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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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Jazzy On The Lawn - In celebration of Fall, the Elmwood Church lawn will come alive with the explosive sounds of jazzy live music as Elmwood Culture Club welcomes acclaimed composer, saxophonist Lee Odom and her Quintet. Kicking off this Jazzy Afternoon on the Lawn live music experience will be one of North Jersey’s dynamic bands led by the swinging vocalist Stephen Fuller…
Read moreOur next Jazzy Nights Event will be at the historic South Orange Blanchard Mansion where we’ll enjoy another swinging night of jazzy live music, fun and fellowship with friends and neighbors. This event is being held to celebrate our buddy CC Minton as the recently appointed president of Harlem World Magazine…
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Please join us on July 23rd, 3-8 PM, at the Jazz Fest at the Promenade — The Raymond Wood Bauer Promenade at 400 North Wood Ave in Linden, NJ. Come out and enjoy some great jazz music from local artists. Take a look at what's happening and hopefully you can join us…
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You are all invited to the City of Orange NJ Food Truck and Jazz Festival for a delicious food and live music experience! Join us in the spacious nature-driven outdoors of Monte Irvin Orange Park. Monte Irvin Orange Park is a county park in the City of Orange, in Essex County, New Jersey. It serves the City of Orange with a playground, athletic fields, basketball court, soccer field, walking paths…
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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.
Read more from Gregory Burrus:
https://www.jerseyindie.com/ji-blogger-gregory-burrus
https://patch.com/users/gregburrus
Join us at our live music events:
https://gregoryburrusproductions.com/events/
Recap our live music experiences:
Elmwood Culture Club Presents “Jazzy on the Lawn”
By Gregory Burrus | Posted Monday, May 9, 2022
In celebration of Spring, the Elmwood Church lawn will come alive with the explosive sounds of jazzy live music as Elmwood Culture Club welcomes internationally acclaimed pianist, composer, songwriter and Grammy Winner Nat Adderley, Jr. and his Quartet. Kicking off this inaugural Jazzy Afternoon on the Lawn live music experience will be one of North Jersey’s dynamic and swinging R&B bands, MPack, led by the Groove Master himself Clarence Conover.
3 pm - 4:15 pm MPack Music
4:40 - 6: 00 pm Nat Adderley, Jr.
Join us for this Jazzy Music Experience!!!
Donations accepted.
This benefit event is outdoors at 135 Elmwood Ave, East Orange, NJ and open to the public, so bring your lawn chairs, come out and join us for a day of music, food, and fun!
The Nat Adderley, Jr. Quartet provides a unique jazz experience that you will also not want to miss. The Adderley name is an important one in music because it’s synonymous with jazz, swing, funk, spirit and musical excellence. Nat Adderley, Jr. keeps the torch burning, with a lineage from as far back as Multi-instrumentalist Cannonball Adderley (Mercy, Mercy, Mercy and in Mikes Davis Band), and Cornetist Nat Adderley (“Work Song” and Lionel Hampton’s big band).
Over time, Nat Adderley, Jr. has created his own historical legacy. With over 20 years as the musical director and songwriter for Luther Vandross, Nat wrote “The Wave” for Kirk Whalum, arranged Natalie Cole’s 1987 recording of “When I Fall In Love”, produced “Just Another Lonely Night” for Johnny Gill, arranged Aretha Franklin’s album Jump To It, produced Gloria Lynne’s album No Detour Ahead, and produced “That’s How Heartaches are Made” for The Temptations.
This Yale University graduate in recent years has performed in Beijing Blue Note, Singapore Kool Kats Club, in numerous venues in New York and New Jersey, and has headlined WBGO’s “Somerville (NJ) Jazz Festival” amongst others.
Elmwood is excited to have this history-maker performing some of the time-honored standards created by his family along with tunes that he created, wrote and performed with some of the top best selling, global recording artists.
MPack Live. Kicking off this inaugural Jazzy on the Lawn live music experience will be one of North Jersey’s extremely popular, dynamic and swinging R&B bands, MPack. MPack brings an explosive energy to an event that is guaranteed to rock this Elmwood Jazzy on the Lawn experience.
MPack is a band, a brand, and a musical production enterprise, consisting of multiple elements in an ever-evolving flow. It is the musical brainchild of longtime multi-instrumentalist Clarence Conover. Clarence, also known as the ‘Groove Master’, is a bandleader, bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, drummer and vocalist. Clarence founded MPack Music Productions over 4 decades ago with the motto “Life Changing Sounds.”
A product of the Philly sound, Clarence is a specialist in Funk, Jazz, Blues, Fusion, Neo-soul and R&B. Clarence has performed and or recorded with Patti LaBelle, Teddy Pendergrass, Grover Washington Jr., The Delfonics, Bo Diddley and more. Clarence and his band have performed at the Morris Museum, South Orange Performing Arts Center, South Valley Lounge, Jazz On Sloan, and Crossroads along with numerous other venues across the Tri-State area including many North Jersey town-sponsored annual live music outdoor series.
This bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, drummer and vocalist, when he’s not on stage, is in the studio devising new music with his MPack band for their fans. The Groove Master will be bringing along this dynamic band of like-minded musicians who have just provided some truly memorable and enjoyable live Jazzy music experiences at some recently sold-out Essex County venues.
Come enjoy an afternoon of Jazzy live music among friends, family and the community. This is a great opportunity to come out and experience these very popular, live music musicians, a local food truck, and support the Elmwood Culture Club while you move and groove to some really great, live jazzy music on the lawn. Bring your memories, your singing voices, your dancing shoes and your lawn chairs, as this is an event you don't want to miss — the music will be absolutely amazing!
Please register and let us know you are joining us:
Nat Adderley Jr and MPack in a Jazzy Afternoon of Live Music
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
https://www.jerseyindie.com/ji-blogger-gregory-burrus
https://patch.com/users/gregburrus
A Community Jazz Event. Friday, May 6th, 5-7PM. Live Music Featuring the Dynamic Dre Barnes Quartet (Dre Barnes, David Kingsnorth, Sir G. Earl Grice, Lance Bryant). “Gathering for Social Wellbeing!” at Weequahic Park, 92 Thomas Carmichael Drive, Newark, NJ.
By Gregory Burrus | Posted Tuesday, May 3, 2022
Time to come out to meet and greet with friends, family, neighbors and jazz lovers. A time to affirm… this is an event to build wholeness in our community! Please join us, as the music will be swinging and slammin’.
Not so long ago, the Weequahic Park community building sorely needed an upgrade to complement everything the public grounds had to offer. The Essex County executive, with some much-needed input and help from South Ward community leaders, got to work to envision a new building. Once the county secured a grant from the state to fund construction for a new facility, the project broke ground in December 2020. Nine months after construction commenced, local, county and state leaders descended upon the new building, named the Feldman Middleton Jr. Community Center, to dedicate what Gov. Phil Murphy called the new “crown jewel” of the South Ward.
This high-use park and its facilities are an absolute beauty and the community is very proud of the jewel. This Friday, the community will join in a gathering for Social Wellbeing! After all we have been through, it’s time to affirm each other and build wholeness in our lives. Come join us and rekindle old friendships and build new relationships while enjoying the community and enveloping yourself in some truly swinging, fantastic jazz, refreshments, and goodwill!
This is a free Community Jazz Event. Register today and let us know you are coming through, and enjoy these professional musicians listed below that will be performing for you at this event.
Born in Philadelphia, Dre Barnes started piano lessons at a young age and developed a good ear for jazz. While a teenager, Dre performed with his high school jazz and ensemble and performed in various venues within and outside the school. Barnes attended William Paterson University to study music and further his opportunities to play jazz. Dre went on to further his studies at Rutgers University graduate program where he studied under jazz master pianist Kenny Barron.
Upon graduation from Rutgers University, Barnes formed a trio and performed at several venues in the Tri-State area. Barnes has performed with a wide array of artists including; vocalist LaDee Streeter, saxophonists Willie Williams, Don Braden, and Stacey Dilliard, Bassists Curtis Lundy, and the T.S. Monk Septet to name a few. Barnes' most recent recording “Wandering Spirits” features drummer Lewis Nash and Bassist Reuben Rogers. Barnes notes Cedar Walton, John Hicks and the late Mulgrew Miller as primary influences.
“Dre Barnes is an impressive jazz pianist and composer who delivers his choice notes with a firm touch and potent rhythmic heft” Zan Stewart, The Star Ledger.
Read more: www.drebarnes.studio
Saxophonist, arranger and vocalist Lance Bryant performs in the New York/New Jersey area. When Lance is not performing his own music he is touring with revered South African pianist, Abdullah Ibrahim, performing and recording as saxophonist with fellow New York area players, teaching and writing commissioned arrangements for other artists and bands. Lance comes out of Markham, Illinois, a small town near Chicago. He received his formal music education at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, where he studied saxophone, composition and arranging. After moving to New York City in the mid. 1980s, Lance continued his education, studying saxophone and arranging privately with Frank Foster, the former director of the Count Basie Orchestra. He also studied composition with Bruce Adolphe of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society. In 1990 Lance began his decade-long relationship with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra and in 1993 became the Orchestra's Musical Director and Principal Arranger. Lance also made his film debut in Spike Lee's Malcolm X and traveled extensively with Phyllis Hyman, Jon Hendricks, Pete "LaRocca" Sims, Wallace Roney, Abdulah Ibrahim, Bootsy Collins, James Williams and others. In the early summer of 2000, Lance was selected as an on-stage musician for the Broadway production of the musical review Swing!, which received six Toni nominations.
Read more: www.lancebryant.com
Started playing drums at the age of 3 years old. Began performing with many gospel choirs and groups in the New York area for over 30 years. Has performed with many artists and genres including jazz, gospel, funk, rock, R&B, latin, reggae, pop, and marching. Has shared the stage with artists such as Sonny Rollins, Clark Terry, Stevie Wonder, George Benson, Gary Bartz, and many others. Was entered in the “Who's Who in Newark Jazz” section of the book, “America's Music, Jazz in Newark”, and also “The Encyclopedia of Newark Jazz”. Both books are authored by Barbara Kukla. Has performed with his quintet to a sold-out crowd at “Thelonious Jazz Club” in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Has performed abroad at the “Coronet” in London, GB; the “Blue Note” in Milan, IT; and also in the country of Kazakhstan (former Soviet Union). Has performed with recording artists Crown Heights Affair, Ronny Jordan, and Roy Meriwether.
Drums/Actor. Crown Heights Affair, Ronny Jordan, Sonny Rollins, Rhoda Scott. 50+ movies & TV shows. Sir G. Earl Grice Drummer/Actor (New York, NY) Has appeared in 50+ movies and television shows as an actor.
Double bassist David Kingsnorth received his MA in Music from Montclair State University, studying with Linda McKnight and twice winning the Cali School Writing Award. He holds bachelor’s degrees in Mathematics and Music from the University of California, Berkeley. He is an active performer in both the jazz and classical music genres, having performed with Oscar Brown Jr., Richard Wyands, Frank Jackson, New Jersey Ballet and the Summit Symphony.
And David Kingsnorth, bass, is known for his stellar work with guitarist Rick Stone & pianist Ted Kooshian. Has performed at venues such as PAPILLON 25 Restaurant and Martini Bar, Live At Mezzrow, and numerous other venues around the area.
Read more: www.montclair.edu
Be informed, come enjoy some great jazz, build political awareness, and improve your social being as you connect with others in our community. May 6, 5-7 PM.
Gregory Burrus - Weequahic Park Feldman Middleton Jr. Community Center
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.
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 Friday, April 22, 2022
Tapping into the region’s top live music talent, Jazzy Nights hosts live music performances from big-name local artists drawn from all over Northern New Jersey and nearby New York City, Produced by Live Music Ambassador Gregory Burrus of Gregory Burrus Productions.
Jazzy Nights is not just about jazz but all genres of jazzy live music. It's jazz, it's R&B, and it's jazzy. The Jazzy Nights Live mission is focused on keeping the community of summertime live music lovers enjoying live music throughout the Fall, Winter and Spring, whenever possible.
Following is a post about how Jazzy Nights made it to this season. Back in the day, just a few years ago, the South Orange live music season would run June ‘til September and stop. However, so many local folks and attendees from around the various towns wanted more and more. So, we extended the end of the 2019 season by going indoors and kicked off Jazzy Nights Live at The Fox & Falcon restaurant to keep the wonderful vibe going that was established all summer long. Following is a year-by-year recap of previous years up until this year.
2019/11/14 Inaugural Season Kickoff in the Essex Room with DC Fusion Band.
The 2019 Jazzy Nights Live Music season was led by our buddy and bassman Darryl Clark. We ran monthly live music sessions from November to April with the wonderful DC Fusion instrumental band led by Darryl Clark on Bass, Howard Hall on piano, and Bill Bang (Mauricio de Souza this night) on drums. We augmented each event with special guest singers (Shadiyah and Joy Topping-Mann this night), folks came out strong, and we packed the Essex Room of The Fox & Falcon. We were moving along nicely each month right up ‘til April 2021 and then the COVID Pandemic shut the world down, including our Jazzy Nights.
In tribute to our buddies.
Sadly, this season was also marked by the passing of many musicians including two of our friends from our Live music community. Community champion and jazz lover Lee Boswell May aka Boz passed before the South Orange Summer Season started. After the 2020 Summer season in November, our beloved Jazzy Nights Bandleader and Bassman Darryl Clark passed on. May they both RIP in musical heaven.
