Sharon Clark Reprises BLAME IT ON MY YOUTH at the Metropolitan Room, 1/22-2/2

DC's remarkable jazz vocalist Sharón Clark, steps off a musical cliff this month as she brings back her daring new show "Blame it on My Youth" for four nights at the Metropolitan Room from January 22 to February 2. Backed by the Chris Grasso Trio, Clark refilters pop hits from the '60s and '70s through a jazz sensibility. This marks her fourth appearance at the Metropolitan Room, where she is clearly on the brink of something big.

With the inventive collaboration of her music director Chris Grasso on piano, Clark busts open a number of pop, R&B and soul touchstones, from which she releases latent vibrations, colors and meanings. Among her falling idols are the Marvelettes, Herman's Hermits, the Beatles, the Carpenters, James Taylor and Elton John. The Chris Grasso Trio features Tony Jefferson on drums and Neal Miner on bass

A winner of the Billie Holiday Vocal Competition and the American Traditions Competition, Clark appears regularly in DC at Blues Alley, the Smithsonian Jazz Café, and, with Grasso, at the Mandarin Oriental, where Grasso is music director. A soloist with the Richmond Symphony, and the Baltimore Symphony, Clark has headlined the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, the Cape May Jazz Festival and the Savannah Music Festival where she earned the festival's Gold Medal. She tours extensively in Russia, where she has become a major concert draw.

Sharón Clark performs "Blame It on My Youth" on four nights: Tuesday January 22 at 7pm; Wednesday January 30 at 9:30pm; Friday & Saturday February 1 & 2 at 7pm. There is a $15 music charge and a two-drink minimum. For reservations call the Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street (between 5th & 6th Avenues), at 212/206-0440, or to order online visit www.metropolitanroom.com.

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