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On Saturday night, September 24th, Maplewood, NJ was treated to an incredible performance by one of the most sought-after musicians in all of jazz. Thanks to Smooth Jazz NJ run by Maplewood resident Rich Engel, The Woodland in Maplewood hosted a…
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By Gregory Burrus | Posted Friday, June 17, 2022
There was a lot of anticipation for the upcoming installment of Rich Engel’s Smooth Jazz New Jersey live music event at The Woodland. Having had 5 prior extremely successful, packed house / sold-out events, bringing in these three Contemporary Jazz, Funk, and Soul stars meant an awesome performance ahead.
In addition to the normal promotional stream, this event was also promoted by the widely known radio host Pat Prescott. Pat was here for 23 years on New York radio. He worked at WRVR, WBLS, WLIB, The National Black News Network. and contemporary jazz station CD 101.9. In 2001, Pat moved to Los Angeles to co-host the morning show at 94.7 The WAVE with saxophonist Dave Koz, then singer Brian McKnight, and currently Pat is the solo host of the morning show on The WAVE and she is also the producer and host of Making Waves. Pat was also chosen as R&R's smooth jazz personality of the year for six consecutive years and in 2015, she received the prestigious Genii award from the Alliance of Women in Media. So, lots of attention was on this event.
The lights dimmed and the spotlight was on twenty-something Julia Engel who introduced herself as “part of the Smooth Jazz New Jersey family.” She gave a thoughtful description of the good works of JESPY House, the non-profit represented at the concert that supports adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Julia introduced the former New York CD101.9 radio air alumnus and morning show host and tonight's Guest Master of Ceremony, Steve Harris.
Steve reminisced a bit about playing the night's Smooth Jazz performers’ tunes repeatedly in the past on the station. It was a reflective and wonderful moment to enjoy as Steve was greeted by the sold-out audience delivering a continuous and very lively amount of applause. He then brought Jazz Funk Soul on stage, and they were greeted with thunderous applause.
The applause was warranted because Jazz Funk Soul consisted of six-time Grammy nominee and keyboard extraordinaire Jeff Lorber. Jeff scored his first Grammy win in 2018, for best Contemporary instrumental album for his recording of “Prototype”.
Band member, the funk man, saxophonist Everette Harp, his album Jazz Funk Soul, a collaboration with Chuck Loeb and Jeff Lorber, received its first nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. In addition, he has jammed with President Clinton and has performed with Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Chaka Khan, and Dianne Reeves, amongst others.
Now, round out this super group with soulman and Grammy nominee, the awesome guitarist Paul Jackson Jr. Paul is the guitarist on three Grammy-winning albums including Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Paul has either played, composed, or collaborated with musical legends such as Elton John, Whitney Houston, Pattie Labelle, George Benson, Al Jarreau, George Duke, and David Benoit.
Once introduced, the Jazz Funk Soul group came out hot!! Working in concert with each other, Jeff Lorber, Paul Jackson Jr., and Everette Harp performed some absolutely outstanding solos. And, having just left the Jacksonville Jazz Festival where I experienced Mr. Funk, Everette Harp absolutely wowed the fans. It was clear he was absolutely on fire again this evening. After some extremely intense solo performances, the crowd immediately reacted with loud and rousing applause.
This powerful vibe enforced the audience's expectations for the entire night, as Jeff Lorber delivered some energetic and lively piano tunes, while Paul Jackson Jr. added to the audience enjoyment by delivering some extremely intense guitar renditions of popular tunes. The audience reaction was positive, loud, and resulted in numerous standing ovations over and over throughout the night's performance.
This was once again another spectacular performance produced by Rich Engel of Smooth Jazz NJ and the Maplewood Division of Arts & Culture. This event clearly demonstrated that The Woodland has become the go-to venue for Contemporary Jazz with another presentation of world-class musicians delivering energetic live music performances.
Producer Rich Engel also noted the following Smooth Jazz NJ events at The Woodland will return with the following amazing performances:
Sept 24, 2022 will feature singer, songwriter, musician, 4x Grammy nominee, Jazz Walk of Fame inductee and Platinum-selling artist, Oleta Adams. As Oprah Winfrey said, “The voice that brought me out of the shower.” You know her from her 1990 debut album Circle of One which went Platinum, and the impassioned hit single "Get Here" became an unofficial anthem of the 1991 Gulf War. She has performed on worldwide tours with Tears for Fears, Phil Collins, Michael Bolton, and Luther Vandross, and has sold more than two and a half million records.
