The Lesher Center for the Arts – located in the historic downtown of Walnut Creek, California – has been presenting leading-edge programming within all arts disciplines, including the American jazz tradition, for almost three decades. This year’s Jazz at the Lesher Center 2018 Concert Series, presented by the Diablo Regional Arts Association for the seventh year in a row, will run on Saturday evenings from July 28 through September 14.
On September 14, the series will conclude with the World Premiere of vocalist, pianist and composer Sarah McKenzie’s 13-song live concert of newly composed material, San Francisco – Paris of the West. Commissioned by the Jazz at Lesher Center, the concert commemorates San Francisco’s oldest department store City of Paris and its enduring legacy through a collective of narratives set to 1930s inspired music written in the tradition of the Great American Songbook that brings to life the wondrous stories of its founders Felix and Emile Verdier’s voyage aboard the “Ville du Paris” ship trekking from France to San Francisco and their quest to open a store celebrating French culture in downtown San Francisco.
Watch the video for “Paris in the Rain” from San Francisco – Paris of the West via the player below: