Keeping Jazz Alive - Jamming with Noel Sagerman at The Brightside Tavern in Jersey City 

By Gregory Burrus | Posted Thursday, January 27, 2022

Looking for someplace nice to go, have a great meal, some affordable drinks, and listen to some wonderful jazz music? Well, while everyone else is sitting at home on a Monday night, you can head on over to Jersey City and check out the Jazz Jam. It's run by drummer Noel Sagerman with a whole host of professional musicians at The Brightside Tavern.

 

The Brightside Tavern

The Brightside Tavern was opened nine years ago, and the goal was to create an atmosphere similar to that of Cheers. And, as it turned out, Brightside is even more cheerful than Cheers.

The Brightside Tavern, 141 Bright St., Jersey City, NJ 07302. (201) 435-1234

In a recent interview, “Brightside Tavern: Jersey City’s ‘Best-Kept Secret’”, I found this great description of Brightside restaurant:

“I love entertaining people and making them happy,” Tommy [Parisi aka Tommy 2 Scoops as patrons love to call him] told Hoboken Girl. In fact, he seems to have unlimited time and energy for everyone, whether he has known that person for five minutes or fifteen years […] The bar has become the center of gravity of a large community. In fact, it is one of Jersey City’s go-to spots for parties and events as the tavern is set up for large gatherings.”

Well, having chatted with Tommy, it's all true and I believe him when he says, “The tavern is not a gold mine… It’s a soul mine.” And yes, Monday is for jazz, for which more than a dozen local musicians are brought in to perform every week. And yes, I have been there to witness Tommy hopping on stage to render a “What a Wonderful World” to a roaring audience. “I was on National TV. I sang at [the] Apollo theater. The entire Louis Armstrong song. Think about it” said Tommy.

So yes, good times are guaranteed when the venue owner joins in the fun and the jam is jammin’. After all, Tommy has been very supportive and has kept the jam happening throughout the pandemic.

 

About Your Monday Jazz Jam Hosts

That’s right, at The Brightside Tavern you can jam your cares away with a host of professional musicians. Check them out below. 

Jamming with Noel Sagerman and Friends

 2nd and 4th Mondays

Jam leader Noel Sagerman is a jazz jam drummer from New Jersey and is proficient in all sorts of live music genres and settings from late-night jazz to early morning religious services. Noel Sagerman has been playing drums since elementary school in West Orange, NJ and started playing professionally at the University of Vermont. He then spent a year playing in Japan. Later, he returned to NJ and furthered his studies with teachers Bobby Thomas, Billy Higgins, and Tim Horner. 

Noel Sagerman at Jersey City Jazz Festival

Some of the artists he has worked with include Irene Reid, Pharoah Sanders, "Big" John Patton, David "Fathead" Newman, Oliver Lake, Bruce Williams, Dave Stryker, Pat Tandy, Freddie Hendrix, Brandon McCune, and Pete Rodriguez, along with gospel singer/pianist Joshua Nelson on tour, and at Hopewell Baptist Church. 

A regular in-demand drummer, Noel has played numerous venues and programs around New York and New Jersey such as 125st Showmans, Smalls, Smoke Jazz Club, Shanghai Jazz Restaurant & Bar, Rutgers Clements Place Jazz, Groove on Grove, McGinley Square Pub, Van Gogh's Ear Cafe, Englewood Ideal Lodge, New Brunswick Tavern on George, Jersey City Jazz Festival, Fox and Crow, South Orange Jazz On Sloan and many more. Noel is known as one of the hardest working drummers around and now is leading the killer jam at The Brightside Tavern in Jersey City.  Come join Noel Sagerman and Friends on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the Month.

 

King James Gibbs lll

3rd Monday 

“King James Gibbs III who currently tours with 8 time Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Joe Thomas was born in Newark, and raised in Irvington, New Jersey. He began playing the trumpet at the age of 14 and began his jazz training at The New Brunswick Jazz Institute, under instructor and legendary organist Radam Schwartz.”