Oct 8, 2022 - The unstoppable force in the smooth jazz genre, saxophonists Kim Waters comes to The Woodland. Jazz Times Magazine called Waters, “simply one of the planet’s best saxophonists." This suave, debonair and commanding saxophonist’s ability to transcend the musical boundaries of Jazz, Pop, and R&B have made him one of the most sought-after musicians in Contemporary Jazz.
Save the dates Sept 24th and Oct 8th because you don't want to miss these events.
Gregory Burrus is a local live music producer, promoter, event planner, and community partner. He combines his extensive corporate business and technology expertise with his love of live music and being a strong community advocate.
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By Gregory Burrus | Posted Tuesday, April 26, 2022
On Saturday, April 23rd the Vibe in the air was nothing less than very exciting for Rich Engel’s Smooth Jazz New Jersey event, as all of us were expecting an event that was at least as great as prior Smooth Jazz performances.
The Woodland, 60 Woodland Road, Maplewood, NJ
Well, this production of Smooth Vocals Funk and Jazz was absolutely amazing as folks came out and every seat in this beautiful Georgian Revival-style mansion called The Woodland was sold out.
The opening event was hot right out the gate. The first performance featured classical flautist-turned-Jazz-flutist Alexander Zonjic. Zonjic is a 15-time Detroit Music Awards winner with deep and multi-faceted ties to the city of Detroit. This “flute guy from Canada” is also a DJ and is the owner of a veritable cottage industry as the artistic director and producer of more than 10 annual festival events in the region and philanthropist under the umbrella of his Hi-Falutin Music. His performance was impeccable.
Alexander Zonjic Band
Alexander brought with him a swinging band that provided the funk big time, consisting of the widely renowned and incredible pianist James Lloyd, co-founder and member of the famed Pieces of a Dream, Kris Kurzawa on guitar, who has become one of the Detroit area’s most in-demand guitarists since the early 2000’s, drummer Jeff Canady whose captivating performance was creating more fans all night with each drumbeat, and Detroit bassist Mike Harrington who has toured with Brian Culberson, The Spinners, KEM, Jeff Lorber, Kirk Whalum, Angela Bofill, etc., and tonight they introduced Electric Violinist Phenomenon Evan Garr who currently tours with Stanley Clarke and Jean Luc Ponty.
Doing the Detroit Sway with the Alexander Zonjic Band.
The Woodland was alive and swaying for sure as folks were singing, dancing and doing the Detroit Sway. Comments from a few attendees noted Alexander's great stage presence and what a great bandleader he was. Together, it was one exciting moving performance and they laid it all out on the stage. The band started swinging hard and he immediately drew everyone in and, of course, he had folks up and dancing the Detroit Shuffle in the front, on the sides and in the back.
Vocalist Maysa Leak
Next up was Maysa Leak, who according to her bio “is the kind of singer who takes hold of a song and enraptures her audience in the palm of her hands, as she delivers lyrics, phrases, melodies and harmonies in a way that only she can." Blessed with an instantly identifiable honey-toned mezzo-soprano and an undeniably brilliant and magnetic stage presence, Maysa’s alluring vocals, candor, honesty, humor and purity as an artist make her a rarity in this business” (maysa.com)
Well, this Baltimore native is the recipient of many awards for her work, including Soul Train’s first Centric Award in 2009, and her first Grammy nomination for Best Traditional R&B Performance and has previously collaborated with everyone from Stevie Wonder to Incognito, Angela Bofill, Will Downing and Jonathan Butler, Phil Perry and more. Maysa was a former “Incognito” lead vocalist, a Grammy Nominee, ranks #2 on the UK R&B charts and tonight the awesome band she performed with at The Woodland included Angela Phillips — assistant vocals, Damon Bennett — music director/ keys, Charles Baldwin — bass, Tim Hudson — drums, and Richard Tucker — guitar.
Maysa Leak performs at Smooth Jazz Live event at The Woodland, Maplewood, NJ.
Clearly, Maysa and her band came to deliver as she continued the heat, laid down by the opening act, and quickly got folks into the mood. The crowd was hooked from the first song to the last. Throughout the night, as mentioned, earlier her honesty and humor was evident as she wrapped into her musical selections stories about her son, Jazz, her travels as an artist, and life in general. She sang a host of her originals from recently released albums along with a number of widely popular songs taking us way back in time. The medley of ’70s ’80s hits went over big time as folks swayed in their seats, started singing along, and next thing you know the place came alive as people jumped up and started singing and dancing and enjoying the beat. The night was on fire all night long as people truly enjoyed her performance.
