State Theatre Presents Jazz in the City -- Free, outdoor jazz series featuring best of NJ jazz -- 5:30pm - 7:30 pm, every Wednesday in September '05
State Theatre Presents JAZZ IN THE CITY Free, outdoor jazz series featuring the best of NJ jazz Wednesdays in September 5:30pm – 7:30 pm
New Brunswick, NJ (July 18, 2005)—The State Theatre has announced it is presenting a free, after-hours jazz festival in New Brunswick this September. According to Wesley O. Brustad, the theater’s president and CEO, the series, Jazz in the City, is intended as a back-to-school/after-work celebration of life and art in the city. Admission is free.
Performances, every Wednesday in September from 5:30pm – 7:30pm, will feature first-rate jazz talent, including New Jersey artists Cecil Brooks, III, and his CB3 Band; jazz vocalist Roseanna Vitro; saxophonist Don Braden; and, the award-winning Rutgers Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Ralph Bowen, Coordinator of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts.
Brustad said the theater has received permission from the city to close off the street between New and George Streets.
The musicians will perform on a platform erected under the theater’s marquee. Tables and chairs will be set up and patrons are welcome to bring their own folding chairs. Food, catered by a New Brunswick restaurant, will be available for sale, and a cash bar will serve a full array of beverages.
“We thought about doing this during the summer,” explained Brustad, who became the theater’s fourth CEO in November 2004, “but decided to wait until everyone was back from vacation. The weather will still be nice. This will be a place to stop after work or class, to have a drink or a bite to eat, meet up with friends, and hear some really good jazz. We hope this is one way we can remind the community the State Theatre is their theater.”
Jazz in the City is made possible by the generous support of The Highlands at Plaza Square, New Brunswick-a division of Roseland Properties of Short Hills, NJ; Matrix Development Group-Cranbury, NJ; and New Millennium Bank, New Brunswick, NJ. Additional sponsors include: Corona and Corona Light beers, 10 Cane Rum, and Penfold’s Wines.
The schedule for Jazz in the City is as follows:
Sept. 7, 5:30pm CECIL BROOKS III AND THE CB3 BAND Drummer *Cecil Brooks has wowed audiences in New York City for almost three decades. Playing with a sense of history, paired with fire and passion, his drumming has been compared to the late Art Blakey. Brooks’ band’s last recording topped WBGO’s airplay list for two months. Furthermore, this rocking organ trio brings with it one of the best horn sections on the East Coast.
Sept. 14, 5:30pm ROSEANNA VITRO TRIO, FEATURING DON BRADEN Jazz vocalist *Roseanna Vitro brings a wealth of styles to every concert, from swing and samba to bebop and soulful ballads. She has nine critically acclaimed CDs, and in 2004 toured as a United States Vocal Jazz Ambassador. *Don Braden is well-known in New Jersey, not only as an accomplished and widely recorded jazz saxophonist, but also as a composer, arranger, and teacher, being on the faculties of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and William Paterson University. The group will feature selections from Vitro’s tribute to Ray Charles.
Sept. 21, 5:30pm RUTGERS JAZZ ENSEMBLE This award-winning collegiate band, under the direction of *Ralph Bowen, has enjoyed much notoriety including a concert at New York’s Blue Note Jazz Club and a performance in Japan. Over the years the Rutgers Jazz Ensemble has fostered the talents of some of the finest artists in jazz, including Harry Allen, Adam Cruz, Yoron Israel, Steve Nelson, and Terell Stafford.
Sept. 28, 5:30pm HOLLY HOFMANN/MIKE WOFFORD QUARTET featuring VICTOR LEWIS Holly Hofmann, considered to be one of the top flutists in jazz today, and renowned pianist Mike Wofford bring an all-star band to the State Theatre for the Jazz in the City finale. Known for her New York appearances and recordings with the legendary Ray Brown, and her swinging, muscular style, Hofmann has changed the role of the flute in jazz today.
*denotes NJ artist
The nonprofit State Theatre Regional Arts Center at New Brunswick exists to enrich the lives of people from diverse backgrounds in New Jersey and to contribute to a vital urban environment by presenting the finest national and international performing arts. The State Theatre provides arts education to inform and build future audiences, assists community arts organizations with technical and other professional expertise and encourages New Jersey artists by providing a first-class showcase for their work. The State Theatre's programs are made possible, in part, by funding from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and contributions from numerous corporations, foundations, and individuals. Continental Airlines is the official airline of the State Theatre. The State Theatre’s restoration was made possible with the generous financial assistance from Middlesex County and the Board of Chosen Freeholders and the administrative support of the New Brunswick Cultural Center and New Brunswick Development Corporation.
JAZZ IN THE CITY Wednesdays in September 2005 5:30pm – 7:30pm Admission is free
STATE THEATRE 15 Livingston Ave New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Box Office - 732-246-SHOW (7469) Online - www.StateTheatreNJ.org
PHOTOS AND INTERVIEWS FURNISHED UPON REQUEST Please contact Kelly Blithe at 732-247-7200, ext. 517 or by email at [email protected].