James has performed with many notable musicians and organizations i.e. “the annual WBGO Jazz membership party and Gala at The Five Spot jazz club in New York City, […] studied with Betty [Carter] at Brooklyn Academy of Music and The Kennedy Center,” and in many other venues and festivals.

“James performs in multiple music genres: Jazz, Rock, R&B, Gospel, Latin, Reggae, Classical, Brazilian, and many other ethnic styles.”

James has shared the stage with many greats such as: Duke Ellington’s Orchestra bassist John Lamb, Rufus Reid, Buster Cooper, Mark Whitfield, Sean Jones, John Lee, Kenny Drew Jr, Terrence Blanchard of Spike Lee films, 8 time grammy nominated singer/songwriter Joe Thomas, Broadway actor Jerry Stiller, Eric Roberson (grammy nominated singer/songwriter), Smokin’ Joe Frazier, Roy Hargrove (trumpeter), Wynton Marsalis, Cecil Brooks III, Cyrus Chestnut, TS Monk, amongst many others. (Read more at www.rsberkeley.com/james-gibbs-iii.)

Come join King James Gibbs lll on the 3rd Monday of the Month.

 

Steve Malski Miles

1st Monday 

According to the bio on his website:

“Steve Malski Niles is a pianist, vocalist, multimedia artist, writer, and educator currently living in New Jersey.

Steve began his musical career at the very early age of five years old with accordion and piano lessons, and had his first professional job at the age of twelve. The home of Steve’s upbringing was constantly filled with music, as his father and sister also played, and all listened to music constantly. He later went on to receive a Bachelor of Fine arts in Jazz Piano and Voice, graduating Summa Cum Laude from Long Island University. “

And, oh yeah, Steve has a book out on art as an alternate healing source. Check out The Power of Art in Healing and Transformation.

Come join Steve Niles on the 1st Monday of the Month.

 

About the Monday Jazz Jam

There is a house band, but personnel varies. A number of swinging musicians have come through and joined in such as Jordan Piper, who was the house pianist and, more recently, Motoki Mihara as bassist, plus others like William Gorman, Nick Masters, Jonathan Kirschner, Tim Hegarty, Larry Pollack, and of course the house favorite, singer Mary Aiken. 

As you can see, the jams are jumpin’ with something for everyone. You can have a great time every Monday as the jam has been running for 9 years since March 2013. The jams run from 7:30-11:30 pm and the house band plays a set to start, and then the Jam is open to the public. No special invite is needed, all you have to do is show up and have some fun. 

 

What Can You Do? Support the Cause 

The music will be slamming — a guaranteed good time when you attend. However, as you can imagine, the coronavirus pandemic has brought huge disruption to daily life and to many around the world. Concert halls are closed and many, if not most, Jazz venus have closed and some will never reopen.

According to The Washington Post:

“Jazz venues have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. They are hoping the worst is over […] jazz clubs were the hardest hit of all types of music venues, according to Audrey Fix Schaefer, the head of communications at the National Independent Venue Association.”

Needless to say, with gatherings being stopped or socially distanced, large sectors of the economy are still paralyzed and many members of the jazz community have still not recovered, so any help will be greatly appreciated. So what can you do to support the cause?

Donate

“KEYED UP! has quickly become NYC's favorite entity for musicians, audiences, and venues alike! Operating simultaneously in over 25 partner venues spanning from Jersey City, NJ to Sag Harbor, Long Island, we are proud to keep hundreds of musicians working and over a thousand hungry jazz listeners happy each week at no extra cost to our partner venues.” — jazzgeneration.org/keyed-up

You can donate to KEYED UP! here.

Attend A Jam

The program time is Monday evenings from 7:30 to 11:00 pm with no cover.  We hope you attend the Jam, cheer, clap and have a great time. 