As I wandered around the event in my Arts and Entertainment reporter role, I encountered folks excitedly talking about the night, and one person said to me “Maysa put on a vocal show extraordinaire as she covered smooth jazz, R&B and funk so easily and effortlessly.” Another patron told me he traveled 3 and half hours just for this show because “Maysa is absolutely phenomenal and was happy to drive back to Boston tonight as Maysa did not disappoint at all.” Closer to home, a local resident that I invited said “Wow, this is great to have this fantastic quality of music so close to home. I will be back.” Well, this is nice to know because in communicating with Maysa after the show Maysa said, "I loved performing in such a quaint, classy, beautiful town. I really would love to live in Maplewood. The audience was just fantastic, and I hope to come back soon!" Who knows, hopefully she does come back soon.
Talk about putting a town on the map. Continued sold-out standing-room-only Smooth Jazz live music performances like this at The Woodland Mansion in Maplewood, NJ is definitely the way to do it. The Woodland has this very serene environment with great parking that makes it an excellent place to listen to music of any type with family, friends, and those who want to enjoy the community. Overall, it was clear almost 50 percent of the audience was not from local towns, as folks came in from Long Island, South Jersey, Philly, and even Detroit.
Gregory Burrus with Maplewood Mayor Dean Dafis.
And it was of course very appropriate to see the newly elected Mayor Dean Dafis tell the audience, you don’t just go home when the show is over but instead walk around the corner, stop in town and enjoy drinks and dinner at a local restaurant and have a great time. Having had some experience with live music events, I can tell you these events will clearly go a long way into turning Maplewood/South Orange into a Live Music Destination.
Gregory Burrus is a local live music ambassador, producer, promoter, event planner, and community partner. He combines his extensive corporate business and technology expertise with his love of live music and being a strong community advocate.
I love writing about it all. My mission is to help community groups, live music bands, and local nonprofits, reach their goals and accomplish their missions while enjoying the day-to-day process of life.
https://gregoryburrusproductions.com/events/
By Gregory Burrus | Posted Wednesday, December 22, 2021
Once again Smooth Jazz History is being made in the very beautiful, very spacious, historic Georgian Revival-style mansion called The Woodland in Maplewood, NJ. Rich Engel, our local New Jersey resident, producer and promoter who for decades has produced numerous NYC Smooth Jazz Cruises along with many other marquee live music concerts is determined to make contemporary jazz a mainstay in our SOMA (South Orange-Maplewood) and beyond entertainment environment.
Rich brought two of the gold standards in contemporary jazz, Marion Meadows and Alex Bugnon to town. Rich is re-establishing a past custom of one of the former #1 Contemporary Jazz stations in the country, the long-running New York CD 101.9 radio station. Co-hosting the show was former CD 101.9 radio personality Steve Harris along with Maplewood, NJ, Mayor Frank McGehee who introduced the opening set led by our own local rising star violinist, Jacquie Lee.
Steve Harris - CD 101.9 - JESPY House Logo - Mayor Frank McGehee
Rich Engel is also committed to supporting our towns and local live music musicians. In addition to stellar performances, patrons also were able to enjoy an open wine bar in support of the South Orange-based nonprofit JESPY House, which supports adults with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities. It was nice to know that 90% of the open bar purchase price went directly to JESPY to support their amazing work.
Marion Meadows and Alex Bugnon Band on Stage
Steve Harris from CD 101.9 introduced a full house to the main event performers, worldwide stars Marion Meadows and Alex Bugnon.
Marion Meadows started playing tenor sax in high school, and then migrated to soprano sax. After studying jazz at Rippowam High School in Stamford, Conn, with Anthony Truglia, Meadows attended Berklee College of Music. There he majored in arranging and composition. He later went to the SUNY Purchase School for the Arts. He earned his break while playing his horn in Grand Central Station. His sound caught the ear of composer Jay Chattaway who signed Meadows to his record label and introduced him to jazz great, Bob James. Meadows went on to perform with Eartha Kitt, Brook Benton and the Temptations before launching his solo career in 1990. (Read more at www.marionmeadows.com.)
