The Ringling Presents Jazz Percussion Week

February 25, 2022 – Sarasota

In a first-time South Florida convergence, two soulfully ascendent jazz drummers will take the stage at the Historic Asolo Theater and provide a musical banquet for Sarasota jazz lovers the weekend of March 11 & 12, 2022.  Each of these fierce rising stars will play for one evening only with their respective bands for two nights of Cuban speed jazz contrasted with complex blues and gospel inspired grooves.  Yissy Garcia’s stylish and bold Caribbean sounds juxtaposed with Jamison Ross’ sizzling drums and R & B-rooted vocals are lush and powerful hallmarks of jazz futures. 

While in Sarasota, Jamison and Yissy will give an artist talk at The Ringling moderated by Tihda Vongkoth of Sarasota’s Modern Marimba on Saturday, March 12 at 10:30 a.m.  In addition to these events, the artists will be working with Booker High School and Manatee School of the Arts music students, who will also attend a special matinee performance with Yissy Garcia and her band.

Yissy Garcia–a composer and drummer- is one of the most powerful artists of this generation of Cuban musicians and has ushered in a new era of “high-speed Cuban jazz,” which fuses street conga and rumba, plenty of drums, bass and funk.  Considered one of Cuba’s most dynamic and innovative musicians who defies genre and tradition with every funky groove, she demonstrates the art of combining traps and percussion, drawing from the wealth of Cuban folkloric and popular styles alongside serious jazz and funk. Yissy has quickly become an iconic figure of female percussion in Cuba and beyond, and has been likened to “the Cuban version of Terri Lyne Carrington” by Tom Magazine.

Jamison Ross is one of the hottest young names in music.  A singer and drummer, Jamison’s music shimmers between jazz, R&B, soul, gospel and blues. Think of a mix of Donny Hathaway and Elvin Jones. One minute you’re enjoying his super-soulful voice, gospel inflections and infectious love of melody; the next you’re digging his grooving, swinging drumming with his band. His 2015 debut release, Jamison, introduced the world to his concept of rhythm and melody and also garnered a GRAMMY® nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album.  A native of Jacksonville, FL, Jamison’s passion for music was cultivated while growing up in his grandfather’s church,  then he completed his BA in Jazz Studies at FSU, later pursuing a Masters in New Orleans, which he now calls home.

Tickets and more information are available at https://www.ringling.org/events/type/performances, or by phone 941-360-7399