Name of concert series pays homage to jazz's rich history

With its rich tones and fluid beats, jazz is a colorful musical genre. Song titles such as Tangerine , Red Clay and Blue Prelude reflect that.

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All these allusions to color inspired Karen Gordon in naming a series of jazz concerts coming to Columbia County's Augusta Jewish Community Center this spring.

"I call it the Colors of Jazz," said Gordon, whose band, Karen Gordon and Garden City Jazz, will open the three-concert series Thursday. "It starts a couple of days before the official start of spring. I wanted to focus on the colors in the music."

Gordon said the inaugural concert will feature "classic, mainstream, old-school jazz, not the smooth jazz" made popular in recent years with songs such as Mood Indigo , I'll Remember April and Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most .

Other concerts in the series include Rob Foster on April 22 and Gerry Eisenberg on May 13.

Gordon said Foster, who plays with the band Pulsar, is likely to mix in some of his own compositions during his concert.

Eisenberg, a New York native now living in Aiken, is a former opera singer who loves George Gershwin tunes.

"Her show is really amazing," said Gordon.

When Gordon met Eisenberg, she wasn't sure they would share similar tastes in music.

"I was wondering if I'd like her music because of her operatic background, but I admire her jazz sensibility," she said. "It's proof you shouldn't judge a book by its cover."

Gordon, who organizes the summer Candlelight Jazz concerts at Riverwalk, said she often gets requests from patrons about expanding the series into other areas.

"I've had folks say, 'It sure would be nice to have something closer to home.' I've gotten requests for Thomson (too)," she said.

Gordon is also organizing jazz events in Aiken later this year.

The Colors of Jazz concerts will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for individual concerts or $25 for the series. They are available at the Augusta Jewish Community Center, 898 Weinberger Way, Evans, by calling (706) 228-3636, or online at www.columbiacountyjazz.com.