Information in this release is current as of July 18, 2005. For up-to-the-minute information on events and State Theatre news, visit the State Theatre online at www.StateTheatreNJ.org.
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New Brunswick, NJ (July 18, 2005)—The State Theatre has announced it is presenting a free, after-hours jazz festival in New Brunswick this September. According to Wesley O. Brustad, the theater’s president and CEO, the series, Jazz in the City, is intended as a back-to-school/after-work celebration of life and art in the city. Admission is free.
Performances, every Wednesday in September from 5:30pm – 7:30pm, will feature first-rate jazz talent, including New Jersey artists Cecil Brooks, III, and his CB3 Band; jazz vocalist Roseanna Vitro; saxophonist Don Braden; and, the award-winning Rutgers Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Ralph Bowen, Coordinator of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts.
Brustad said the theater has received permission from the city to close off the street between New and George Streets.
The musicians will perform on a platform erected under the theater’s marquee. Tables and chairs will be set up and patrons are welcome to bring their own folding chairs. Food, catered by a New Brunswick restaurant, will be available for sale, and a cash bar will serve a full array of beverages.
“We thought about doing this during the summer,” explained Brustad, who became the theater’s fourth CEO in November 2004, “but decided to wait until everyone was back from vacation. The weather will still be nice. This will be a place to stop after work or class, to have a drink or a bite to eat, meet up with friends, and hear some really good jazz. We hope this is one way we can remind the community the State Theatre is their theater.”
Jazz in the City is made possible by the generous support of The Highlands at Plaza Square, New Brunswick-a division of Roseland Properties of Short Hills, NJ; Matrix Development Group-Cranbury, NJ; and New Millennium Bank, New Brunswick, NJ. Additional sponsors include: Corona and Corona Light beers, 10 Cane Rum, and Penfold’s Wines.
The schedule for Jazz in the City is as follows:
Sept. 7, 5:30pm CECIL BROOKS III AND THE CB3 BAND Drummer *Cecil Brooks has wowed audiences in New York City for almost three decades. Playing with a sense of history, paired with fire and passion, his drumming has been compared to the late Art Blakey. Brooks’ band’s last recording topped WBGO’s airplay list for two months. Furthermore, this rocking organ trio brings with it one of the best horn sections on the East Coast.
Sept. 14, 5:30pm ROSEANNA VITRO TRIO, FEATURING DON BRADEN Jazz vocalist *Roseanna Vitro brings a wealth of styles to every concert, from swing and samba to bebop and soulful ballads. She has nine critically acclaimed CDs, and in 2004 toured as a United States Vocal Jazz Ambassador. *Don Braden is well-known in New Jersey, not only as an accomplished and widely recorded jazz saxophonist, but also as a composer, arranger, and teacher, being on the faculties of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and William Paterson University. The group will feature selections from Vitro’s tribute to Ray Charles.
Sept. 21, 5:30pm RUTGERS JAZZ ENSEMBLE This award-winning collegiate band, under the direction of *Ralph Bowen, has enjoyed much notoriety including a concert at New York’s Blue Note Jazz Club and a performance in Japan. Over the years the Rutgers Jazz Ensemble has fostered the talents of some of the finest artists in jazz, including Harry Allen, Adam Cruz, Yoron Israel, Steve Nelson, and Terell Stafford.
Sept. 28, 5:30pm HOLLY HOFMANN/MIKE WOFFORD QUARTET featuring VICTOR LEWIS Holly Hofmann, considered to be one of the top flutists in jazz today, and renowned pianist Mike Wofford bring an all-star band to the State Theatre for the Jazz in the City finale. Known for her New York appearances and recordings with the legendary Ray Brown, and her swinging, muscular style, Hofmann has changed the role of the flute in jazz today.
*denotes NJ artist
The nonprofit State Theatre Regional Arts Center at New Brunswick exists to enrich the lives of people from diverse backgrounds in New Jersey and to contribute to a vital urban environment by presenting the finest national and international performing arts. The State Theatre provides arts education to inform and build future audiences, assists community arts organizations with technical and other professional expertise and encourages New Jersey artists by providing a first-class showcase for their work. The State Theatre's programs are made possible, in part, by funding from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and contributions from numerous corporations, foundations, and individuals. Continental Airlines is the official airline of the State Theatre. The State Theatre’s restoration was made possible with the generous financial assistance from Middlesex County and the Board of Chosen Freeholders and the administrative support of the New Brunswick Cultural Center and New Brunswick Development Corporation.
JAZZ IN THE CITY Wednesdays in September 2005 5:30pm – 7:30pm Admission is free
STATE THEATRE 15 Livingston Ave New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Box Office - 732-246-SHOW (7469) Online - www.StateTheatreNJ.org
PHOTOS AND INTERVIEWS FURNISHED UPON REQUEST Please contact Kelly Blithe at 732-247-7200, ext. 517 or by email at [email protected].
Information in this release is current as of July 18, 2005. For up-to-the-minute information on events and State Theatre news, visit the State Theatre online at www.StateTheatreNJ.org.
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For more information contact All About Jazz.
