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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…
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, Newark Working Kitchens (NWK) was launched in an effort to keep Newark’s local restaurants open and Brick City residents fed. This initiative was powered by Audible, the major online audiobook and podcast service, which has its headquarters in Newark. Just last month, Audible launched a new meal delivery service app, called “NWK Delivers (NWKD).” The app was created to continue and expand the work of Newark Working Kitchens. Aisha Glover, VP of Urban Innovation at Audible…
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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Well, Summer is quickly coming to a close but fortunately September 2022 has lots of Summer within the month along with a lot of live music events for sure. So here we go with Gregory Burrus Productions events all around our towns of Newark, Cranford, City of Orange, Maplewood, Linden, West Orange, Bloomfield and of course South Orange…
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Hey everybody, we have a great music scene running around the towns and we're proud of it. Our Jazzy live music events are the perfect way to spend a summer afternoon or evening. Our goal is to support local artists and help them get their music out there. Our events feature some of the best up-and-coming talent in the area, are family-friendly, and a great way to bring the community together…
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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:
By Gregory Burrus | Posted Friday, June 3, 2022
What's happening all around our towns for June 2022. Please join us.
Event Details: Friday, 6/3, 7-10 PM, Gemini Celebration featuring MPack Live with Lynette Sheard at South Valley BBQ and Lounge, Outdoor Patio, West Orange, NJ
Are you a Gemini? Come join us and have some birthday celebration fun with us at the new South Valley BBQ and Lounge luxurious new outdoor patio. Open to all with a new start time of 7PM. Bring a friend, family member, someone you just met, and let’s have some dancing fun. Register and make your reservation here and let us know you are coming or just show up for first come first serve seating availability. Prior events were sold out, so come early and get your seat, and let's dance!
Free, Open to Public:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jazzy-nights-presents-a-gemini-birthday-celebration-with-mpack-music-tickets-350663212107
Event Details: Saturday, 6/4, 11-4 PM, ArtBender / SoundBender Art and Live Music All Around Town, ArtBender Event SoundBender at Seton Village, South Orange, NJ
ArtBender is a celebration of creativity and self-expression, happening in and around South Orange, NJ on June 4, 2022 (rain date June 5). Community members are encouraged to gather at “creativity hubs” by starting communal projects in neighborhoods throughout the town. Local businesses are also encouraged to host an arts event. Past ArtBender events have included painting, chalk street art, poetry writing, and live music and dance performances.
Click to learn more:
https://www.facebook.com/events/782725869755494
Event Details: Saturday, 6/4, 8-10 PM, Jazz Funk Soul feat. Jeff Lorber, Everette Harp & Paul Jackson Jr. at The Woodland, Maplewood, NJ
Produced by Smooth Jazz New Jersey / Maplewood Arts & Culture, this supergroup can whisk your mind away with Jazz, humble your heart with Soul, and make your foot stomp with Funk. When describing the performance of “Jazz Funk Soul '' featuring 2018 Grammy-winner Jeff Lorber and Grammy nominees Everette Harp and Paul Jackson Jr., you’re talking about the real thing in adult contemporary music.
Purchase tickets at:
https://smoothjazznj.com/
Event Details: Saturday, 6/18, 2-3:30 PM, Live Music by Lynette Sheard & the James Austin Jr. Trio, "Juneteenth: Images Triumphant" at the West Orange Arts Council, West Orange, NJ
The “Juneteenth: Images Triumphant” art exhibition features the work of West Orange Arts Council members Dwight Carter (photography), Anthony Gartmond (drawings), Glendora Simonson (quilts), and Gabrielle Smith (quilts). A Juneteenth reception will take place on Saturday, June 18 from 12-4pm, featuring music produced by Gregory Burrus Productions with performances by Lynette Sheard Live featuring the James Austin Trio. The reception is supported by The Essex County (NJ) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated.”
Learn more:
https://woarts.org/blog-post/juneteenth-images-triumphant-june-4-july-9-2022/
Event Details: Sunday, 6/19, 2-4 PM, Dre Barnes Trio, SOPAC Juneteenth Holiday, South Orange, NJ
Join us in the SOPAC Lobby for the grand unveiling of the Juneteenth Community Art Project that was created at the painting event on June 17. Live music with Dre Barnes Trio. Light bites and refreshments will be available.
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Event Details: Sunday, 6/26, 3-6 PM, location TBA. The Barry Harris Institute of Jazz Presents the Richard Clements / Murray Wall 11th Street Bar Band featuring James Austin Jr, along with special guests including the Barry Harris Jazz Chorus, Phillip Bingham, and others.
Learn more:
Event Details: Wednesday, 6/29, 12-5 PM, MPack R&B Jam. Come sing, come play, join in, every Wed. at the Orange Farmers Market at Hickory & S Main St, City of Orange, NJ
Produced by the City of Orange Division of Recreation, the City of Orange Farmers Market returns on June 29. Join us on the grass across from McDonald’s, every Wednesday from noon to 5PM. Bring your tune or your instrument and join us.
Learn more:
Event Details: Thursday, 6/30, 6-8:30 PM, Stuff Brothers, Summer Sounds every Thursday at Eastman Clock Plaza Park, N Union Ave, Cranford, NJ
Produced by Downtown Cranford, grab a bite from a local restaurant and pull up a park bench for these special Thursday evening concerts in downtown Cranford. The streets come alive with a different sound from local artists each week. Performances take place at Eastman Clock Plaza.
Learn More:
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 Tuesday, May 31, 2022
Even with a rain delay and all that goes into rescheduling a festival of this size, the Under Cover Music Fest (UCMF) roared back into town on Sunday, May 15, 2022 with a huge impact. This event was produced by South Orange Downtown (SODT) and presented by Mark Murphy’s Music and Pollock Properties Group of Keller Williams. The expected 1,000 music lovers of all ages came out to the Sloan St. parking lot throughout the day and enjoyed an afternoon of FREE live music, a very lively and bustling beer garden, along with selected food vendors. But first, the music.
Talking to Mark Murphy, the presenting sponsor and owner of Mark Murphy’s Music, it was obvious he was very excited for the return of the Under Cover Festival and mentioned, “We all need this opportunity to get together, celebrate and listen to some great music in the heart of South Orange.” Well, the music was fantastic.
The Deadful Greats opened up strong, covering everything about the Grateful Dead. The Grateful Dead remained among the highest-grossing American touring acts for multiple decades and gained a committed fanbase by word-of-mouth and the exchange of live recordings due to the band's permissive stance on taping. Today, they played the best of the 70’s Grateful Dead. This group, the Deadful Greats, are a local group that has been pleasing audiences all around Northern New Jersey with their talent for years now, and they did not disappoint us. These are talented performers helping to keep the band's legacy and music alive, well, and vibrant. They did a wonderful job and brought their own unique style to this performance by bringing to life the words and melodies we all remember oh so well.