Alex Bugnon has been a prolific, energetic force on the contemporary music scene for almost three decades. A renowned musician, composer and bandleader, Bugnon hails from the picturesque town of Caux, Switzerland – four miles above Montreux, site of the world famous Montreux Jazz Festival. No doubt, the annual convergence in his hometown of some of music’s most illustrious names played a role in his decision to pursue a musical career. An early friendship with Herbie Hancock plus a legendary uncle Donald Byrd only served to further his decision. Shortly after moving to New York City, Bugnon began touring with almost every R&B artist, such as Melba Moore, Freddie Jackson, Patti Austin, James Ingram and Glenn Jones to name a few. (Read more at www.alexbugnon.com)
Clearly everyone in the band is a long-standing professional and their performance matched their history. These veteran band members with a super history consisted of Carl Carter on bass, and he has performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Phil Perry, Clark Terry and Ivan Neville. Poogie Bell was on drums, and he has worked with Roberta Flack, David Bowie, and David Sanborn, and Rohn Lawrence on guitar, who has played with Najee, Freddie Jackson, Diane Reeves and Jonathan Butler.
Backstage with Marion Meadows and Alex Bugnon Band
Besides playing a series of their originals and some holiday standards, they performed a number of popular hits from their previous albums which the audience remembered and immediately became excited. From standing in the back of The Woodland it was easy to see folks rocking and swaying to the music on every single tune that was played.
Guitarist Rohn Lawrence with Saxophonist Marion Meadows
In addition, guitarist Rohn Lawrence performed some out of this world guitar solos and became another crowd favorite. As the music cascaded across the audience, Marion introduced one tune by saying “you will recognize this one” and within a few beats, the audience was ecstatic as he performed a beautiful rendition of one of my favorite tunes “Suede”. It was extremely upbeat and off the chain. Later, another tune that Alex Bugnon introduced was his favorite interpretation of a George Benson Songm “The World is a Ghetto”. It took no time before the audience was raising hands, clapping and singing along, and the band just rocked the house.
Audience Loves Marion Meadows and Alex Bugnon Performance
It was like this all night as they performed song after song. The audience joined in humming, singing and clapping, giving standing ovations in appreciation of a fabulous live music performance that definitely delivered. As stated, the event was titled “Marion Meadows and Alex Bugnon Together for ‘Holidays at the Woodland’”. Well-based on the audience response all night, that was a low key introduction to what turned out to be a truly explosive performance by two great contemporary jazz artists that folks will remember for a long time to come. Marion Meadows and Alex Bugnon, as the old song goes, “blew the roof off” the Woodland Auditorium.
Jacqueline Lee Quartet enjoys the night with Mayor Frank McGehee.
For this event, we had another awesome and fabulous opening set led by bandleader and local Montclair resident violinist, 16-year-old Jacqueline Lee. While young in years, she is not young in experience. Jacquie has been a member of Jazz House Kids and has a professional family of musicians surrounding her. They all thrive very well in the Greater New York, New Jersey and beyond live music scene.
Also note, that Jacqueline had been playing Violin for 11 years and received the Jazz Soloist Downbeat Student Music Award for an Outstanding Performance. Jacqueline has performed at the Jazz Standard and Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola at Lincoln Center in NYC and, recently, for my Jazz973 program at Newark NJ's Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies, Clements Place Jazz venue. Still the proof is in the moment. Jacquie said to me that “I’m comfortable with performing the music, but I am more concerned with making sure my speaking pieces are correct.”
Jacqueline Lee Band On Stage
Well, let the music play because Jacqueline did not disappoint at all. Her quartet included a number of local favorites, Seniar Raines on bass, Derick Campos on guitar, and Zack Perez on drums. She led her band through a number of standards: “Red Jumps” by Stuff Smith, “Cherokee” by Ray Noble and my favorite, “Invitation” by Bronislau Kaper Strasbourg/St. Denis - Roy Hargrove. All band and tune introductions were excellent, the tunes were performed eloquently, tight, and the band was totally in sync.
Videos courtesy of Rebecca Harris-Lee
Jacquie Lee stated afterwards: “It was a lovely experience to play with a band that I've become very comfortable with. This was the first time we’ve gotten to play a performance of this caliber and having such an enthusiastic and engaged audience made the whole experience so enjoyable. It’s been amazing but quite honestly very nerve wracking to start playing for real-life people again, but I don't think that was reflected too much in our music and our energy that night was better than ever!”
The band and audience clearly enjoyed their performance and big kudos go out to Jacqueline Lee for leading an absolutely wonderful performance.
