Pianist Bruce Dudley leads a stellar quartet featuring vocalist Vinéecia Buchanan, with Ian Nussdorfer on bass and Marc Widenhofer on drums.
Bruce Dudley is a Steinway Concert Artist and has been performing jazz piano for over 40 years on concert stages, in clubs, and private residences throughout North and South America. He specializes in the Great American Songbook, as well as in the rich history of American jazz styles, from Ragtime and Stride to Modernism, Post Modernism, and performance of original music. In addition to his work as a solo artist, he leads a trio, quartet, and larger ensembles, with horns and/or strings, while also enlisting the award winning voice of his wife, Sandra Dudley. An active educator, Dudley has presented clinics across Canada, the United States, and in Colombia, South America. His recordings as a leader include DPSW Quartet - Live at the Cave (2019), The Solo Sessions (2012), Mostly Monk (2010), and Semblance (1997). Dudley has also performed with artists Aretha Franklin, Crystal Gayle, Nelson Riddle Orchestra, Herb Ellis, Randy Brecker, Little Anthony and the Imperials, the Ink Spots, and has played keyboards for over 35 touring Broadway shows, including Beautiful, Wicked, Jersey Boys, Guys and Dolls, Grease, Fiddler on the Roof, Legally Blonde, among others. Bruce Dudley has published articles for Downbeat magazine and presented scholarly research at conferences in the Netherlands, Canada, and the United States. His book 25 Piano Etudes in Idiomatic Styles was published in 2021 by Keuka Waters Music. Dudley is Associate Professor of Music at Belmont University. He has a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Colorado, a Master of Music in Jazz Performance from the Eastman School of Music, and a Bachelor of Science in Music Business and Technology from New York University.
"As the leader, Dudley set the evening's tone with a supple, rich blend of assertive melodic statements, delightful accompaniment, first-rate phrasing, counterpoint and harmonizing." Ron Wynn - ArtsNash
"Dudley, whose fluent lines jet around the keyboard, absorbing motifs into the stream, without a split second of hesitation, at any point of rhythm in the bar, are stunning to listen to…" HALIFAX CHRONICLE HERALD
"Dudley plays the piano with such grace and authority that he has quietly become the pianists that other pianists go to hear." HOUSTON POST
Vinéecia Buchanan is an adjunct instructor of jazz voice at Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music. Her multi-genre vocal expertise is influenced by her love and study of gospel, R&B, classical music, musical theater, and jazz. Buchanan had the privilege of studying with Dr. Steve Zegree, Ly Wilder, and Duane Davis, and also sang in the Downbeat Award-winning IU Vocal Jazz Ensemble.
Buchanan has shared the stage with The Manhattan Transfer's Janis Siegel, Darmon Meader of the New York Voices, Bobby McFerrin, Ben Folds, and Foreigner. Since 2018, she has been a member and featured soloist in the Nashville Symphony Chorus. Buchanan is also the alto section leader at Westminster Presbyterian Church and in the fall is excited to begin her first season as a chorus member in the Nashville Opera and be a featured soloist with the Ryan Middagh Jazz Orchestra.
Vinéecia Buchanan received degrees from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music with a Bachelor of Science in Voice and Vocal Pedagogy and a Master in Jazz Studies. When not singing or teaching, you might find her very occasionally playing a clarinet etude, knitting, or watching nature documentaries.
