A performance reunion of sorts bringing together opera star J’Nai Bridges and Grammy©-winning jazz trailblazer Ulysses Owens Jr., San Francisco Performances’ artist-in-residence. Bridges and Owens were students together before their paths diverged, each becoming luminaries in their respective genres.
They’ll be joined by a musical ensemble for Notes on Hope, juxtaposing works by 20th century French composers, Duke Ellington, and traditional spirituals that illuminate a sense of optimism.
American mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after talents of her generation. Her 2021-2022 season was highlighted by her participation in numerous world premiere engagements, and as a guest artist at The Kennedy Center’s 50th Anniversary Season. At the Kennedy Center, she performed with the all Black and Latinx Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, followed by Written in Stone, a Washington National Opera program of new music including the world premiere of a piece written for her by Carlos Simon. She continued her collaboration with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, giving a recital as part of their Power to the People! festival. Operatic engagements included the role of Jocasta in Oedipus Rex with the San Francisco Symphony.
Heralded as a “legitimate jazz triple threat” (Critical Jazz), and a drummer who “take[s] a back seat to no one” (New York Times), performer, producer and educator Ulysses Owens Jr. sets the mark in the jazz world and beyond. From performances with Christian McBride’s acclaimed Trio and Big Band to world tours with Kurt Elling and Joey Alexander, Owens’s artistic command has earned him positions in some of the most successful jazz ensembles of the 21st century. Owens’s reverence for tradition distinctly manifests in his straight-away playing style, but it is the versatility of his talent—his unique ability to manipulate texture and create penetrating musical shapes—that attracts the attention of jazz’s heavy hitters.