You can enjoy more clips and videos at the links below :
Enjoying the Night. Top-left Roxanne Burrus, Top-right Gregory Burus, Roxanne Burrus, DJ Roc, Patricia Harrison and Virgil Harrison, Bottom-left Al Clarke, Bottom-right Gregory Burrus, Mike Lee
After the event, there was a meet and greet area on the 2nd floor. Here you were able to meet with other friends and neighbors in attendance and enjoy the JESPY open bar. The artists showed up, chatted with audience members, and we purchased their CDs and event merchandise. All of us had a great time.
Gregory Burrus with Alex Bugnon and Marion Meadows
Writer Gregory Burrus is a local live music ambassador, event planner, and community partner that curates, manages and promotes live music events in the SOMA (South Orange-Maplewood) community and Northern NJ and New York Area. Read more about Gregory Burrus at www.jerseyindie.com/gregory-burrus.
A very special event took place in a historic, very beautiful and very spacious 1930 Georgian Revival-style mansion with an adjoining auditorium known now as The Woodland. It was completed in 1930 as an elegant home for the Maplewood Woman’s Club and has served as a hub for Maplewood Township's cultural and civic life for over eight decades.
The Woodland was designated a local historic landmark in 2014 and this architectural jewel houses two unique spaces — The Parlor and The Great Hall. These venues are used frequently for public events. Tonight, the Woodland was beautifully decked out for this very important live music performance.
On October 22, a unique and powerful set of live music performances added to The Woodland’s wonderful historical legacy. Four-time World Series Champion and five-time All Star New York Yankee Baseball legend Bernie Williams was coming to Maplewood-South Orange, NJ.
The excitement was in the air as Bernie Williams, the former Yankee Baseball player, now a guitar virtuoso/Latin Grammy Nominee, was coming to perform in the Great Hall at the Woodland. Teamed up with long-time friend and fellow musician, guitarist, Grammy Nominee and bandleader Gil Parris, the expectations were high and you could feel the music in the air.
Rich Engel is a New Jersey resident who has for decades been involved with Smooth Jazz in NY and “Smooth Cruises.'' For us local folks, Rich was the Owner of Live At Nite Sound, Producer of Smooth Cruise N.Y.C., created the Angela Bofill Experience stage show, and produced this event. He produced and released Angela Bofill "Live From Manila" CD on the independent Black Angel label. Also, he produced the German release Saundra Records "Bigfoot " featuring our local musicians Bassist John Lee and Drummer Jerry Brown along with Danny Toan. The night’s programming became my favorite theme of jazz across the generations with a fabulous opening act by local up and coming jazz group The Baker Street Trio.
This was a genius move, as the Baker Street Trio consists of 3 young teenagers ages 14, 15 and 16. They began playing together through Montclair's Jazz House Kids.
“The trio was formed in the Fall of 2020 out of these young musicians' love for jazz and the need to be able to play together -- safely, outdoors. They played a standing gig through the Fall and Winter of 2020 on a street corner on Baker Street in Maplewood Village, and in doing so during these tough times entertained and brought the joy of jazz to countless appreciative audiences.” - Lisa Mainardi
The Baker Street Trio with Bassist Ben Ruebens filling in at Jazz On Sloan, South Orange, NJ
I encountered the group during various events this year like the Maplewood Porchfest, the 24 Hours Of Music Jamboree, and the Baker Street Trio has also performed for me in South Orange. See Baker Street Trio Debuts in Summer Saturdays at Jazz On Sloan St.
My comments upon hearing them: “Baker Street Trio—3 teenagers (14, 15, and 17) will be making a serious mark on Jazz for a long time. These young cats were killing it... After listening to them perform a number of tunes — if you closed your eyes, you would've thought they had way more experience than their actual ages combined. These young folks were swinging hard. I highly recommend all jazz fans should check them out whenever, wherever you can."
Hence, I for one was very happy to see these young dedicated jazz musicians opening for the Bernie Williams-Gil Parris Quartet.
Introduced by the guest MC, Maplewood Mayor Frank McGehee, The Baker Street Trio, Ben Collins-Siegal, Ben Schwartz and Ryoma Takenaga, came out strong and performed a thunderous tune “The End of a Love Affair” by Edward Redding. It was fast moving and grabbed the audience by the ears as it was a perfect engaging opening song that said there is nothing timid or young about us, we are here to play!