Next up was the Karl Latham Big Fun(k) Group covering Herbie Hancock, the 14-time GRAMMY Award-winner and Academy Award-winner, and internationally renowned pianist and composer. Talking about covering Herbie Hancock, I found out the day before in my conversation with Don Braden that he was on tour in Amman, Jordan with the great Herbie Hancock. Well, closer to home, Karl Latham and his band of awesome professionals — Bob Magnus on sax, Oscar Perez on keys, and Gary Foote on bass — were simply funkified and masterful. As audience member and music events producer Norman Mann stated: “These cats were excellent and off the chain. Just fabulous.”
Continuing the live music was Vivienne Frederick & Mark Murphy’s Music Faculty Band, and the audience loved their renditions of some of Stevie Wonder's most popular songs. Stevie Wonder is the singer-songwriter and musician who is credited as a pioneer and was influenced by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz.
Vivienne Frederick, a senior at Columbia High School, is headed this fall to the University of Miami (FL) to study music and has been with Mark Murphy's Music since she was young. This was a special farewell performance for Viv with the MMM Faculty Band as they played the electrifying music of Stevie Wonder. She has a beautiful melodic voice, and along with the Mark Murphy's Music Facility Band they did a superlative job in covering her childhood singing influence, Stevie Wonder.
Continuing the live music explosion was the rising star and always-on-point Autumn Jones and her band covering Lauryn Hill. Covering Lauren Hill was perfect for her because as she says the soulful R&B she creates is an expression of her life experiences as told through her stories, expressed in each of her songs. In covering Lauren Hill, this singer-songwriter with a strong vocal technique and songwriting capabilities did justice big time for the Lauren Hill fans. In addition, she brought along a band that performed some exquisite solos that were magical to listen to, and the overall performance was loudly applauded by all.
On stage next was the Dustin Kaufman band covering Phil Collins, who is an English drummer, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for his tenure as the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis.
Dustin Kaufman and his band were a great choice to perform our favorite Phil Collins tunes. The band was definitely on point with the music, and combined with a swinging vocalist who came in from California they had many in the audience singing along. Together, they provided some wonderful memories of Phil Collins tunes that will last for a long time to come.
Last but not least, it was time to hear some of the best music from one of the most legendary bands of all time. Charlie Pollock and Friends covered Led Zeppelin, an English rock band formed in London in 1968 that was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the best-selling music artists of all time. At the Under Cover Music Fest, it was time to relive the glory days of Led Zeppelin with Charlie Pollock and Friends. Charlie stated previously about covering Zepplin, “The greatest mountain to climb for a supergroup is the legendary Led Zeppelin! The best players, the hardest riffs, the weirdest lyrics and the most awesome fashion. Zeppelin has it all.”
Well, Charlie Pollock (seen on Broadway shows 9 to 5, David Bowie’s Lazarus, and Pretty Woman) and Friends performed beautifully as they sang a number of entertaining tunes that took the huge crowd back to many days gone by. The band provided a very lively and wonderful close to an enjoyable day of live music.
The beer garden was laid out nicely along one side of the Sloan Street parking lot ending at Fox & Falcon, which served as a food source on-site alongside Miti Miti, and both served the food in a very timely manner. One thing I was asked a lot was: “Where are all the other food vendors?” Seems folks once sitting or laid out on the ground did not want to venture afar. Other than that, people enjoyed themselves as they filled up from the available fare for purchase or negotiated a trip to an outside location.
There were even kids activities provided by select participants to keep children entertained while parents enjoyed the music. Security was visible at every entrance point so everyone could enjoy themselves safely.
As mentioned previously, the festival was previously held on Sloan Street, and moving it into the Sloan Street parking lot was a wonderful, widely successful move. People came out in droves with lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy themselves as they watched these wonderful artists perform music from our early days.
Gregory Burrus with the fabulous Autumn Jones.
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
By Patricia Rogers | Posted Monday, May 9, 2022
"Wrestling is a love story,” - Cody Rhodes
I am back from Dallas and feeling better than ever. I had the pleasure of going to Texas for WWE Wrestlemania as a part of my women’s wrestling podcast, Those Wrestling Girls.
If I had one word to describe what wrestling fans call “Mania Week” is passion.
When hoards of fans travel to the host city of the biggest wrestling events in the world, the streets are filled with people dressed in t-shirts adorned with their favorite stars, and championship belts.
It is almost like everyone there is buzzing with excitement. There is love in the air because we are all there for the same reason, the love of pro wrestling.
This was the first time my friend and co-host Krista B. and I were able to travel outside of New York for Mania Week. The entire trip was one of firsts, and I can say it was the best weekend of my life. I got to meet a lot of friends that I have known online for years for the first time. Including other black wrestling podcasters, and tastemakers in the industry. We were able to have fun, network, and make unforgettable memories including working out of the press box, floor seats to see my all-time favorite, WWE Hall of Famer and Texas native Stone Cold Steve Austin (TWICE!), and the bonding that took place at the after after-parties.
I am already planning the next trip to Los Angeles, California for 2023.
KIPP AMP School teacher, musician, & Wrestling Club founder Mr. Perry. Okay, his name is Victor but I was introduced to him by my mother as that so for my sister and me, he will always be Mr. Perry.
He is a great sixth-grade teacher and one that many of us wish we had when we were younger. Like myself, he grew up a wrestling fan and there were times that he did not have other people with whom he was able to talk about it. My mother introduced us, and we have been good friends ever since.
I was honored when he sent me his proposal to start a wrestling club in his school, KIPP AMP Brooklyn. Students can come to his classroom on lunch breaks to watch matches and documentaries. After the club was approved by the school he posted pictures and videos of his students enjoying marquee matches and it soon went viral. Everyone praised the young teacher for bringing wrestling to his students, and how fans of all ages and backgrounds wished they had a teacher like Mr. Perry.
Not only were other fans inspired by what Mr. Perry was doing, but so were WWE superstars themselves. It was not long before one of the biggest WWE superstars in the world reached out to Mr. Perry asking to visit his club. She is someone who has had a passion for wrestling since watching WWE for the first time at 10 years old. Sasha Banks had to face many obstacles growing up and has been very vocal about how much wrestling has saved her life and given her a purpose. So I can only imagine what it meant to her to see Mr. Perry’s students enjoying a club like that.
“One day while I was in the middle of class teaching, I got a Twitter notification and I briefly looked and saw that it was from WWE. I had to keep calm while in class and after class, I read the message and saw that Sasha really wanted to come to see The Wrestling Club… Never did I actually think that could happen. From that interaction on we made it happen. I have so much love for WWE for working with me and the school to create such a beautiful moment that will live forever in the lives of my students. I've gotten phone calls, text messages, emails, from students telling me how much it meant to them,” says Victor Perry.
The students lost their minds and were so moved by her visit. Banks answered questions from the kids who were eloquent, respectful, and filled with joy. I think the most memorable part for me was seeing how much it meant to the kids but also what it meant to Sasha Banks. She kept thanking Mr. Perry and the entire moment was genuine and emotional.
