Renowned Northeast Ohio smooth & soul jazz sensation returns to the Rubber City for a special night in honor of the late R&B and jazz legend, Natalie Cole! Featuring special guest vocalists, Stacy "Sarah's Girl" Crawford & Irene Michelle.
Natalie Cole, the daughter of jazz & pop legend Nat King Cole, Natalie Cole forged a successful career in three phases. She began in the ’70s as a soul-rooted artist, had success in the ’80s with pop-oriented R&B material, and then followed in the footsteps of her father with traditional pop as her foundation from the ’90s through the early 2010s. From 1976 through 2009, she won nine Grammy Awards, including Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female (“This Will Be,” 1976), Album of the Year (Unforgettable: With Love, 1992), and Best Traditional Vocal Pop Album (Still Unforgettable, 2009).
Cole met the writing and producing team of Chuck Jackson and Marvin Yancey in 1973. They helped her land a deal with Capitol, and they had a string of hit albums and singles from 1975 until 1983. Such LPs as Inseparable, Natalie, Thankful, Unpredictable, and I Love You So yielded five #1 R&B hits. She stayed with Capitol until 1983, then switched to Epic for her final album with the Jackson/Yancey tandem. She scored more hits with “Jump Start,” “I Live for Your Love,” and “Over You” in 1987, and “Pink Cadillac,” a cover of a Bruce Springsteen tune, in 1988, as she eased into another stylistic shift of focus.
Cole fully embraced traditional pop with the 1991 LP Unforgettable: With Love, which reached number one on the Billboard album chart, sold over five million copies, and won a handful of Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Best Traditional Pop Performance for the title track — a duet with her father (via his 1961 recording). She continued the trend with Take a Look in 1993, and she toured and did television specials working with a large orchestra conducted by Nelson Riddle. Holly & Ivy (1994) and Stardust (1996) both continued Cole’s exploration of American pop standards.
Hubb’s Groove is a mix of soul, jazz, R&B and a splash of gospel. It’s a smooth yet high energy band that believes what’s played from the heart, reaches the heart. The band was founded in 1996 by Robert Hubbard in Cleveland, Ohio under the name “Moments Notice.” In 2006, Robert changed the name to “Hubb’s Groove”. The band has shared the stage with Kirk Whalum, Jonathan Butler, Earth Wind & Fire, Wayman Tisdale and Pieces of a Dream.
Hubb’s Groove has performed with Angela Bofill, Marcus Johnson, Alex Bugnon, Mike Phillips and Sean Jones to name a few.
When the group is not on tour together, they are working with other artists such as Babyface, Toni Braxton, Gerald Albright and Pieces of a Dream. Join us at BLU as some of Northeast Ohio’s finest contemporary jazz players assemble for a memorable evening of music made famous by the iconic Natalie Cole – tickets will move quickly, so get yours now!