I’m sure you know by now that every week Beyu Caffe brings at least two wonderful jazz shows to you. This week is no different as we feature the Al Strong Qintett on Friday night and Lise Uyanik on Saturday. Both shows are going to be amazing, and I would hate for you to miss either one. However, if you have to choose between one or the other, I want you to be well prepared to do so. With that in mind, here is some info on both of our upcoming artists, and examples of their musical stylings. I can’t wait to see you there!

Al Strong is a Washington, D.C. native trumpeter, arranger, and composer. Since he first emerged on the scene in 1998 as a jazz studies major at North Carolina Central University, Strong has been an emerging artist in jazz. He has been described as being “among those leading Durham jazz into a resurgence.” (The Independent Weekly – Sylvia Pfeiffenberger). He is an integral figure in the current local jazz scene having performed/recorded for local artists such as Aretha Franklin, Phonte Coleman, Mavis Swan Poole, Yahzarah, Peter Lamb and the Wolves (Voted 2011 Best Jazz Band in the Triangle), Clay Aiken, Big Daddy Kane, Orquesta Gardel, The Beast, and Zakiyah.

Strong is a current associate professor at Saint Augustine College as well as an adjunct professor at the widely acclaimed North Carolina Central University (NCCU) Jazz Studies program and Shaw University.Strong is also a founder of the non-profit jazz advocacy organization, The Art of Cool.

“He’s just kind of a Durham mainstay as far as being a trumpet player of our generation,” Eric Hirsh quoted from Independent Weekly

“He adds like a level of grease to everything. It feels so good when he’s involved.” Pete Kimosh of The Beast quoted in Independent Weekly

Lise Uyanik, a remarkable singer of Turkish descent, has been performing in the Triangle since the mid-seventies, singing and playing guitar. She’s best know for her work fronting the Mobile City Band, a big R& B revue still performing occasionally in the area. She also performs with CityFolk, a smaller acoustic-ish spin-off group from Mobile City, that also features Mary Rocap, Lise’s longtime friend and music partner; and with the Women’s Singing Circle at St. Matthew’s Church in Hillsborough, a group organized by Mary and Megan Whitted, through their Faith and the Arts program. But jazz has always resonated with Lise’s soul. She has been working for about 5 years with pianist extraordinaire Wes Lachot on pure JAZZ, singing lush, sultry, torchy cocktail jazz standards. Lise Uyanik brought the Mobile City Band together in 1978. They soon became one of the premier rock and roll, rhythm and blues groups in North Carolina. Their 1981 debut album, Shut Up and Dance, captured the energy of the times.