He went on to share with me, “Meeting Sasha I realized quickly that she was like the sister I never had. She's so easy to talk to. She was so warm and inviting and you could see the joy all over her face. I think this moment not only meant a lot for my kiddos but it also meant a lot to her. She got to dance and sing to her iconic theme song, answer and give some insightful words of wisdom and take the best photos ever with The Wrestling Club. She's inspiring a whole generation, the future. Not many people can say that! I'm really happy we could make this possible. I hope we can continue to have others stop by and hang out with the kids in the club. I want The Wrestling Club to be the coolest club ever."
Relive the entire experience with me exclusively on Those Wrestling Girls Patreon. Thank you, Sasha Banks, WWE, KIPP AMP Brooklyn, and Mr. Perry for making that moment happen for those kids. Glad I was able to experience that.
The University of Orange, the free-people university and non-profit organization based in Orange, New Jersey is gearing up for its annual music festival this month.
The 6th annual Music City Festival takes place from May 13-15 at eight different outdoor venues around the city. Over 50 musicians will be performing in partnership with the following restaurants: D’3Fold, Reddz Bistro & Grill, Sarrah’s Cafe Trinbago, Inner City Cafe, Four City Brewery, Benji’s Taqueria, and Hat City Kitchen.
Performers include Alexandra & Real Music, Asad & King Sykes, Big Naut, Jazz Millionaire, Paul Lombardo & Juliana Carr, Voices in Harmony, Orange All-City Chorus, Orange Concert Choir, and Mighty Marching Tornadoes.
Music has always been a part of the fabric of Orange, New Jersey. The diversity is showcased at this festival every year bringing the city together in harmony. The festival is sponsored by lead sponsors HANDS Inc., M&T Bank, DAAB Kids, co-sponsors Four City Brewery, NAACP of the Oranges & Maplewood, and Missing Link Music.
You can sign up to volunteer at the University of Orange’s Music City Festival here.
Great Love is Never Easy
Growing as a person and learning lessons in life along the way is probably one of my favorite things about life. It kind of makes it all makes sense to me. One thing that I have learned and accepted for the better is that nothing worth having in life will come easy. And this could not be more true when it comes to love. I don’t know if there is such thing as true love, but I do believe that we all have great loves out there that will strike you like a thunderbolt when you least expect it. It will feel intoxicating, and it will be all-consuming. However, it will not be easy. It will feel big, destructive, exuberant, dangerous, and inescapable.
As a writer, I like to think that the storm great love brings into your life is worth it because great love stories are the best stories. And whether we like it or not, the best stories make us laugh, cry, angry, sad, and happy. In real life, not so much. But I will always say that experiencing love in life is a blessing and believe that it is better to have love and loss than to never have loved at all.
It’s Okay to Rebrand
The tip this week is probably a little hypocritical as I tend to preach about how important branding is. This means your brand’s tone, voice, colors, logos, and even the font. But I learned that social media is always changing and you have to evolve with the ever-changing strategies. I think it is important to find the balance between trying new things to see what works and also keeping up the brand loyalty you have built with your followers and listeners.
These tips are for those who have not gone to college for social media marketing but for those who are creative up-starts and were brave enough to utilize the free tools at our disposal to start their own brands and companies. We are real people, we change our minds, and a lot of creative fields are fluid. Think about fashion, every year the new It color or fit or length changes with the times. And I think the way we approach social media marketing with our brands should be the same thing.
So if in your soul, or during a meditation you want to change your logo from yellow to pink or want to start featuring different guests on your show to cater to different communities. This is okay because we all change. That is what is exciting about life.
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 Sunday, April 24, 2022
We have had some absolutely fabulous Jazzy Nights events this year, and one of the bands that's become a favorite and will be returning often is the MPack band.
MPack brings an explosive energy to the stage, guaranteed to rock the house all night long! 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 bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, drummer and vocalist Clarence 'Groove Master' Conover.
M-Pack Music Productions Motto
“Life Changing Sounds”
This cross-genre musician is creatively talented, and he has gathered other like-minded musicians and vocalists that will join him on occasion:
Vocalist Patricia Walton
Vocalist Lynette Sheard
Pianist/keyboardist Larry Greenberg
Drummer Kevin "Natz" Moore
Guitarist Kenny Robinson
Guitarist Brett Calder
Thankfully, we can go back inside and this year Jazzy Nights is happy to present MPack Music Live at South Valley BBQ & Lounge. Here's an introduction to the band because this year’s Jazzy Nights repeat performance will have our favorite musicians returning, plus a few of Clarence’s friends. We also list a few performances so you can get a feel of why you should come on out.
Clarence Conover, also known as the ‘Groove Master’, is a bandleader, bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, drummer and vocalist. Clarence founded M-Pack Music productions over 4 decades ago with the motto “Life Changing Sounds”. Clarence has performed and recorded with Patti Labelle, Teddy Pendergrass, Grover Washington Jr., The Delfonics, Bo Diddley and more. Clarence is currently performing at numerous venues across the Tri-State area such as Morris Museum, South Orange Performing Arts Center, South Valley Lounge, Jazz On Sloan, S.O. Crossroads, and is a highly requested performer at many NJ towns annual live music outdoor series. When he’s not on stage, he’s in the studio devising new music for his fans. And here's a taste from our last event so you can enjoy it.
Born in Germany, raised in New York and currently residing in New Jersey, Patricia has been singing since she can remember. Her singing career started in school choir, while still in Germany. She was a soloist and member of the Mt. Sinai UCC choir, a member of One Accord, and as a lead vocalist for several party/dance bands and has performed at various venues in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Currently she performs both as a Solo Jazz singer and is featured artist in Jazz, Blues and R&B Band as the lead vocalist of MPack! Her warm voice is sure to put a smile on your face and set your feet tapping!
Lynette Sheard is a gifted versatile vocalist with a five octave range. She is an actor, producer and director. She is the unseated “West Orange Idol”. Her performances have been acknowledged in numerous publications including, NY Times, The Record and the Chronicle. The Star Ledger proclaims that “Her voice reaches deep into one’s soul and finds a soft spot” She performs Jazz, R&B, Gospel, Soul and Pop music throughout the tri-state area. From our last event here's Lynette Sheard leading on Rufus & Chaka Khan - Sweet Thing.
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 former Skyy band member “Call Me” topped Billboard’s R&B chart and was No. 26 on the pop side. Larry is a regular on the New Jersey live music scene and has performed in many local venues at the Morris Museum, South Orange Performing Arts Center, Roxy and Dukes, Crossroads and more.
Kev Moore is a Jersey boy through and through. He's been making music since he was a teenager, and his drum performances have won him fans all over the Garden State. This Master Drum from East Orange High School has performed in numerous venues across the industry, was part of the popular Band Aurra – Interviewed by Don Cornelius and has performed on the cutting edge of music, dance and culture Nationwide TV Show "Soul Train". Kev Moore is a local musician who has performed in many venues throughout New Jersey. Kev loves playing drums and interacting with audiences, and he always gets the crowd involved in the show. He has performed regularly at the Morris Museum, South Orange Performing Arts Center, Roxy and Dukes, Crossroads, and many other local spots.
