Boscov’s Berks Jaz z Fest

READING, PENNSYLVANIA • MARCH 24-APRIL 2

By Melanie Maxwell

Brian Culbertson is kicking off this year’s Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest with his Trilogy Tour, and Boney James is closing it out. Throughout the 10-day run, which begins on March 24 and ends on April 2, a plethora of other headliners will grace the stages of two main venues, the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Reading and the Scottish Rite Cathedral, located within 2 miles of each other. These include Rick Braun, Richard Elliot, Peter White, The Manhattan Transfer, Chris Botti, Gerald Albright and more.

Presented by Berks Arts, this 32nd annual event, in Reading, Pennsylvania, located approximately 65 miles north of Philadelphia, features 40-plus major, multi-genre concerts, including smooth jazz, traditional jazz, R&B, funk and blues. The lineup also features four late-night jam sessions hosted by bassist Gerald Veasley; and two brunch performances: Acoustic Alchemy with Jeff Kashiwa on March 26; and Brian Simpson, Jackiem Joyner, Jessy J, Veasley and The Berks Horns on April 2.

Live music and some free events will also fill nearly every corner of town in dozens of establishments, including an opening-day luncheon with performances by The Groovemasters at Jimmie Kramer’s Peanut Bar Restaurant. This local institution, which has peanut shells scattered all over its floors, serves delicious crabcakes, chicken schnitzel, lemon-Parmesan flounder and cheesesteak. Its bar menu includes signature cocktails such as Blueberry Lemontinis and Fiery Mules (Fireball Cinnamon Whisky, pineapple juice, fresh lime juice and Reading Ginger Beer).

“The Fest presents over 50 concerts at local indoor venues, clubs, restaurants, community centers and churches,” said John Ernesto, manager of the Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest.

Ernesto partners with Berks Arts Executive Director Justin Heimbecker and his staff—Tish Davis, Gary Spencer and Amanda Ehst—to coordinate the festival’s vision and artistic programming.

This also includes the getJazzed Night RMF Project Penske Jazz Jam, scheduled for March 27, where “Young musicians are invited to participate in a special jam hosted by Mike Eben and artists from the Fest,” Ernesto explained. “This year, Gerald Veasley, Albert Rivera, Andrew Neu, Bobby Lyle and Tony Moore will work with the students and also jam with them,” he added.

GetJazzed is the festival’s official music education program, which, according to its website, is “Dedicated to building the jazz arts community by advancing education, promoting performance and developing new audiences. It provides opportunities for students of all backgrounds to learn, perform, enjoy and become inspired by professional musicians as a centerpiece of the Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest, paying it forward to future generations.”

That scholastic festival will expand this year. “Plans are underway for activities, including performances, workshops, clinics, master classes, competitions, opportunities for interaction with professionals and much more,” Heimbecker said. “Band directors from local and regional middle schools and high schools will be invited to participate. There’s going to be a place for every type of group, at every level, from beginners to advanced players, in this festival.” connections and to help Berks County become a more creative, desirable and resilient community, it has definitely expanded beyond its region. Each year, the festival attracts nearly 30,000 visitors from all over the world.

“Fans from 32 states, along with international guests from Canada, the U.K., Holland, Switzerland and Italy come to Reading for Fest,” Ernesto said.

“Our goal is to present a fest that offers our fans an overall positive experience––from unique concerts that they will only get to see at Berks Jazz Fest to opportunities for fans to interact with artists in a friendly, familylike atmosphere,” Ernesto said.

“When people come together to enjoy a concert or an art exhibit or a play,magic happens.Suddenly,the whole gathering is focused on that art, and while everyone in the room experiences it slightly differently, all are reacting together to something beautiful, inspiring, thought-provoking, maybe deeply emotional.”

—Berks Arts

Plus, to complete Berks Arts’ mission “To inspire, engage and unite our community through arts education, collaboration and presentation,” the 19th Annual Frank Scott Memorial Art Show: The Art of Jazz, a juried art exhibit featuring works by local artists, will be on display in the lobby of the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Reading, March 24-29.

Although the nonprofit organization’s vision is to support community and economic growth, promote positive change, create more continued from page 13

Some of the “unique concerts” Ernesto refers to include the Chuck Loeb Memorial All-Star Jam featuring Braun, Eric Darius, White, Adam Hawley, Patrick Lamb, Veasley and more; Eric Marienthal & The Jazz Cruises All-Stars with Mindi Abair, Keiko Matsui, Randy Brecker, Larry Braggs, Vincent Ingala and White; “Celebrating the Women in Jazz II” with Regina Belle, Maysa, Jazmin Ghent, Kayla Waters and others; Darius with Eric Roberson and Avery*Sunshine; Albright, Larry Carlton and Paul Brown; the Andrew Neu Big Band with David Benoit, Aubrey Logan and Ilya Serov; and Veasley’s “Unscripted Jams” featuring a variety of ensembles, including Oli Silk, Art Sherrod Jr., JJ Sansaverino, Darren Rahn, Rob DeBoer, Tony Grace, Phillip “Doc” Martin, Hawley, Ghent, Waters and other combinations of musicians.

“Since the Fest started in 1991, our mission has been simple––take care of the artists; take care of the fans; and everything else will take care of itself. That philosophy has served us well for 32 years,” Ernesto concluded.