2021 March Season Opener — Outdoor COVID Sessions.
Enter 2021, and because we were all still under a Pandemic watch from 2020 we started the Summer Season early on a beautiful sunny day in 2021 on March 21st. With a live music community starving for entertainment, we came back out in March of 2021, and due to COVID Pandemic Social Distancing guidelines, the world had moved outside and so did Jazzy Nights as “Jazzy Afternoons.”
Thanks to The Fox & Falcon restaurant owner, Jazzy Nights Live became Jazzy Afternoons Live in the Sloan Street Parking Lot on March 21. We moved from Thursday nights to Sunday Afternoons.
As you can see, lots and lots of people came out with family and friends to enjoy the live music of the MPack Band and the community.
We continued our performances throughout April, which is Jazz Appreciation Month. We planned for live music every weekend. Weather canceled one weekend, but we did produce some very well-attended and swinging live music weekend performances.
Mike Lee Trio with Billy Drummond and Mike Kane in Jazz Appreciation Month 2021.
Radam Schwartz Trio with Gene Ghee Sax in Jazz Appreciation Month 2021.
The season continued throughout the Summer, we extended it and worked to extend the live music through October.
Also in 2021, after the Summer Live Music Season we produced the October Live Music Fest.
Take a listen to this event. Performances were 2 times a day every Saturday and Sunday throughout the month.
You can read all about it here: South Orange, NJ October Live Music Fest Takes Over the Sounds In Spiotta Park and Jazz On Sloan Street.
We created live music sessions all year from March thru October, so 2021 was a good year.
Enter 2022, and this year we are back and in a new location and already have produced two extremely successful Jazzy Nights events.
2022 Feb. 18 Jazz Season Opener in the Blue Room.
South Valley BBQ and Lounge Presents John Lee and Friends
We are starting off the 2022 Jazzy Nights Live Music Scene in a really nice new location, and we started earlier this year with our first event on Feb. 18th in the new South Valley Lounge. In their newly remodeled Blue Room, we kicked off the season with world-renowned bassist John Lee and his awesome friends.
2022 Apr 9th R&B Season Opener in the Blue Room.
Jazzy Nights Presents MPack Music Live at South Valley BBQ and Lounge
We started off the Jazzy Nights R&B Live Music Scene in the new South Valley Lounge on April 9th in the newly remodeled Blue Room. We kicked off the season with the extremely popular R&B Band MPack.
Our first Jazzy Nights R&B performance was literally off the chain!!! Folks came to dine and dance and had fun all night long.
For 2021, all of these veteran professionals came to perform and they delivered big time. So, a great start over 3 years through a pandemic, and we are continuing on throughout 2022.
At Gregory Burrus Productions, we always have something going on to get you, your family and your friends involved, so take a look at our events calendar and come join in the live music party.
Check Out Our Upcoming Events Calendar! We'll See You Soon.
Gregory Burrus is a local live music ambassador, event planner, live music ambassador and community partner that curates, manages and promotes live music events in the local Northern NJ and New York Area.
Gregory Burrus sits on a number of local boards and committees and is currently serving as a Board Member of Maplewood Community Music and is a Board Member of Harlem World Magazine Advisory Board.
Year-round Gregory Burrus also curates, books and produces: the Jazz973 live music jazz series at Clements Place Jazz for the Rutgers University Institute of Jazz Studies, the Jazzy Nights Live Music performances, and Cranford NJ Summer Sounds.
In addition to producing events, Gregory Burrus Productions also showcases, photographs, videotapes events annually such as the annual NYC John Jay College Friends of Myrna Bain Scholarship Fundraiser, the Orange NJ Farmers Market, numerous local bands at various local venues. Gregory Burrus has a passion for making live music happen anywhere and everywhere he can whether locally around town or around the world while living life every day to the fullest. Learn more at: Gregory Burrus - Gregory Burrus Live Music Ambassador
By Sonia Schnee | Posted Thursday, April 14, 2022
Stanhope, NJ band The City Limit is cooking up new music for 2022, drawing on a diverse range of influences, from blues to pop, rock, funk, jazz, and folk. I interviewed bandmates Scott Lewis, Anthony Ambrosio, Sean Farrelly, and Mike Casson twice last year to ask them about their future music plans. Just a little over a month ago, they teased on Instagram part of a new single, which we may get to hear on April 22nd when they perform at Newton, NJ's Greek's Bar. Then, on Saturday, May 14th, The City Limit will be traveling down south, performing for the first time in North Carolina at Wampus Cat Music Festival.
In our interview, bandmates Scott, Anthony, Sean, and Mike reflected on the good parts of 2020/2021, plans for their new EP, what it’s like getting messages from international fans, and they gave some shout-outs to some very influential family members. Catch it all by watching our interview above or reading the transcript below.
(Video and transcript have been edited for time and clarity.)
SCOTT LEWIS: I'm Scott.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: My name is Anthony. I play bass guitar.
SEAN FARRELLY: My name's Sean. I play drums.
MIKE CASSON: My name is Mike, and I play keyboards.
SCOTT LEWIS: And we are The City Limit.
SCOTT LEWIS: Yeah! We recorded the music video for our last single "Wake Up Your Mind” [see above].
SCOTT LEWIS: Yeah, so he's a childhood friend of Anthony's.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: Yeah, me and him were in bands together, grew up together playing music, and he went on the path of film. He worked in L.A., doing all sorts of odd jobs working in the industry. He really needed something for his portfolio, so he came out and basically did it for free. We had to pay for whatever expenses, but we didn't have to pay him anything. The video turned out awesome.
SCOTT LEWIS: He did such an amazing job with it.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: For no budget.
SCOTT LEWIS: Yeah, and it looks fantastic when you watch the video.
SCOTT LEWIS: That was all to Steve [Stephen Joseph Craig] -- the director's -- credit.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: Yeah, he set up everything.
SCOTT LEWIS: He sent me to Lowe's and I was like, "Get a bunch of lights." I'm like, "Alright" so I got a bunch of lights and then we strung 'em up and the rest was just his talent.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: It was all in my garage, too. It worked out great.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: You know what, we didn't notice the pandemic, per se. It was a little harder booking gigs that pay and stuff, but in terms of playing gigs, there were a lot of gigs out there to grab.
SCOTT LEWIS: They take a little bit more legwork to find now. It's a little bit more like you have to actively hunt them out, whereas before the pandemic, places were playing tug-of-war, like, "We want you to play." "No, we want you to play." "No, we want you to play." Now, it's a little bit more you searching them out. As he mentioned, they don't have as much money to play with anymore. Obviously, a lot of restaurants closed down during the lockdowns during the pandemic, so everyone's kind of financially struggling, so they just don't have as much money to play with. So, those things make being a performer or a gigging musician a little bit more difficult, but we just love playing together. We love playing on stage and playing our songs for people. So, despite the pay cut, we have not been deterred whatsoever. We're just as happy as ever to get on stage and play for people.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: The upstate New York shows were definitely some of the better ones. There were festivals, a lot of people. A lot of fun.
SCOTT LEWIS: That one in Barryville.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: Kenny's Cosmic Campout. That was good. And then, The Grateful Daze. Same area.
SCOTT LEWIS: So, we're hugely influenced by The Grateful Dead. We're all obsessed with The Grateful Dead. In upstate New York is this whole community of Deadheads up there that throw these great music festivals, and we got to be a part of two of them this year and one of them last year. Those are some of the most fun shows you ever played. Everybody's there for the same reason, which is just to play and listen to great music, and it's a very communal vibe. We were outsiders coming into it, and they were so welcoming to us. We're going to be back there again in 2022 at all those shows, so love upstate New York, love the whole Deadhead culture up there. It's a really, really great place to play music.
SEAN FARRELLY: We have some other potential gigs coming up that could be cool, too, that aren't just in the area, like down in North Carolina.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: In North Carolina, we have a gig set.
SEAN FARRELLY: Wampus Cat Music Festival. We got selected to play in North Carolina at this festival, so we're going to be taking a road trip out there, and we have a couple of other gigs that we're working out in the Louisiana area and Virginia. So, we're trying to move southward with our music. That's something that we intended to do in 2020, but then, obviously, the carpet got pulled out from under everyone, so now we're excited to pick it back up.
SCOTT LEWIS: The Wampus Cat's going to be in late-May, and then we're going to try to be in the Louisiana area in mid-summer, sometime around there. One thing that we're learning as we go along in the years of being a band is plan your summers and stuff way in advance. In the past year, we were scrambled, like "Oh my God, summer's here. Let's find shows."
SCOTT LEWIS: By the way, if you see me popping up and sitting back down, I have a pot of gumbo I've been making since 2 o'clock in the afternoon over there, so I just keep running over to it and tending to it to make sure it doesn't get out of hand.
SEAN FARRELLY: Scott likes to cook for us.
SCOTT LEWIS: I need to feed my boys.
SEAN FARRELLY: It's one of his favorite pastimes.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: It's the only way he's going to get us over his house, basically.
SCOTT LEWIS: They're growing boys. I've gotta keep them nurtured.
SCOTT LEWIS: Yeah, we've been trying to build our online following a little bit.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: That's a hard thing to do.
SCOTT LEWIS: It is.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: Emails and playlists and whatnot and curators. It takes a lot of work.
[Keyboard player Mike Casson joins the interview.]
SCOTT LEWIS: Here is our piano prodigy extraordinaire.
MIKE CASSON: How's it going?
MIKE CASSON: Yeah, there were a bunch. What was it, Riverfest?
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: That was a couple of years ago, but still. We were saying The Grateful Daze and Kenny's Cosmic Campout.
MIKE CASSON: Oh yeah, The Grateful Daze was really cool. We played at a brewery recently, too, that was really cool.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: Yeah, Fort Nonsense Brewing Company had a grand re-opening. That was a Halloween show, too.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: Pretty similar sound and feel. We try to change it up, but we've got some songs in the works. Nothing ready to put on record yet, but we did record a single over this past summer that's ready to be released probably within the next month or so.
SCOTT LEWIS: Yeah, me and Anthony are kind of approaching the end of the writing process for this next record that we're going to start doing in 2022. I'm really excited about it because I feel like this next record, just based on the raw form of the songs we have now, it's going to be kind of like the final realization of what we've been trying to do with this band. Look at the last record, and it kind of has elements of the first record in it. This next one is going to be, I think, a total breaking new ground type of thing where it's going to be something completely fresh. It's going to be the four of us working like lockstep with each other as one cohesive unit. We're all going to be putting our creativity together in one, and that's going to be really fun to see.
Clockwise: Mike Casson, Scott Lews, Sean Farrelly and Anthony Ambrosio recording at Backroom Studios in Rockaway, NJ.
SCOTT LEWIS: Yeah, he's like our George Martin, you know what I mean?
MIKE CASSON: He's really good.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: He works well with us. He knows us.
MIKE CASSON: He's been doing it for a while with the band.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: And he's very easy to work with. You say anything and he'll do it. Like, "Oh yeah, let's do it! Let's try it," you know?
SCOTT LEWIS: This will be our fourth session with him, and I just feel like now we have a bit of a shorthand and we have a rapport with him where we don't have to overexplain anything. He just kind of intuitively knows what to do for our band and our sound and our songs.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: People just started coming back out, especially when it got nice out. A lot of the stuff was outside. During the winter Scott and I were doing some acoustic stuff, or Mike and Scott were doing some acoustic stuff, and people just loved it. People were just trying to get out and live their lives again.
SCOTT LEWIS: I almost feel like now people are more grateful than ever for live music, you know what I mean? People went through a period of time when they were all locked in their houses streaming Netflix, and so now when they're at a place with live music, they appreciate it. It's Like, "Wow, life would be bleak without this." So there is that little thing. I think people are more excited for live music now than ever before.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: Even for us, guys, we're guys who go to concerts all the time. We hadn't gone to any shows, but luckily all four of us together got to go see Hall & Oates this summer.
SCOTT LEWIS: That was amazing!
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: It was down at PNC Bank Arts Center.
MIKE CASSON: That was a great night.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: A great little outing. It was the first concert of the last couple of years, sort of thing.
SCOTT LEWIS: We're all into so many different kinds of music, but we all love pop music so much. To see one of the greatest pop music writing duos, to see them on stage, and they sounded as good as ever, it was really, really inspiring and cool.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: It was.
MIKE CASSON: Daryl was getting mad at the sound guys, though. He kept on getting feedback.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: We're sorry about that, Daryl.
SCOTT LEWIS: The sound sucks at PNC, and I'm so happy that Daryl held their feet to the fire on that one.
MIKE CASSON: He was getting mad, but they killed it, though.
SCOTT LEWIS: I was getting mad.
SEAN FARRELLY: I didn't even mind spending the $14 on the beer.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: That's our biggest goal, to get some new music. We want to be back in the studio at some point, hopefully real soon.
SCOTT LEWIS: Yeah, we pretty much have like the next EP written out, and I'm personally so excited about it because I think that some of the songs on this next record are going to be our best ones yet. Just this new single alone that we recorded, we showed it to a few close friends and they were like, "This is better than anything from the last two records." In my mind, I'm like, "Well, wait 'til you see what else is on the next EP. It's going to be even better than this." So, I think that we're just keeping that upwards trajectory going, of getting better and better with the songs. I'm really excited.