Newark Arts High School Alum, Kenny Robinson is an in demand guitarist. He's a former longtime band member of The Black Widow Blues Band along with Ricki Lewis. Kenny has played at numerous venues , churches and special events around the Tri State area.
This veteran soulful guitarist list a Guitar Center Hero, a regular performer around Northern NJ venues such as The Vintage Edge Wine bar, Jazz in the Loft at South Orange Performing Arts Center, the South Orange Village Juneteenth Events along with regular performances Downtown After Sundown and at the memorable Roxy and Dukes. Along with being in MPAC Brett, performing in Harlem Nights fundraiser and is also a member of the very cool The Groove Syndicate band.
As you can see the musicians are heavy hitters playing across many venues throughout the Tristate and beyond…
South Valley BBQ Live Music By Gregory Burrus
MPack sings “Aint Nobody”
Take a listen above and note folks were singing along, sitting dancing, talking with friends, eating and just enjoying the moment all night long. The last sold-out Jazzy Nights event was packed at the beginning and full throughout the night and just like last year folks came to enjoy themselves. Inside we will be in the blue room of South Valley BBQ & Lounge under new ownership, so come find us.
The Blue Room
We are going to have a number of events as we move forward including one this Sat April 30. Read more: https://gregoryburrusproductions.com/events/ and https://www.facebook.com/jazzynightslive
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.
He 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 Live Music Ambassador.
By Sonia Schnee | Posted Saturday, March 12, 2022
Punk n’ roll band, Thrill Ride, brought some much-needed joy to passersby in South Orange-Maplewood (SOMA, for short) when they decided to move their practice sessions outdoors during the pandemic. I spoke with Paul Haley (guitar/vocals) and John Ramsburg (bass/vocals) of Thrill Ride at the end of March 2021, and now, almost a full year later, it’s interesting to see what things have changed and what has stayed the same. Paul and John are both cool guys, so it was a blast to learn about the inspiration behind their sound, their songs, and how their music has been received locally as well as internationally.
Joined by their drummer, Will Kramer — plus the band Forget the Whale — Thrill Ride will be performing live at Picket’s Village Bar in Maplewood on Saturday, March 19th, 7-10pm. Be sure to check it out! Also, be sure to follow Thrill Ride on social media for up-to-date announcements about new recordings and shows.
Thrill Ride is on Portland, OR via NYC via Buffalo, NY's Honey Puller Records.
Watch our interview above, or read the transcript below.
(Video and transcript have been edited for time and clarity.)
JOHN RAMSBURG: I'm John Ramsburg. I play the bass, I sing, and I write some of the songs in Thrill Ride.
PAUL HALEY: My name is Paul Haley. I'm the guitarist. John and I, we share songwriting responsibilities. We live in SOMA, NJ. I don't know what the outsiders think of that term, but we in South Orange or Maplewood call it "SOMA" for short. Will Kramer, our drummer, also lives in Maplewood.
Thrill Ride is actually the remaining members of our previous band, Dollar Store Riot. Thea Kearney, our singer at the time, needed to take a break. Dollar Store Riot went on hiatus, and John, Will, and I looked at each other and said, "Well, do we want to keep going or what?" We decided to keep going, so we came up with a new name, Thrill Ride, and we've been going ever since.
John came into the band shortly after Dollar Store Riot played Maplewoodstock back in 2016. It's probably the biggest musical event in Maplewood every year, every summer. Of course, last summer they canceled it because of the pandemic and, hopefully, we'll get back to that, but it's a very fun event. Dollar Store Riot had the opportunity to play. That was our original bass player's last show. I think John saw us playing and we offered him the job, which he happily took. Do I have the history right, John?
JOHN RAMSBURG: Yeah. So I've been friends with the drummer, Will, for quite some time. Our boys are the same age, went to school together. So when their bass player left, he knew that I played bass and asked me to audition. I got the part, learned all their songs, and we played for a while.
PAUL HALEY: It's kind of funny, John. You were in the band for, like, 17 minutes and then we put him in a Dollar Store Riot video.
JOHN RAMSBURG: Yeah, I'm in a video. It's not even my bass!
PAUL HALEY: Oh, God. It'll take me three days to list mine. You go first, John.
JOHN RAMSBURG: Basically, your standard alternative garage. "Dad bands" is what they call us around town now. Our influences are The Police, The Clash, Buffalo Tom. All three of us come from very similar yet varied enough backgrounds where we each bring something interesting when we're working on new songs. If you liked to listen to 120 Minutes back in the day on MTV, you'd probably enjoy watching one of our shows.
PAUL HALEY: John and I share a bunch of favorite bands. When I hear our music, especially that last song that you added to the NJ Artists You Should Know (2021) playlist, "Shelf", it kind of reminds me of a The-Police-meets-The-Clash kind of thing.
I also hear a lot of what I like to call "punk n' roll." I hear Social Distortion. I hear many different influences coming in. Definitely, I wouldn't be playing guitar if it wasn't for bands like Buffalo Tom and The Lemonheads —that pop-influenced fuzz rock, overdriven rock, and things like that.
Will [Kramer] went to college out in the Seattle area — I think Evergreen State — and he grew up in the Boston area, so he definitely brings a lot of influences from there. It's kind of interesting how it all comes together. Will, John, and I definitely click. We could start playing something and it'll all start falling together.
Thrill Ride performs "Last Night" while in social isolation for a "Live" remote gig!
PAUL HALEY: Well, we just can't sit around. I mean, the funny thing is — and I kind of said this to the band — even though the pandemic hit last year, Thrill Ride was very productive, and I don't know if it was just a timing thing, but John, didn't we release like five or six songs?
JOHN RAMSBURG: Well, we got lucky in that we had gotten in the studio and recorded a bunch of scratch tracks right before they shut everything down. So then I was able to record from home and sent tracks in to our buddy, Tom. He does all of our mixing and recording. Will and Paul would pop in when it was safe. Paul gets tested every week, so it was safer for him to go in than for me. I was more comfortable staying home. But yeah, it was frustrating because we had planned a five-song EP. We recorded a bunch of the scratch tracks, and then we had to stop everything. So we used part of that to put out the videos. So, we all recorded separately, listening to the same song. I edited a bunch of it together and posted it up. Then when we had time, we'd work through one of the songs, get it mixed, and put it out. So then our five-song EP became this slow drip of singles that kept coming out. It kept us moving, which is good.
PAUL HALEY: Oh yeah. Ha!
PAUL HALEY: I was trying to remember who wrote the lyrics, and I said, "Oh, wait, I wrote those!" I'll plead the fifth on a lot of that. Especially the chorus.
