8:00pm • $10 Cover

Rick Whitehead Jazz Trio

Rick Whitehead • John Previti • Nick Ruggieri

Special Guest: Jean-Michel Bernard

French pianist and composer Jean-Michel Bernard brings a distinctive blend of jazz, classical virtuosity, and cinematic storytelling to the stage. His music crosses genres with ease, combining the spontaneity of improvisation with the expressive sweep of film scores.

A former member of Ray Charles’s quartet, Bernard has collaborated with legendary composers Lalo Schifrin and Ennio Morricone. His own work for the screen includes the scores for Michel Gondry’s The Science of Sleep and Be Kind Rewind, reflecting a musical imagination equally at home in the concert hall and on film.

At the piano, Bernard brings these worlds together through inventive arrangements, original compositions, and fresh interpretations of familiar movie themes. His performances invite audiences to rediscover the emotional power of film music through the intimacy and limitless possibilities of the piano.

Led by acclaimed guitarist Rick Whitehead, this powerhouse jazz trio features John Previti on bass and Nick Ruggieri on drums — three master musicians with deep roots in the Washington, D.C. jazz community. Formed in 1994, shortly after the passing of legendary guitarist Danny Gatton, the trio quickly earned a reputation for their tight interplay and virtuosic performances. They’ve appeared at premier venues including Blues Alley, Bohemian Caverns, the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, and the Smithsonian Jazz Club.

Their first album, Live in Captivity, won the 1998 Washington Area Music Association (WAMA) Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album, followed by Live in Captivity, Again (2001) and So There We Were… (2006). Each member brings decades of experience: Whitehead’s lyrical guitar phrasing, Previti’s swinging power from years with Gatton and Charlie Byrd, and Ruggieri’s Berklee-honed rhythmic precision create a dynamic trio celebrated for both technical mastery and emotional depth.