The S.C. Jazz Masterworks Ensemble is a powerful group. An 18-piece big jazz band made up of some of the best players in the region, they make a skilled, powerful case for the state of modern jazz music. But at the Ensemble’s upcoming performance at the Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College on Saturday, April 13, they’ll be bringing even more musical firepower in New York Voices. 

New York Voices is one of the most acclaimed and successful jazz vocal groups in the country. They are a Grammy-Award-winning vocal ensemble renowned for their excellence in jazz and the art of group singing. They use a repertoire that ranges from classic pop songs to adaptations of more timely material from the jazz and pop worlds.

In other words, they should fit in with the S.C. Jazz Masterworks Ensemble perfectly. And according to the Ensemble founder and artistic director, Dr. Robert Gardiner, the show they’ve got planned for the Harbison Theatre has plenty of favorites mixed with some unexpected twists and turns.

“New York Voices has a wide pallet of music for us to play,” Gardiner said, mentioning standards like “Orange Colored Sky” and “Sing, Sing, Sing.”  

“But then we'll also end up performing a tune by Stevie Wonder,” he said. “And a tune by The Beatles. And we're going to do a Queen tune, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ as our closer. So, it’s going to be a variety, and it’s all wonderfully put together.”

The Masterworks Ensemble, which Gardiner founded in 2018, typically does 5 or so shows each season at the Harbison Theatre, and as he began planning out shows for this year, Gardiner said he was optimistic that the New York Voices could be special guests. 

“New York Voices was at the top of my list this last year because a couple members of the Ensemble have played with them in the past,” Gardiner said. “They're very good at what they do and they’ve recorded numerous albums over the years. They’ve recorded with the Count Basie Orchestra, they've recorded with European big bands and they've got a wide pallet of music for us to play.”

Gardiner added that this show should shine a well-deserved spotlight on jazz music in a region that needs that spotlight right now.

“South Carolina is not known as a jazz mecca or anything like that,” Gardiner said. “A lot of the touring groups will perform in the northeast, and then they skip our area and head down to Florida. And so that's one of the things we're trying to do is to help create an audience that will continue to grow. If the people that go in that are not jazz fans, maybe we can convert them to be fans of our music and of the New York Voices.”

And Gardiner was quick to add that the feeling of playing with top-notch jazz musicians is exciting for him.

“It's difficult to explain,” he said. “But when you're sitting beside somebody who’s world-renowned and they're the best at their craft, there's an electricity that you get. Yes, we're trying to present music to our audience at the highest level, but it’s also a lot of fun for me.”