John handled that song very well. When he was learning to sing this song, I sent him the lyrics. Then when we went to record, he had the original lyrics that I had since revised. When I heard him do it, I was like, "I thought I gave you revised lyrics" and he was like, "No, these are it", and I'm like, "Well, those are the original lyrics." You remember that, John? I said, "OK, we'll leave that. I like that." I guess I had to hear the original ones again. I'm kind of glad that he got the original lyrics as opposed to the revised ones.
JOHN RAMSBURG: He had so many words per minute, it was off the charts, especially for one of our songs. We're very short, succinct. Tom Lucas, our engineer, said it's our “prog” song.
JOHN RAMSBURG: Laughing Boys Recording.
PAUL HALEY: Laughing Boys is out of South Orange. I'll probably get this wrong a little bit, but Tom was a producer in New York for many years and then he built a home studio. It's a home away from home. He's a great guy, I mean, all-around good guy. He plays in every band in South Orange and Maplewood. I can't think of one band he never stepped into, except maybe ours. He added tracks to some of our songs, and even Dollar Store Riot songs. Some, we didn't even know he was going to do. I was listening to, I think it was the last Dollar Store Riot song we recorded. I heard organs in the chorus and I'm like, "Did we record that?" So I went to Tom. Tom, he is a sweetheart. I always say he's "the glue of SOMA", the music. He's just so involved. I said, "Tom, did you record organ?" He goes, "Yeah, I felt like doing that. What do you think?" I said, "Yeah, it sounds great!" I recommend everybody to go to his studio to record, for sure. One block off of South Orange Avenue.
PAUL HALEY: John can basically hit Tom's house with a rock. I'm a little bit farther, but it's still very close. Tom's great to work with. He'll give you feedback. You know, a lot of studios, they're demanding money. With Tom, you've got to remind him, "Hey, we owe you some money." He'll be like, "Oh, yeah." You know what I mean? He does it for the love of the music. That's a great person to work with, for sure. So we're very lucky in that respect.
PAUL HALEY: That was John's brilliant idea. Those organs that you have, it’s all John. That's a John song from start to finish. I mean that in the highest regard. It's a fantastic song. John, I don't think I ever told you, but I love the fact that you put French in it. I think it's great.
JOHN RAMSBURG: I woke up one morning and I had the whole song, the verse-chorus. I ran downstairs. It's one of those moments where I was like, "I gotta write this down." I got my phone, a recorder, and I just played it straight out and it was done, the song was over. I showed it to the guys and we came up with the bridge, so it wasn't a minute long. The French is the first verse just repeated. I don't know where I got the idea for the French, but I just started singing it in French, my broken high school French, and it stuck. In just, like, five minutes I had the song done. That's the only time that's ever happened to me in my life.
PAUL HALEY: I have to say, that's definitely one of my favorite songs in our catalog. It's a fun, catchy song. John really put a great song together for us.
Thrill Ride. Top: Paul Haley (Bass/Vocals). Left: Will Kramer (Drums). Right: John Ramsburg (Bass/Vocals).
JOHN RAMSBURG: Well, the one song we were working on at this last rehearsal, it's called "Started to Stop." I actually wrote it with my daughter. She's 11 now, but she was 10 when we wrote it.
PAUL HALEY: The next song we're working on is a song called "Ride" that John also wrote. Again, a fun song to play.
JOHN RAMSBURG: I like working with Will and Paul because a lot of the times when I write songs at home, it's more like alt-country for the sound because I just sit with my acoustic guitar and play something either sad or trying to tell a bit of a story. Then I bring it to them, and they're like, "OK, so we're going to play it faster than this, right?" and then it progresses and becomes our grungy, punky feel that we have. So "Ride" started like that. When I play it on the piano, it sounds more like a Springsteen song than when we play it together as a band. It's like a straight Social Distortion-esque rockabilly style. So it comes at you really fast and just keeps on going right to the end. Very danceable. I want to see people dancing at our gigs.
JOHN RAMSBURG: For me, it all happens at the same time. I'll be messed around with some chords or have an idea and the words will just come out. They might be nonsensical, but I might get a core of something I want to talk about, and then I'll expand off of that on the lyrics. Sometimes I'm inspired by sitting on the train, New Jersey Transit. I heard a couple talking. They were basically saying, "We've gotta slow this relationship down." That's where "Chill Out" came from.
"Half as Much" is more about the social media obsession I was going through at the time, where I was just never present, I was always looking at my phone, and there was no reciprocation because it's social media — it doesn't care. Things like that. So I've pulled from all over. Sometimes I hear a song and I'll say, "I really like the way that song sounds" and I try to figure out that chord structure and see what I can change to make it mine and then build on that. So just a little bit of everything. It's a potpourri of songwriting.
PAUL HALEY: I would say usually it's the guitar riff that comes together. I'll dig through a bunch of lyrics and not like any of them. I tend to be more of a stickler with the lyrics. I can tell you that every line that I write means something. The meaning may be a subtle joke or somebody in mind. I would argue that all the lyrics that I write are usually about somebody.
When I think of songs like "Over His Emo", it's about one specific person.
"Beat a Skip" is, again, about a specific person. We wrote a really, really heroin chic version of it, and then one day we just decided to speed it up, and so we got two versions of it. We tend to play to the methamphetamine version of it now. I like playing it both ways, but I have to say the faster way is the fun way to play it.
I got this little acoustic guitar that I bought my son a long time ago. It's one of those three-quarter travel ones. I have it right next to the couch. I'll be watching March Madness and working on a riff and be like "Oh, this works!" But it's usually the riff first and then the lyrics, for sure.
PAUL HALEY: That's all John. He's got the connections.
JOHN RAMSBURG: I was checking either CD Baby or Spotify for Artists, and I saw someone in Vietnam had listened to our whole album, which I thought was great. So that was cool because Paul's right, I have friends who live in Europe and Canada. Their friends are nice, they take a listen to it. But now it's starting to pop up in different playlists, which is pretty cool because I'm not doing this to be famous. I really enjoy writing and playing music, and I have a fun time doing it, and if other people like what I put down, that's great.
PAUL HALEY: There were some interesting ones that popped up. It makes you wonder. Actually, while we're talking, I think I'll look!
JOHN RAMSBURG: To hear or see that there are other people who like the music enough to listen to it again on Spotify, or they're discovering it on their own separate from me somehow, I just think it's cool. I'm very grateful. It's very humbling.
PAUL HALEY: My kids are a little bit older than John's. I've got a junior and a freshman. I don't know if they ever listen to it, but every once in a while my oldest son, Aiden, will come and say, "Oh, I saw somebody in town wearing your band shirt." He'll say it just like that. My youngest, Liam, none of his friends say anything, but some of Aiden's friends have said things to me, like "Oh, I heard your new song. It sounds great."
JOHN RAMSBURG: My boy's older. He's in seventh grade, and one of his friends really, really likes us. He has our stickers on his wall, on his desk. He has both versions of our T-shirt. His parents come and see our shows a lot. You know, we're a neighborhood band. A lot of our friends come see us when we do gigs around town.
