By Gregory Burrus | Posted Sunday, February 2, 2020
A huge highlight of the 2019 South Orange Downtown After Sundown live music season was the addition of many more live music jam sessions. These sessions enabled more musicians and patrons to participate in our events. Here we look back at the bands that performed at some very successful performances during the 2019 season. Flashing back:
R and B Jamming with the MPACK Band
The first jam In May 2019 we had the Clarence Conover R&B band jamming and conducting an Open Mic. It was swinging as MPack brought an explosive energy to the stage and they rocked the park all night long!
Gene Ghee and Friends Jazz Jam
On a rainy day in May ourDowntown After Sundown Jazz On Sloan program presented a Gene Ghee Jazz Jam. Gene Ghee plays saxophone, flute, clarinet and is a long-time performer and educator. He graduated from NYU with a music education undergrad degree from the Manhattan School of Music with an MA for music performance and from Columbia University Teachers College with a Master of Education degree.
Gene Ghee is a highly in-demand saxophonist and has performed with loads of professionals such as Monguito Santamaria, Art Blakey Jr., Brother Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff, Teddy Pendergrass, Anita Baker, B.T.Express, Arthur Prysock, Little Anthony and The Imperials. Add to that Etta Jones, Bernard “Pretty” Purdie, Benny Powell, Eddie Palmieri, Machito, and Barry Harris bplus the list goes on. He's a performer on recordings of Stevie Wonder (Do I Do), played tenor saxophone and contracted the horn section for the session which included Frank Wess, Virgil Jones, Ron Tooley, Britt Woodman, Clifton Anderson, Victor Paz and others. Other cool recordings / performances with the likes of Evelyn “Champagne” King, The Village People, Candi Staton and T.S.Monk plus many many more national and international performers. A high caliber jazz musician like Gene Ghee is definitely on the list for a return performance in 2020.
Andy Lackow Outdoor Blues Jam
One of our very popular weekends was when Blues Man Andy Lackow ran our First 2019 Outdoor Blues Jam at Spiotta Park. It was truly a blast!!!
Andy Lackow & Mess Around band is based in Northern New Jersey. While predominantly a blues band they play an eclectic mix that also includes blues-rock, roots-rock, soul, funk, New Orleans R&B and a little country as well.
Andy Lackow & Mess Around features Andy Lackow on guitar & vocals, Curtis Fowlkes on bass and Jim Hart on drums as a trio and as a quartet. This was a great day, the weather was beautiful and lots of jammers came out and jammed with Andy to the delight of all the Downtown After Sundown attendees.
Al Gold Blues Jam in Spiotta Park
Unfortunately rain canceled our Blues Jam in June that was to be conducted by Al Gold.
Pianist James Austin, Jr. leads the NJPAC Jazz Jam for Jazz On Sloan Program
This NJPAC Free Live Concert was held in the Heart of South Orange Village when New Jersey Performing Arts Center – NJPAC in partnership with “South Orange Village Center Alliance” presented a night of Jazz jamming led by Bandleader and pianist James Austin, Jr.
James Austin Jr has led the Rutgers, NJPAC Clements Place Jazz Jam in Newark for at least 5 years. For at least 4 years at the wildly popular Clements Place Jazz sessions, Austin leads a number of jazz quartets composed of New Jersey musicians, performers affiliated with Wells Fargo Jazz for Teens and also the James Moody Jazz Orchestra which is the acclaimed jazz program of NJPAC’s Department of Arts Education.
We were happy to have this ongoing very popular series hosted by New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Department of Community Engagement. This series of performances featured some of New Jersey’s finest jazz musicians.. The sessions are a major hit with most jazz listeners as well as musicians and definitely enhances NJPAC’s role as the state’s principal, year-round presenter of jazz. We are very happy to have them extend their reach into the South Orange, NJ community.
Carrie Jackson Jazz Jam
Jazz On Sloan Presented one awesome season ending Carrie Jackson Jazz Jam in Sept to close the 2019 Downtown After Sundown season.
Carrie Jackson Jazz Jam and Open Mic at the South Orange Gazebo. Carrie is considered one of the most consistently interesting singers in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area and is one of the top Jazz artists around today performing classical performances of Jazz favorites, soulful sultry Pop, Blues and poignant mellow Gospel. She combines Jazz originals, standards, Pop/Blues tunes and open improvisation in an adventurous, genre-bending style that’s inspirational and original. With a focus on keeping the music alive we are working towards bringing Carrie back in 2020.
A big thank you to all of our 2019 Jam Leaders above and their bands. A big thank you goes out to our wonderful first time supporters like New Jersey Performing Arts Community Engagement - NJPAC, New Jersey Jazz Society- NJJS.org and Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies.
Finally, as you can imagine the goal of this upcoming 2020 live music season season is to bring back as many jam sessions as possible because Downtown After Sundown is is looking forward to jamming once again in 2020 all Around South Orange, NJ.
Gregory Burrus, Live Music Ambassador
Gregory Burrus with South Orange Trustee Bob Zuckerman and former Executive Director of SOVCA.
Downtown After Sundown is a program sponsored by the South Orange Village Center Alliance and the Town of South Orange. https://www.sovillagecenter.org/pub/event/story/2382/
Gregory Burrus curates and manages the South Orange Village Center Alliance's Downtown After Sundown Live Music Concerts. This SOMA resident arrived in South Orange, 23-year ago and just loves South Orange, NJ. Gregory enjoys all music genres but his first love jazz began as a boy when his mother and father played jazz on the good old record player at home and took him to clubs all over Manhattan. Greg was an executive in the telecommunications industry and has consulted on telecom, technology and operational business processes systems all over the world. Now he is putting his expertise, gain from his former business environment to work producing music, art and community events across South Orange, Maplewood, Newark and other towns around Northern New Jersey and New York.
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