Past Performances

Friday, March 1st, 2024 at 6:30pm 
Performing at Crooners Supper Club in the Dunsmore Jazz room in collaboration with an incredible Twin Cities Brazilian Jazz group Quarteto Carioca, lead by piano player, Daniel Williams. Come take a trip with us and start off your March with a little love from Brazil. :-)

Paying homage to her influence, with a Brazilian spin, Aja brings another side of Sarah Vaughan to the stage in a first-time collaboration with Quarteto Carioca, singing such songs as Corcovado, Fascinating Rhythm and Triste.


Aja Parham and Quarteto Carioca: Sarah Vaughan in Brazil
Friday, March 1st at 6:30 - 8pm (Dinner and drinks service starts 1 hour before showtimes)

Aja Parham vocals
Daniel Williams piano, vocals
Andrew Gillespie drums
Matt Senjem bass
John Croarkin flute, sax
Sebastiao Apolinario, percussion

Aja Parham has performed with the Minnesota Opera, Skylark Opera, Penumbra Theatre and the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts.

Quarteto Carioca plays a range of songs from the contemporary Brazilian repertoire–samba jazz, Brazilian popular music, and other traditional genres with a contemporary influence.

PAST PERFORMANCES

Love & Youtube Beats, Vol. 3
Sat., Feb 10, 2024, 8:00 - 11:00 PM
905 4th Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55404
$15.00 at the Door

Love and Youtube Beats is a series of shows dedicated to R&B and organic music making in addition to accompaniment from Youtube instrumentals and beats. Featuring a group of amazing Twin Cities singers on an R&B showcase, Love & Youtube Beats Vol. 3, in Minneapolis. If you are in need of a laid back night, or are a lover of old and new school R&B, this is the show for you!

Lori Dokken with Aja Parham
Happy Hour
Mon., Feb 5, 2024, 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
The Woman's Club of Minneapolis
Music Performed: A mixture of Jazz, R&B, and a little nostalgia.

Mahalia’s Christmas
Sun., December 17th, 2023
Grace Apostolic Church

Featuring
Angela Stewart as Mahalia Jackson
Mari Hariss as Bessie Smith
Aja Parham as Sarah Vaughan
Sam Reeves aka St. Mansol on Keys

Lead by Band Director, Sam Reeves

What if Mahalia Jackson invited Sarah Vaughan and Bessie Smith, two women of the world, over to her house for Christmas? A musical holiday!

Aja Parham Sings the Songs of Sarah Vaughan
Crooners Supper Club, The Dunsmore Room
Sunday, September 10th at 7pm 

One of the defining voices of Jazz, Sarah Vaughan performed for almost 50 years, known for her beautiful, rich and expressive voice, most notably her range and unique vibrato. Paying homage to her influence, Aja sings such songs as "Someone To Watch Over Me", "Misty", and "What Is This Thing Called Love?"
Abebi Stafford piano
Nathan Norman drums
Dan Carpel bass
Peter Skjervold sax, flute

THE MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF BREA(D)TH, A COMMISSION BY CARLOS SIMON AND MARC BAMUTHI JOSEPH

Minnesota Orchestra - Breadth

Listen to the music of Breadth

Join Singers in Accord for Sing Out, My Soul! This concert will feature Ralph Vaughan Williams’ sublime Serenade to Music and excerpts from Duke Ellington’s spirited Sacred Concerts. Also featuring singer Aja Parham and jazz trio KG3. Conducted by Shekela Wanyama.

May 6, 2023 - 7:30 PM
May 7, 2023 - 4:00 PM

First Lutheran Church | 1555 40th Avenue NE | Columbia Heights

Lakeshore Players presents “The Women Who Wrote the Songs” an all-new edition of James A. Rocco's Award-Winning Songbook Series on Saturday, April 15, 2023, at 7:30 PM, and Sunday, April 16, 2023, at 2:30 PM.

This edition of The Songbook Live features a collection of intimate and personal performances of songs by some of the greatest female pioneers in music history. These trailblazing women include Dorothy Fields, who wrote over 400 songs during her six-decade career such as I Can't Give You Anything But Love, I'm In The Mood For Love, Pick Yourself Up Dust Yourself Off, On The Sunny Side of the Street, and Big Spender; Joni Mitchell whose hits include Both Sides Now, Big Yellow Taxi; Billie Holiday who is known for her iconic renditions of God Bless the Child and Strange Fruit; Amy Winehouse who wrote classic hits like Rehab and Valerie; Dolly Parton whose songs like Jolene and I Will Always Love You have become timeless classics; and Carole King whose hits include Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow and Natural Woman.

Created and hosted by Broadway veteran and the former producing Artistic Director of The Ordway, James A. Rocco, each edition of the Songbook Series is an extraordinary collection of your favorite songs. From blues to country, folk to Broadway standards, The Women Who Wrote the Songs pays tribute to the women who changed the music industry with their incredible strength and talent.

For a peak at highlights from this and other Songbooks, visit the Songbook YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSJ4u7_GVpvVdcCf1B_mEhQ

Songbook Live! is an outgrowth of the wildly successful Broadway Songbook series, which played for seven years at The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts and venues around the country. Songbook Live! has expanded the concept to include all popular music styles, with live and virtual experiences. The brainchild of Broadway veteran and recording artist James A. Rocco, the Songbook is the Winner of Broadway World's best Streamed Concert of 2021. Past Songbooks have explored the legacies of Stephen Sondheim, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Johnny Mercer, Kander and Ebb, The 1950s, The Singers and Songwriters of the 1970s, Hollywood, The Birth of Rock and Roll, Contemporary Broadway, The California Songbook and many more.