SCOTT LEWIS: The last record, we worked with two amazing musicians named Earl Maneeine and Jennifer Devore who are members of... It's actually a funny story. So Earl is an amazing violinist, and his wife, Jennifer, is an amazing cellist. They're part of this quartet called The Vitamin String Quartet. They do these amazing tributes to great songwriters like Elliott Smith and Fiona Apple and all these great songwriters who we admire. So I'd been listening to them since I was in high school, and then one day we were talking to Kevin [Antressian], like "We need strings" and he was like, "Oh, I have some string players I could hook you up with." He gave us the contact info, we started talking, we added each other on Facebook, and like a week after we added each other on Facebook, I was bored and I was looking at their Facebook and it says "Violinist and cellist at Vitamin String Quartet." I was like, "Wait, WHAT?" I didn't even know these guys who I had been talking to about the project and working on our songs were from this quartet I had been listening to for like 10-12 years and who I loved so much. That was a really cool, full-circle moment. So, that was on the last record.
We don't really know who we're going to work with on this next one. We're a very tight-knit group when it comes to recording. Like, we usually don't let anybody in the studio other than us, but as we get to a song and we say, "Oh, this needs this instrument, this needs that instrument..." For the first record, we hired a saxophone player. So we kind of play by ear and see what the song needs, and then we kind of hunt out someone to play the part.
Our first drummer on our first record was a good friend of ours — and is still a close friend of the band — Sean Meyers. He has this great project called Gates to the Morning. On the first record on our song "Wreckage", track 3 on our first EP, there's this is a line where it says "Every time it rains so hard, a little bit of us weathers away" and when I say the word "rain", Sean did a rain stick, so “Every time it rains” it goes "tshhhh." We forced Kevin to take that recording of the rain stick.
SEAN FARRELLY: Yeah, take the rain stick and put it in every other release.
SCOTT LEWIS: Every single release we ever do, like 40 years from now, we're going to be using the rain stick.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: It's in the new single. You'll hear it.
MIKE CASSON: It's subtle.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: It's very subtle.
MIKE CASSON: But it's nice.
SCOTT LEWIS: Basically, we want, 40 years from now, to still have Sean have a credit on our record and he hasn't talked to us in like 30 years but we just want him to be there, just so he opens the record and he's like, "These idiots." So, we're looking forward to seeing how we can utilize the rain stick.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: This new EP, I am pretty sure on one track there is going to be some sort of instrument. Something. We don't know what yet, but something will be there, just for fun, you know? Horns or something.
MIKE CASSON: I personally think it's cool to collab with people that you like in the local scene.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: Oh yeah, definitely.
MIKE CASSON: Because there's so many talented people that we know that, you know, a lot of people, sometimes we get caught up in being a band and just focusing on what the band should sound like, but at the end of the day, we're just trying to get our music out there to as many people as possible, and sometimes a collab can just take a good song and make it something special. I definitely am open to that.
SCOTT LEWIS: Me, too.
MIKE CASSON: If we know the people that would fit, you know?
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: It's not planned. It just kind of gets figured out as the process is happening.
SCOTT LEWIS: We got a really lovely review from a music blog in Mexico, and we had to use Google Translate to understand what they were saying. It said something to the effect of, "This is a great blend of pop, funk, blues, disco" and I was like, "I guess there is disco in there." They were like, "You've gotta have this in your music library." As we're reading out the Google Translate, we were like, "These guys are so nice." So there's been little instances of that. We're going to try to have that same outreach with the next single.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: We've been working with a radio promotion company called Twin Vision, and they were the ones that were helping us spread it around. We're going to be working with them with this new single as well. So hopefully we get the same kind of feedback with people reaching out.
SEAN FARRELLY: We're hoping they remember us from the last one, so they see that we released a new one and will be like, "Oh yeah, I remember these guys. We'll check it out."
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: They're based out in Brooklyn. They work with everyone all over the country, but their main offices are in Brooklyn. They found us. We played at Rockwood Music Hall two years ago. They searched the website and found us through the website, listened to our music, and reached out to us about helping us promote shit, but we didn't have anything out at the time, so we used them last year and we reached out again this year for the new single. So, hopefully, it works out.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: I’d like to give a shout-out to "the two Jim’s." Sean's father and Mike's father, Jim Casson and Jim Farrelly. They come to every show we play.
SEAN FARRELLY: Every show. No matter where it is.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: They just show up.
SCOTT LEWIS: Jim squared.
MIKE CASSON: They're a good duo.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: Excellent duo..
SCOTT LEWIS: We've had this pipe dream of a photoshoot where we dress up our dads as us.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: And they're the band, they just wear outfits we happen to wear. Sweater vests and beards and stuff.
SCOTT LEWIS: Me in like a beer-stained shirt. Anthony in a snap-on jacket. Mike in a Nintendo T-shirt with a beanie on.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: Man bun.
MIKE CASSON: I’ll wear something ridiculous, like tigers…
SCOTT LEWIS: Like a muscle shirt covered in watermelons.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: Jim's gotta start working out to do this.
SCOTT LEWIS: Didn't we have an idea where, for some reason, we were going to be in the background? Like, you know in a cartoon when a bunch of characters poke their heads around a corner and their heads are stacked? It's gonna be us looking around the corner at our dads as us.
MIKE CASSON: It’s a good idea for a cover.
SCOTT LEWIS: We were really high when we came up with this idea, but it sounded great at the time.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: We can't help that we're geniuses.
SCOTT LEWIS: If you saw that album cover, wouldn't you go, "I vaguely want to take a listen to this"?
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: You'd shut it off after the first 20 seconds.
SCOTT LEWIS: But at least you started it!
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: Even if they didn't have their shirts on. Actually, our dads are almost in better shape than us.
SCOTT LEWIS: Our dads are in way better shape than us.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: My dad's actually a drummer, almost like a casual hobby. When I was a kid, he'd put on Journey CDs and just play along to them. So that's kind of what got me into it. I started jamming on drums. He got me a guitar and a bass and whatnot. But other than that, not really.
SCOTT LEWIS: My dad learned "Badge" by Cream on the bass when he was, like, 25 and then never did anything else musical again.
SEAN FARRELLY: My dad kind of knows how to play drums because I've shown him a couple of things in recent past years. I think he just needs to get over the confidence part.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: He is a black belt, though.
SEAN FARRELLY: Yeah. He needs to get out and just play in front of people. He is a black belt, though. I know that's not really a musical instrument.
MIKE CASSON: My dad did choir when he was younger and he'll sing, kind of. He's not into music really, but he's always had a great taste in music. I owe him a lot for all the insane catalogs of different genres, of all the classics that he had showed me growing up, that has just seeped into your subconscious and then you grow up and it’s kind of influences you.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: Same with me. My dad introduced me to so much music. Never was a huge musician, but he was just a huge music fan.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: Oh yeah. Other than that, everyone else can suck it, I would have to say, right?
A shout-out to our friend, Nicole. She helped us a lot.
SCOTT LEWIS: Oh yeah. Let's give a shout-out to Nicole! She's always there for us, even when we are not there for ourselves. We really appreciate that.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: She helps us with a lot of things. She's gotten us gigs. She's taken pictures.
MIKE CASSON: Helped us book.
SCOTT LEWIS: She's a jack-of-all-trades.
MIKE CASSON: Yeah, she's great.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: She's a good friend.
MIKE CASSON: Shout-out to Nicole. Nicole's cool. She's a good friend.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: We've been waiting for the gumbo for hours.
SCOTT LEWIS: That's not true, it's ready. Don't listen to him! We should do this once a year. This is fun. This is nice.
MIKE CASSON: We should make a Patreon.
SCOTT LEWIS: We should.
MIKE CASSON: We should.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: I was thinking an OnlyFans.
MIKE CASSON: We could do an OnlyFans.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: They think it's nudes and they click on it and it's one of our shitty songs. “We paid for this shit?!”
SCOTT LEWIS: They think it's nudes but they click on it and it's just me making gumbo for 11 hours straight.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: And me yelling at him. "Where's dinner? Where's my dinner?!"
SCOTT LEWIS: I’d pay for that. I’d watch that.
SCOTT LEWIS: It’s Scott stirring gumbo.
SEAN FARRELLY: I love that idea!
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: We'll give you royalties.
MIKE CASSON: Livestreaming on Twitch.tv.
ANTHONY AMBROSIO: With a City Limits track on repeat in the background.
SCOTT LEWIS: We'll give you a producer's credit, Sonia.
By Gregory Burrus | Posted Tuesday, Marcy 29, 2022
This April, jazz up for a month to celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) to honor one of America’s earliest and iconic art forms. Rich with extraordinary heritage and cultural history, jazz music originated in the blues era in the early 20th century and bestowed the world with bebop tunes to which we can dance all night. Founded in 2001, JAM is a 30-day long festival held to learn and recognize the cultural significance of this hip music genre and the jazz pop stars, and offers a chance to jam to some boogie-woogie day in and out. https://nationaltoday.com/jazz-appreciation-month/
Come on out and enjoy some of the best Jazz, Jazzy Nights and some Smooth Jazz Events available during Jazz Appreciation Month. We are starting the celebration early. Here’s some of the fabulous jazz performances you can experience this month..
Kakuyon Shakur Mataeh – Trumpeter, Bandleader, and Composer born in Newark, NJ. Jazz education through the Jazz House Kids youth program led by Melissa Walker and Christian McBride, performing in their Montclair Jazz Festival nearly every year since 2014. Kakuyon grew up playing at speakeasies and his father’s many art gallery exhibitions from a young age. Kakuyon is in his junior year at Princeton University where he studies Computer Science, African American studies, and continues his jazz education under the tutelage of trumpeter Ted Chubb, bandleader James Darcey Argue, and saxophonist Rudresh Manhatthappa. Mataeh has played at notable venues such as Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, and more recently led his quintet at the 2022 Montclair Jazz Festival. He has also played with Christian McBride, Cyrus Chestnut, Don Braden, Trineice Martin, Mimi Jones, Vince Ector, and many other notable acts. He brings a swinging band:
Destiny Diggs – Bass
Miles Lennox — Keys
Peter Glynn — Drums
Joseph Miller — Sax
Check it out Wed., March 30, 7:00pm and 8:30 pm showtime. Clément’s Place, 15 Washington Street, Newark, NJ 07201
It's the Summer of Soul Film Screening hosted by Lynette Sheard for the Elmwood's Culture Club “Summer of Soul” is about the Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969. If you haven’t heard of it, that may be because it was—tellingly, if not deliberately—erased from public consciousness. The festival took place outdoors, in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park), and it was filmed, under lighting generously provided by the sun. The tapes then sat in a basement, largely unseen, for half a century. At last, they have been unearthed and, in the hands of Thompson and his editor, Joshua L. Pearson, given new life and shape.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/07/05/questloves-summer-of-soul-pulses-with-long-silenced-beats
Following the screening, there will be a Zoom discussion led by Entertainment Personality Lynette Sheard and Ierviewer for Gregory Burrus Productions. Lynette Sheard is also Director and community education coordinator at the Mental Health Association in NJ, will host the event. Come join us to view the movie and discuss the event. Click here to register for this Zoom event or you can also email eupccultureclub@gmail.com.
Bradford Hayes Quintet at IJS Clements Place
Saxophonist Bradford Hayes, a native of Dinwiddie County, Virginia has been a force on the jazz scene in the northeastern U.S. for many years now. He has performed at a number of clubs, colleges and concert halls that include Birdland (NYC), Tavern on the Green (NYC), and the Beacon Theater (NYC). Bradford has performed or recorded in different musical settings with Gerald Alston, Yusef Lateef, Ted Curson, Michael Cochrane, Joe Lee Wilson, Jimmy Heath, Al Grey, Cecil Payne, Rufus Reid, Ray Bryant, Ben Riley, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Cecil Brooks III, Jerry Butler, and The Dells. For this performance Braford Hayes brings in the following professional musicians.
Michael Cochrane on Piano, A forward-leaning yet strongly swinging modern pianist, Cochrane studied with the noted Boston-based piano teacher Madame Margaret Chaloff (mother of Serge Chaloff) and the inimitable Jaki Byard. In a fruitful career, he has performed and/or recorded with saxophonists Michael Brecker, Sonny Fortune, Oliver Lake, David Schnitter and Chico Freeman and trumpeters Clark Terry, Valery Ponomarev, Jack Walrath and Ted Curson; also bassist Eddie Gomez, as well as many others. He has led a quintet that included Tom Harrell and saxophonist Bob Malach, and he has recorded several albums as a leader, including 1997’s “Cutting Edge.” He is also a prominent jazz educator and instrumental instructor in the New York and New Jersey area.
Peter Lin on Trombone. Peter Lin is a Taiwanese-American trombonist, producer, and educator based in New Jersey/New York City. Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and raised in northern New Jersey, Peter played violin and piano before picking up the trombone at 10 years old. His love for music continued, motivating him to pursue a jazz studies degree at the esteemed music programs of William Paterson University (undergraduate) and Rutgers University (graduate). Since then, he has become an integral part of the music scene, performing and sharing the stage with renowned artists including Slide Hampton, Winard Harper, Charli Persip, Valerie Ponomarev, JD Allen, and Radam Schwartz. He also spent a considerable amount of time studying with his influences, including trombone masters Slide Hampton, Steve Turre, Conrad Herwig, Robin Eubanks, Steve Davis, and Frank Lacy. He continues to perform prolifically as both a leader and sideman at established venues such as Blue Note, Dizzy’s, Birdland, Smalls, Fat Cat, Zinc Bar, and Candlelight Lounge.
