The Bay Area jazz community and special guest artists, including bassist John Lamb, will get together for a birthday celebration honoring Kitty Daniels and Majid Shabazz, presented by the Tampa Jazz Club and the Suncoast Jazz Festival. Kitty & Majid, who have performed together for four decades and inspired many musicians along the way, both turn 85 this month. The Sunday afternoon concert, part of the HCC Visual & Performing Arts Series, will also include the premiere of “Kitty Daniels with Majid Shabazz: Living Jazz Legends,” a short documentary by filmmaker Louise Krikorian.

Ybor City-born Kitty Daniels (‘Miss Kitty’ to her fans) has played piano since she could reach the keyboard. She became known at an early age, featured with legendary Tampa bandleader Charlie Brantley, and the popular Skyliners. In the Jim Crow era, Kitty’s efforts led to the integration of the Tampa musicians’ union. She has continued to sing and play jazz and standards for her fans through the years – “songs that mean something,” Kitty says, “that tell a story.”

Majid Shabazz is a native of Florida’s panhandle who began playing drums after military service, while in New York with some of the leading musicians of the ‘50s. He toured with saxophonist Sil Austin in Japan, and with Pharoah Sanders in Europe, before returning to Florida, where he founded the Open Letter Culture Center. A portion of this concert will feature a reunion of his ‘Young Professors,’ from the 1970’s: pianist Michael Royal, saxophonist David Pate, and bassist Bill Swartbaugh.

3:00 p.m.
Mainstage Theatre, HCC/Ybor City
1411 E. 11th Avenue, Tampa, FL 33605

Visit Tampa Jazz Club for more info