Sharon Clark

The Washington Post hails Sharon as “the finest jazz singer in Washington,” with a sound evoking Sarah Vaughan and Ella.

Chris Grasso is a Washington, DC-based jazz pianist who specializes in working with vocalists. Chris has performed live on WPFW, DC's jazz station, with jazz greats Keter Betts and Buck Hill. He also has appeared with Ken Peplowski and the Chuck Redd Quartet, and with New Orleans' historic jazz family, the Jordans (Marlon, Stephanie and Rachel).

$2500.00

The long-awaited followup CD from DC standout Sharón Clark is now available for sale online The CD's release caps a banner year for Ms. Clark. December found her on a tour of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, including a performance with the Kyrgyz National Symphony Orchestra. In April, she captured the Gold Medal and $10,000 top prize at the Savannah Music Festival's Then in August, she took first place in the Billie Holliday Vocal Competitioin which offers a $2,500 prize along with a featured appearance with the Baltimore Symphony. September found Ms. Clark headlining the on the National Mall.

Ms. Clark appears regularly at She also has performed at the Kennedy Center, Blues Alley, the Lincoln Theater, the Smithsonian Jazz Café, the One Step Down and Twins Jazz. In July 2001, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra featured Ms. Clark in its tribute to Quincy Jones. In August 2003, Ms. Clark was a featured vocalist for the Keter Betts 75th Birthday Celebration hosted by the Smithsonian Institution at the personal request of Mr. Betts. In 1998, Ms. Clark performed by invitation for President William Jefferson Clinton and other dignitaries at a retreat sponsored by the Democratic National Committee.

ABOUT CHRIS GRASSO

"Pianist Chris Grasso can lay the blues on, having certainly listened to Red Garland . . . Grasso's bouncing intro and deftly light touch disguises the virility of his solo, single notes ringing like a cross between Horace Silver and Gene Harris."Chris Grasso is a Washington, DC-based jazz pianist who specializes in working with vocalists. Chris has performed live on WPFW, DC's jazz station, with jazz greats Keter Betts and Buck Hill. He also has appeared with Ken Peplowski and the Chuck Redd Quartet, and with New Orleans' historic jazz family, the Jordans (Marlon, Stephanie and Rachel).

Chris appeared with vocalist Sharón Clark on the National Mall as part of the 2007 Duke Ellington Jazz Festival. The band also was featured in 2006 and 2007 at the Cape May Jazz Festival. In addition, Chris has made multiple appearances at the East Coast Jazz Festival. He also has appeared at all the major venues in the DC area, including the One Step Down, Blues Alley, Twins Jazz, Bohemian Caverns, the Smithsonian Jazz Cafe, the Kennedy Center, and the Music Center at Strathmore.

Chris serves as Music Director for Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C. He also is on the jazz faculty of The Washington Conservatory.

Prior to pursuing a career in jazz, Chris studied classical piano at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he earned a Bachelor of Musical Arts degree and won the university's concerto competition. He also placed third in the National Chopin Competition and has appeared as a concerto soloist with the University of Michigan Philharmonic and the Syracuse Symphony. After college, he took an eight-year break from music, working as a journalist and earning a law degree from the University of California-Berkeley.