Stay Up To Date. Contact:  

Noel Sagerman at noelsagerman@hotmail.com with any questions. 

https://www.facebook.com/TheBrightsideTavern
https://www.thebrightsidetavernnj.com 

Show Some Love to the Tip Bucket

Become friendly with the Tip Bucket. Believe me, your support is highly appreciated by the musicians. 

 

Final Thoughts 

Please Support Jazz Music. I urge you to explore and click the links above. Don’t hesitate to call for more info and make some time in your schedule to visit The Brightside Tavern this year and say hi to everybody.

Don’t forget to let me know how your visit went. Tag @gregoryburrus or message me directly via text or FB msg, and of course enjoy the live jazz entertainment.

 

About the Author 

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. 

 

Get Featured

So as you can see, these are some pretty cool places with awesome support groups and more importantly, supportive venue owners, all hoping and helping to keep the Jazz Alive for a long, long time. If you want your favorite Jazz venue listed, let me know and I'll get you in on the next scheduled post.

http://gregoryburrusproductions.com/contact 

Keeping Jazz Alive - Norman Mann at the Cricket Club Entertainment Complex

By Gregory Burrus | Posted Tuesday, January 25, 2022

In continuing this series on the people, venues and programs that are helping keep jazz alive, I was very happy to encounter Mr. Norman Mann who has been on the forefront of keeping jazz alive for a long time. He has been building and promoting jazz performances and jazz jams for many years, and in this series of Keeping Jazz Alive #4 we highlight Norman Mann and his latest venture at the Cricket Club in Irvington, NJ.  

 

Norman Mann — Bandleader, Percussionist

Norman Mann and Rafiki in Spiotta Park 

Norman Mann plays congas, percussion, and sings. He has appeared with many of the top musicians in our area. Norman and his bands have performed in numerous venues around Northern New Jersey such as Newark's Clements Place Jazz, Taste Restaurant, Priory Jazz Club, Duke’s Southern Kitchen, Montclair’s Trumpets Jazz, City of Orange’s Mr. Jays, South Orange’s Spiotta Park and Jazz On Sloan at The Gazebo program, along with many other venues. And yes, the music is always well received.

Norman Mann is an alumnus and a Weequahic High School Football Hall of Famer and is widely respected within the community. Norman is the CEO of G Mann Productions and is bandleader of the popular band Norman Mann and Rafiki, which you can read more about here: Jazz973 Swinging Hard with Norman Mann and Rafiki at Clements Place Jazz for Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies. He has produced numerous jazz shows in many of the Tri-State area jazz clubs mentioned above. You may remember Norman who, along with Greg Salandis, managed the very popular jazz program at Skippers Plane Street Pub back in November 2007.  Well, he's continuing the mission and his newest venture is producing Friday Night Jazz events at the Cricket Club Entertainment Complex. 

 

Cricket Club Entertainment Complex

The Legendary Cricket Club Entertainment Complex, 154 Eastern Pkwy, Irvington, NJ, www.cricketclubnj.com, (973) 388-8833

 

Jazz Program

Someone who recently attended a Friday Night Jazz session at the Cricket Club summed up their experience as this:

"Venturing out on a 10 degree wind chill night in January as a musician for a jam, or just as a fan, lacks the common sense that God gave a goat. But once you arrive and that music hits you, there is nothing better."

— A Jazz Fan

And to me, that's what it's all about, so I say take a quick listen to this December performance. As you can see and hear, the jazz is jumpin’ and the place is poppin’. Norman Mann curates a stellar list of local musicians and they perform some incredible sets of music.

It should be evident from listening that the musicians and the folks in attendance truly enjoy the jazz on any given Friday Night at the Cricket Club. The atmosphere is warm, inviting and laid back. The good part is you can be up close and personal with some really great jazz performances. 

