On Saturday, October 18, The Mainstay is excited to welcome back the extraordinary jazz pianist Dick Durham. Durham, one of The Mainstay’s most requested performers, is an annual visitor to the 28-year old non-profit music venue. Dick will be joined onstage by Max Murray on upright bass and Greg Burrows on drums.
Dick recalls his early choices to pursue his passion for the piano that led to impressive acclamations from audiences, fellow musicians, and music critics. Dick was encouraged to follow his passion for the piano during his college years and boldly veered from the paths his cardiologist father and playwright mother had pursued.
After his discharge from military service, Durham put a trio together and started playing jazz clubs, most memorably as the opening act for the Count Basie Orchestra. He has had the privilege of sharing a bill with Stanley Turrentine, Grover Washington Jr., Billy Cobham, Stef Scaggiari and many others. Dick credits jazz pianists Errol Garner, Oscar Peterson, and Teddy Wilson as his major influences.
His compositions have earned him two separate Maryland Governor’s Citations for excellence in the performing arts, and his jazz variations on the scores of musicals like “West Side Story” have earned standing ovations.
Dick wrote two musicals, both performed at Church Hill Theatre (and one in NYC). Now retired, he lives sanely and serenely on his farm near Church Hill with his wife Bets.
Showtime for the live concert event is 8 pm. Tickets are $20 in advance of the show and can be purchased online at mainstayrockhall.org. Phone reservations are accepted by calling (410) 639-9133 (tickets reserved by phone are $25 when paid at the door). The Mainstay is located at 5753 N Main Street in Rock Hall, Maryland. Its regular calendar of local, regional, and nationally touring artists features a live performance every week of the year (February through December) in a variety of music genres.
The programs and presentations of The Mainstay are supported in part with funds from the Maryland State Arts Council and The Kent Cultural Alliance.