Takashi Otsuka on Bass – A consummate bassist, Takashi also studied composition and arranging with Herb Pomeroy, Bob Freedman and Ken Pullig, and improvisation theory with Gary Burton at Berklee College of Music. Takashi has appeared with various artists including the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Seiji Ozawa, The Boys Choir of Harlem, Ben E. King, Swing Express under the direction of Bill Conway, the Latin Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Victor Rendon, Don Sebesky, Bob Mintzer, Charles McPherson, Marion Meadows, Lew Solof, Ted Curson, Claudio Roditi, Norman Simmons, Vic Juris, John Hart, Bob Devos, Ron Affif, Pete Levin, Virginia Mayhew, Jack Walrath, Billy Hart, Eliot Zigmund and many more.
Noel Sagerman on Drums – Noel Sagerman began playing drums at St. Cloud elementary school in West Orange, NJ. He started playing professionally while attending the University of Vermont, often gigging with ArtisShare founder Brian Camelio and Jazz Mandolin Project founder Jamie Masefield. After graduating he spent a year playing in Japan, including gigs with Chicago native Hank Hirsch and noted Japanese pianist and educator Sadayasa Fujii. In 1992 Noel returned to NJ and furthered his studies with teachers Bobby Thomas, Billy Higgins, and Tim Horner. He also became a regular at The Peppermint Lounge and started working regularly in the NY/NJ area. Some artists he has worked with include Irene Reid, Pharoah Sanders, “Big” John Patton, David “Fathead” Newman, Oliver Lake, Bruce Williams, Dave Stryker, Pat Tandy, Freddie Hendrix, Brandon McCune, Pete Rodriguez, and many others. He currently resides in Newark, NJ, and plays for gospel singer/pianist Joshua Nelson both on tour and at Hopewell Baptist Church.
Check out this performance on Friday, April 1, 7pm at Clément’s Place, 15 Washington Street, Newark, NJ 07201 https://www.bradfordhayes.com/
Gene Ghee Quartet featuring Bertha Hope with Kim Clarke and Luciana Padmore
Gene Ghee — Sax – Gene Ghee (saxophone, flute, clarinet) is 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. He has appeared as a sideman with an array of performers from Art Blakey to Stevie Wonder, and is also a recipient of the Daily News Music Teacher Recognition Award.
Bertha Hope — Piano — Jazz pianist Bertha Hope-Booker was born on November 8, 1936and was raised in western Los Angeles, California, As a youth, she performed in numerous Los Angeles clubs, studied piano at Los Angeles Community College and received her B.A. degree in early childhood education from Antioch College. In her youth, she played music with and learned from other young musicians in her neighborhood such as Richie Powell and Elmo Hope, the latter becoming her husband in 1957. She moved with Elmo Hope to the Bronx, New York, where she worked at a telephone company during the day while performing at night. After her husband’s passing in 1967, she continued to present his music and remained an active force in improvised music within the New York jazz scene.. Through the Jersey State Council on the Arts program, she performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Foster, Nat Adderley and Philly Joe Jones. Hope-Booker later married Walter Booker, Jr., and the two worked to keep the music of Elmo Hope alive through Hope-Booker’s tribute ensemble called ELMOllenium and The Elmo Hope Project. She also performs with a Jazz program at Washington Irving High School in New York City, which was sponsored by Bette Midler. The Seattle-based trio, New Stories, has recorded a CD of Hope-Booker's music entitled, Hope Is In the Air. https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/bertha-hope-41
Bertha received two lifetime achievement awards; one in 2002 from Cobi Narita's Jazz Coalition and the second from Dr. Billy Taylorin 2005 at the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival in Washington, D.C. In 2014, Bertha's three year oral history project was made available in the Library of Congress, and she was celebrated as a Bronx Living Legend by the Bronx Music Heritage Center. In September 2016, the Bronx tree lined block of Lyman Place where Elmo, Bertha and baby daughter lived was co-named “Elmo Hope Way–Jazz Pioneer.” Sidenote Gregory Burrus was born and lived on Lyman place also and knew the Hope family so I am very excited for this performance.
Kim Clarke — Bass – bassist, composer, bandleader, educator performs alternately on the Acoustic Bass, Electric Upright , four and five-stringed Electric Bass Guitar. Holds B.A.’s in Communications and Music from City College and Long Island University respectively, and is a 3- time recipient of the coveted N E A Jazz Study Fellowship; under the tutelage of Bass Masters Ron Carter, Buster Williams and Lisle Atkinson respectively. Ms Clarke is also a long-time student of the Jazzmobile and Barry Harris Workshops.
Lucianna Padmore — Drums – New York based drummer Lucianna Padmore has been praised by Modern Drummer magazine for “Deep grooves and serious fusion chops.” Lucianna’s versatile drumming is featured with artists in the Jazz, Hip-Hop, Funk, Rock, Pop and Fusion genres. An alumnus of LaGuardia High School for Music and the Performing Arts and the New School University, she has received awards from Jazz at Lincoln Center and BMI for her jazz improvisation.
https://www.facebook.com/jazz973
Check it out on Wednesday, April 6th, 7:00pm showtime. Clément’s Place, 15 Washington Street, Newark, NJ 07201
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/gregory-burrus-17227441816
RUTGER’S INSTITUTE OF JAZZ STUDIES AT CLEMENT’S PLACE PRESENTS
GEORGE GRAY FEATURING THE GROUP JAZZICAL
By popular demand George Gray returns with the versatile jazz group Jazzical featuring Jeff Sheloff on sax, Mark Adams on piano, Derrick Barker on vibes, Donald Nicks on acoustic bass and George Gray on drums! We are here to play authentic jazz at its best so why not join us.
Check it out Thursday, April 7th, 7:00pm showtime. Clément’s Place, 15 Washington Street, Newark, NJ 07201 – Register: [link TBD]
Steve Slagle – Alto Sax, Flute, Composer, Band Leader, Educator
Saxophonist, flutist and composer Steve Slagle makes his home in New York City. He has released 20 CD’s as a leader, and performed on countless others. His many original compositions are published by Slagle Music, BMI worldwide. Steve was musical director of the Mingus Big Band for many years, and wrote many of the bands arrangements as well with Joe Lovano’s Nonet, of which he is a member. He has received two Grammy Awards for recordings with each of those groups and continues his association with them. Steve attended Berklee College of Music in Boston on a Downbeat scholarship at age 18 and subsequently received his Masters in Music at MSM in NYC.
He has played with Stevie Wonder, Machito’s Afro-Cuban Orchestra, Steve Kuhn, Lionel Hampton, Jack McDuff, Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, Brazil’s Milton Nascimento and band, Carla Bley Orchestra, Ray Barretto, Beastie Boys, and many others.
Check it out on Friday, April 8th, 7:30pm showtime. Clément’s Place 15 Washington Street, Newark, NJ 07201
Jazzy Nights Presents MPack Music Live at South Valley BBQ and Lounge. Thankfully we can go back inside and this year as Jazzy Nights is happy to present MPack Music Live at South Valley BBQ & Lounge. This jazzy night will have our favorites performing:
Groove Master Clarence Conover – Bandleader, bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, drummer and vocalist . Clarence Conover ‘Groove Master’ Conover is the founder, and CEO of M-Pack Music productions whose motto is “Life Changing Sounds”. Clarence has performed and recorded with Patti Labelle, Teddy Pendergrass, Grover Washington Jr., The Delfonics, Bo Diddley, and more. Clarence has performed at numerous venues across the Tri-State area and more.
Vocalist Patricia Walton – ,Lead Vocal stylist – Jazz, Blues and R&B. Lead vocalist for MPack Band. Performs Solo gigs and has worked with many of New Jersey’s finest jazz musicians.
Keyboardist – Larry Greenberg – Multi-keyboardist and synthesist, composer/arranger, bandleader, and studio musician performs in multiple genres of Funk, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, R&B and Latin Rock. A Skyy band member “Call Me” topped Billboard’s R&B chart and was No. 26 on the pop side.
Drummer – Kevin Moore – This Master Drum from East Orange High Scholl has performed in numerous venues across the industry, was part of the popular Band Aurra – Interviewed by Don Cornelius and performed on the cutting edge of music, dance and culture Nationwide TV Show Soul Train.
Guitarist – Kenny Robinson – Newark Arts High School Alum is an in demand guitarist, a former long time band member of The Black Widow Blues Band along with Ricki Lewis and has played at numerous venues , churches and special events around the Tri State area.
MPack brings an explosive energy to the stage, guaranteed to rock the house all night long! Dinning, drinking, dancing, singing, talking, connecting, seat dancing, listening and more will be happening in the Blue Room.
Join Us -Jazzy Nights at South Valley BBQ and Lounge Jazzy Nights Presents MPack Music Live at South Valley BBQ and Lounge
Peter Lin – The Slide Sessions Music and Legacy of Slide Hamptons
Slide Hampton was a trombonist, arranger, and composer with skills very few could match. He could take a small band and make it sound like an orchestra — not just in vastness, but in excitement, impression and intricate layers of sound. His arrangements found the visceral core of bebop classics and revealed their stunning beauty and spine-tingling glory. When he raised his horn to solo, the results were always impressive: a deep mix of profound blues and complex technique. He was a true original. As a jazz educator, Hampton was active at Harvard University, DePaul and several other institutions
This event will be a musical tribute to the legendary Slide Hampton. Bandleader Peter Lin will present an evening of Slide Hampton’s compositions and arrangements in a quintet setting, along with personal anecdotes and reflections on Slide’s legacy. According to Peter Lin, who first contacted Hampton for an interview for his graduate thesis, and later became his assistant: “Without Slide Hampton, I would not be playing trombone today, and I think many other musicians would feel the same sentiment.”
Joining him are veteran musicians of multiple generations. Mike Karn – Bass, Tadataka Unno – Keys, Jerome Jennings – Drums and Nicole Glover – Sax.
Check out this very special performance on Friday, April 15th, at 7:30pm. Clément’s Place, 15 Washington Street, Newark, NJ 07201 https://www.peterlinmusic.com
Spring fever is at its peak at the historic Woodland Mansion in Maplewood NJ.
This show is the brainchild of Rich Engel, a local resident, producer and promoter - who for decades produced numerous NYC Smooth Jazz cruises along with many other marquee live music concerts. Engel says he is determined to make contemporary jazz a staple in the SOMA (South Orange Maplewood) area and beyond and he is demonstrating that he is very committed. This show is a group of serious hardcore Smooth jazz and R&B veterans, all have performed with many legends in the industry and now they have also established themselves as stars of this music.
Smooth Vocals R&B with:
Maysa Leak (Singer) Deep Waters – Grammy-nominated, Soul Train Award Winning Soul/Jazz
Alexander Zonjic Jazz flutist (multiple winner Detroit Music Awards)
James Lloyd (Keyboardist) from Pieces of a Dream, Grover Washington Jr., Walter Beasley , Eric Darius, Everett Harp, Gail Jhonson, Hiroshima, Wayman Tisdale, Najee, and more.
Kris Kurzawa (Guitar), Most In Demand Detroit Guitarist – 5X’s Detroit Music Awardee
Jeff Candy (Drums),
Mike Harrington (Bass). Tours with Brian Culbertso, The Spinners, KEM, Jeff Lorber, Kirk Whalum, Kim Burrell, Angela Bofill, Marion Medows and more
Check it out on Saturday, April 23rd, 8:00pm showtime. The Woodlands – 60 Woodland Road. Maplewood, NJ 07040.
Buy tickets here: Smooth Vocals. R&B and All that Jazz at The Woodland Sat Apr 23, 2022 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Carla Cook
There’s a reason for that: Cook has been influenced by the jazz vocal masters, but equally influenced by phenomenal instrumentalists, like Miles Davis, Wes Montgomery and The Crusaders. The Detroit native also finds inspiration in R&B, Motown, pop, gospel and country. In fact, she has put her unique phrasing on everything from Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues” to Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe” to Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold”.
As a result, Cook has an improvisational style that’s steeped in the swing tradition yet eclectic, and brimming with fresh interpretations. “Although I’ve been influenced by all the masters, I’ve been maturing into my own sound, “says Cook. “Today, I sound exactly like me.”
That sound is a warm contralto with a remarkably wide range of colors; known for her interpretive gifts, Cook can sing in a hefty, bluesy timbre, reach crystal clear high notes, then scat with sure-footed richness; and she does it all with an acute sense of rhythm and timing. As a result, says jazz critic John Murph of The Washington Post. “She has sass that enlivens her impeccable diction, and tremendous soul that lets her swagger with gutbucket finesse, but it’s all buttressed with sparkling optimism and innocence.”
Check it out on Friday, April 29th, 7:30pm showtime. Clément’s Place 15 Washington Street, Newark, NJ 07201
International Jazz Day | April 30, 2022
Stay Tuned for a Special Event
Come join me around town. Hope to see you.
Gregory Burrus books bands, produces, promotes, captures, and records live music events along with various other community and private activities.