When

March 24-April 2

Where

Various venues throughout Berks County, Pennsylvania. Main venues include: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Reading, 701 Penn St., Reading; Scottish Rite Cathedral, 310 S. 7th Ave., W. Reading; and Miller Center for the Arts, Reading Area Community College, 4 N. 2nd St., Reading.

Getting there

Flights are available to the Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), approximately 65 miles from Berks County.

Staying there www.berksjazzfest.com/hotel-information

Tickets and information

Visit www.berksjazzfest.com

Lineup

Below is a partial list of the major concerts. For the complete lineup, visit the festival website. For smooth jazz concert listings, see our calendar section, beginning on page 19.

Friday, March 24

Opening Night Celebration featuring Brian Culbertson: The Trilogy Tour

7 p.m. Scottish Rite Cathedral

Pieces of a Dream with special guests Bobby Lyle and Carl Cox 9:30 p.m. DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Reading, Grand Ballroom

Saturday, March 25

Gerald Albright, plus Larry Carlton and Paul Brown

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Reading, Grand Ballroom

The Manhattan Transfer 50th Anniversary & Final World Tour with special guest Diva Jazz Orchestra

1 p.m.

6 p.m. Scottish Rite Cathedral

Jazz Funk Soul featuring Jeff Lorber, Everette Harp and Paul Jackson Jr., plus Raul Midon

6 p.m. Miller Center for the Arts

Sunday, March 26

The Andrew Neu Big Band with David Benoit and Aubrey Logan, and introducing Ilya Serov

3 p.m. Miller Center for the Arts

An Evening With Chris Botti

6 p.m. Scottish Rite Cathedral

Thursday, March 30

The Chuck Loeb Memorial All-Star Jam featuring Rick Braun, Eric Darius, Peter White, Gerald Veasley, Patrick Lamb, Adam Hawley, Karen Briggs, Curtis McCain, Chris “Big Dog” Davis, Will Donato, Eric Valentine, Ron Reinhardt, Nate Phillips, Gerey Johnson, and special performance by Regina Belle

7 p.m.

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Reading, Grand Ballroom

Friday, March 31

RnR featuring Rick Braun and Richard Elliot with special guest Peter White

6 p.m. Scottish Rite Cathedral

Eric Darius and Eric Roberson with special guest

Avery*Sunshine ...............................................................................

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Reading, Grand Ballroom

Saturday, April 1

9:30 p.m.

Celebrating the Women in Jazz II presented by Chris “Big Dog” Davis, featuring Regina Belle, Avery*Sunshine, Maysa, Lori Williams, Karen Briggs, Kayla Waters and Jazmin Ghent..................................

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Reading, Grand Ballroom when you renew or subscribe to Smooth Jazz News at our booth during the

1 p.m.

Eric Marienthal & The Jazz Cruises All-Stars featuring Peter White, Keiko Matsui, Mindi Abair, Randy Brecker, Larry Braggs and Vincent Ingala

6 p.m. Scottish Rite Cathedral

Adam Hawley’s West Coast Groove featuring Marcus Anderson, Darren Rahn, Greg Manning, Rebecca Jade, Darryl Williams, Tony Moore and Curtis McCain

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Reading, Grand Ballroom

Sunday, April 2

Boney James continued from page 11 year––I’m thinking let’s put out 50, so I met the record company in the middle. The records you put out are your fingerprint––what you leave behind. I’m in my mid-50s, and I want to put out as much music as possible while I can.”

9:30 p.m.

Even though his career is on the rise, the guitarist still bartends on and off in Manhattan to keep his connection to friends. He also makes sure to maintain quality family time with his wife, Sharon, and their two children.

“I think I might be OCD at times,” he laughed. “I’m trying to get everything done, but I’ve been with my wife 27 years now, and our oldest daughter is 26. She has her own place in Queens, and my youngest daughter is 22, and at home, as she’s about to finish up college.

“I’m lucky because they always come to my shows. When they were younger, I’d come off the road and shut my cellphone off and say, ‘What do you want to do? You want me to cook or do you want to go out or watch a movie?’ I wanted to be present. We have an amazing, tight family that means everything to me.”

While his life might change as more success comes his way, Sansaverino maintains his balance. He’s powered through difficult times and understands that life’s seesaw is often hard to navigate.

“The word faith only has five letters, but it has a tremendous amount of meaning,” he said, pensively. “Life has peaks and valleys. One day, things go wrong. And, then I can have a Billboard hit. So, there’s a whole lot of sway between the peaks and valleys.

“When you have faith, if you are in the valley, you know you are going to climb the next peak. And when you do, they could be different heights, but they are still peaks.

“You know you are going to come down again, but you have to know it’s temporary. It’s part of life. I have faith––and I’m very grateful. We woke up today. A lot of people didn’t. I have 10 fingers and toes, food on the table, my health, my family and a career. I’m so blessed. Everything I ever dreamed of. When you have that, you are beyond grateful.”

For more information on Sansaverino, including his complete tour schedule, visit www.jjsansaverino.com.

March 24

Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest (as special guest of Four80East and with Gerald Veasley’s Unscripted Jam)

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Reading

Reading, Pennsylvania www.berksjazzfest.com

March 25

Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest (with Gerald Veasley’s Unscripted Jam)

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Reading

Reading, Pennsylvania www.berksjazzfest.com

July 29

Marcus Anderson’s Jazz AND Coffee Escape

North Carolina Central University

Durham, North Carolina https://jazzandcoffee-escape.net/