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Oracle Blue to perform at MB Jazz Festival

Oracle Blue, an alt-jazz/pop/R&B band comprising former Coastal Carolina University students, will perform Saturday, Sept. 29, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the third annual Myrtle Beach Jazz Festival on historic Carver Street in Myrtle Beach.

“This band started as the jazz combo at Coastal Carolina University,” said Liz Kelley-Tavernier, Oracle Blue’s producer, vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. “During our time there, we became friends. After we graduated, it was just too much fun to stop making music, so that’s how we got together.” The band also includes trumpeter, composer and arranger Zachery Douglas; bassist McKinley Devilbiss; drummer Wade McMillan; and J.P. Taylor, who plays piano, flute, trumpet and sings. The six members were all music majors at CCU, and their success as a student jazz combo is a testament to how quickly the Department of Music at Coastal Carolina University is growing.

Oracle Blue was officially founded in the winter of 2017. Since they were alumni, the band decided to change its name from CCU Jazz Combo to Oracle Blue. McMillan came up with the new name, and the group agreed on the name change while traveling on their European tour in July 2016, which included performances at jazz festivals in Montreux, Switzerland; Umbria, Italy; and Vienne, France. “Mood Montreux,” a photo-diary feature in the CCU magazine, chronicled the CCU Jazz Combo’s travels during their performances at Europe’s most popular jazz festivals.

During their time at CCU, the six-member group was awarded a DownBeat Magazine student music award for outstanding performance in the blues/pop/rock group category. They have shared the stage with highly acclaimed artists including Victor Wooten, Jeff Coffin from Dave Matthews Band, and Howard Levy from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. In the spring of 2016, the group performed as the house band for a collaborative album with Ron Daise, creator of the Nickelodeon TV series “Gullah Gullah Island.”

Recently, the group entered a competition and won a chance to open for five-time Grammy-winner Lalah Hathaway on her 2018 tour, where they performed in Greensboro and Charlotte N.C. Oracle Blue’s debut album, “Gilded Kingdoms,” was officially released in May, when the band performed their songs at the Waccamaw Getaway Festival.

Oracle Blue has also performed at several local venues including the Conway Riverfest and Brookgreen Gardens, as well as at events in Tennessee, Kentucky, Kansas and Colorado.

Admission to the Myrtle Beach Jazz Festival is free, and children are welcome to attend. The outdoor event will be held on Carver Street in Myrtle Beach. The festival will also include food, art and merchandise vendors, and a wine and beer garden.

For more information about the other performers at this year’s Myrtle Beach Jazz Festival, visit myrtlebeachjazzfest.com.

Learn more about Oracle Blue and listen to the group’s debut album “Gilded Kingdoms,” at oracleblueband.com