Jazz Series

Music in the Moonlight: An Intimate Evening of Jazz

A brand new series featuring renowned Jazz artists from our communities. Curated by Jazz Historian Sanford Josephson.

Sunday, May 20, 2012 at 7:00PM

“Blues in the Night”

A celebration of the blues-tinged jazz of Hank Crawford and David “Fathead” Newman.
Featuring Guitarist Bob DeVos and Tenor Saxophonist Eric Alexander with Pianist Dave Braham.

Tickets: $15 in Advance, $18 at the Door

Hank Crawford and David “Fathead” Newman were saxophonists who combined jazz with blues and soul. They both played in the Ray Charles Band in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, and they both, sadly, died within days of each other in January 2009.

Crawford, who toured with Eric Clapton, Etta James and B.B. King, once said: “I found out as a young musician growing up in Memphis that if you weren’t reaching people and having them tap their foot, then there was nothing happening.”  READ MORE…

Newman recorded with Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole and B.B. King. The New York Times described him as “a soft-spoken, sweet-toned jazz and rhythm-and-blues saxophonist who made his name in Ray Charles’ bands…Newman’s saxophone sound, pliant and restful but full of energy, was crucial to the Ray Charles sound…” READ MORE…

Bios

Bob DeVos. Photo Credit: Paul Johnston

Watch a clip of Bob DeVos on YouTube!

With long, blues-drenched melodic lines and a horn-like approach, critics hail West Orange based guitarist Bob DeVos for his “full, liquid tone” and “soulful, intelligent interpretations.” Bob performed with Mr. Newman at many concerts & festivals and enjoyed a long musical relation with Mr. Crawford as part of the Jimmy McGriff-Hank Crawford Band. He and Eric Alexander have played and recorded together both as long time members of the great Charles Earland’s band and on one another’s projects.  More about Bob DeVos

Eric Alexander

Watch a clip of Eric Alexander on Youtube!

Tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, a graduate of William Paterson, has received enormous critical acclaim. Jazz Times described him as “a wonder, a young man with a horn whose impassioned saxophone is the resonant vehicle for one of contemporary jazz’s most exciting and original voices.” More about Eric Alexander

Dave Braham

Pianist Dave Braham toured throughout the ’80′s with Houston Person and Etta Jone. He has recorded as a sideman with Lou Donaldson, Mark Murphy, Houston Person, Al Grey and many others. He has two recordings as a leader – “Blue Gardenia” (Bluejay Records) and “To Be Free” (RandomAct Records), and has performed with David “Fathead” Newman, Arthur Prysock, Irene Reid, Bernard Purdie, Jimmy Ponder and many others.

Series Curator Sanford Josephson: Sanford Josephson is the author of Jazz Notes: Interviews Across the Generations (Praeger/ABC-Clio).  He has written extensively about jazz musicians in a variety of publications ranging from the New York Daily News to American Way Magazine.  He currently writes the “Big Band in the Sky” column for Jersey Jazz Magazine. Josephson is also director of marketing and public relations for the Matheny Medical and Educational Center, a special hospital and educational facility in Peapack, NJ, for children and adults with medically complex developmental disabilities.  He is a member of the New Jersey Jazz Society, the Jazz Journalists Association and the Duke Ellington Society and is on the Board of Directors of the Healthcare Planning & Marketing Society of New Jersey and the New Jersey Advertising Club. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO, and lives in West Orange, NJ, with his wife, Linda, and dog, Onyx.

Past Music In The Moonlight Concerts…

November 20th, 2011

February 26th, 2012