8 minute read
Notes from the Publisher
It wasn’t intentional. I doubt if each of the organizations even knew about the others when they planned their fundraising concerts for the month of March.
However, the timing, Southern California locations and being charity events aren’t the only things these three nonprofits have in common: all of them are raising money for children, they feature a smooth jazz lineup, and have auctions full of useful and extravagant items to bid on. Over the years, Smooth Jazz News has been privileged to attend all of them at least once. And this is what I can tell you about each of them.
(March 2-3)
Ocean Institute (above) and 2018 “Wave of Jazz” Festival headliner Jeffrey Osborne (right)
Imagine the expression on children’s faces the first time they wiggle their toes into the wet, sandy ocean floor as foamy waves rush up to their ankles. Or the excitement they feel sailing out to sea when a school of dolphin suddenly leap out of the water. These, and many other inspiring educational experiences, are what the Ocean Institute’s “Wave of Jazz” Festival raises money for. Proceeds from this event––two nights of jazz concerts, dining and hosted bar––directly support the Adopt-a-Class program, which brings more than 10,000 underserved students a year to the Ocean Institute for hands-on, marine science programs and life-changing field trips. Since 2003, the organization has raised over $1 million for this special cause. Both evenings feature performances by soul singer Jeffrey Osborne, guitarist Paul Brown and saxophonist Michael Paulo. Opening night, on Friday, March 2, features a pre-concert reception showcasing tastes from the best Dana Point, California, restaurants, paired with specially chosen artisan brews and wine. Ticket options include VIP ($250*) with pre-party and front row seating, general admission ($125*) and standing room only in the courtyard “Jazz Lounge” ($75*). The Premier Gala on Saturday begins with an elegant reception featuring passed canapés and an array of hosted bars, followed by a fivecourse gourmet fine dining experience and the concert. And, when the band breaks for intermission, an auctioneer takes control of the mic to conduct a rapid-pace live auction. Tickets are $500*. (*Plus service charge.)
The Ocean Institute “Wave of Jazz” Festival is scheduled for March 2-3, at the Ocean Institute, 24200 Dana Point Harbor Dr., Dana Point, California. For tickets and more information, visit www.ocean-institute.org.
18th Annual Hands 4 Hope Starlight Serenade
(March 10)
Gail Jhonson Sinbad
When Lydia Floyd and her musician husband moved to Los Angeles from Brooklyn, New York, they joined First Baptist Church of North Hollywood and cultivated relationships within the congregation and the neighborhood. There, she witnessed the struggles of singleparent families, similar to that of her own childhood. As one of four children from a single-parent household, Floyd watched her mother help other single parents while also raising foster children, despite her own challenges with epilepsy. As a proponent of enrichment activities and safe environments for children, Floyd founded Hands 4 Hope in 2000, an after-school program in North Hollywood, California. She took a large, unused church facility and filled it with academic, enrichment, cultural and recreational activities to guide learning and engage at-risk youth ages 8 to 18 from low-income, predominantly minority households. Eighteen years later, Hands 4 Hope serves 100-125 children annually, from 2:30 to 7 p.m. on school days, and all day during the summer. The program offers free S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math)-based after-school programs, low-cost academic summer camps, semiannual single-parent resource fairs, tutoring, homework assistance, fitness, nutrition and healthy cooking classes, life skills such as financial literacy, community engagement and mentoring, and computers for children who don’t have one at home. Plus, teens have access to SAT preparation, college guidance, driver safety and career planning. And, when the budget allows, there are field trips. (Maybe the Ocean Institute can arrange a field trip for the Hands 4 Hope kids?) However, it takes more than small county grants to pay $262,000 in annual operating expenses, including seven staff members, to keep these programs running. So, Floyd depends on the generosity of donors and proceeds from a variety of fundraising efforts to contribute to her 501(c)(3) charitable organization. One such event is their annual Starlight Serenade Benefit Concert.
This year’s show, hosted again by comedian Sinbad and 94.7 The WAVE’s Pat Prescott, is a tribute to Bill Withers. The musical lineup includes Gail Jhonson and Jazz in Pink, trumpeter Greg Adams (founding member of Tower of Power), keyboardist Larry Dunn (formerly with Earth Wind & Fire), the Hands 4 Hope L.A. kids and a couple of surprise guests. The evening begins with a VIP reception, catered by The Federal Bar, and silent auction at 6 p.m., followed by the concert at 8 p.m. There will also be a live auction during intermission, with Sinbad serving as auctioneer. And, if it’s anything like previous years, he will have everyone in tears from laughing so hard while he auctions off items such as spa resort getaways, gift cards, jewelry, autographed guitars, voice lessons, theater tickets and dining certificates. Tickets are $50 for general admission, and $75 for VIP (which includes the pre-concert reception, artist meet-and-greet and silent auction).
