The Monday Night Concert Series features jazz singer Petra Van Nuis and guitarist Andy Brown with a performance titled, “Silver Screen Songs of Doris Day” at 7 p.m. Monday, November 18, 2019 at the Oak Park Arms retirement community, 408 S. Oak Park Ave. The Monday night concerts are free and open to the public.
Van Nuis and Brown have been described as “…a magical musical dialogue which can only partially be described as blind understanding.”
Petra van Nuis (pronounced Pay-tra van Nouse) is a Chicago-based jazz vocalist who has been described in Downbeat Magazine as having “…a light, gorgeous, and fairly delicate voice, a gift for melody and plenty of rhythmic confidence.”
A Chicagoan since 2003, van Nuis sings at all the finest jazz venues in town including the Jazz Showcase, the Green Mill, Katerina’s, Andy’s Jazz Club, Fitzgerald’s, the City Winery, the Old Town School of Folk Music, and the Chicago Cultural Center.
Along with six other Chicago jazz artists, she was nominated for the “Best Jazz Entertainer 2013” for the 33rd Annual Chicago Music Awards.
As a jazz singer, van Nuis’s unique and expressive phrasing gives her an instantly identifiable sound and sets her apart from the crowd. Much of her “own voice” comes from her intrinsically pure vision of how to sing lyrics – how to “speak” them, while choosing the perfect notes and length of phrase to convey meaning and musicality.
Van Nuis has formed two significant musical relationships with Chicago pianists. Her duo with pianist Larry Harris continues to blossom since their first gig together in 2006. Their shared aesthetic was immediately evident, and they have been making music together ever since. Their 2010 concert for the International Association for Jazz Record Collectors Conference was praised in the association’s journal as ” …a hard act to follow that held the audience spellbound.”
She continues to play with Chicago’s finest instrumentalists, and several European tours have brought the duo to Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Every other Monday evening from June through Sept., a jazz musician or band will perform a free, live concert for residents and the public.
“Our residents treasure their summer nights filled with soulful music,” said Vasquez. “And our doors are always open to share these moments with our community.”
Oak Park Arms Senior Living is a rental retirement community which provides senior housing in the form of independent living. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay – a weekend, a week, a month or longer.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information call 708-386-4040.