My daughter, she does backing vocals on "Bleed For Three", but that's about it. Her friends are like, they don't care. My kids don't care when we're playing. It's like, "Oh, are you going to come to the gig?" They're like, "Well, who's going to be there?" and then they go play with their friends while we're doing the show, you know? That's about it.
PAUL HALEY: I think the funniest thing is when you walk around SOMA or you're driving somewhere and you see somebody with the shirt. I saw someone a couple of months ago, and I just started laughing because you just don't expect to see it. I'm like, "Oh, wow, somebody actually owns one of our shirts!" It's cool. It's fun.
JOHN RAMSBURG: When we play in the city, a couple of people I work with will come out, which is nice. It's good, too, because we're normally one of the first sets. At 7 or 8 o'clock, no one's in the bar anyway, so actually having people show up makes it more than just a glorified practice. Some of my coworkers and ex-coworkers from previous jobs still keep tabs on the band. I let them know when we have a new release out and they'll listen. Some of them ask for the new shirts, so Paul's kind enough to ship them out.
PAUL HALEY: With my new job here, our office is officially open but we only have about four or five people, and I don't really know everybody yet. It was kind of weird, like this week there was somebody actually sitting a safe distance away from me. After months of nobody, it was like a Cast Away kind of moment. I was like, "Whoa! Are you going to be here tomorrow?" because it kind of freaked me out! I'm just not used to so many people here, you know? But my bigger point is I really am just starting to get to know people, and it's kind of difficult when no one's in the office and you're just depending on Teams or Zoom and stuff like that. No one even knows that I play music yet, and that's OK.
JOHN RAMSBURG: In my office, our global office newsletter actually included either the video for "Last Night" or "Chill Out." It was in the beginning of the pandemic when they were saying, "This is what people are doing while they're at home." So a whole bunch of people in my company found out that way, and I got positive feedback from that. So that was nice, to get exposure any way you can.
PAUL HALEY: I think 2020 is a highlight for me. I think we played two shows before the pandemic hit, and then we were able to play an outdoor show on November 20th or something like that, right, John? You would think would be cold and nasty, but it turned out to be, like, 68 degrees and we were playing outdoors on Springfield Ave at this open market kind of thing. So many people showed up.
There are so many bands in SOMA, NJ and beyond that we're friends with, that we get to play with. Recording and getting those singles out in 2020, I think those are the highlights for me — just continuing to play despite the pandemic and everything else and playing with our friends and having friends come and see us. People were aching so much [to see live music] in November. I got so many texts like, "Hey, I drove by and saw your band!" I would consider that a highlight, and just getting those songs out. That momentum.
JOHN RAMSBURG: This band is actually the first one where I actually got to step up front and do the writing and singing and have a lot of support. The other bands I've been with have been supportive, I really liked working with them. One of my really good friends from college and I've been in a band forever and he is an amazing musician and singer, and I was always happy to be playing bass and working with him on his songs, but being able to finally come out in Thrill Ride and say, "Here are my songs. Do you want to play them?" and Paul and Will are like, "Yes, let's do this" and the affirmation that comes along with that, it's like, "I can do this!" Also, accepting the fact that a song's never really going to be finished, but I'm going to say it's good enough for me to play it out loud for people to hear. I think those are good personal highlights for me, just accepting that I can do this, and I'm really enjoying it. It's fun.
I was a theater major in school, so acting and stuff and being in front of people was fine for me, but I always felt that songwriting and singing was never something I was very strong at. So being able to overcome that with this group is the biggest highlight.
Also, some of the places we've gotten to play, like Asbury Park, Pianos in the city, just a lot of venues that I'd walk by or see other friends' bands play, and just popping in and getting to meet all these other great bands. This community here in South Orange-Maplewood, getting to play with our friends Tri-State, there's Maplewolf. They're a country cover band and they're great and it's fun to do a set with them because it just flips everything on its head when you're doing sets together. I love playing in this town. Everyone's so supportive. I can't wait to play gigs with some of the new bands that are coming up, like Thea [Kearney]'s band, Megasparkle. I think it'd be fun to go play with them, too.
Paulie’s Boutique. SOMA NJ rocker Paul J. Haley (Thrill Ride, Die-Cast Cars, Dollar Store Riot, Drunken Bird) plays 60 minutes of an eclectic musical mix (hardcore/punk to indie rock to hip-hop and more), including Local SOMA/NJ band spotlights and theme-based episodes for your auditory and spiritual healing.
LISTEN LIVE! Tuesdays at 10 p.m. & Wednesday at 11 p.m.
Listen at bonepoolradio.com.
PAUL HALEY: John and I also have radio shows on Bone Pool Radio. I tend to do a lot of mixed shows. I'm 30 shows in — Paulie’s Boutique, it's called. Whenever I do a mixed show, it's an eclectic mix. I always made sure to put a local band in the show. Then, I increased it from one local band — and this basically means SOMA, NJ and beyond, but in New Jersey — and then I decided, well, I can't keep up with this, I have to add two. Then eventually it turned into where I just put together two exclusive shows about all the great bands in New Jersey, and I'm not even done yet! You can probably relate to that. Then I realize that every time I put one of those exclusive shows together, I forgot about all these bands over here.
SOMA, NJ has so many great bands within close vicinity, a lot of fantastic bands. I don't want to speak on behalf of John, but I feel very lucky to be part of that whole musical scene, being friends with all these bands. Everybody gets along playing along, and it's just a great thing. I hope to see it continue. It's definitely a fun scene. It took a little bit of time to come to fruition, but it definitely did. There are all these great bands, from the doom metal Green Dragon, to what I call the "Indigo Girls-sound" of Marry the Sea, to Tom Lucas of Laughing Boys Recording. He's got that great band, Sad About Girls. It's just crazy.
JOHN RAMSBURG: We are on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @thrillridebandnj. You can find us on Spotify, Apple Music, and iTunes. Google "Thrill Ride." You can also hear us played on Bone Pool Radio. That's an iHeartRadio station, so you can check them out there. That's the New Jersey local station where Paul and I have shows.
You can reach out to me on Instagram and Facebook if you want to talk about band stuff. I'm always happy to chat. Same with Paul Haley. You can look us up any time.
So Paul, who would you want to play with?
PAUL HALEY: You said "alive or dead." I would love a chance to play with The Clash, or maybe when hell freezes over and The Smiths get back together. Another one of my favorite bands, Buffalo Tom. If I had to collaborate, I'd probably do it with members of local bands. Members of Tri-State, I would love to have a chance to play with. Allied Chemical is no more, but I would love to have a chance to play with some of those guys. Tom Lucas of Laughing Boys Recording and Sad About Girls, for sure. So, definitely a lot of local bands.
