We said farewell to 2017 and hello to 2018 with glasses of champagne and the delightfully entertaining Tucson Symphony Jazz Trio!

With the help of 20 bistro tables we transformed the Benderly-Kendall Opera House into a jazz club to ring in the New Year. TSO violinist Michael Fan, double bassist James Karrer, and percussionist Homero Cerón performed a charming program of jazz standards—beautiful arrangements of well known tunes, each infused with masterful improvisation. Homero’s vibraphone filled the hall with luminous sound and created the perfect New Year’s atmosphere. The trio, a combination of instruments one rarely hears played together, performed old-time classics such as Duke Ellington’s “Don’t get around much anymore”, Jerome Kern’s “All the things you are”, The way you look tonight, and Autumn Leaves. Most impressively, they played a combined version of Girl from Ipanema and Take the A Train—the harmonies work!

The music making was inspired and thanks to the help of Jude and David everyone enjoyed the sounds with a glass of bubbly in hand! After the concert the Stage Stop Inn’s Wild Horse Restaurant hosted a delicious three-course prix fixe dinner. The response to the celebratory event was so positive that we are already planning next season’s New Year’s Eve Jazz Concert. We hope this is the beginning of a new Patagonia tradition!