The 18th Annual Starlight Serenade Benefit Concert is scheduled for Saturday, March 10, at Harmony Gold Theater, 7655 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, California. For tickets, sponsorships and more information, visit www.Hands4HopeLA.org.
Richard Elliot, Rick Braun and Norman Brown in concert to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF)
(March 23)
When GRAMMY-nominated saxophonist Richard Elliot began performing benefit concerts for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), he had no idea one of his sons would be diagnosed with the disease two decades later.
“I do a lot of work for JDRF,” said Elliot from his ranch in the North San Diego community of Escondido. “But in the early ’90s I got a letter from a little girl––she was 7 or 8 at the time––and living in Orlando, Florida. Her parents were fans, and she said she had type-1 diabetes and her mom and dad were doing a fundraiser. They wondered if I would do a concert. I did it and did a yearly concert. Years later, my son was diagnosed with type-1 diabetes. “Here’s an interesting thing. The girl’s name was Kaitlen Bubb. And, when our son was born, during the first couple of years we called him Bub. He was not diagnosed until he was 11. Sometimes that’s how things in life work.” For the past 15 years, Elliot and his wife Camella have organized a biyearly fundraising concert at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. Their 2016 event raised $95,000 for JDRF. They are hoping to match or exceed that amount at this year’s extravaganza, which features performances by West Coast Jam (Elliot, Rick Braun and Norman Brown) and the West Coast Horns, a VIP pre-concert wine tasting with heavy hors d’oeuvres, a live auction and after-show artist meetand-greet reception. The wine served at the tasting will be from the Elliots’ own vineyard. The couple planted grapevines on four acres of the 10-acre estate they share with their five children, three dogs, five alpacas (with one on the way), five goats, three pigs and four horses. They harvested their first crop last summer. Those four tons of grapes, which were sold to Hungry Hawk Vineyards to produce the wine, made 1,500 bottles of Albariño, a light-bodied white wine, which was bottled in January under the Elliot Ranch Albariño label. The remainder of the grapes, which are still fermenting in oak barrels for another year, will yield approximately 900 bottles of a cabernet named Big Fella Cab (a nod to their 4-year-old dog Moose, a 200 lb. Newfoundland). The Elliots will keep several bottles of each for their own personal reserve, including the Albariño, which they have called “Alpacarino” in honor of their alpacas. The Elliot Ranch Albariño vintage will be poured at the wine tasting and available for purchase at the March 23 concert, with a portion of the proceeds donated to JDRF by Hungry Hawk Vineyards, the reception’s sponsor. After the reception and before the concert, there will be a live auction. Concertgoers will have 15 minutes to bid on items such as a superior ocean-view cabin with balcony on the sold-out Dave Koz & Friends at Sea full-ship charter cruise to Scandinavia and the Baltic, May 13-20, 2018; a seven-day stay at the five-acre “Endless Horizon” vacation home in Pu’unoa, on Maui; a superior suite with view on Rick Braun’s European River Cruise Getaway, Aug. 10-17, 2019; a seven-day vacation at Marriott’s Desert Spring Villas in Palm Desert, California, and more. The evening culminates with an after-show artist meet-and-greet for all attendees. Ticket options include $50* for mezzanine and balcony seating, $75* for upper orchestra and parterre sections, and $115* for VIP, which includes orchestra seating and pre-concert wine tasting. (*Plus service charge.)
The Richard Elliot benefit concert for JDRF is scheduled for Friday, March 23, at California Center for the Arts, Escondido, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido, California. For tickets or more information, visit www.artcenter.org or call 800-988-4253.
When corporate conglomerates pulled the plug on smooth jazz terrestrial radio, it was a big surprise. It’s also a bit surprising that smooth jazz has evolved into a lifestyle filled with music-themed, full-ship charters, global destination-travel festivals and a camaraderie among fans and stars that has far outlived the radio format from which it all sprung. And, gratefully, that lifestyle has also become a lifeline for people in need through the generosity of organizations such as these, and the fans who support their charitable endeavors.
Photo: Lori Stoll
Richard Elliot Rick Braun Norman Brown
Photo: Reisig and Taylor Photography.
