The Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County (AHCMC) invites you to join us for Jazz at the Kramer! A music series in partnership with Paul Carr’s Jazz Academy of Music presenting a free evening of jazz at the Betty Mae Kramer Gallery & Music Room on the second Wednesday of every month.
Admission is FREE but advanced registration is required due to limited capacity. Kindly be aware that reservations are limited to 2 tickets per person. For group reservations, feel free to contact us directly at publicart@creativemoco.com.
** Please Note: Outside food and beverages are not permitted in the gallery with the exception of water.
Second Wednesdays: Jazz at the Kramer featuring Vocalist Sharón Clark and Pianist Chris Grasso
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Second Wednesdays: Jazz at the Kramer featuring Bhagwan Khalsa on Bass + Eric Byrd on Piano and Chris Latona on Piano + Andrew Latona on Guitar.
Jazz at the Kramer
Event Listing
Wednesday, August 13, 2025
*NEW START TIME* 6:30 pm at the Betty Mae Kramer Gallery and Music Room
Join us for a night of jazz featuring vocalist Darden Purcell, bassist Ben Thomas, and pianist Chris Ziemba.
August Musicians
Darden Purcell
Darden Purcell, a Washington D.C. based jazz vocalist, is an active featured soloist with symphony orchestras, big bands and small ensembles, band leader and vocal instructor. Ms. Purcell has shared the stage with many top jazz artists including Maria Schneider, Joe Locke, Christian McBride, Branford Marsalis, Eric Alexander, Terell Stafford, the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra, US Navy Commodores, Naval Academy Big Band Next Wave, The Airmen of Note, US Army Blues, Ben Patterson Jazz Orchestra and the American Festival Pops Orchestra (Tony Maiello) to name a few. Dr. Purcell is the Director of Jazz Studies, Jazz Voice instructor and Director of the Downbeat award-winning Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble at George Mason University.
She has performed at concert halls and clubs nationally and internationally, including Club Bonafide (NYC), Blues Alley (Washington DC), Aalt Stadhaus (Luxembourg), Pops for Champagne (Chicago), The Jazz Kitchen (Indianapolis), The Blue Wisp (Cincinatti), The Kitchen Cafe (Dallas), The Bop Stop (Cleveland), Con Alma (Pittsburgh), and JazzB (Sao Paulo, Brazil).
Ms. Purcell is a former Washington DC Air Force Band vocalist, with the groups High Flight and the Airmen of Note, performing nationally and internationally, including Germany, Italy, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Purcell performed back-up vocals for nationally renowned recording artists, Chaka Khan, BeBe Winans, Bryan White, Lari White, Janie Frickie, Freda Payne, Sherrie Payne, Gloria Loring, Melba Moore and Rita Coolidge as well as a televised performance behind Darlene Love on “The Late Show with David Letterman.”
In addition to her active performing schedule, Dr. Purcell is a sought-after jazz educator. Dr. Purcell is the Director of Jazz Studies, Jazz Voice Instructor and Director of the Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble at George Mason University. She has also been a guest artist/clinician/conductor with various institutions. Her students have won “Outstanding soloist” and “Outstanding Musicianship” awards at collegiate festivals as well as Downbeat Student Music Awards.
Darden has presented internationally at the Institute for Jazz Research “Jazz Voices” conference in Graz, Austria. She performed at Projecto GURI and JazzB (Sao Paulo, Brazil), through a George Mason University Global Grant. Spring 2024, she traveled to Luxembourg with Mason Jazz faculty to perform at the Differdange Music School “JazzDAYS” festival.
Purcell received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Vocal Jazz Performance at Virginia Tech, a Master of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Performance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Visit Darden’s website: www.dardenpurcell.com
Follow Darden on YouTube and Facebook!
Ben Thomas
Jazz bassist Ben Thomas hails from Connecticut and currently resides in Washington D.C. He has performed with Melissa Aldana, Ted Nash, Sean Jones, Bob Brookmeyer, Tony Malaby, Till Brönner, Ari Honeig, The New York Ballet, and Ryan Truesdell in notable venues including The Kennedy Center, The White House, The Midwest Clinic, The Jazz Education Network, Umbria Jazz Festival, Smalls, and Birdland. He is the Adjunct Professor of Jazz Bass at George Mason University as well as the bassist of the prestigious Airmen of Note, the premier jazz big band of the United States Air Force.
Prior to living in Washington D.C., Thomas freelanced in New York City before spending six years in the USAF regional bands, four of which were stationed at Ramstein Airbase, Germany. While there, Thomas toured 23 countries throughout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, was music director of the jazz band, and taught bass at the University of Mannheim.
Thomas is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music where he earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Music degree in jazz bass performance. He studied with Jeff Campbell, James VanDemark, Bill Dobbins, Clay Jenkins, Ralph Alessi, and Drew Gress. In 2012 he released his record of live original chordless trio music entitled Endless Mountain Region. Prof. Thomas enjoys performing on his 1862 Bohemian bass.
Follow Ben on Instagram!
Chris Ziemba
Chris Ziemba is a jazz pianist, composer, and educator based on the East Coast. He holds performance degrees from the Eastman School of Music and The Juilliard School. Ziemba first entered the scene in 2009, when he was invited to be a featured guest on Marian McPartland’s iconic radio program on NPR, Piano Jazz.
In 2011, just before relocating to New York City to further his studies and launch a career, Ziemba won first place in the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition. In New York, Ziemba worked to become an in-demand pianist at clubs and performance venues throughout the city. In 2013, he recorded Chakra, a seven-movement suite composed for big band by Jazz at Lincoln Center saxophonist Ted Nash.
Other highlights of his time in New York include performances with Kurt Elling, Carl Allen, Marcus Printup, Ron Blake, Karrin Allyson, and Ryan Truesdell’s Grammy-winning Gil Evans Project, among others. Wanting to document his evolving musical voice, Ziemba released his debut album, Manhattan Lullaby, in 2016. The album features his original compositions and arrangements with the collaboration of saxophonist Michael Thomas, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Jimmy Macbride.
In 2017, Ziemba became the pianist for the Airmen of Note, the premier jazz ensemble of the United States Air Force Band based in Washington, D.C. When not on tour, he continues to regularly perform, record and teach all along the East Coast.
Vist Chris’ website: www.chrisziemba.com