Three local nonprofit organizations — the Team Bexley Pelotonia peloton, the Bexley Public Library and Central Community House — will benefit from a performance by award-winning jazz trio Unison.
The event, “Unison in Bexley,” will feature a live performance by the New York City-based group at 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, at Capital University’s Huntington Recital Hall, 1 College and Main. Pianist/composer Andy Milne of Unison will also give a talk at noon Friday, Aug. 2, at the Bexley Public Library, 2411 E. Main St. The group will perform a mini-show at 5 p.m. Friday at Cafe Istanbul of Bexley, 2455 E. Main St.
In addition to Milne, the group features bassist John Hebert and drummer Clarence Penn. Milne said the upcoming performances will be his band’s first in Columbus.
Speaking at performing at the three local venues “will present the different facets of my work,” Milne said.
Milne said he agreed to sign on for the benefit concert when Bexley businessman and community activist Bruce Halliburton, a longtime friend, proposed the idea earlier this year. As a cancer survivor, Milne said, he supports Pelotonia’s mission of funding medical research at Ohio State University’s James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.
“My father was a doctor,” he said. “He always had the lessons of charity. It was kind of built into our household.”
Milne’s library talk offers patrons the opportunity to interact with a musician who has received international acclaim, said Ken Flower, the library’s director of advancement and community relations.
“You can bring your lunch and hear some of Andy’s story,” Flower said. “We’re hoping musicians, aspiring musicians will come and hear him.”
The library talk and the mini-show at Cafe Istanbul will be a preview of Unison’s full show at Capital, according to Jason Wood and Charles Hairston of Columbus-based Nuge Media, which is coordinating the music group’s appearances.
“When it comes to taking questions, he’s very open,” Wood said of Milne. “It’s always fun to hear him to talk to audiences.”
Capital, the library and Cafe Istanbul are ideal venues to host Unison because “Bexley is a community-centered place,” Hairston said.
For more information, visit unisoninbexley.com.