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://www.jerseyindie.com/ji-blogger-gregory-burrus
https://patch.com/users/gregburrus
By Gregory Burrus | Posted Friday, March 11, 2022
Through an exciting collaboration between photographer/artist Christine Keeley and collage/mixed media artist Maria Estrela, the idea of Equinox: The Birth and Rebirth of a Woman, a celebration of Women’s International History Month, was born. The exhibition will be on view at The Jewish Museum of New Jersey in Newark, New Jersey from March 6th to April 3rd.
We caught up with Maria Estrella and Christine Keeley to understand the exhibition and more importantly the connection between the artist and their work. Take a listen.
The work focuses on the connection between women and nature; how women’s spiritual, emotional, and psychological being changes through the seasons. Equinox comes from a response to those changes. It's the yin/yang, the dark/light, black/white, sun/moon, past/future. We need to feel deeply the importance of our ancestors and what we are creating for the future generations. As we make those connections we understand that Equinox can bring moments of happiness, warmth, and love. Even in the midst of the long, dark days, we can still find happiness.
“Christine has a natural gift for capturing the human form and spirit.”
Christine Keeley is a studio owner and independent photographer based in NY and Summit NJ, best known for her bold and emotive imagery. Christine’s lifelong passion for the visual and performing arts is reflected in her unique photographic style, capturing the natural movement and expressions of her subjects. Inspired by feminine strength, she uses the camera as a tool to elevate and inspire her subjects.
Christine developed her keen eye for visual storytelling at a young age, influenced by her father and maternal grandfather- both physicians and avid photography enthusiasts. Her large extended Irish-American family became her own visual time capsule of the complex moments in time of human love, innocence, joy, sorrow, hope and contradiction.
With a lengthy corporate career and the rise of digital art, Christine was able to envision a path to a successful business as an entrepreneur. After raising her two young children, she made the bold career move to the visual arts, where she naturally felt the transition to photography. She invested heavily in fine-tuning her craft, shooting in the studios of some of the world’s top fashion and beauty photographers. A year later, Christine’s instagram @christinek_nyc led to her first commercial shoot - and she never looked back. In 2018, Christine was invited to join a boutique art gallery in New York as Associate Art Director which led to a position on the board of Summit Public Arts. From there, Christine embarked on her own exhibition projects in NYC and NJ. You can learn more here:
Christine Keeley Photography
Instagram: @christinek_nyc
I make art to heal and inspire myself and to transform the resilience and strength women carry in themselves into a visual form that encourages and empowers all women, from young to old. My collages reunite women with nature by placing them in landscapes, decorating them with found objects, and re-contextualizing their power. I want to emphasize the beauty of nature and the natural beauty of all women. By paying attention to the changing seasons, I understand more deeply the seasons in my own life and connect the world around me to the phases in a woman’s life.
Maria Estrela was born in Cascais, Portugal and raised in a large extended family from Cape Verde, West Africa. Settling in Newark, NJ in 2002, she attended The Newark School of the Arts in 2008, where she was able to further develop, explore, and broaden her interest in digital photography. Estrela’s photographs of nature and scenes from independent travels serve as a means of self expression, escape, and self-healing. Photography is where she finds stillness, freedom, and a doorway to connect to her inner self. Maria’s interest in collages started when she met Artist Mansa Mussa in 2018 in one of his collage workshops. Since that first experience, collages and mixed media have become part of her artistic development. You can learn more here: IG @estrela37_ and www.mariaestrela.com
This wonderful event will contain a performance by up and coming singers Marilyn Castillo and Nedelka Sotello.
"Marilyn is a rising Latin Diva with a soulful voice" - Ilana Martin, Vocal Workout
Marilyn Castillo is an independent Chicana singer-songwriter who comes from a long lineage of musicians and troubadours who passed on the passion for fine, bold and moving music that make both her singing and songwriting exotic and glamorous.
She is currently co-producing her first solo album “Chicana en Nueva York” with themes of her authorship, her first single “Todavia” granting her the Latin Artist Revelation of Premios Latinos Fama in 2019. In 2020 she released her second single "Noche de Marzo".
Born and raised in El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, México her love for these borderlands and in order to take her music career to another level Marilyn moved to New York in 2014 and has lived there ever since. She has shared the stage with Bobby Cruz, Richie Ray, Arturo Ortíz, and Latin Grammy winners Samuel Torres Flor de Toloache among others. In 2018 she became the female lead singer of Calpulli Mexican Dance Company. She is also the lead singer of Mexican Latin Alternative band Adderesound.
Nedelka Sotelo is a performer/teaching artist born and raised in Mexico City. Currently living in New York acting with different theater companies (Teatro SEA, Mexico Beyond Mariachi, etc) and singing with her Mexican Reggae Band "Nedelka & Latin Roots".
Won’t you join us, March 13 - 2-5 PM. Let us know you are coming.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/whm2022-art-exhibition-featuring-the-latin-jazzy-sounds-of-marilyn-castillo-tickets-288314084187
Gregory Burrus is a local live music ambassador, producer, promoter, event planner, and community partner. Gregory Burrus 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://www.jerseyindie.com/ji-blogger-gregory-burrus
https://patch.com/users/gregburrus
By Gregory Burrus | Posted Friday, March 11, 2022
Today on Interviews by Gregory Burrus Productions, we encountered a truly fabulous, soulful multidimensional singer. As you may know, a live music career is a business that requires the performer to stay relevant in the audience’s mind. The performer in order to be successful must be committed to ensure long-term relevance. Dara Tucker has found many ways to stay in the minds of fans using multiple platforms and, as her bio proclaims, singer/songwriter Dara Tucker is no stranger to producing “composition as commentary.”
“Dreams of Waking (album) refers to the hope that our society will develop an awareness of the inequities that still exist,” Tucker said. “It’s the dream that we will become fully conscious and attuned to the hopes, dreams and needs of every human being.”
Happily for us, we were able to book Dara Tucker for a Jazz973 event at Clements Place Jazz. Having done some preliminary research, we wanted to catch up with Dara and understand more about her upcoming event and get to know a little more about this multidimensional person. Take a listen.
Dara Starr Tucker Interviewed by Lynette Sheard for Gregory Burrus Productions.
Dara Tucker has an extensive singing career with many successful awards and accomplishments. She began songwriting while living in Switzerland in 2003 and moved to Nashville in 2004 to pursue a career as a singer-songwriter. She recorded the first of her albums, "All Right Now" in 2009. It featured mostly Great American Songbook standards. Her second album, Soul Said Yes (2011), was a blend of R&B, jazz and Gospel and it made Amazon.com's top 10 R&B chart within a few weeks of its release. Tucker's third release, The Sun Season (2014), was recorded in Astoria, Queens, New York. It reached number 62 on the JazzWeek charts on September 22, 2014.
In 2015, Dara was interviewed by Tavis Smiley for his PBS television show, where she performed an original song she wrote with her sister, Diamond Tucker, entitled, "Giants" from The Sun Season. In 2016, she opened for Gregory Porter in Nashville at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. That year, Dara Tucker was a finalist in the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival's vocal competition. In 2017, she won the silver medal at the "American Traditions" vocal competition in Savannah, which requires singers to perform in 9 separate genres.
Dara has produced a docu-series on Nashville musicians called, "Music City Select" through her production company, GoldenTime Films. She is a contributor to the Huffington Post where she writes essays on her personal experiences as a minority and a woman in the entertainment business. Her article, "Here's to the Ladies Who Cuss" was featured on The Huffington Post Voices homepage. In my research, I found this comment:
“In the coming year, I will be more loving, and I will be kinder. I will also stake a claim in my own life. I am compelled to make room for myself. I will not always be pleasing or appropriate, but I will blossom. If something is deemed inappropriate for my life, let it be me who does the deeming. I will scream when I need to scream. I will shout and be heard. And I will cuss when I feel like cussing.”
This definitely leads us to the other Dara, who produces “composition as commentary.”
The great part about these interviews is the advanced research we do, and on this one our interviewer Lynette Sherd was way ahead of me. While I saw music, Lynette alerted me to the massively active and successful TikTok-er, Dara Starr Tucker.
Now, for those that think TikTok is just dance and jokes, you should know that the Economic Times reported that: “The rankings show that TikTok knocked Google off the top spot in February, March and June this year, and has held the number one position since August. San Francisco: Popular short video-sharing platform TikTok has surpassed tech giant Google as the most popular website of the year, says a report. Dec 25, 2021.” Well, being in the top ten is huge; knocking off number one is phenomenal.
Dara, as a social commentary person, definitely delivers on the statement that I love, which is producing “composition as commentary.” This is evident when you jump on the other Dara Starr Tucker channels. With 17K followers on Instagram, her individual videos have received in some cases over 12K comments. Meanwhile, her social commentary on TikTok has 687 thousand followers, with individual videos garnering 1.6K comments. The engagement she has is truly amazing.
More recently, we had the pleasure of listening to Dara Tucker when she was a guest performer at the James Moody Scholars event. The event was special for us as Linda Moody wanted to honor the James Moody Scholarship Scholars with a live music concert during her time here as the first lady of the TD Moody Jazz Festival. There has been a recipient each year of the scholarship and now there were enough of them to have a band with a rhythm section. You can read more here as the James Moody Jazz Scholars Honored His Legacy In South Orange NJ.
This is where we first heard her wonderful voice and we encourage all of you to come on out and listen to her sing. It's a treat you don’t want to miss.
Dara Starr Tucker is making her mark in the world of music and activism as a singer, satirist and social commentator. Her latest album, Dreams of Waking: Music For A Better World (2021), was featured on Grammy.com and in American Songwriter Magazine. On the album, Tucker embraces the urgent, topical works of songwriters of the protest era, along with her own compositions, as vessels for justice awareness, instruction and healing. Last summer, the album reached #7 on the Jazzweek National Radio Charts and reached #6 on the ITUNES jazz chart.
Additionally, Dara Starr Tucker is the co-writer of "Oklahoma," the title song on Keb Mo's 2020 Grammy-winning "Best Americana Album." Tucker's justice and musical commentary on social media has been featured with HBO and Yahoo News. She has toured as a member of master guitarist Charlie Hunter's trio, appeared on NPR's Jazz Night in America and made her national television debut on PBS. Most recently, Dara has performed at Central Jersey Jazz Festival, Newark Museum of Art Jazz Series, Birdland (VocalMania), Smoke Jazz Club and Minton's.
Join Us: March 23, 7 - 10PM, Clements Place Jazz. 15 Washington Street, Newark, NJ.
Click to learn more: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jazz973-presents-dara-tucker-and-her-band-at-clements-place-jazz-tickets-295322667047
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://www.jerseyindie.com/ji-blogger-gregory-burrus
https://patch.com/users/gregburrus
By Gregory Burrus | Posted Tuesday, March 1, 2022
In its 20th year, the Lady Got Chops Festival Women’s History Month Music & Arts Festival presents some of the most notable women professionals playing Jazz in the industry. Since I love the concept of this festival, take a listen to our conversation between our fabulous interviewer Lynette Sheard with Bassist and Lady Got Chops Festival Founder Kim Clarke. Then, we write about Kim Clarke and her fabulous trio joining us at Clements Place Jazz for Women's History Month as part of the Lady Got Chops Festival.
Goddess on the tiger. Lady Got Chops 2022 calendar.
The Lady Got Chops festival, is an annual March Women’s History Month celebration which was conceived in 2003 by The Jazz Spot club owners Lillith Meyers, Tiecha Merritt and female bassist Kim Clarke. It was created to give women performers and bandleaders a chance to be recognized for their valuable contributions to the arts, and to globally elevate Women's History Month through the promotion of women's outstanding contributions (aka Chops), artistic and otherwise, during the month of March.
For seven years the festival was hosted at the legendary Jazz Spot in Brooklyn, New York until it closed its doors in 2009. The festival included a dance troupe in 2010 and had been renamed the Lady Got Chops Women’s History Month Music and Arts Festival. The festival has continued every March under the leadership of Kim Clarke.
The Lady Got Chops Women's History Month Music & Arts Festival Inc. is a 501c3 nonprofit corporation. Check out the history and this year’s lineup at http://ladygotchops.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ladygotchopsfestival.
For WHM2022, Kim Clarke is bringing with her some jazz industry heavyweights to perform at Rutgers-Newark Institute of Jazz Studies - Clements Place Jazz Club:
Kim Clarke- Bass
Iyayo Ikawa - Piano
Luciana Padmore - Drums
Kim is a founding member of the Lady Got Chops Festival. According to her website:
“New York native Kim A. Clarke is a parent, bassist, composer, bandleader, website developer, educator and earring designer. She performs alternately on the Acoustic Bass, Electric Upright, four and five-stringed Electric Bass Guitar, as the situation demands.
As an acoustic bassist, Kim traveled most notably with the late Joe Henderson Quartet (1986-7) throughout Europe. Internationally, she is noted as “at home in the Ron Carter School of HardBop”, “a dynamic Woman in Jazz who supported the intense rhythm of the Henderson group with unsuspected vitality and melodic solo passages,” as noted in the bio of the famed bassist Larry Graham, a great early influence on her playing concept. As an electric bassist, she has toured most extensively with Joseph Bowie's Defunkt Downtown in the 80s & Millennium Lineups.