Service — Food — Drinks 

The Cricket Entertainment Complex Service has timely service considering every industry is having issues securing resources. When I was there, the wait staff were very helpful and kept us informed on the progress of our order and our meals arrived in an appropriate time frame. Concerning food presentation, I'm not a fan of styrofoam containers, however I am told that in this world of a COVID pandemic, it is a safer, contactless way to serve food. The good part is the food was prepared well, hot and very tasty, and I would definitely order again. Drink prices were not overinflated and were actually very affordable. 

Environment — Attendees

As you will see when you listen in, depending on the fans of that night’s performers along with the neighborhood regulars in attendance and the type of music, you can have a very engaging talkative crowd enjoying themselves and the music, and/or you may experience a listening crowd. The Cricket Club has both because when the jazz starts swinging and the audience gets involved, everybody starts having fun. 

Parking

The other thing I should mention is that the Cricket Club has an awesome, large, one-level, fenced-in attached outdoor parking lot with plenty of space. 

 

Summary 

The look of this non-descript multi-story building doesn't do justice to the good time you will have once you settle into your seat. We were in the smaller of the three rooms and we had plenty of room to move around and had a great time. And don’t forget that Norman Mann is keeping jazz alive big time by bringing in world class jazz musicians every time. 

 

What’s Next and How Can You Support the Cause? 

Jazz Programs 

Attend the weekly Friday Night Jazz program.

Events Calendar 

https://www.facebook.com/norman.mann.33 
https://www.facebook.com/CricketClub411/

Contact

Norman Mann (973) 518-4498

Donate  

When you show up, be nice to the tip bucket. 

 

Final Thoughts

Don't hesitate to support live music. Make some time in your schedule to visit Norman Mann at the Cricket Club this year for some great jazz.

Say hi to everybody and don't forget to let me know how your visit went. Take some pics, tag me and/or send directly to me via text or FB msg and, of course, enjoy the live jazz entertainment. 

 

About the Writer — Gregory Burrus

Gregory Burrus books bands and produces, promotes, captures, and records live music events along with various community and private activities. My mission is to help my customers, which are community groups, live music bands, and local nonprofits, reach their goals and accomplish their missions while enjoying the day-to-day process of life. 

Learn more at:
https://24hoursofmusicjamboree.com 
https://gregoryburrusproductions.com

 

Get Featured

So these Jazz Locations are some pretty cool places, with awesome support groups and, more importantly, supportive venue owners, hoping and helping to keep the Jazz Alive for a long long time. If you want your favorite Jazz venue listed, let me know and I'll get you in on the next scheduled post.  https://gregoryburrusproductions.com/contact/

Jazz973 Returns to Clements Place Jazz Honoring Generations of Jazz Musicians - Fall 2021 (RECAP)

By Gregory Burrus | Posted Wednesday, December 8, 2021

As Melissa Hawkins says:
“vaccines will — literally — be the ticket” 

After a long “pandemic” hiatus, Jazz973 live music has returned to Newark's Clements Place Jazz  at Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies. Jazz973 debuted in the pre-COVID days, so we are back, but as you can see the curtains aren’t fully up quite yet on normal life. As reported by Melissa Hawkins, an epidemiologist who’s the director of undergraduate programs at American University’s Department of Health Studies: “We’re back to a lot of uncertainty, with the rise in cases and the variant being more transmissible. It’s all about balancing risk.”  But “vaccines will — literally — be the ticket” to our sense of normalcy. 

Thanks to the tenacity of Executive Director, Wayne Winborne, Clements Place Jazz is addressing the risks as we have reopened with new admission / attendance criteria. We have removed half the seats, one must have an Eventbrite registration, vaccine card, personal ID and we are all wearing masks. So far it's been working in bringing Jazz lovers back out to join in the fun. We opened the doors to our jazz-starved Jazz973 patrons and they were happy to be back. What has been really gratifying is the overwhelmingly positive feedback we’re getting from customers and from the artists. Hence, we invite folks to come on back.  