JOHN RAMSBURG: I like a lot of different styles. I'm obsessed with Toad the Wet Sprocket ever since I was in high school, so I would love to get a chance just to play, let alone hang out with Glen Phillips and just see how he does his songwriting or just playing, jamming some songs, just having a good time with them. Lucero, an alt-country band. Not everybody's heard of them, but they write some really beautiful, heartfelt music. I really enjoy the way they write a song. If I had a chance to go back and sit with Black Sabbath and play bass along. I love blues metal. It's just fantastic. I was just listening to an earlier Wolfmother record. That guy changes his band every three weeks, so if I can get a cycle in there for one tour, that'd be awesome.
To what Paul was saying about collaborating locally, I've had this idea knocking around my head for a while where we do a charity record, but we all do a cover of somebody else's song in town. I think that would be a lot of fun.
PAUL HALEY: I want to give a plug for Bone Pool Radio. Everybody should give Bone Pool Radio a listen, not necessarily for John or my show, but just overall listen to it, www.BonePoolRadio.com. They've got the app, iHeartRadio. They have their own app. It's just a great radio station. John and I are friends with the owner [Michelle S. Lomuscio]. She always wanted to have a radio station, so she made one. It's a lot of fun to do, and it's just great to have a radio station again. So whoever wants to listen, definitely give it a listen. It's a great station.
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 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 Sunday, February 27, 2022
9 years ago, Ife Basim (Joy Topping-Mann) started a Women's History Month Celebration because she felt that the accomplishments of many local women go unnoticed. Ife feels that bringing attention to these everyday heroes, applauding them for their excellence and recognizing them now helps build the bonds of sisterhood. By staying true to the mission, the annual WHM event has become a vehicle that encourages and helps women unite, share their gifts, talents, accomplishments and the event also motivates the young and old to share their gifts with the world.
Also in today's environment, we figure why not applaud these local important figures while they can still appreciate it. Recent events like the worldwide pandemic clearly pointed out the need to use time wisely and appreciate each other even more. We are all still adjusting to our “new normal” world and true to form WHM switched from all in-person in 2019, to all online in 2020 and now in 2021 our new normal is a hybrid approach for 2022. The message and objective has not changed, which is to get the word out that we have all made it this far through the many challenges of the pandemic and we are still here. Ife Basim’s WHM platform is now in it’s 9th year and these events continue to grow our spirit.
Today, in Part 1, we take a look back over the years and understand the WHM spirit as we prepare for WHM2022. We talk with the founder and gain a first-hand view of WHM's past and a little bit about its future. Take a listen.
Gregory Burrus Productions Interviewer, Lynette Sheard, Singer Interviews Founder Ife Basim on the History of Women's History Month Celebrations.
Reflecting upon the 9 years of WHM events, we discuss the highlights of the first 8 years, view the beautiful poster artwork, and who performed, with links to all the fun we had.
Year 2014
Date: March 7, 2014
Theme: "Women in Jazz"
Featured vocalists: Jackie Jones and Cynthia Holiday
Special Tribute: Amira Baraka, Yvette Glover, Denise McCoy, Barbara Kukla, wrote The Encyclopedia of Newark Jazz and Dorthaan Kirk, NEA Jazz Master and Newark's First Lady of Jazz.
Live Music: Girl Talk Jam Session
View more — a taste of 2014: https://www.gregoryburrusaroundtown.com/Ife-Basim-Masterpieces/20140303-1st-Annual-Womens-History-Month-Celebration/
Year: 2015
Date: March 13, 2015
Theme: “Weaving the Stories of Women's Lives”
Featured Vocalists: Joy Elaine and Jacque Harmon Johnson
Special Tributes: Kathy L. Spivey, Inez McClendon, Jaklyn DeVore
And Gwen Moten, ED, Mayor's Office of Arts, Cultural Development and Tourism
Live Music: Brandon McCune, Vince Ector, Calvin Jones
View more — a taste of 2015: 20150303 2nd Annual Womens History Month - Gregory Burrus Around Town
Year: 2016
The Date: March 11, 2016
Theme: "Her Story"
Featured Vocalists Joy Elaine, Patricia Walton, Joy F Brown, PJ Parker, Phyllis Blandford and and Omisanye Karade
Special: Vendors and After Party
View more — a taste of 2016: https://www.gregoryburrusaroundtown.com/Ife-Basim-Masterpieces/2016-3rd-Annual-Womens-History-Month-Her-Story/
Year: 2017
Date: March 31, 2017
Theme: "Protect Your Peace"
Featured Vocalists: Phyllis Blandford, Lynette Sheard, Patricia Walton, Jackie Gilliam, Dana F. Hawkins
Special: Vendors
Live Music: Brianne Ford, Kim Clarke, Whisper McCray, Sheryl Bailey, Debra Kreisberg
View more — a taste of 2017: https://www.gregoryburrusaroundtown.com/Ife-Basim-Masterpieces/20170331-4th-Annual-Womens-History-Month-Celebration
Year: 2018
Date: March 30, 2018
Theme: "I'm Every Woman"
Featured Vocalists Joy Elaine, Patricia Walton, Joy F Brown, PJ Parker, Phyllis Blandford and and Omisanye Karade
Special Acts: "I'm Every Woman" program ad booklet, a donation to Sierra House, a safe haven for at-risk youth and young adult women and Sierra House representative Marcia Dash, beautiful balloon stilettos by the Balloon Lady Jacqueline Harmon Johnson, Dwight West and Anthony Avent, James (A-Natural) tribute song, “Diaspora to African American,” Gregory Burrus Around Town for your fabulous photography, support, wisdom, direction, promotions, Ami Brabson of "Phenomenal Women” & Dr. Stephanie D. Burroughs Inspirational Speaker/Trainer/Business & Thought Therapy Coach, artist Cathleen McCoy Bristol, and Nettie Forman. Hosted by Norman Mann.
Live Music: MPACK Music Clarence Conover, Brett Caulder, Joe Scarpetto, PatriciaWalton
View more — a taste of 2018: 2018 5th-Annual-Womens-History-Month-Celebration - Gregory Burrus Around Town
Year: 2019
Date: March 1, 2019
Theme: "Representation Matters"
Featured Vocalist: Daria Jones
Special Activities: Hosted by Celeste Bateman, Casual Wear and Islamic designs by Shadiyah Cobbertt-Hutchinson, "Women Who Matter" were acknowledged for their outstanding achievements, dramatic reading of an original play, "Storms Weathered".... written by Ife Basim, supported victims of domestic abuse, "Women Who Batter."
Live Music: Daria Jones Band
View more — a taste of 2019: https://www.gregoryburrusaroundtown.com/Ife-Basim-Masterpieces/20190301-6th-Annual-Womens-History-Month-Ife-Basim
Year: 2020
Date: March 1, 2020
Theme: "Living Life on Purpose"
Featured Vocalists: Sheba Jordan
Special: The 7th Annual Women's History Month Celebration (WHM2020) was dedicated to the memory of the unforgettable Yvette Glover. Skits on Mental Health Awareness were performed by the 'Mental Health Players' directed by Lynette Sheard. Mental Health Players: Lynette Sheard, Yvette Glover, Joy Elaine, Phyliis Blandford, Patricia Walton, Jacquelyn Harmond Johnson, Zakiyyah Zaimah, Omisanya Karade.