She has performed with: Art Blakey, Marylou Williams, Bertha Hope, Harold Ousley, Jimmy Heath, Leon Thomas, Sun Ra, Sam Rivers, George Braith and Space Island, Rashied Ali, Junior Cooke, Ed Pazant, Clifford Jordan, Richard Williams, Tommy Turrentine, Steve Coleman and Five Elements, Andy Bey, Lionel Hampton, Arturo O'Farrill, Dr. Billy Taylor, Olu Dara, Cindy Blackman, Marilyn Mazur, Gracian Moncur, Philly Joe Jones, Geri Allen, Johnny O’Neal, and vocalists: Evelyn Blakey, Dakota Staton, Sarah Vaughn, Sheila Jordan, Antoinette Montague, Nikita White, Vanessa Rubin, Cassandra Wilson, Adela Dalto: George Gee Big Band, Jean-Paul Bourelly, the Ghetto Fighters (background vocalists with Jimi Hendrix), Victor Jones and Black Velvet. She toured China, performing with Mark Zhu, Chuangye Liu, Ronnie Burrage and Wayne Esscofery at the Dalian University of the Arts and the new Beijing Blue Note.
She participated in the Black Girls Rock Orchestra of 2016. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kim hosted the Jazz Foundation Jam session at Local 802 for seven years. Post-pandemic, the Jazz Foundation and Steve Jordan hosted a tribute to Charlie Parker called "BIRD CALLS." Highlights of 2019 musical collaborations include performing with Bertha Hope's Elmo Hope Project for the 28th Annual Jazz Foundation of America Loft Party.
Her touring experiences include work with the Yusef Lateef Quartet, National Black Theatre, The Are and Be Ensemble, Teri Thornton Trio, Bertha Hope Trio, Robert Palmer, Kit McClure Big Band, Rachel Z Trio, Bigfood, Wallace Roney and Cindy Blackman Quartet, Rhonda Ross-Kendrick, Oliver Lake and Jump Up, James Blood Ulmer Experience, Jack Mc Duff Quartet, Rodney Kendricks Quartet, and Jazzberry Jam.
She is also a recipient of Louis Armstrong Performing Arts Award — ElmCor Ivan Bartowski mention on Jazz Family Tree.”
“Yayoi is a wonder that comes along very rarely in each generation. A big intellect, with a big emotional spectrum, and a totally unique sound... She can do anything she thinks or feels” — Gil Goldstein (arranger/pianist)
According to her website:
“Born in Tokyo, Japan, but raised musically in New York, Yayoi is an experience in ingenuity and compassion. As an internationally acclaimed pianist, composer, arranger, and educator, Yayoi has worked in many countries. Being exposed to the diverse music scene in New York after moving from Japan, Yayoi quickly adopted herself in various styles of music such as Jazz, Gospel, R&B, Soul, Classical and World music. After completing her studies at New School where she received the Henry and Gill Block scholarship, Yayoi was a faculty member at the International Jazz and Dance Academy in Slovenia along with her mentor Reggie Workman in 2003 and 2004.
After recording a straight ahead jazz piano trio on the Nippon Crown release “Angel Eyes” in 2004, she self-produced “Color of Dreams” in 2005, displaying her original compositions. Yayoi has toured nationally as well as internationally with her groups and appeared at International Jazz festivals in Japan, Italy, Haiti, France, Slovenia, and Costa Rica. In 2008, Yayoi started “The Bridge Project” to create musical dialogue between New York and Tokyo musicians in an experimental environment. In 2009, the project toured in Costa Rica through a sponsorship of the U.S. Embassy. While working towards her master's degree at NYU, Yayoi’s orchestra work premiered at Lincoln Center in 2007. As a composer and arranger, Yayoi received commissions from the Modern Music Society of Tokyo, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, and Montreal-based sculptor David Baumflek.
Yayoi has worked with such legendary artists as Reggie Workman, Michael Carvin, Howard Johnson, Michal Urbaniak, Butch Morris, Craig Harris, Lenny Pickett, Frank Lacy, Lonnie Plaxico, Fostina Dixon, Salim Washington, Emeline Michel, James Germain, Daniel Bernard Roumain, The Meditations, Kaissa, Blitz the Ambassador, and more. Yayoi is a Music Director at First Baptist Church in Piscataway, NJ, and a jazz piano instructor at City College of New York, Brooklyn College. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies from International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan.”
Her musical activities can also be seen on her website, www.yayoiikawa.net.
According to her website:
“Bronx native and New York-based drummer Lucianna Padmore has been praised by Modern Drummer magazine for “Deep grooves and serious fusion chops.” Lucianna's versatile drumming is featured with artists in the Jazz, Hip-Hop, Funk, Rock, Pop and Fusion genres. An alumnus of LaGuardia High School for Music and the Performing Arts and the New School University, she has received awards from Jazz at Lincoln Center and BMI for her jazz improvisation.
As an educator, she is active in drum instruction and jazz outreach in the NY Tri-State area and abroad. Lucianna's current live performance projects include residencies in and around the Tri-State area with the John Smith Trio, as a member of HotJazz Jumpers, drummer for singer-songwriter Alyson Murray, Bertha Hope's Nu Trio and Quintet, as well as leading her own Quartet.
Lucianna Is working on various compositions of her own, in which she has just independently released a single entitled “Life Long Love Affair” featuring the incredible saxophonist Mr. Gerald Albright on alto saxophone. “Life Long Love Affair” is now available for purchase on all major digital platforms.
Lucianna is featured in the book Sticks and Skins, endorses Soul-Tone Cymbals, and plays her signature Scorpion 3A drumsticks.”
You can learn more about this fabulous drummer here: https://www.luciannapadmore.com
In closing, know that Jazz973 Presents Kim Clarke Trio at Clements Place Jazz will take place at 15 Washington Street, Newark, NJ 07102 on Wednesday, March 2nd, 7-9:30pm as part of the Lady Got Chops Festival. Prepare for a fabulous night of jazz.
Also know that the Lady Got Chops Festival runs for the entire month of March, so go support and prepare to hear some fabulous jazz all over the Tri-State area. There is a full calendar of events with some fabulous music every day. Check it out right here: The 20th Anniversary LADY GOT CHOPS Women's History Month Music & Arts Festival Calendar of Events.
Gregory Burrus books bands, produces, promotes, captures, and records live music events along with various other community and private activities.
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://www.jerseyindie.com/ji-blogger-gregory-burrus
https://patch.com/users/gregburrus
By Gregory Burrus | Posted Monday, February 14, 2022
In today's series of Keeping Jazz Alive, we talk about a venue that has had jazz performances on a regular basis for years, and then due to Pandemic plus the venue was sold, jazz has been missing for way too long. Well, SuzyQue’s is gone, and it's time to see if we can keep jazz alive at South Valley BBQ and Lounge. I say, let’s do it!!
John Lee and Friends at South Valley BBQ and Bar, formerly SuzyQue’s.
We’ll also review some Jazz Masters that have been performing there and are all about Keeping Jazz Alive. These musicians are notable not only because they play jazz music but because it has also become their life's journey. They have, in some cases, played with and had their careers moved forward by past jazz masters. Some of these musicians we have been listening to have been entrusted to keep the jazz legacy alive and they do so every day. Their journey in life is learning, teaching, and performing their original compositions but also the jazz music that has passed down through the generations. Today we tell this Keep Jazz Alive Story through the venue that has a wonderful history of jazz events, but first it’s about the musicians who have performed here and will again in upcoming performances, which is what it's all about.
John Lee on Bass with Aretha Franklin. John Lee with 2019 Grammy. (Images: Matters Magazine)
Most folks around here don't know that the unassuming friendly bass player leaning on the window playing the smooth bass as the jazz flows has an incredible musical legacy. As a recent Maplewood Matters Magazine article, “From Dizzy Gillespie to Aretha Franklin, John Lee is a South Orange Jazz All-Star”, stated:
“John Lee won a Grammy in 2019 for the ‘Best Latin Jazz / Jazz Album’ as the recording engineer, producer, and mixer for “Jazz Batá 2” by Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés.”
John Lee with Dizzy Gillespie. (Images: Matters Magazine)
If you don’t know, John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie is remembered by both critics and fans alike as one of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time. John Lee was Dizzy Gillespie's bassist for 10 years, from 1984 through 1993. He performed and recorded in the trumpet master's various bands, including the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet, Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, and Dizzy's Grammy Award-winning United Nation Orchestra.
John Lee has performed on over 50 albums and performed with the likes of Paquito D’Rivera, Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, McCoy Tyner, James Moody, Jimmy Heath, Joe Henderson, Larry Coryell, Gregory Hines, Claudio Roditi, Arturo Sandoval, Joachim Kühn, Philip Catherine, Gerry Brown and the aforementioned Legendary Dizzy Gillespie, etc.
Dizzy Gillespie Bands. (Image: dizzygillespie.org)
At the request of Dizzy’s family, John was asked to create an ongoing tribute to the great man and his music—and the concept for the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars was born. John is the bassist and Director of the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars, Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, and the Dizzy Gillespie Afro-Cuban Experience. The cast of musicians is an incredible list of great performers. These cats play some incredible music all around the world and are first-hand keeping jazz alive. (Read more at dizzygillespie.org.)
Artist Kevin O'Connell's "Giant Steps.” Read more on Gregory Burrus’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/19gFgMtOLv/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
John Lee supports, arranges, and organizes jazz events around the world, including the spectacular Giants of Jazz Concert at the South Orange Performing Arts Center. The Giants of Jazz Concert is an annual event that includes 70 fabulous worldwide musicians. John’s event was honored and captured in Artist Kevin O'Connell's "Giant Steps" giant mural in South Orange, NJ.
As the Grammy Award-winning record producer, audio engineer, and bass player who has produced over 100 recordings, John has a worldwide reach when it comes to the music business. When he performs, the band is always top-notch and you never know who might show up, as John always invites widely respected friends from all over the world to join in at our very local venue. Here’s a few upcoming friends that will perform with him in the upcoming performance:
Gerry Brown.
Gerry Brown began playing the drums at the age of five, and since 2000 he has been the drummer for Diana Ross. Gerry is a ”Jazz drummer who has featured with bassists Stanley Clarke and John Lee and is an ex-member of Chick Corea's Return To Forever.” (Read more here.)
His musical journey started with fellow schoolmate, Stanley Clarke, who introduced Gerry as a "Master Drummer" and the "first musician I ever played with!" Gerry, along with Stanley, crafted the revolutionary “School Days” recording which continues to inspire drummers and bassists worldwide.
Gerry Brown with Stanley Clarke at Newport Jazz Festival. Watch the video here.
His long list of accomplishments has landed him on stages and recording studios with George Benson, Marcus Miller, Lionel Ritchie, John Lee, Sonny Fortune, Alfonso Johnson and Phillip Bailey. He also has worked with the NDR Big Band, Brothers Johnson, Roberta Flack, Joe Sample, Slide Hampton, Tom Harrell, Larry Coryell, Dave Samuels, Chuck Loeb and Chick Corea.
Gerry Brown has performed at numerous SRO events worldwide and also holds the distinction of holding the drum chair for the legendary Stevie Wonder for 14 years.
Stevie Wonder/Gerry Brown Duet
His versatility is obviously well known in the industry as has also toured with Diana Ross, Jeffrey Osborne, plus others, and he still performs with some of the top musicians of today.
Gerry, formerly of Los Angeles, CA is lucky for us now residing in South Orange, NJ and continues to be a driving force in the industry. His first instructional drum video "R&B Drumming With Gerry Brown" was released to critical acclaim by numerous music publications. Gerry's insight as an educator and performer has established him as a sought after clinician for Yamaha Drums, Zildjian Cymbals & Drumsticks, and Evans Drumheads.
According to SOPAC’s website: “Born in East Baltimore, Maryland, Steve Carrington began playing the saxophone at age seven. After attending the Baltimore School for the Arts and Frederick Douglass High School (whose alumni include Cab Calloway), Carrington was awarded a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied with saxophonist Bill Pierce. His early influences were John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Grover Washington Jr., Hank Mobley, Dexter Gordon, and Freddie Hubbard.”
Steve Carrington on sax with John Lee Jazz on a Sunday afternoon at 100 Blanchard in South Orange, NJ.
“[In] New York, Steve sat in and performed with the likes of the late Elvin Jones, Joey DeFrancesco, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Wynton Marsalis, Wessel “Warmdaddy” Anderson, Eric Lewis (ELEW) and Chick Corea. He is close friends with his mentor Kenny Garrett. In a symbolic passing of the torch, Kenny gifted Steve with a saxophone in 2012. Long distances don’t prevent these two from sharing impromptu jam sessions via FaceTime, even when Kenny is on the road! […] In addition, Carrington has played with Charles Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Hargrove, Milt Hinton, Frank Wess and Jimmy Heath, among many others.” (Read more here.)
“Just keep that big beautiful smile and that big beautiful sound.” – Chick Corea
“Steve’s music and robust sound demands that you take a listen.” – Kenny Garrett.
As leader of his quartet, Carrington has opened for Abbey Lincoln, Lionel Hampton, Stanley Turrentine, and Milt Hinton. He has been performing with Kool and the Gang. Currently, he is a member of Greg Bandy’s band, the Valery Ponomarev Big Band, and Cyrus Chestnut’s African Reflections band. Carrington’s recordings include his debut album A Caring Tone (2014) and Mind Traveler (2019). He is also on the faculty of the Jazz Mentoring Program at the Eubie Blake Cultural Center in Baltimore.
