Ashley Pezzotti & the South Florida Jazz Orchestra An Evening to Fall in Love All Over Again

Enjoy a fabulous evening of music featuring fresh new orchestrations by Grammy® award-winning arranger Steven Feifke. Ashley Pezzotti, a rising young jazz star, has performed with renowned artists such as Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Arturo Sandoval, Joey Alexander, Dave Holland, Jon Secada, and country star Keith Urban. The South Florida Jazz Orchestra, led by Dr. Chuck Bergeron, is a modern Big Band comprised of some of the best Jazz musicians, studio musicians, and Jazz educators in the southeast who have performed and toured with many of the greatest artists in Jazz and Popular music.

Ashley Pezzotti is a New York vocalist and composer who discovered her love for music when her Dominican father would sing her classic Spanish songs to sleep. She began taking voice lessons at only 4 years old, and in 2018 she completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music with a full tuition scholarship. In the spring of 2019, Ashley participated in the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program where she gained invaluable mentorship from Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jason Moran, and Marcus Printup. She is also a 2021 alumni of Dee Dee Bridgewater's Woodshed Network program.

At the young age of 26 years old, Ashley has performed with renowned artists such as Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra, Arturo Sandoval, Joey Alexander, Dave Holland, Jon Secada, and country star Keith Urban. She has also performed as a leader at prestigious venues such as Birdland Jazz Club, Dizzy’s Club, Blue Note Jazz Club, The Jazz Showcase, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall, Stockholm Concert Hall, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C.

Her recent encouragingly titled album “We've Only Just Begun” features an array of original compositions inspired by the Great American Songbook. She is accompanied by renowned musicians such as Emmet Cohen on piano, Alex Weitz on tenor sax, Kyle Poole on drums, and Bob Bruya on bass. Ashley is featured on Wynton Marsalis' 2020 album release on Blue Engine Records, The Ever Fonky Lowdown, along with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The album is a sweeping Marsalis suite that captures the artist's insight into culture and society.

The South Florida Jazz Orchestra is a modern Big Band comprised of some of the best Jazz musicians, studio musicians, and Jazz educators in the southeastern part of the United States. The members of The SFJO are some of the most experienced professionals in the country, having performed and toured with many of the greatest artists in Jazz and Popular music. These musicians’ careers include tenure with the Big Bands of Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, and Maynard Ferguson, and artists from Stan Getz, Dave Grusin, and James Moody to Frank Sinatra, Paul Anka, and Joe Williams. Big Band veteran Dr. Chuck Bergeron put this group together as a “labor of love” to provide the South Florida community with an opportunity to hear classic and modern works for large Jazz ensemble and to present concerts featuring a wide variety of musical guests. They have produced concerts featuring many great artists, including Arturo Sandoval, the late Kevin Mahogany, Eddie Daniels, Tom Scott, Wayne Bergeron, and Mark O’Connor. summitrecords/southfloridajazzorchestra.com 

Dr. Chuck Bergeron/Director
Bassist, Chuck Bergeron, is a Professor of Jazz Bass and Program Director for Jazz Pedagogy at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music where he also is the faculty mentor for the Stamps Jazz Quintet. Aside from his teaching duties, Bergeron conducts big bands and small jazz ensembles and is an active clinician at schools throughout the country, and is the host of The Frost Jazz Hour, on WDNA FM.