To bring you all up to speed, here’s a video recap of the recent Clements Place Jazz live concerts that have been happening in the Jazz973 program:

 

Jazz973 Presents Leonieke Scheuble Quintet Jazz Across the Generations Quintet  

Wednesday, October 13, 2021 at 7 pm

The highlight of this fabulous opening event was watching 19-year-old rising star Leonieke Scheuble lead her band of seasoned veterans — Rick Savage - Trumpet, Adam Brenner - Tenor Sax, Nick Scheuble - Drums and 93-year-old Bassist Bill Crow. They performed music from some of our favorite quintet groups from the early 60’s, including Lee Morgan, Art Blakey, Clifford Brown and more! The night's music was jumping all night long. Read more.

 

Jacquie Lee was being introduced to the Newark jazz scene in a big way. The Jazz973 program at Clements Place was proud to present the Mike Lee Family Band as they introduced violinist Jacqueline Lee at the Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies. In 2019 at Garfield Middle school, Jacquie, who has been playing Violin for 11 years, received the Jazz Soloist Downbeat Student Music Award for an Outstanding Performance. Jacquie has also been a member of the prestigious Jazz House Kids program in Montclair, NJ. Read More.

 

Jazz973 Presents Matt Chertkoff Trio with Houston Person 

Wednesday, October 27, 2021 at 7 pm with 

While all these cats are seasoned veterans — Matt Cherkoff, Vince Ector and Mike Karn, it was led by the awesome guitarist, Matt Chertkoff, and the special guest was the phenomenal saxophonist Houston Person. Person built his reputation as a leader with a series of soulful recordings for Prestige in the 1960s. For a large part of his career, he is best known for his partnership with vocalist Etta Jones, which lasted for 35 years. He has recorded with such luminaries as Charles Brown, Ron Carter, Bill Charlap, Charles Earland, Lena Horne, Etta Jones, Lou Rawls, Janis Siegel, Horace Silver, Dakota Staton, Cedar Walton, plus Billy Butler, Don Patterson, Grant Green, Sonny Phillips, Johnny "Hammond" Smith, Richard "Groove" Holmes and others.  Read more.

 

Radam Schwartz, Hammond B3 Organist and Jazz pianist, built his reputation over the last 30 years playing with such great artists as Arthur and Red Prysock, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Al Hibler, David Fathead Newman, Russell Malone, Cecil Brooks III and Jimmy Ford. He has been featured on over 40 albums as a sideman and has recorded 9 albums as a leader. This Organ-led trio was something unique, special and swinging. Read more: https://patch.com/new-jersey/southorange/8-4-prolific-organist-radam-schwartz-presents-schwartz-sanity 

 

It's always very special to bring Charlie and his band through, as they always deliver a wonderful performance. "As a player, Apicella immediately brings to mind Grant Green. He's funky, he's bluesy, and he's not afraid to get dirty at times. Charlie Apicella and the Iron City band have that perfect jazz rapport that allows them to be tight as hell and play off each other beautifully." — VINTAGE GUITAR MAGAZINE. Read more.

 

Jazz973 Presents Meant To Be Jazz Quartet at Clements Place Jazz

Wednesday, December 1, 2021 at 7 pm

Bandleader Glenn Merritt, originally from New York City, has been playing music since he was a youngster. He studied classical piano and music theory at Manhattan College of Music. At 15, he was a percussionist for Willie Sossa’s Salsa band. He played electric bass in numerous R&B bands. His jazz chops have consistently improved since he first tickled the ivories nearly 40 years ago, and he has acquired a very tasteful style with lush chord voicing and a wonderful improvisational ability as a consequence of studying under his mentor, the late Morris Nanton of the famed Morris Nanton Trio. He is currently the pianist for the Meant To Be Jazz Quartet with Pete Omelio - Drums, Alan Hayes - Bass, and John Higgins - Trumpet. He co-teaches part time at the County College of Morris. Read More about Meant To Be Jazz Quartet.

