The heartwarming animated cartoon, A Charlie Brown Christmas, is brilliantly paired with a live performance of the Vince Guaraldi jazz score by the incomparable Eric Byrd Trio. Enjoy a wonderful evening with holiday classics and the extremely talented, and accomplished jazz musicians that make up the Eric Byrd Trio.
The Eric Byrd Trio (EBT), pianist/vocalist Eric Byrd, bassist Will Hazlehurst, and drummer Alphonso Young, Jr., have traveled the world as enthusiastic ambassadors of jazz for over 20 years. Rooted in swing and bebop, The Trio also embraces gospel and the blues as core elements of their expansive performance style. Their body of work spans seven unique studio and live recordings on which they shine as a Trio and as collaborators with an expanded 8-piece ensemble they call The Eric Byrd Trio: Brother Ray Band, in tribute to The Genius of Soul icon Ray Charles. On each recording, they take a rigorous, modern approach to standards as well as original compositions, playing with great acuity within the broad and rich jazz tradition.
Their last recording “Twenty” won the 2022 Washington Area Music Award (Wammy) Jazz Recording of the Year. They also belong to the Maryland Performing Artist Touring Roster which is a listing of Maryland-based performing artists who are experienced, organized and professional. The Trio has played with countless artists including Wynton Marsalis, Terell Stafford, Randy Brecker, Charlie Byrd, Mike Stern, Bob Berg, Buck Hill, David “Fathead” Newman, Tim Warfield, Cecil Payne, George Colligan, Kenny Drew, Jr., Sonny Fortune, Gary Thomas, Ira Sullivan, Othello Molineaux, Warren Wolf, Jeff Majors, Vanessa Rubin, Rebecca Parris, Yolanda Adams, and Jon Secada.