ALL STAR JAZZ JAM
WHEN: Saturday, January 28, at 4 PM
WHERE: David and Carol Lackland Center at 715 Grand Ave in Hackettstown, on the campus of Centenary College
TICKETS: $22.50 Advance, and $27.50 the day of performance, and they are available through the Centenary Stage Company box office at 908.979.0900, and online at www.centenarystageco.org, as well as at the box office.
All Star Jazz Jam features a line-up of noted musicians hand-selected by Hackettstown’s own impresario of jazz, Ed Coyne. “This will by one of the greatest nights of improv you will ever hear!” exclaims Coyne, who has been spearheading the Jazz series at Centenary Stage for almost a decade. The evening’s line-up of veteran musicians include Jerry Weldon on tenor saxophone, Robin Eubanks on Trombone, Warren Wolf on Vibraphone, Dennis Mackrel on drums, Rufus Reid on bass and Jesse Green on piano.
Veteran Tenor Saxophonist Jerry Weldon has a resume that is said to read like a “who’s who” of the New York Jazz scene. He has been a member of the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, and a featured soloist with Harry Connick Jr.’s Big Band, touring across the globe to such places as the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia, as well as performing on television shows world-wide with Harry Connick’s Jr.’s Orchestra. The Star Ledger stated, “ When it comes to tenor saxophone sounds, Jerry Weldon has one of the biggest, and warmest, around.”
Robin Eubanks is known as “the premier jazz trombonist of his generation. ” He has collaborated with many artists, including Barbara Streisand and The Rolling Stones, and has won Grammy Awards for his performances on Michael Bercker’s Wide Angles and Dave Holland’s What Goes Around.
Drummer Dennis Mackrel became the leader of the Count Basie Orchestra in 2010, and is a highly respected conductor/arranger and educator. He has performed with Lionel Hampton, Hank Jones, Take 6, Tony Bennett, Quincy Jones and Sir George Shearing, among others. He has also performed with the Slide Hampton Big Band and the Smithsonian Masterworks Orchestra well as being regular drummer with the late Joe Williams. Mackrel arranges and composes music for numerous groups and operates Mackrel Music out of New York City.
In a return performance on the Centenary Stage is pianist Jesse Green. Jesse began studying classical piano at the age of seven, and at age nine joined his elementary school’s concert band as a trombonist. When he was ten, he was a finalist in a nation-wide talent competition; winning for his spit-fire piano rendition of Count Basie’s “Jumping at the Woodside.” Along with being a member of Jazz Jam Mr. Green is a composer, recording artist, producer and also a teacher. He has performed with many talented artists such as Clark Terry, Al Grey, Phil Woods, David Liebman and Jimmy Heath. Most recently Jesse’s trio has performed with Phil Woods, and has also recorded a CD with Phil Woods in 2010 entitled "Songs for COTA"
“Mallet-master” Warren Wolf has been called the “heir apparent to Stefon Harris” (JazzPolice Magazine) on the vibraphone. He began playing drums at the age of three, took up vibraphone shortly thereafter, and toured with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra by the time he was 9 years old. He wrote his first tune when he was 10, and was hired for professional jazz gigs by the time he was 12. He has performed and recorded with many different musicians such as Wynton Marsalis, Jeremy Pelt, Cyrus Chestnut, Larry Willis, Steve Davis Wycliffe Gordon, Esperanza Spaulding and many more.
Veteran jazz bassist Rufus Reid has over 350 recordings in his discography. The BBC Big Band in Great Britain has recorded three of his compositions, as well as arrangements of Rufus’ standards. From 1990–2001 he co-led a quintet with Akira Tana, and released 5 CDs while leading the group. Rufus won the Raymond Sackler Composition Commission Prize in 2006, the Guggenheim Fellowship award for composition in 2008 and in 2010 he was awarded the prestigious MacDowell Colony Fellowship award.
“Jazz in January “ is made possible through the leadership of CSC Board Chair Ed Coyne and Coyne Enterprises and CSC premiere sponsors, Heath Village and Fulton Bank (formerly Skylands Community Bank).
The Centenary Stage Company is a not-for-profit performing arts series dedicated to serving as a cultural resource for audiences of the Skylands region, with professional music, theatre and dance events and arts education programming throughout the year. Year-round performances at the Centenary Stage Company are made possible through the generous support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the NJ State Council on the Arts, The Marriott Residence Inn, Mama’s and Café Bacci and CSC members and sponsors.