 

Upcoming Jazz973 Events:

Tonight, Dec 8th, 2021, we have Jazz973 Presents Norman Mann and Rafiki at Clements Place Jazz at 7 pm & Dec 15th, 2021 we have Jazz973 Presents Alleycatsax and the Harmonic Convergence Band at Clements Place Jazz.

In the New Year some truly great performances are planned for 2022, such as vocalist Dara Jones, Drummer Matt King, Pianist Iyayo Ikawo, the James Moody Scholars, Lynette Sheard Entertainment, Pianist Dre Barnes, Bassist Kim Clarke, Pianist Champion Fulton and more...

Stay tuned.

 

Gregory Burrus Productions

Gregory Burrus is a local live music ambassador, event manager and community partner that develops, manages, promotes and documents local community events in the Northern New Jersey and New York area. Gregory Burrus sits on a number of local boards, nonprofit committees, curates and promotes Jazz973 at Clements Place Jazz live music events along with booking bands at several other local venues. For more information, visit http://gregoryburrusproductions.com. 

Japan’s Kumiko Tanaka Trio Live in NJ - 5th Annual 24 Hours of Music Jamboree (RECAP)

By Gregory Burrus | Posted Monday, November 15, 2021

While I always thought of our 24 Hours Of Music Jamboree as a local event, live music is universal and musicians that have performed locally actually come from everywhere.

One of the performers that performed in person in the 2019 3rd Annual 24 Hours of Music Jamboree was Kumiko Tanaka during the Jazz Jam session. This was pre-pandemic, all live in-person events, and we didn't record a lot as we were in person. Then, the COVID Pandemic hit us all.

 

5th Annual 24 Hours Of Music Jamboree

For 2021, we had to be cognizant of the pandemic that still exists while still addressing international travel band restrictions.

“Seasons” performed by Kumiko Tanaka Trio in the 5th Annual 24 Hours Of Music Jamboree.

Our 5th Annual 24 Hours Of Music Jamboree (2021) ended up being a hybrid affair of live in-person performances in South Orange, NJ and a series of online performances on our 24 Hours Of Music Jamboree channel. One online broadcast was the Kumiko Tanaka Trio.

 

Kumiko Tanaka Trio Performance

The Kumiko Tanaka band members performing are:

  • Kumiko Tanaka

  • Yuma Kimura

  • Hironori Sato

As you can see, Kumiko Tanaka Trio’s performance was absolutely wonderful.

Loving this performance and knowing that folks in Japan faced a lot of the same pandemic challenges we do in performing live music, I requested some background. I asked about how they prepared, how they felt about their performance and how it was received by their audience in Japan. The following are a few observations by Kumiko Tanaka.

 

Question & Answer with Kumiko Tanaka

Describe the Planning / Preparation Process.

Scheduling

KT: When we decided to participate in the 2021 24 Hours Of Music Jamboree, our first decision was to schedule a performance date and it was June 12th. The venue contained very few customers due to the limited number of people because of social distancing. So I decided to call this year's session, Love, Peace & Soul, which we had a connection with as last year's session host. We also decided on this venue because Hironori wanted to play the drums.

Venue Selection

The state of (COVID Pandemic) emergency, which was originally supposed to be over by May 31st was postponed for two weeks. The live music venue which had been operated per the government's request, had to postpone our scheduled event. After careful examination and various adjustments, we decided on July 10th, but then the state of emergency was announced again from July 12th to the end of August. Now there was a possibility that it would not happen at all, but this time we were lucky.

Video Recording Software

For shooting this event, we used three cameras. There were two fixed angles that Yuma brought in and set up. The handheld camera was managed by my friend. When I told him that I would perform a live music performance and it would be delivered for the 24 Hours of Music Jamboree event in America, he offered to help with the videography. I was so happy with this unexpected help.

Video Editing

Since I had never produced a multi-angle video, it took a lot of time to learn how to use the application software. I'm the type who doesn't read the manual properly, so I asked Yuma to help me with learning how to use the software and camera. Now it became fun to think of camera placement and when to change capture angles while recording the session. The handheld camera captured the player's hands and facial expressions. My friend with handheld camera humbly states that he “only took video,” but he is "shadow actors" or "Behind-the-scenes supporter."