Live Music: Clarence Conover, Eddie Belton, Norman Mann, Larry Greenberg, sitting in James Gibbs and guitar player.
Also, a special tribute to a woman who exemplifies Living Life on Purpose.
View more — a taste of 2020: https://www.gregoryburrusaroundtown.com/Ife-Basim-Masterpieces/20200306-7th-Annual-Womens-History-Month
Year: 2021
Date: March 26, 2021
Theme: “Refresh in Progress" (COVID-19 pandemic, live-streamed)
Featured Vocalists: Joy Topping Man, Zakiyyah Zaimah, Phlyllis Blanford and Patricia Walton
Special Performers: Comedian Tonya Agosto, Author Phyllis Vivens Hudson, ED readings from her book of recovery “Flying on Broken Wings”
Live Music: Pianist Brandon McCune
You can re-watch the “Refresh in Progress” show on:
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ifebasimproductions
Web at http://ifebasim.tv
View more — a taste of 2021: https://www.gregoryburrusaroundtown.com/Ife-Basim-Masterpieces/WHM2021-8th-Annual-Womens-History-Month-Celebration
We hope you come join us Friday, March 4th and have some fun with us.
Year: 2022
Date: March 4, 2022
Theme: “Just Us. Just Music”
Featured Vocalists: Joy Mann, Patricia Walton, Phyllis Blandford and and Omisanye Karade
Special Venue: Cricket Club Entertainment Complex
Live Music: Caylen Bryant, Iyonna Herbert, Lee Odom, Kate Cosco
Meet Your Producer: Joy Topping-Mann (aka Ife Basim)
Support Us GoFundme: http://ifebasimmasterpieces.com
Stay tuned right here for Part 2 as we review the March 4th WHM2022. Our coverage will provide details on the performers, the new venue, the Cricket Club Entertainment Complex, which we are very excited about, more quotes from the founder, and everything that happens. Check back right here: https://www.jerseyindie.com/ji-blogger-gregory-burrus
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
Closing out a beautiful night of great photography and live music.
By Gregory Burrus | Posted Saturday, February 26, 2022
Encountering photographs and artwork directly — as opposed to viewing online or in a book — is important and enriching. An exhibition invites visitors to slow down and to experience work as the artist/photographer and curator intended. When one is viewing this South Orange Performing Arts Center Black History Month exhibition and are viewing the photography of local photographer Patrick Hilaire, your first impression or instinctive reaction might be like many others, “Wow he captured all of ‘this’ within one click of the camera.” Yes, some amazing shots were on display at the Patrick Hilaire LIGHT [+SOUND] Photography Exhibition. As explained in an earlier post, Patrick has a detailed preparation process, and these shots clearly demonstrate that Patrick, when working on site, is working within the moment.
“The exhibition showcases 25 stunning black-and-white portraits of Jazz musicians. Every portrait in this exhibition tells its own story,” says curator, Jeremy Moss. The Haitian-born self-taught photographer’s ability to capture compelling musical moments by renowned artists has brought Hilaire widespread acclaim. “Musical events are the intersection where the rhythm of the performer and photographer get to meet,” says Hilaire. “It’s really moments that I try to capture, and those moments only happen once.”
Patrick Hilaire talks about the motivation behind the photography.
During this reception’s artist talk, Patrick took the time to explain more of the motives and feelings behind his shooting process. Patrick discussed the musicians and their impact upon his process, which is more than just the shot. He also reflected on their commitment to the music and their history.
Take a listen.
You can also learn more here in a prior Jersey Indie post - Celebrate Black History Month with Patrick Hilaire.
John Lee and Friends perform at Patrick Hilaire’s LIGHT [+SOUND] Photography Exhibition.
During the exhibition, jazz could be heard across the exhibition floors. The mellow swinging sounds were waffling through the air. Folks actually were able to listen to the music, view the photos, and actually see one of the artists photographed in the gallery exhibition playing the music. A pretty cool move. The musicians performing also have an extensive musical history across the industry, which their bios reflect, and it makes the photography process even sweeter. Check them out.
Bassist John Lee — A Grammy-winning recording engineer/producer, has performed as bassist with legendary Dizzy Gillespie for 10 years and with other luminaries such as Aretha Franklin, Paquito D'Rivera, Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, McCoy Tyner, James Moody, Jimmy Heath, Joe Henderson, Larry Coryell, Gregory Hines, Claudio Roditi, Arturo Sandoval amongst many others. John Lee runs from Dizzy Gillespie to Aretha Franklin and into the stars of today. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lee_(bassist))
Drummer Gerry Brown — Was Stevie Wonder's drummer for 14 years, helped create the legendary world-famous jazz tune "School Days'' with his friend Stanley Clark, is an ex-member of Chick Corea's iconic world renown tune "Return To Forever", performed with Kool and the Gang, and is currently touring with Diana Ross. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerry_Brown_(drummer))
Pianist Alex Collins — A New York City-based pianist, composer, arranger and vibraphonist, made his debut at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival with the Brandon Wright Quartet, has performed with Ronnie Burrage, Micelle Coltrane, Big Funk, Gerry Gibbs, Karl Latham, John Lee, Lonnie Plaxico, Lenny White, and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars amongst many others. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-collins-9ba56b4)
It made for some beautiful music, and you can read more about the musicians here on JerseyIndie — https://bit.ly/jazzyNightswJoh...
Swinging with John Lee and Friends.
The music portion of the night was enjoyed tremendously. Here are a few comments from reception attendees:
Patrick’s black and white photography was aesthetically sexy. He captured the passion of the musician behind the drums and the commitment of the hornist on the Asbury Park boardwalk. And the smooth sounds of jazz were just the right compliment for the night. — CC M
Had a marvelous time with great music and wonderful photography.
It was a wonderful event and the photo exhibition will remain up, so come by and you won’t be disappointed! — Linda C.
Fantastic! Patrick Hilaire is my favorite photographer. — Charlie A
Exhibition promotion and other shots not on display.
While this exhibition ends on Feb. 28th in The Herb + Milly Iris Gallery at SOPAC, we hope you get to see it.
We also advise you to continue to view even more Patrick Hilaire photography. You can stay up to date here on his IG, @l1stener. If you like what you see at the exhibition, know that his art will be available for purchase as these will be museum-quality archival pigment prints on Bright White Velvet 100% rag paper.
Photo Credit: Patrick Hilaire
Gregory Burrus is a local live music producer, promoter who captures, and records live music performances, community events and private engagements. Gregory also loves to write and blog about the art and entertainment scene across New Jersey and New York.
My mission is to help artists, live music bands, community groups, and local nonprofits reach their goals and accomplish their mission while thoroughly enjoying the day-to-day process of life.
Learn more at:
https://www.jerseyindie.com/ji-blogger-gregory-burrus
http://gregoryburrusproductions.com
http://24hoursofmusicjamboree.com
https://patch.com/users/gregburrus
