February 27 & 28
Tulsa Gridiron 2015
Each year, the Tulsa Gridiron shifts through the mountains of mirth-inducing mischief that is local, state and national politics, tosses in some swipes at popular culture, sets the whole thing to parodies of familiar and obscure songs, affixes a long and laboriously punning title to it, then flings it onto a stage before a willing populace. This year’s edition of the Tulsa Gridiron is titled “Free Fallin...or They Shoot Pigeons Don't They."
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March 1
The Myron and Booker Variety Show
The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame welcomes saxophonist Myron Oliver and vocalist Booker Gillespie to the Jazz Depot stage in concert.
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March 8
Rick Gill in Concert
The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame welcomes vocalist and guitarist Rick Gill back to the Jazz Depot stage.
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March 29
The Begonias
The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame welcomes The Begonias back to the Jazz Depot stage.
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April 12
Ben Harris and the NSU Jazz Ensemble
Jazz guitarist Ben Harris takes the Jazz Depot stage, alongside the Northeastern State University Jazz Ensemble.
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April 26
23rd Annual Keyboard Concert
The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of fame presents the 23rd Annual Keyboard Concert.
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May 3
Denny Morouse in Concert
The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame welcomes saxophonist and composer Denny Morouse to the Jazz Depot stage, alongside the Metropolitan Baptist Church Choir and band, directed by Merton Huff.
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Depot Jams
Jazz Jams at the Depot
Free live jazz at the Jazz Depot. Stop by to play or listen.
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Depot Jams
Blues Jam Session at the Depot
Free live blues at the Jazz Depot. Stop by to play or listen.
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Jazzwich
Live Music during Lunch
Join us every Thursday and Friday for Jazzwich! Bring a brown bag or visit one of the variety of food trucks for lunch and enjoy some incredible jazz, featuring Tim Shadley, Jordan Hehl, and Nicholas Foster. 11:30 to 1:00 p.m. Free!
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Ralph Ellison
Featured Inductees
Ralph Ellison was inducted into the Jazz category of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame posthumously in 2014, and the Oklahoma-born musician-turned-writer was a novelist, literary critic, scholar and writer. Best known for his novel Invisible Man, which won the National Book Award in 1953, Ellison also wrote Shadow and Act—a collection of political, social, and critical essays—and Going to the Territory. From an early age Ellison loved music, and expected to be a musician and composer. Although drawn to jazz and jazz musicians, Ellison studied classical music and the symphonic form, before turning to literature. Ellison died in 1994 of pancreatic cancer, though he continued to contribute his art to the community posthumously. After his death, more manuscripts were found in his home that were later published and recognized with critical success.
MYRON AND BOOKER VARIETY SHOW BRINGS TULSA TALENT TO JAZZ DEPOT STAGE
In vocalist Booker Gillespie, Myron Oliver has found a kindred spirit – especially when it comes to the local music scene. Like saxophonist Oliver, Gillespie not only performs a lot in and around Tulsa; he also appreciates the amount of talent he sees and hears when he's a member of the audience.
... read moreTULSA'S BEGONIAS SET TO CONCLUDE JAZZ DEPOT'S WINTER CONCERT SERIES
Like many acoustic-based groups, the long-lived Tulsa trio the Begonias play a couple of different kinds of gigs. There's the restaurant and bar job, in which some of the audience is there for the music and others to fulfill their conversational, drinking and/or dining needs. And then there's the listening-room situation – as is the case with Sunday's Jazz Depot concert – in which the people are there expressly to see and hear the band, or at least to pay a lot of attention to it.
... read moreMODERN OKLAHOMA JAZZ ORCHESTRA MAKES JAZZ DEPOT DEBUT SUNDAY
Sunday marks the first official concert of the Modern Oklahoma Jazz Orchestra, a twenty-piece aggregation that's Tulsa's newest big band. Its roots, however, stretch back to the area jazz scene of the early and mid-1980s, when trumpeter Mike Moore was having quite a time leading his own large group of musicians through a series of dates in clubs that are now, unfortunately, long defunct.
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