'Ambassador of Gypsy Jazz' to perform in Boston Heights

John Jorgenson, referred to as The U.S. Ambassador of Gypsy Jazz,will perform at the Happy Days Visitor Center in Boston Heights Feb. 22 at 8 p.m.

Advance ticket sales will be available until 3 p.m. the Friday before the concert by calling 330-657-2909 ext. 100. Doors open at 7 p.m. On concert day, call the Cultural Arts Hotline at 330-650-4636 ext. 228 after 2 p.m. for up-to-date ticket availability and severe weather cancellations.

Jorgenson has earned a reputation as a world-class musician and guitarist and has collaborated with the likes of Elton John, Luciano Pavarotti, Bonnie Raitt and Bob Dylan. Touring in support of two new releases, this latest creative cycle sees him exploring new elements of world music, bluegrass, rock and classical as Jorgenson continues to expand his range of gypsy jazz.

One Stolen Night, Jorgenson's first of two new releases, was the second album credited to the John Jorgenson Quintet, following up on the Billboard Jazz chart success of Ultraspontane. The One Stolen Night collection contains a mix of standards and new compositions, with plenty of clarinet and swing, plus a vocal and the addition of the Greek bouzouki into the Quintet's instrumentation.

Jorgenson's second new album offering is Istiqbal Gathering, the culmination of a long relationship between Jorgenson and Paul Gambill, conductor of Orchestra Nashville. Recorded live at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville and the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Jorgenson and Gambill brought together a world-class team of musicians and collaborators to create the first collection of music specifically composed and recorded for gypsy jazz guitar and orchestra.

The John Jorgenson Quintet is the only American act to ever headline the prestigious Django Reinhardt Memorial Festival in France, and has been featured at other "Djangofests" in the U.S., UK, Germany and Canada. For the films "Gattica" and "Head in the Clouds" Jorgenson was tapped to recreate Django's music, and in the latter he even appeared onscreen as Django with stars Charlize Theron and Penelope Cruz.