IN-SESSION with Maria Kim & Company at – Tulsa, OK

Don’t miss this upcoming event in Tulsa, OK Happening on Thursday, November 14, 2024 at . Doors open at 6:00 PM.

The Church Studio presents IN-SESSION with Maria Kim. Co-produced by Jordan VanHemert and Northeastern State University and in collaboration with the NSU Foundation. Step into a realm of sonic enchantment unlike any other. You are invited to an unparalleled event at the Church Studio: an exclusive, immersive listening experience. Limited to an intimate audience of just 50, this event offers more than mere participation—it promises integration into the fabric of our recording and tracking process.

Imagine yourself as a vital layer within the session, each attendee equipped with individual headphones delivering a personalized mix of vocals and multi-track instrumentation.
Tickets are exceedingly scarce, so secure yours today for an unforgettable journey into the heart of analog recording and non-digital soundscapes. Experience music as it was meant to be heard — raw, authentic, and utterly transformative.

VIP: Individual Que Box
Control Room: This exclusive, behind-the-scenes– experience is headphone free. There may be limited sitelines. You’ll be engaged with the audio engineers as they track the session.
Deluxe VIP: You’ll enjoy more control with your own Formula Sound Que-10 Sterior Foldback System

**CASH BAR**

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FIRST SESSION
Doors Open: 5:00 pm
Performances: 6:00 pm 

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SECOND SESSION
Doors Open: 6:30 pm
Performances: 7:30 pm 

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This rare evening is a live recording session with a exclusive audience featuring:

Maria Kim – Vocals and Piano

Jordan VanHemert – Saxophone & Flute

Rodney Whitaker – Bass 

Lewis Nash – Drums

– ARTIST BIOS –

Maria Kim – vocals and piano
Award winning jazz pianist-vocalist Maria Kim is one of the new thriving jazz artists coming into the international jazz scene. With her captivating voice accompanied by the surgical precision of her piano playing, Maria Kim’s unique interpretation dazzles the world.
In 2021, Maria Kim released an album with a strings chamber titled “With Strings: Dream of You” through Sony Music. This album won the 2022 “Korean Music Awards”, and was listed on “Jazz Audio Disc Award” by the most prestigious Japanese jazz magazine, Jazz Hihyo (Jazz Critique).
Maintaining a balance between pure artistry while grabbing the attention of a wider audience, Maria Kim received the “Jazz Artist Award” from the 29th Korean Entertainment Arts Awards and became the most influential jazz artist in Asia.
Maria Kim made her North American label debut through La Reserve with her 7th LP “Misty Blue” featuring trumpeter – vocalist Benny Benack III. Her 3 consecutive singles placed #1 on Apple Music – Music Video Chart, and her LP “Misty Blue” placed #1 on Yes 24 jazz chart. Maria Kim is currently having a world tour which includes famous venues such as Blue Note and Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai.
B.M Degree in Professional Music 2008 Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA
M.M Degree in Jazz Performance 2012 New England Conservatory, Boston, MA
2024 LP “Misty Blue”: Yes 24 Jazz Chart #1
2024 Single “Tight”, “Peel Me a Grape”, “You’re Mine, You”: Apple Music “Music Video Chart” #1
2023 29th Korean Entertainment Arts Awards <Jazz Artist Award>
2023 Melon Track Zero <Artist of the Month>
Hankook Newspaper: Album of the Year <Two for the Road>
2023 Korean Music Awards <Two for the Road> Best Jazz – Vocal Album nomination
2022 Korean Music Awards <With Strings: Dream of You> Best Jazz – Vocal Album
2021 Jazz Audio Disc: Jazz Critique (Jazz Hihyo) <With Strings: Dream of You>
2021 Jazz People Magazine’s Best Korean Jazz <With Strings: Dream of You>
2019 Jazz People Magazine’s Best Korean Jazz <Fotografia>
2018 Jazz People Magazine’s Jazz Album top 10: <I Want to Be Happy>
2017 Jazz People Magazine’s Jazz Album top 10: <I’m Old Fashioned>
2016 TV station EBS Gong-gam: New Face of Korean Jazz Scene
2013 Jazz People Magazine’s Rising Star: Vocal and Piano