For a jazz lover, their next two tunes were a tribute to multiple Grammy winner Roy Hargrove and it was a perfect tribute. Roy was born Oct 16, 1969 and passed Nov 18, 2018 and will be loved and remembered by the Jazz community forever. Joining in this tribute was the very talented teenage trumpeter Ace Williams, son of a Maplewood resident, the award winning performer/composer Jazz tenor Saxophonist Willie Williams. They performed Roy’s tunes “Top of My Head” and “Strasbourg/St. Denis.” The tunes were played to perfection and the audience expressed their approval with long, loud cheering and clapping.
Next up were the event headlinders, the Bernie Williams-Gil Parris Quartet, a true super group with the legendary “World’s Most Dangerous Bassist” Will Lee and the multitalented drummer and vocalist Josh Dion.
Bernie Williams is a classically trained guitarist who plays and composes music with influences that include jazz, classical, pop, Brazilian, and Latin sounds. Bernie stated that he “became this musician in great part due training and mentorship of Gil Parris who let [him] sit in on jams all over town for the past 17 years.”
Gil is an American Grammy-nominated rock, blues, jazz and pop guitarist. After briefly attending the Berklee School of Music because, as his Mother said in this New York Times article, “Mrs. Parris conceded she was '‘a little worried'‘ when her son returned home with photocopies of lecture notes and said he would ‘sit in his room’ and teach himself the school's jazz guitar curriculum.''
Parris then left to tour Europe as part of a musical troupe performing Jesus Christ Superstar before becoming a recording artist. Parris has released six solo albums and played collaboratively with over 20 other groups/artists. He has recorded and toured both as a solo artist and as a sideman with major artists including Dr. John, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Diane Schuur, David Mann, Billy Vera, Bobby Caldwell, Toni Braxton, Sonny Fortune and Kenny Barron, to name a few.
I was going to say “who’s Will Lee”, then my research showed that I heard Lee many times before. Trumpeter Randy Brecker called Lee out of a class one day and invited him to audition for Dreams. In New York, Lee's career as a session musician flourished, and he toured with many artists. In 1982, Lee became one of the original members of The World's Most Dangerous Band, the house band on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman. He holds the distinction of playing with Paul Shaffer, on both Late Night and The Late Show, longer than any other member of the CBS Orchestra. Highlights also include getting a lifetime achievement award from Bass Player magazine, playing with many luminaries such as all The Beatles -- George Harrison at Royal Albert Hall, Paul McCartney at The Concert For NYC, D’Angelo, Chaka Khan, Phoebe Snow, James Brown and more.
Josh Dion was born at the tail end of the disco funk era, when popular radio bore the sounds of Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, and “four on the floor” drum beats! Raised in Storrs, CT, Josh started playing his father's drums before he even started kindergarten. Dion is a singing drummer who made his first impression in New York in February 2004 at Blue Note. Josh was noticed by jazz guitarist Chuck Loeb, who offered him an opportunity to be seen and heard by a whole new level of the music audience. From that platform, he has gone on to work with some of the major brand names of the music world: Candy Dulfer, Spyro Gyra, Will Lee, Pat Martino, Jeff Kashiwa, Jason Miles, Anthony Jackson, Edgar Winter, Randy Brecker, Bob James, Eric Marienthal, Til Bronner, Jim Beard, saxophonist Kim Waters and on and on.
This night, as was noted by a few attendees, was not just a smooth jazz concert, as the band played a mix of blues, funk, jazz, rock and even some New Orleans type jazz. They performed a mix of classic songs with creative arrangements that brought back many memories. One of my favorites was Rick James’s “Give It To Me Baby” that was innovative but right on point. They also performed some original material that was very entertaining and were instant hits with the very attentive and involved crowd.
The night in review was outstanding, Bernie was smooth and mellow, Gil Parris unbelievable on guitar, Will Lee was an absolute beast on bass and Josh Dion singing and drumming was simply off the chain. The singing and drumming was amazing. It was a fabulous performance. At the end of the night, the audience wanted more and they were called back for an encore tune that did not disappoint, and we clapped and enjoyed tremendously. Truly, it was a wonderful performance and a night to remember.
Closing the night, Mayor Frank McGehee thanked folks for coming out and reminded them they were just steps away from the most diverse choices in eating right here in Maplewood, so please enjoy the town on your way home.
Gregory Burrus is a local live music producer, promoter, event planner and community partner that curates, manages and promotes live music programs around Essex County.