
Marion Meadow, Brian Simpson, and Althea Rene
1300 Elmwood Avenue
Rockwell Hall
Buffalo, NY 14222
April 11, 2025
Starting: 08:00 PM

Saxophonist Marion Meadows has become a staple of contemporary jazz, having released more than a dozen groundbreaking albums. He has recorded or performed with the greats, including Michael Bolton, Will Downing, The Temptations, and Chuck Loeb. Keyboardist and composer Brian Simpson started off playing alongside musicians Gerald Albright and Norman Brown, and eventually went on a world tour with Janet Jackson. He spent a decade touring and producing with the late jazz legend George Duke. Simpson has writing and performing credits on R&B chart-topping albums and Smooth Jazz Airplay charts. Flutist and bandleader Althea Rene is a dynamic, soulful performer with a bend towards contemporary jazz, funk, and instrumental R&B. A Detroit native, Rene is the daughter of trumpeter, saxophonist and longtime original Fun Brother Dezie McCullers. In 2013, Rene released In the Flow which, buoyed by the singles “Sunday Cruise” and “Free,” peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Smooth Jazz chart. In 2018, Rene published the book Becoming Chocolate Barbie: A Guide for Professional Women in the Music Business and, in 2019, she released her eighth studio album, Flawsome. Together, these three jazz stars take the stage at the Buffalo State Performing Arts Center on April 11.