Lewis Nash – Drums
“Rhythm Is My Business” is the title of his 1989 debut recording as a bandleader, and legendary drummer Lewis Nash is all about the business of keeping rhythm. Universally recognized as one of the great drummers in jazz history, his illustrious career now spans over four decades.
Nash is one of jazz’s most recorded musicians, appearing on over 500 recordings including 10 Grammy winners and numerous Grammy nominees. In fact, Nash has the distinction of being the only musician in jazz history featured on the winners in both the “Best Jazz Vocal” and “Best Jazz Instrumental” album categories in two separate years: the 2004 Grammys with Nancy Wilson and McCoy Tyner, and again in 2010 with Dee Dee Bridgewater and James Moody.
A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Lewis arrived in New York City in 1981 at the age of 22 and first gained international recognition as a member of vocalist Betty Carter’s trio. This was a pivotal time in his development, as he traveled the world for nearly 4 years with Carter and had the opportunity to meet and engage with many of his musical peers and predecessors.
In the years to follow, Nash toured, recorded and performed with many of jazz’s most celebrated icons, and his resume reads like a “who’s who” of jazz royalty. These jazz legends include: Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, JJ Johnson, Sonny Rollins, Tommy Flanagan, Sonny Stitt, Clark Terry, Stan Getz, Benny Golson, Art Farmer, Gerry Mulligan, Hank Jones, Horace Silver, McCoy Tyner, Ray Brown, Milt Jackson, Jimmy Heath, Randy Weston, Cedar Walton, Ron Carter, Wynton and Branford Marsalis, and many, many more!
In 2012, The Nash, a jazz education center and performance venue named in Lewis’s honor, was established in his home town of Phoenix. It has been a focal point of the city’s jazz activity since it’s inception, and has been named consistently by Downbeat magazine as a top jazz venue. Jazz masters Randy Weston, Jimmy Cobb and Roy Hargrove played some of the final performances of their careers at The Nash.
Lewis is in great demand for his educational expertise as well as his drumming skills, and presents clinics, masterclasses and workshops at institutions worldwide. He was a member of the very first jazz studies faculty at The Juilliard School in 2001, and has been a member of the faculty of the annual Vail Jazz Workshop for the past 20 years.
In 2017, Nash joined the jazz studies faculty at Arizona State University, where he was named the Bob and Gretchen Ravenscroft Professor of Practice in Jazz. In early 2021, the Lewis Nash Scholarship Endowment was created by the university to be awarded annually to a deserving ASU undergraduate or graduate jazz performance student.

