The 1930s Songbook with Maud Hixson and Rick Carlson

Classic Great American Songbook Jazz

This show features stories and songs born in the decade of the 1930s. From Roosevelt’s campaign song “Happy Days Are Here Again” to “Stormy Weather”. You’ll hear the news that made headlines as well as the music Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin and others contributed to the pulse of this era in America.

Maud Hixson: Vocals
Rick Carlson: Piano

Hailed as “gently virtuosic” (All About Jazz), Maud Hixson is a devoted exponent of great songs, ranging from the classic Great American Songbook to the often unsung or forgotten compositions awaiting rediscovery. Based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Maud made her Guthrie Theater debut in the Noel Coward revue Coward’s Women, also appearing in Park Square Theater’s The Soul of Gershwin. Permanent Moonlight: Songs of Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, earned a 2024 Bistro Award. Her newest recording, When Winter Comes, was released in 2025. Rick Carlson has been the pianist for the Wolverines Big Band since 1980. He has performed on concert stages in London and New York City, and has appeared with Count Basie drummer Butch Miles, horn stars Warren Vaché, Delfeayo Marsalis, Evan Christopher and Wycliffe Gordon.

“She gives me that special magic I used to feel when Rosemary Clooney sang. Her vocal style is so warm, intimate and compelling–it’s clear that she cares about the words and telling the story, with clarity and without artifice–practically a lost art these days.” –Michael Feinstein

www.maudhixson.com