Video Recording Equipment

The equipment used was:
Front camera: Canon HF M52
Stage Left camera: Sony ZV-1
Handy camera: Sony α7III
Recorder: Roland R-26 created with DaVinci Resolve 16, Ableton Live Software.
These Japanese cameras performed very well.

Video Mixing and Editing

I edited the footage from the three cameras and Yuma mixed the sound of the camera and the recorder. As a result, I'm happy that it became an interesting video with movement and scene changes.

Describe the event and some thoughts about the performance.

Band Prep & Song Selection

Yuma and I chose selected songs so that the songs playing the melody would be halved. I wanted to stick to the arrangement, so I searched for various versions on Youtube and used what I found as a reference. I made a musical score and gave it to Yuma. However our drummer, Hironori, is totally blind so I explained it all during the rehearsal and he recorded it and remembered it. I think he had a hard time, but in the end all the songs were played according to the song's original score. I have to say, and I think you will agree, that our drummer, Hironori, is absolutely amazing.

July 10th Event Playlist

1st Set

  1. Ribbon In The Sky

  2. Street Life

  3. Let's Stay Together

  4. Creepin'

  5. Armando's Rhumba

2nd Set

  1. Kool

  2. Lost Stars

  3. Bright Size Life

  4. Happy

  5. Virtual Insanity

  6. What You Won't Do For Love

Encore

  • Sunny

As background, the “Happy” (by Pharrell Williams) song was selected because when I went to NY in 2014, I was very impressed by the listeners at a jam in Robin's Nest in NJ who were singing the song "Happy." So I decided to play “Happy” and asked for audience participation with clapping and singing. The song “Happy” pleased our customers tremendously.

 

In developing this event for 24 Hours Of Music Jamboree, I am glad I asked about the beautiful blue garment Kumiko wore while performing.

On the Yukata

The blue kimono is a traditional Japanese garment worn in the summer and is called a "yukata.” Many people wear it at festivals such as summer fireworks festivals, but I rarely wear it, so I practiced how to wear it properly. Since the hem is long, I needed a place with a clean floor which took about 15 minutes to get ready, so I wore it at home and went to the live music venue. Even though it's summer clothes, it's not as cool as it looks, but much hotter than regular clothes, hence I was sweating all the time, and because it's squeezing my abdomen with strings and obi, it's much more painful than usual. There are many sacrifices made for the beauty of our appearances. I respect the ancestors who wore it every day.

Audience Response

During the actual live performance of “Ribbon in the Sky”, which was the first song we played, I read the lyrics in English and then translated them into Japanese. It's a very beautiful and moody song. However, when the performance of the song was over, it quietened down and no one applauded. We were shocked.

When I asked a listener later, she thought that they had to listen quietly like a classical concert. It was a phenomenon that clearly showed the politeness, quietness, and respect for the music by our Japanese people.

 
 

Just like in person, nothing beats a live performance, and when it's a live performance, anything can happen and Kumiko should be applauded for the preparation issues and challenges the band faces to make these live performances happen. The adrenaline of a live performance is unlike anything else and, as musicians say, the real test of a musician is a live performance on stage. Kumiko’s 24 Hours Of Music Jamboree performances are always well-received by our listeners and it's good to know they are liked at home, also. We thank Kumiko Tanaka, Yuma Kimura and Hironori Sato for performing and delivering a wonderful performance each year.

 

About Gregory Burrus

Gregory Burrus, Founder of 24 Hours of Music Jamboree, is a local live music ambassador, event planner and community partner that develops, manages, promotes and documents local community events in the Greater New Jersey and New York Area. Gregory Burrus loves helping people succeed by producing and promoting live music events all around our towns. For more information, visit gregoryburrusproductions.com.