Experience Motown to Jazz with internationally renowned bassist and Origin Records recording artist Rodney Whitaker, one of the leading jazz double bass performers and educators in the United States. A Detroit native and longtime Michigan State University faculty member, Whitaker serves as Professor of Jazz Bass and Director of Jazz Studies, where he has helped build one of the country’s premier jazz programs. He is also Artistic Director of the MSU Professors of Jazz and Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Jazz Orchestra. His career includes a seven-year tenure with Wynton Marsalis’ Septet and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, as well as performances and recordings with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Roy Hargrove, Pat Metheny, Diana Krall, Chick Corea, Kenny Garrett, Branford Marsalis, Cassandra Wilson, Dianne Reeves, and countless others.

With more than 100 recordings to his credit across jazz, film, and television, Whitaker has toured extensively throughout the United States and internationally, appearing at major venues, festivals, and jazz education institutions around the world. A dedicated educator as well as a celebrated performer, he has presented master classes at institutions including Lincoln Center, Duke University, the University of Michigan, Howard University, the New School, and the Barbican in London. His work has earned numerous honors, including a Juno Award nomination and an Emmy nomination for Original Music. Now based in East Lansing, Whitaker continues to shape the next generation of jazz musicians while bringing decades of experience, deep Detroit roots, and world-class musicianship to every performance.

General Admission; $15 / Door; $20 / Students; $10

Doors open at 6PM, Show starts at 7PM.