Rodney Whitaker – Bass 
Internationally renowned bassist and Origin Records recording artist, Rodney Whitaker, currently holds the titles of Professor of Jazz Bass and Director of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University where he has built one of the leading jazz degree programs and performing faculty in the world. He is considered one of the leading performers and teachers of the jazz double bass in the United States. He is also the Artistic Director of the Michigan State University Professors of Jazz, former Artistic Advisor of Jazz @ Wharton Center, Director of Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Jazz Orchestra and a former member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Whitaker received his first national recognition performing with the Harrison/Blanchard Quintet.
Building on his Detroit roots and enormous talent, Whitaker went on to earn an international reputation as one of the world’s finest jazz double bass performer. He completed seven-year tenure as bassist with Wynton Marsalis’ Septet and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. He has toured the world over the last twenty-five years, collaborating and performing with legendary jazz artists such as Jimmy Heath, Eric Reed, Cyrus Chestnut, Vanessa Rubin, Kathleen Battle, Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, Diana Krall, Jon Faddis, Donald Harrison, Terence Blanchard, Rodney Jones, Wycliffe Gordon, Kenny Burrell, Bob James, Benny Golson, Regina Carter, Pat Matheny, Nicholas Payton, Jimmy Cobb, Joshua Redman, Stephon Harris, Johnny O’Neal, Marcus Belgrave, James Carter, Steve Turre, Claudio Roditi, Junko Onishi, Harry Allen, Ronnie Matthews, Chick Corea, Kenny Garrett, Kevin Mahogany, Ingrid Jensen, Barry Harris, Ron Blake, Jeff Clayton, Dana Hall, Gerald Wilson, Sean Jones, Niki Harris, Wessell Anderson, Don Vappie, Johnny O’Neal, Cedar Walton, Renee Rosnes, Randy Brecker, Rickey Woodard, Bobby Shew, Gary Smulyan, Joe LaBarbera, Randy Napolean, Peter Martin, Nnenna Freelon, Donald Byrd, Branford Marsalis, Greg Hutchinson, Carl Allen, Herlin Riley, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Terrell Stafford, Tim Warfield, Bruce Barth, Jon Carl Hendricks, Roy Hargrove, the late greats: Dizzy Gelispie, Mulgrew Miller, Tommy Flanagan, John Lewis, Marian McPartland, Donald Walden, Joe Henderson, Hank Jones, Frank Morgan and Betty ‘Bebop’ Carter as well as performing with leading symphony orchestras world-wide. Whitaker has also toured internationally as a featured performer with the Roy Hargrove Quintet. In addition, he has appeared and presented master classes at the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) conferences.
Rodney is one of the hardest working and swinging bass players on the scene and has recorded with great musicians such as Roy Hargrove, Pat Metheny and Wynton Marsalis. Featured on more than 100+ recordings — from film to compact discs — Whitaker’s film scores, China, directed by Jeff Wray, was released on PBS Fall 2002 and Malaria and Malawi, released on PBS Fall 2010. Also, Whitaker has a DVD release featuring Michigan State University’s Jazz Department entitled, “Inside Jazz”. In 2011, he was nominated for an EMMY for the ‘Original Music’ category, “Malawi and Malaria: Fighting to Save the Children” produced by Robert Gould and Sue Carter.
A proven and committed jazz educator, Whitaker has presented numerous master classes across the nation at locations such as Duke University, Howard University, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, Barbican in London, the New School (NY), Lincoln Center, and the Detroit International Jazz Festival. In addition, he is a consultant with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in the development of the jazz education department, and has served on the faculties of University of Michigan and Julliard Institute of Jazz.
In 2006, he was nominated for the Juno Award, Canada’s equivalent to the Grammy, for his work on “Let Me Tell You About My Day,” produced by Alma Records. Whitaker collaborated with musicians Phil Dwyer (musician) and Alan Jones on the album, which was nominated for Traditional Jazz Album of the Year.
Now based in East Lansing, Whitaker continues to serve many of the talented in the state of Michigan. His legacy of teaching promises to be distinguished with former students currently performing with jazz greats such as Wynton Marsalis, Dianne Reeves, Pat Matheny, The Count Basie Orchestra and Stephon Harris.
Whitaker attended Wayne State University, studied with trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, bassists-Stephen Molina, Ralph Armstrong, the late Herbie Williams (trumpeter) and the late Robert Gladstone (bassist).

Jordan VanHemert – Saxophone
Heralded by critics as a “saxophone powerhouse” (TakeEffect) with a penchant for modern, swinging melodicism, (famed jazz critic Scott Yanow), Origin Records recording artist Jordan VanHemert is the Director of Jazz Studies at Northeastern State University. He is currently touring as a bandleader and has performed in iconic venues across the United States. Acclaimed for his “adept and purposeful” solos that “swing surely and easily in the manner of Sonny Rollins” (All About Jazz), VanHemert’s compositions pay homage to his Korean roots and his inspiration from blues-infused hard bop tradition that was handed down to him by his mentors. 
VanHemert can be heard on over 15 commercial recordings and has performed at iconic venues throughout Europe, the United States, and Asia, including ShapeShifter Lab, The Painted Bride, The Blue Llama, The Muse, Cliff Bell’s, Edgefest, Elkhart Jazz Festival, the Korean Cultural Foundation of Philadelphia, Cafe El Despertar (Madrid), Club Matador (Madrid), Binh Minh Jazz Club (Hanoi), and the Nha Trang International Jazz Festival. VanHemert has performed or recorded with some of the most celebrated artists in jazz, including Rodney Whitaker, John Webber, Dmitri Matheny, Chris Vadala, Geri Allen, Helen Sung, Vince DiMartino, Terell Stafford, and more. His most recent project, Deep in the Soil, has been praised for its “Brilliance, sparkle, and punctuation.” (Couleurs France) 
Passionate about empowering the next generation of musicians, Dr. VanHemert currently teaches at Northeastern State University where he leads the Jazz Studies program. Previously, he has taught at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University and Hope College, earning awards for exemplary teaching and his commitment to students in and outside the classroom. 
Jordan Vanhemert is a Vandoren Artist-Clinician, Henri Selmer Paris Saxophones Artist Ambassador, and KeyLeaves endorsing artist. He performs exclusively on Vandoren reeds and mouthpieces and Selmer Paris saxophones, and he uses KeyLeaves products on all of his saxophones. He holds degrees from Central Michigan University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Purchase IN-SESSION with Maria Kim & Company Tickets Below:

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