| Capping
an exceptional week for piano jazz in South Florida, two talented
pianists will present performances on Sunday in Broward County.
After Wednesday's appearance at the Amaturo Theater by the
renowned Bill Charlap, the jazz prodigy Eldar Djangirov will
perform in the same hall on Sunday.
A native of the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyszstan, Djangirov
(pronounced john-GEAR-off) could play tunes by ear the first
time he sat down at the piano, at age 3. After some initial
studies in classical piano, he was performing in jazz festivals
by the time he was 9. When he was 11, his family moved to
the United States.
Now 17, Djangirov has two albums to his credit, has won piano
competitions, performed at international festivals and celebrated
jazz clubs and appeared on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz
and on network television, with Billy Taylor. And he's still
in high school. He will present a solo concert Sunday as one
of several "Prodigies and Masters of Tomorrow" performing
as part of the Miami International Piano Festival. The concert
takes place at 3 p.m. in the Broward Center's Amaturo Theater,
201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale. Tickets are $15-50. Call
954-462-0222.
At the same time several miles away, a one-time prodigy will
present a trio performance in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. Hal Schaefer
has been a professional musician since he was 12, 60-odd years
ago. After performing with many leading musicians in the 1940s
and '50s, Schaefer had a long career as a vocal coach and
musical arranger in the Hollywood studios. He was the singing
mentor to Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell and Judy Garland, while
continuing his career as a jazz pianist, composer and arranger.
Schaefer, a Fort Lauderdale resident, is a pianist of the
first rank and one of the area's best-kept musical secrets.
His dramatic, ornamental keyboard style is reminiscent of
Art Tatum, yet he also has a burning rhythmic intensity accented
with a constant flow of harmonic surprise. In a benefit concert
for Insight for the Blind, Schaefer will perform at 3 p.m.
Sunday with bassist Paul Shewchuk and drummer Duffy Jackson.
The concert will be at the Community Church Theater, 4433
Bougainvilla Drive, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. A $25 donation
is suggested. Call 954-522-5057.
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