at their original stomping grounds to celebrate more than a decade making music together with an evening of originals, duets, and favorite standards.
Band Members and Instrumentation:
Jua Howard – Vocals
Andrea Claburn – Vocals
Matt Clark – Piano
Dan Feiszli – Bass
Greg Wyser-Pratte – Drums
Michael O’Neill – Tenor sax
Group Bio:
Vocalist/composer/arranger Andrea Claburn was born in Baltimore to a classical pianist mother and jazz aficionado father and raised in the classical tradition, studying both piano and violin before turning to vocal jazz. A conservatory-trained musician, Andrea’s musical depth shapes her exceptional vocal style, with a “highly instrumental use of her voice” that is “riveting to hear” (Lynn René Bailey). As a composer and lyricist, she breathes life into new songs as well as old, writing and arranging contemporary jazz standards and lyricizing a wide range of instrumental material from Ellington to Metheny; “I still think like an instrumentalist, because that’s where everything began for me.” Raised and educated largely in Northern California, Andrea earned a Bachelor of Music (Jazz Studies) from the California Jazz Conservatory, where in 2010 she was awarded the Conservatory’s highest vocal honor, the Mark Murphy Vocal Scholarship. In August 2015, Andrea became a member of the vocal faculty of her alma mater, where she teaches vocal technique, performance, and musicianship. Her debut album, “Nightshade,” a collection of her own original compositions and arrangements, was released in January, 2017 to wide critical acclaim and named one of the 10 best albums of the year by Andrew Gilbert, C. Michael Bailey, and Mike Jurkovic.
Almost 20 years ago, Jua Howard was making quite a name for himself in neo-soul circles, crooning in velvety tenor tones reminiscent of Luther Vandross and Donny Hathaway in clubs from New York City to London. “Anticipation,” his 2007 self-released debut CD of mostly original ballads, was picking up play on Smooth Jazz and R&B stations. Yet Jua, who uses only his first name professionally (Swahili for “sun”), was having second thoughts about his musical direction. While living in the Washington D.C. area and working for Howard University, Jua gigged as a background vocalist with the legendary Blackbyrds, the band best known for such 1970s hits as “Walking in Rhythm” and “Happy Music.” “Jazz was clearly a big part of their foundation,” he says of the Blackbyrds. “Singing with them made me think seriously about pursuing a career in jazz.” During the summer of 2009, Jua moved to the San Francisco area and enrolled at Berkeley’s California Jazz Conservatory. As one of the inaugural students in their Jazz Vocal program, he became the first recipient of the Conservatory’s Mark Murphy Vocal Scholarship, named for the late, legendary jazz singer. In June 2014, Jua emerged as a unique and highly emotive jazz vocal stylist with the release of his sophomore recorded project “Colors of Life.” Currently residing on the East Coast, Jua continues songwriting, working on his next project, and presenting/hosting his radio show “The First Instrument Jazz Show.”
Social Media Links
Proof of vaccination is no longer required for Covid-19. Masking is optional and masks are available upon request. The California Jazz Conservatory kindly requests that anyone feeling unwell refrain from attending in-person events of any kind.
This concert is sponsored by JAMBAR