Alex Collins is a New York City-based pianist, composer, arranger and vibraphonist. Alex made his debut at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival with the Brandon Wright Quartet in 2010.
Alex is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music (M.M. Jazz Composition) and earned his undergraduate degree from the Eastman School of Music (B.M. Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media (Piano)).
He received the Wynton Kelly Jazz Foundation Award for Jazz Achievement (2003) and participated in the prestigious Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead program (2006).
Aside from leading his own trio, Alex has performed in the bands of Ronnie Burrage, Micelle Coltrane, Big Funk, Gerry Gibbs, Karl Latham, John Lee, Lonnie Plaxico, Lenny White, and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars. Alex has performed at prolific venues across the city, such as the Blue Note, The Plaza Hotel, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola at Lincoln Center, Fat Cat and Smalls Jazz Club, just to name a few!
As you can see, it's an all-star cast, the jazz will be extraordinary, and now on to the venue that John Lee used to hang out in pre-Covid days and hopefully will again on a regular basis, once again.
The former SuzyQue’s, if you haven't heard, is under new ownership and is now a Black-owned restaurant. John Lee and Friends had a regular Jazz Night that we captured periodically on Facebook. As time progressed, things changed, and then COVID came along and stopped everything.
Well, SuzyQue’s now the new South Valley BBQ and Bar and the new owners are looking forward to creating a wonderful and warm environment for all patrons to enjoy live music. Their first very visible modification was a newly remodeled Blue Room for events.
With an upgraded menu and an outside seating area, there’s still lots of free parking, and they currently have Karaoke nights, DJ spinning nights, football watch nights and more. Of course, we would love to add a Jazzy Night, and we would love for Jazz Fans to come on out.
Let's work together at keeping jazz alive right here in West Orange, NJ.
Jazzy Nights Music with John Lee and Friends is coming to South Valley BBQ and Lounge, 34 S Valley Rd, West Orange, NJ 07052.
Live swinging jazz “like you like it.”
John Lee — Bass
Alex Collins — Keys
Gerry Brown — Drums
Steve Carrington — Sax
Please join us for 2 Sets - 8-9:15 PM and 9:45-11 PM
Limit Seating. To make reservations in advance, call (973) 736-7899.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnleeandfriends
Hope to see you at South Valley BBQ and Bar on Feb. 18th and beyond.
Gregory Burrus books bands, produces, promotes, captures, and records live music events along with various other community and private activities.
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.
So as you can see, these are some pretty cool places with awesome support groups and, more importantly, supportive venue owners, all hoping and helping to keep the Jazz Alive for a long, long time. If you want your favorite Jazz venue listed, let me know and I'll get you in on the next scheduled post.
By Gregory Burrus | Posted Thursday, January 27, 2022
Looking for someplace nice to go, have a great meal, some affordable drinks, and listen to some wonderful jazz music? Well, while everyone else is sitting at home on a Monday night, you can head on over to Jersey City and check out the Jazz Jam. It's run by drummer Noel Sagerman with a whole host of professional musicians at The Brightside Tavern.
The Brightside Tavern was opened nine years ago, and the goal was to create an atmosphere similar to that of Cheers. And, as it turned out, Brightside is even more cheerful than Cheers.
The Brightside Tavern, 141 Bright St., Jersey City, NJ 07302. (201) 435-1234
In a recent interview, “Brightside Tavern: Jersey City’s ‘Best-Kept Secret’”, I found this great description of Brightside restaurant:
“I love entertaining people and making them happy,” Tommy [Parisi aka Tommy 2 Scoops as patrons love to call him] told Hoboken Girl. In fact, he seems to have unlimited time and energy for everyone, whether he has known that person for five minutes or fifteen years […] The bar has become the center of gravity of a large community. In fact, it is one of Jersey City’s go-to spots for parties and events as the tavern is set up for large gatherings.”
Well, having chatted with Tommy, it's all true and I believe him when he says, “The tavern is not a gold mine… It’s a soul mine.” And yes, Monday is for jazz, for which more than a dozen local musicians are brought in to perform every week. And yes, I have been there to witness Tommy hopping on stage to render a “What a Wonderful World” to a roaring audience. “I was on National TV. I sang at [the] Apollo theater. The entire Louis Armstrong song. Think about it” said Tommy.
So yes, good times are guaranteed when the venue owner joins in the fun and the jam is jammin’. After all, Tommy has been very supportive and has kept the jam happening throughout the pandemic.
That’s right, at The Brightside Tavern you can jam your cares away with a host of professional musicians. Check them out below.
2nd and 4th Mondays
Jam leader Noel Sagerman is a jazz jam drummer from New Jersey and is proficient in all sorts of live music genres and settings from late-night jazz to early morning religious services. Noel Sagerman has been playing drums since elementary school in West Orange, NJ and started playing professionally at the University of Vermont. He then spent a year playing in Japan. Later, he returned to NJ and furthered his studies with teachers Bobby Thomas, Billy Higgins, and Tim Horner.
Noel Sagerman at Jersey City Jazz Festival
Some of the artists he has worked with include Irene Reid, Pharoah Sanders, "Big" John Patton, David "Fathead" Newman, Oliver Lake, Bruce Williams, Dave Stryker, Pat Tandy, Freddie Hendrix, Brandon McCune, and Pete Rodriguez, along with gospel singer/pianist Joshua Nelson on tour, and at Hopewell Baptist Church.
A regular in-demand drummer, Noel has played numerous venues and programs around New York and New Jersey such as 125st Showmans, Smalls, Smoke Jazz Club, Shanghai Jazz Restaurant & Bar, Rutgers Clements Place Jazz, Groove on Grove, McGinley Square Pub, Van Gogh's Ear Cafe, Englewood Ideal Lodge, New Brunswick Tavern on George, Jersey City Jazz Festival, Fox and Crow, South Orange Jazz On Sloan and many more. Noel is known as one of the hardest working drummers around and now is leading the killer jam at The Brightside Tavern in Jersey City. Come join Noel Sagerman and Friends on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the Month.
3rd Monday
“King James Gibbs III who currently tours with 8 time Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Joe Thomas was born in Newark, and raised in Irvington, New Jersey. He began playing the trumpet at the age of 14 and began his jazz training at The New Brunswick Jazz Institute, under instructor and legendary organist Radam Schwartz.”
James has performed with many notable musicians and organizations i.e. “the annual WBGO Jazz membership party and Gala at The Five Spot jazz club in New York City, […] studied with Betty [Carter] at Brooklyn Academy of Music and The Kennedy Center,” and in many other venues and festivals.
“James performs in multiple music genres: Jazz, Rock, R&B, Gospel, Latin, Reggae, Classical, Brazilian, and many other ethnic styles.”
James has shared the stage with many greats such as: Duke Ellington’s Orchestra bassist John Lamb, Rufus Reid, Buster Cooper, Mark Whitfield, Sean Jones, John Lee, Kenny Drew Jr, Terrence Blanchard of Spike Lee films, 8 time grammy nominated singer/songwriter Joe Thomas, Broadway actor Jerry Stiller, Eric Roberson (grammy nominated singer/songwriter), Smokin’ Joe Frazier, Roy Hargrove (trumpeter), Wynton Marsalis, Cecil Brooks III, Cyrus Chestnut, TS Monk, amongst many others. (Read more at www.rsberkeley.com/james-gibbs-iii.)
Come join King James Gibbs lll on the 3rd Monday of the Month.
1st Monday
According to the bio on his website:
“Steve Malski Niles is a pianist, vocalist, multimedia artist, writer, and educator currently living in New Jersey.
Steve began his musical career at the very early age of five years old with accordion and piano lessons, and had his first professional job at the age of twelve. The home of Steve’s upbringing was constantly filled with music, as his father and sister also played, and all listened to music constantly. He later went on to receive a Bachelor of Fine arts in Jazz Piano and Voice, graduating Summa Cum Laude from Long Island University. “
And, oh yeah, Steve has a book out on art as an alternate healing source. Check out The Power of Art in Healing and Transformation.
Come join Steve Niles on the 1st Monday of the Month.
There is a house band, but personnel varies. A number of swinging musicians have come through and joined in such as Jordan Piper, who was the house pianist and, more recently, Motoki Mihara as bassist, plus others like William Gorman, Nick Masters, Jonathan Kirschner, Tim Hegarty, Larry Pollack, and of course the house favorite, singer Mary Aiken.
As you can see, the jams are jumpin’ with something for everyone. You can have a great time every Monday as the jam has been running for 9 years since March 2013. The jams run from 7:30-11:30 pm and the house band plays a set to start, and then the Jam is open to the public. No special invite is needed, all you have to do is show up and have some fun.
The music will be slamming — a guaranteed good time when you attend. However, as you can imagine, the coronavirus pandemic has brought huge disruption to daily life and to many around the world. Concert halls are closed and many, if not most, Jazz venus have closed and some will never reopen.
According to The Washington Post:
“Jazz venues have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. They are hoping the worst is over […] jazz clubs were the hardest hit of all types of music venues, according to Audrey Fix Schaefer, the head of communications at the National Independent Venue Association.”
Needless to say, with gatherings being stopped or socially distanced, large sectors of the economy are still paralyzed and many members of the jazz community have still not recovered, so any help will be greatly appreciated. So what can you do to support the cause?
“KEYED UP! has quickly become NYC's favorite entity for musicians, audiences, and venues alike! Operating simultaneously in over 25 partner venues spanning from Jersey City, NJ to Sag Harbor, Long Island, we are proud to keep hundreds of musicians working and over a thousand hungry jazz listeners happy each week at no extra cost to our partner venues.” — jazzgeneration.org/keyed-up
You can donate to KEYED UP! here.
The program time is Monday evenings from 7:30 to 11:00 pm with no cover. We hope you attend the Jam, cheer, clap and have a great time.
Noel Sagerman at noelsagerman@hotmail.com with any questions.
https://www.facebook.com/TheBrightsideTavern
https://www.thebrightsidetavernnj.com
Become friendly with the Tip Bucket. Believe me, your support is highly appreciated by the musicians.
Please Support Jazz Music. I urge you to explore and click the links above. Don’t hesitate to call for more info and make some time in your schedule to visit The Brightside Tavern this year and say hi to everybody.
Don’t forget to let me know how your visit went. Tag @gregoryburrus or message me directly via text or FB msg, and of course enjoy the live jazz entertainment.
Gregory Burrus books bands, produces, promotes, captures, and records live music events along with various other community and private activities.
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.
So as you can see, these are some pretty cool places with awesome support groups and more importantly, supportive venue owners, all hoping and helping to keep the Jazz Alive for a long, long time. If you want your favorite Jazz venue listed, let me know and I'll get you in on the next scheduled post.
By Gregory Burrus | Posted Tuesday, January 25, 2022
In continuing this series on the people, venues and programs that are helping keep jazz alive, I was very happy to encounter Mr. Norman Mann who has been on the forefront of keeping jazz alive for a long time. He has been building and promoting jazz performances and jazz jams for many years, and in this series of Keeping Jazz Alive #4 we highlight Norman Mann and his latest venture at the Cricket Club in Irvington, NJ.
Norman Mann and Rafiki in Spiotta Park
Norman Mann plays congas, percussion, and sings. He has appeared with many of the top musicians in our area. Norman and his bands have performed in numerous venues around Northern New Jersey such as Newark's Clements Place Jazz, Taste Restaurant, Priory Jazz Club, Duke’s Southern Kitchen, Montclair’s Trumpets Jazz, City of Orange’s Mr. Jays, South Orange’s Spiotta Park and Jazz On Sloan at The Gazebo program, along with many other venues. And yes, the music is always well received.
Norman Mann is an alumnus and a Weequahic High School Football Hall of Famer and is widely respected within the community. Norman is the CEO of G Mann Productions and is bandleader of the popular band Norman Mann and Rafiki, which you can read more about here: Jazz973 Swinging Hard with Norman Mann and Rafiki at Clements Place Jazz for Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies. He has produced numerous jazz shows in many of the Tri-State area jazz clubs mentioned above. You may remember Norman who, along with Greg Salandis, managed the very popular jazz program at Skippers Plane Street Pub back in November 2007. Well, he's continuing the mission and his newest venture is producing Friday Night Jazz events at the Cricket Club Entertainment Complex.
The Legendary Cricket Club Entertainment Complex, 154 Eastern Pkwy, Irvington, NJ, www.cricketclubnj.com, (973) 388-8833
Someone who recently attended a Friday Night Jazz session at the Cricket Club summed up their experience as this:
"Venturing out on a 10 degree wind chill night in January as a musician for a jam, or just as a fan, lacks the common sense that God gave a goat. But once you arrive and that music hits you, there is nothing better."
— A Jazz Fan
And to me, that's what it's all about, so I say take a quick listen to this December performance. As you can see and hear, the jazz is jumpin’ and the place is poppin’. Norman Mann curates a stellar list of local musicians and they perform some incredible sets of music.
It should be evident from listening that the musicians and the folks in attendance truly enjoy the jazz on any given Friday Night at the Cricket Club. The atmosphere is warm, inviting and laid back. The good part is you can be up close and personal with some really great jazz performances.
