The “Jazz & Beyond: Carson City Music Festival” presents Boogie Woogie Hall of Famer Carl Sonny Leyland in concert tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Brewery Arts Center Performance Hall, 511 W. King Street. “Jazz & Beyond” is a yearly festival put on by the Mile High Jazz Band Association and its sponsors. Admission to this concert is free. Donations are requested and include a chance at a door prize.
Born and raised on the South Coast of England, Leyland was drawn as a child to the American music he heard on LP records his father played. At age 15, Leyland discovered boogie woogie when he heard a school friend working on an arrangement of JD’s Boogie Woogie (Marvin Wright). Leyland was inspired to go to the piano and begin on a path that would become his life’s purpose. He has the necessary vocabulary to pay tribute to the greats of old, but prefers to let each performance be an opportunity to say something new.
Leyland relocated to the U.S., and he currently lives in southern California. In 2010, he was inducted into the Boogie Woogie Piano Hall of Fame. His website is at www.carlsonnyleyland.com.
Leyland’s performance is made possible in part by private donations and by Hampton Inns. Jazz & Beyond includes more than 50 performances and events throughout Carson City, Aug. 1 through 17. Festival sponsors include Mile High Jazz Band Association, Carson City, For the Love of Jazz, Nevada Commission on Tourism, Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau, Nevada Arts Council, Nevada Humanities, Brewery Arts Center, Carson City Historical Society, Lake Tahoe Entertainment, Lake Tahoe Media Group, and private donors.
For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit JazzCarsonCity.com or call Mile High Jazz Band at 775-883-4154.