April 15, 2008                                                                                                                                                        Associate Director of Marketing

                                                                                                                                                                               Phone: 253.573.2360

                                                                                                                                                                               Email: laceyl@broadwaycenter.org

Sizzlin’ HOT! The Queen of Jazz & Blues:

Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers

At the Pantages Theater

Tacoma, WA – Internationally recognized as the queen of classic Jazz and Blues, Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers bring East Coast swing and smooth Jazz and Blues style to the Pantages Theater on Saturday, May 3, 2008 at 7:30pm in a sizzlin’ hot concert.

Modern day Jazz and Blues diva Lavay Smith and her all-star 8-piece band perform in a unique style influenced by Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Bessie Smith and Little Esther Phillips. Smith’s sultry stage style is a cross between Marilyn Monroe and Bettie Page.  The Red Hot Skillet Lickers are truly an all-star ensemble, comprised of four horns, piano, bass and drums. Smith’s musicians have performed and recorded with Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat “King” Cole, Frank Sinatra, Tito Puente, Lionel Hampton, Wynton Marsalis, Ray Charles, Taj Mahal and many more.

Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers first performed in 1989 and immediately began attracting crowds thanks to Smith’s big, bluesy voice, stage personality and glamorous approach.  In 1998, the reader’s of San Francisco’s two major newspapers, The Chronicle and The Examiner, both voted Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers the “Best Band” in their annual reader’s poll. 

Important publications have sung the praises of Lavay Smith and her band, including Jazz Times, Blues Revue, Jazziz, The New York Press, Living Blues, and the Alternative Press. Television and Radio appearances include “The News Hour with Jim Lehrer”, Fox TV’s “Fox Files”, and NPR’s “To the Best of Our Knowledge”.  World famous celebrities have jumped on the Lavay Smith bandwagon as well.   

Smith owns her own record label, Fat Note Records, and produces her own CDs with musical director Chris Siebert.  Her debut CD “One Hour Mama” was an independent smash hit, outselling most major label jazz and blues releases, a true testament to her musical and business savvy.  Her second CD, “Everybody’s Talkin’ ‘Bout Miss Thing” repeated this success, staying on the Billboard Jazz charts for 20 consecutive weeks, and rising to #10. The album received widespread critical acclaim, including a prestigious Four & 1/2 Star review in Downbeat Magazine.

“Everybody’s Talkin’ ‘Bout Miss Thing” incorporates a variety of classic American musical styles, including swing, bebop, salsa, jump blues, and New Orleans R&B. Enlisting the arranging talents of David Berger, arranger for Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the album includes six outstanding original tunes, many classics, and several obscure gems.                             

Tickets to Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers are on sale now for $25 and $34. Tickets may be purchased at the Broadway Center Box Office located on 9th & Broadway or by calling the Box Office at 253.591.5894. To purchase online at any time or for information about upcoming events visit www.broadwaycenter.org.

The Broadway Center for the Performing Arts gratefully acknowledges the following for support of the 2007-2008 Season: ArtsFund, Ben B. Cheney Foundation, The Boeing Company, City of Tacoma, Forest Foundation, The News Tribune, Pierce County Arts Commission, Sequoia Foundation Pierce County Program, and Washington State Arts Commission.

###