The Cricket Entertainment Complex Service has timely service considering every industry is having issues securing resources. When I was there, the wait staff were very helpful and kept us informed on the progress of our order and our meals arrived in an appropriate time frame. Concerning food presentation, I'm not a fan of styrofoam containers, however I am told that in this world of a COVID pandemic, it is a safer, contactless way to serve food. The good part is the food was prepared well, hot and very tasty, and I would definitely order again. Drink prices were not overinflated and were actually very affordable.
As you will see when you listen in, depending on the fans of that night’s performers along with the neighborhood regulars in attendance and the type of music, you can have a very engaging talkative crowd enjoying themselves and the music, and/or you may experience a listening crowd. The Cricket Club has both because when the jazz starts swinging and the audience gets involved, everybody starts having fun.
The other thing I should mention is that the Cricket Club has an awesome, large, one-level, fenced-in attached outdoor parking lot with plenty of space.
The look of this non-descript multi-story building doesn't do justice to the good time you will have once you settle into your seat. We were in the smaller of the three rooms and we had plenty of room to move around and had a great time. And don’t forget that Norman Mann is keeping jazz alive big time by bringing in world class jazz musicians every time.
Attend the weekly Friday Night Jazz program.
https://www.facebook.com/norman.mann.33
https://www.facebook.com/CricketClub411/
Norman Mann (973) 518-4498
When you show up, be nice to the tip bucket.
Don't hesitate to support live music. Make some time in your schedule to visit Norman Mann at the Cricket Club this year for some great jazz.
Say hi to everybody and don't forget to let me know how your visit went. Take some pics, tag me and/or send directly to me via text or FB msg and, of course, enjoy the live jazz entertainment.
Gregory Burrus books bands and produces, promotes, captures, and records live music events along with various community and private activities. My mission is to help my customers, which are community groups, live music bands, and local nonprofits, reach their goals and accomplish their missions while enjoying the day-to-day process of life.
Learn more at:
https://24hoursofmusicjamboree.com
https://gregoryburrusproductions.com
So these Jazz Locations are some pretty cool places, with awesome support groups and, more importantly, supportive venue owners, hoping and helping to keep the Jazz Alive for a long long time. If you want your favorite Jazz venue listed, let me know and I'll get you in on the next scheduled post. https://gregoryburrusproductions.com/contact/
Photo Credit: Armando “OUTthere” Diaz
By Gregory Burrus | Posted Monday, January 24, 2022
“Let's support and embrace it and the sounds that come from this corner of OUR UNIVERSE.”
— Richard Pierson
In this corner of the universe is an establishment where the musicians and the owner have teamed up to fight the good fight of keeping jazz alive in Montclair, New Jersey. It's a team effort where the owner George, the drummer Richard Pierson and his very supportive group of fellow musicians are fighting the good fight every week by producing awesome, engaging jazz performances at this very local neighborhood spot called DLV Lounge.
DLV Lounge, 300 Bloomfield Ave, Montclair, NJ. Contact: 973-783-6988 after 6 pm.
According to their Facebook page:
“Established in 1972, the DLV Lounge in Montclair, NJ is a warm, friendly, family-owned neighborhood bar & lounge, with great live entertainment Thursday through Saturday. ‘DLV’ stands for Dutch/Louise/Valerie. Owned and operated by George.”
As soon as you step inside the doorway of this intimate cozy bar, you will most likely be greeted by the DLV owner George and a few regular patrons. As you settle into your seat, you will then discover an unpretentious place where the drinks are affordable and it has a friendly laid back environment and a relaxed atmosphere where almost everyone knows everybody.
When I was there, I actually met folks at the bar who stated they were just out for the night and were looking for something to do. As they were passing by they saw the sign in the window that said “Jazz” and they said “Oh Yeah!” Well, it’s all about the Jazz, and in doing some research I found this revealing 2015 quote by Richard Pierson in an article written by percussionist Bruce Tyler in the Montclair Dispatch titled “Montclair’s Hidden Gem is the DLV Lounge”:
“The DLV is a cultural icon or fast becoming one,” said Pierson. “We have people from all walks of life coming here. I feel like I am in Harlem when I’m here. It’s the best feeling in the world to have people come and know what they are listening to. It’s beautiful!”
Richard Pierson and friends at the DLV Lounge — July 23, 2015
Fast forward to today and you can see Richard is still committed to the cause of keeping Jazz alive at DLV. Hence, we can say thanks to Richard and a lot of local performing musicians. DLV is definitely a cultural icon in the neighborhood.
When interviewing Richard, you can hear the energy and love for his Life Story program. He describes the program as:
“Music that brings renowned guest artists from all over to the town of Montclair. Jazz On the Avenue is to become an influential cultural phenomenon in the community. Live Music Experience, Great Drinks, Warm Vibe, complimentary Snacks & CD's, while it lasts = Fun Times @ The DLV Lounge! “
JAZZ ON THE AVENUE with Richard Pierson Life Story Band, featuring the Fabulous Vocalist Jacqueline Harmon Johnson and the Super Dapper, Super Cool Rich Acciavatti.
Richard Pierson is a seasoned, professional drummer who has performed all over the US and has created music with many well-known, heavy hitter musicians young and old. Accomplishments include arranging and producing recording projects, and he is in the process of finishing a current CD.
I asked Richard how it all works on any given night with the Richard Pierson Life Story Band and the invited musicians. He explained that he has extensive connections from his on-the-road days which helps a lot in securing performers. Add to that, many musicians touch bass with him all the time. However, he makes sure everyone gets a chance to play. He tends to focus on a monthly theme. Last month was saxophone and this month is focused on guitar players.
Jacqueline Harmon Johnson is originally from Newark and now resides in East Orange, NJ. She started singing while attending college. A tireless advocate for jazz, Jacqueline’s desire to sing jazz and blues is deeply rooted in her belief that exposure to jazz will help educate the younger generation. She has performed in numerous venues around the tri-state area, so you should check her out to experience a bluesy, soulful, sultry, and engaging performance. I should also state that she is the force behind Fly Balloon Designs and has mastered the technique of using balloons to make venues look fabulous by creating balloon designs for any situation or environment.
Rich Acciavatti is a versatile NY Metro bassist, vocalist, and composer/arranger who has been playing over 50 years and worked with many artists over the years including Edgar Winter, Gap Mangione, Julie London, Candido, Steve Kuhn, Al Pierson (Guy Lombardo Orchestra), Jimmy Randolph, Bill Connors, and The Marvelettes. Rich has recorded numerous jingle dates, film scores, and “library” music for Don Sebesky, Teo Macero, and Tony Bongiovi. Aside from his love for playing jazz, Rich also is enthusiastic about world music and American music from the mid-19th century to the present. Come see Rich, he is one of the coolest bass players around.
All this means that you, the audience, will enjoy performances from the professional Jacqueline Harmon Johnson or a young up-and-coming vocalist like Avery Joi. Folks will enjoy seasoned bassist Rich Acciavatti along with the invited heavy hitters such as Dave Braham, Nat Janoff, Bill Saxon, Gene Ghee, Houston Person, King James Gibbs III, Charlie Sigler, Radam Schwartz, James Stewart and many others in between.
Richard knows them all, going way back. All to say, what could be better than a cool cozy environment for listening to some truly special jazz all surrounded by some very nice folks.
In Segment 3 of Keeping Jazz Alive, we highlighted a venue, a bandleader, and a group of supportive musicians that have been helping out on the scene for a very long time. We hope you enjoyed it, and here's the plan and we hope you can help:
Richard said there might be a Montclair Internet Radio Broadcast in the future. He will be seeking support from the Jazz Foundation of America.
Weekly Thursday Nights Sessions. Follow Richard to keep up to date: https://www.facebook.com/richarx.pierson
When you show up, find the tip bucket. If you don't see one, ask for it.
Finally, I urge you to explore the venue listed above, click the links, and don't hesitate to call and support live music. And please make some time in your schedule to visit DLV this year. Say hi to everybody, and don't forget to let me know how your visit went. Tag me or message me directly via text or FB msg and, of course, enjoy the live jazz entertainment.
Gregory Burrus books bands and produces, promotes, captures, and records live music events along with various community and private activities.
My mission is to help my customers, which are community groups, live music bands, and local nonprofits, reach their goals and accomplish their missions while enjoying the day-to-day process of life.
Learn more at 24hoursofmusicjamboree.com and gregoryburrusproductions.com.
So these are some pretty cool places, with awesome support groups and, more importantly, supportive venue owners, hoping and helping to keep the Jazz Alive for a long, long time. If you want your favorite Jazz venue listed, let me know at gregoryburrusproductions.com/contact and I'll get you in on the next scheduled post.
By Gregory Burrus | Posted Sunday, January 23, 2022
Since my mission is keeping live music thriving, I love encountering others that are very focused on that mission. In Segment 2 of Keeping Jazz Alive, we hear from a group of folks who are extremely passionate about keeping Jazz alive.
“Live performance opportunities dried up everywhere in the country — but NBJP was fortunate enough to be able to continue presenting during most of the ‘dark days.’“ — New Brunswick Jazz Project
In New Brunswick, NJ Jazz is alive and kicking along George Street. One very special place is Tavern on George, a bi-level pub with live jazz & a grand, open-timbered dining room serving burgers & housemade donuts.
Tavern on George, 361 George Street, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901. For reservations, call 732-545-6205.
There is live Jazz every Tuesday and Thursday from 7-10 pm. Bringing Great Jazz to Central Jersey. Live, straight-ahead jazz is presented weekly.
"The New Brunswick Jazz Project is quickly becoming New Jersey's freshest jazz presenters..." —The Star-Ledger
What's happening here is a very hard-working, very focused group that continues to produce some very serious jazz. As we all hope we are coming out of various versions of this pandemic, live music has suffered and is still suffering, yet there are groups like NBJP that have set themselves up to survive and thrive.
“The New Brunswick Jazz Project has created a real jazz scene and now regularly draws guests from all over the state, as well as New York and Pennsylvania, to Central Jersey to enjoy this quintessential, uniquely American music.” —The Star-Ledger
I contacted one of the NBJP founders, Virginia DeBerry, and she supplied some thoughts from the founders of the New Jersey Jazz Project. Of course, it's about jazz music, and hence, I improvised along the way with some great live music for your listening pleasure.
New Brunswick Jazz Project founders Jimmy Lenihan, Virginia DeBerry, and Michael Tublin.
VIRGINIA DEBERRY: 2022 marks the 12th year that the New Brunswick Jazz Project has been presenting weekly live jazz performances in New Brunswick, and considering how challenging 2020-2021 was for everyone, we are thrilled to still be around.
New Brunswick Jazz Project Interview - How New Brunswick Became a Hub for Jazz Music. Take a listen.
We did Facebook live streams from musicians' homes in March and April 2020 — the early days of the pandemic — and by May, the city of New Brunswick and New Brunswick City Center had rallied around the restaurants and downtown businesses and almost everyone moved outside onto streets that were closed to vehicular traffic. Tables were socially distant, masks were required.
Nat Adderley on Tavern on George, Aug. 2020.
We were able not only to present musicians at Tavern on George, our main venue, but at many other places in town. Everyone was looking for a way to "draw" customers, and live jazz was what they offered. As a result, in the midst of the lockdown, we had one of the busiest springs and summers we’ve ever had. When summer passed and the temperature dropped, Tavern on George erected a giant tent right on George Street which remained closed to traffic.
New Brunswick closes George Street to expand outdoor dining.
They had propane heaters throughout the tent, and we were able to keep the music going all winter long. I dare say, NBJP presented more live jazz than anyone in the tri-state (perhaps the whole country) during that time. Venues in NYC and Philly were closed, musicians were looking to play somewhere outside of their homes, and we were able to offer them an outlet... and an audience.
New Brunswick Jazz Project - Swingadelic at Tavern on George.
During that time, and really always, our audiences were supportive and grateful. We gave people somewhere to go and something safe to do outside of their homes. I can't count the number of thank you’s we received from the audience and from the musicians.
This week's #jazz performances at Tavern on George are Thursday, Jan. 28 — Jerry Weldon Music, and Sunday, Jan. 31 — Dave Mosko. #newbrunswicknj
A friend of mine said at this time that we are in a period of ‘never again’ and ‘not yet.’ Things will ‘never again’ be the way they were — the pandemic has changed us all. But we are ‘not yet’ at whatever will be our new normal. Going forward, I think the key to managing whatever our new normal turns out to be is to remain flexible, to improvise… it is jazz after all.
— Virginia, Jimmy & Mike
"Jazz is an open-ended music designed for open minds.” — Anonymous
Follow the New Brunswick Jazz Project at www.facebook.com/newbrunswickjazzproject.
“New Brunswick has now become a destination for jazz." ~ The New York Times
You Can Attend an Event
https://nbjp.org/events/month
You Can Donate
https://nbjp.org/sponsor-us-nbjp-org-npo/
Contact Them and Learn About How You Can Help.
Virginia DeBerry
Jimmy Lenihan,
Michael Tublin
New Brunswick Jazz Project produces and hosts the annual New Brunswick Festival
Gregory Burrus books bands, produces, promotes, captures, and records live music events along with various other community and private activities.
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.
Read more at http://gregoryburrusproductions.com
https://www.jerseyindie.com/ji-blogger-gregory-burrus
https://patch.com/users/gregburrus