Ben Jones & Laurence Hobgood

On Monday, August 18 at 7pm, Award-winning vocalist Ben Jones and Grammy Award-winning pianist Laurence Hobgood join forces for a concert experience that is at once raw, refined, and transcendent.Jones and Hobgood strip beloved songs down to their essence just voice and piano, in seamless, uninterrupted flow. Each performance is a high-wire act of intimacy and virtuosity: no band, no filler, no fourth wall. Whether theyre reinventing a jazz standard or daring to reframe a pop hit, these two artists meet in the moment to create something unrepeatable and unforgettable. The setlist includes reimagined classics from jazz, Broadway, and pop, woven together by improvised transitions that create a singular, uninterrupted arc. Ben Jones is a singer, comedian, storyteller and actor who has appeared in front of audiences worldwide, from the Edinburgh International Festival to the Shanghai Concert Hall. Hes shared the spotlight with the likes of Rita Moreno, Michael Tilson Thomas, Frederica von Stade, Nathan Gunn, Isabel Leonard, Helmuth Rilling, Michael Morgan, Val Diamond and the Bang on a Can All-Stars. His versatile voice has been featured on recordings on the Albany, Naxos and Delos labels, on A Prairie Home Companion, on the soundtracks for the best-selling video game franchises Halo and Civilization, and on commercials for Coors Light and Meow Mix. He was most recently seen as Sid Sorokin in The Pajama Game in San Francisco, for which he received the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best Performance in a Musical. His last two solo showsI Think Im in Love and I Think We Should See Other Peoplewere featured in BroadwayWorlds Best of 2022. Laurence Hobgood is a Grammy Award-winning pianist, composer, educator and Yamaha Artist known for his innovative approach to jazz arranging. A versatile creator, Laurence seamlessly blends the worlds of jazz, classical, and contemporary music, creating a unique and captivating sound. Perhaps best known for his 20-year collaboration with vocalist Kurt Elling, Laurence has released multiple acclaimed albums of his own, including his trio recording, Honor Thy Fathers, and the celebrated septet project, tesseterra, featuring his trio and string quartet, which reimagines classic songs through a jazz lens. Hobgood has recorded and performed with jazz luminaries such as Charlie Haden, Ernie Watts, Regina Carter, Stefon Harris, Jon Hendricks and John Pattitucci, and has appeared at prestigious venues worldwide, from Carnegie Hall and the White House to the Sydney Opera House. His work has been featured on NPRs Jazz Night in America and in JazzTimes Magazine.