BroadStage Gala Committee and Board Members (left to right) are Katrin Czinger with Pacific Palisades residents William and Elisa Marks; and Janet and Philip Rotner.
On November 15, BroadStage honored Jazz Legend bassist Stanley Clarke at its Gala held at the Fairmont Hotel and Bungalows in Santa Monica. BroadStage is a contemporary arts presenter that is located at The Eli and Edyth Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center. Established in 2008, the organization works to provide a venue for artists working in theatre, dance and music.
The Gala featured music by Santa Monica College alumni from the Artist Residency program. That was followed by heartfelt tributes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Lenny White, and a breathtaking performance by pianist Hiromi.
Hiromi is a Japanese jazz composer and pianist, who is known for blending musical genres, such as stride, progressive rock, classical and fusion. She was then joined by Clarke on bass.
Clarke is a bassist, composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. He is a five-time Grammy winner (nominated 15 times): three as a solo artist, one with the Stanley Clarke Band and one with Return to Forever. In 2022, he was the recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship.
Clarke presented four scholarships to students from Santa Monica College and Santa Monica High School, all of whom he has personally mentored throughout his time as Artist in Residence at BroadStage.
More than a celebration, the Gala marked a new chapter for the nonprofit. Rob Bailis, Artistic and Executive Director of BroadStage Santa Monica, spoke about building a world-class jazz festival in Santa Monica, curated by Stanley Clarke.
Gratitude was expressed to all who made the evening possible including the BroadStage Gala Committee, Palisadians Janet and Philip Rotner, Elisa and Will Marks, Katrin Czinger and Jennifer Diener and Eric Small.
To learn more about BroadStage https://broadstage.org
Great press Teri. Congratulations. Pat