Justin Lees Trio Annual Summer Concert
Join these three popular and veteran musicians for an evening of jazz at An die Musik Live! While stylistically diverse, Justin’s main focus is a straight ahead approach to jazz steeped in the fifties tradition of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and rooted in the styles of Charlie Christian and T Bone Walker. Plus the feeling of swing and the blues.
Justin Lees, guitar
Dominic Smith, drums
Obasi Akoto, double bass
Justin Lees started playing guitar professionally in the late 70’s and studied with several prominent guitarists including Rick Whitehead, Paul Bollenbach, Bill Biesecker, Danny Gatton, Herb Ellis and Emily Remler. While in Washington D.C., he worked as a freelance musician with Ron Holloway, Dick Morgan, Keeter Betts, Cindy Cain and more. He played weekly with his own trio at the One Step Down, DC’s premier Jazz club, until it’s closing.
He opened for Nina Simone as a member of the Ron Holloway Group at Constitution Hall. In addition to his own solo, duo and trio projects, he was a guitarist for the John Colianni Quintet (Colianni was Les Paul’s pianist until his passing), for Mel Torme for 4 years, and with Lionel Hampton when he was just 19. He studied seriously with Howard Alden, Michele Ramo, and Dr. Asher Zlotnik. From 2017-20, Justin performed with trumpet legend Joey Morant (who played with Ray Charles, Paul McCartney and others).
Maryland-raised drummer Dominic Smith has been a fixture on the local jazz scene for more than 20 years. His hard swinging style, use of dynamics and innovative rhythmic subtleties have been utilized by such jazz notables as Eric Alexander, Harold Mabern, James Williams, Charlie Byrd, Phil Woods, Gary Thomas, Jim Snidero, Kenny Rankin, Dennis Irwin, Ray Bryant, Keter Betts and Charles McPherson and George Garzone. Since 2006 Dominic has been a member of The Unified Jazz Ensemble and rounds out his playing schedule with prominent local musicians. His local drum guru was the late genius drummer Mike Smith.
Obasi Akoto is double bassist, composer and orchestrator who has worked with many of jazz’s leading artists. A seasoned performer, he toured and recorded with legendary drummer Elvin Jones and pianist Cyrus Chestnut, appearing on Chestnut’s acclaimed Atlantic recordings, The Dark Before the Dawn and Earth Stories. Akoto has also performed with Wynton Marsalis, Joe Lovano, Regina Carter and Miguel Zenón. His orchestral project All Over the Map, featuring vibraphonist Warren Wolf, showcases his expansive compositional voice and has been praised as “impassioned and transformative.” Following his tenure as Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Manitoba, Akoto returned to full-time performance, leading innovative ensembles and residencies throughout the Baltimore/Washington region, continuing to merge jazz tradition with contemporary improvisational expression.
In-person: $20 / $10 students
Attendees receive a link to the recording to view for one week after the concert.
Streaming passes: $15
The link will remain active through July 30
Donations welcome!
