The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Palace’s Poli Club jazz series continues May 20
WATERBURY — The Spring 2022 Jazz Series at the Palace Theater Poli Club continues May 20 with performances by Melinda Rose Rodriguez.
A contestant on The Voice, Rodriguez will be joined by Albert Rivera on sax and the Matt DeChamplain Trio.
Showtimes are at 7 and 9 p.m.; doors and the bar open at 6:15 p.m. Seating is general admission. The series is produced by New England Arts and Entertainment. Tickets are available at the Palace Theater Box Office; call 203-3462000 or go to www.PalaceTheaterCT.org
According to New England Arts and Entertainment: Born and raised in Miami, Fla., Rodriguez was trained classically until the age of 17, and says she fell in love with the music of the 40s, and 50s, up to modern jazz, and is influenced by Ella Fitzgerald, John Coltrane and Betty Carter.
Throughout high school, Rodriguez participated in a variety of competitions and music programs, and was a National Young Arts Winner in grades 11 and 12. She was the national third-place winner in Michael Feinstein's High School Vocal Competition held in Indianapolis, Indiana, and received her first Downbeat Student Music Award for Jazz Vocal Solo Performance in her senior year.
She is a 4 time Downbeat award winner as of 2019. Rodriguez has performed in jazz festivals around the country: The Benny Golson Jazz Festival, The Litchfield Jazz Festival and The Miami Downtown Jazz festival. After high school, she attended the New England Conservatory for a year; a family crisis brought her home to Miami, where she continued to perform and completed her undergraduate degree at Florida International University, studying jazz voice and jazz bass.
She has traveled as far as Bermuda and Japan to perform, as well as alongside Michael Feinstein, Cyrille Aimee, Jane Monheit; she worked frequently with jazz greats such as Kevin Mahogany.
Rodriguez is a member of the Litchfield Jazz Camp teaching staff and has served as an adjunct professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, where she recently received her masters degree. She is the winner of the 2019 Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition and was selected as one of the finalists on the popular television program The Voice, Season 17. She performs regularly in the central Illinois area as well as Miami.