We're Still Standing! Reimagining the Music of Elton John and Billy Joel
Doors Open: 6:00 PM
Craft cocktails and small plates begin at 6:00 pm.
Middle C Jazz has General Admission seating available on a first-come basis. We also offer preferred seating for our Baby Grand members.
Mention pop piano players and the discussion will quickly move to Elton John and Billy Joel. The two iconic piano men helped define the 70’s and 80’s. Masters of some of the most indelible melodies in pop music history, Elton John and Billy Joel easily helped write the cultural soundtrack for more than two decades.
Middle C Jazz is celebrating our two-year anniversary, and we have tons of surprises in store for our big event! In November 2019, Middle C Jazz opened its doors to establish itself as one of the premier jazz venues on the Eastern seaboard. Our Thanks to Larry Farber, Adam Farber, and our investors for creating Charlotte’s new home of Cool! Thank you all for two years of incredible live music, and we look forward to many, many more!
Noel Freidline and Maria Howell played the grand opening of Middle C two years ago. They return for the Middle C anniversary with “We’re Still Standing: A Jazz Celebration of Elton John and Billy Joel. Joined by his masterful quartet and chanteuse extraordinaire Maria Howell, Noel and Maria will weave in an out of reinterpretations of such classics as “New York State of Mind” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Only the Good Die Young” and “Rocket Man” and many more.
NOEL FREIDLINE
Pianist, vocalist, writer, arranger and educator, doesn’t come close to all things Noel Freidline! As a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of North Florida, with a BA in Music, Noel has been the bandleader of The Noel Freidline Quintet for over 26 years. He has numerous recordings to his credit, and has performed at jazz festivals from the Jacksonville Jazz Festival (FL)…to the Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland)…not to mention, a 3-year stint at the world famous Bellagio in Las Vegas, as the house band, leading his NFQ, where he performed for actress Julia Robert’s surprise 35th birthday party.
MARIA HOWELL
For over 35 years, this petite NC native, who splits her time between both the east coast and the west coast, has developed her career as a singer, actor, and voiceover artist. Her debut acting role was the choir soloist in the Oscar Nominated film, “The Color Purple”. She has gone on to appear in hit TV shows as Lifetime’s “Army Wives”, NBC’s “Revolution”, and CBS’s “Criminal Minds”. Feature films…“The Blind Side”, “Hidden Figures”, and “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”. As a song stylist, Maria has shared the musical stage with legendary artists as, Nancy Wilson, George Benson, Ray Charles, Earl Klugh, brothers Ronnie and Hubert Laws, and veteran actor/singer, Keith David.