Jazz Academy of Music’s Mardi Gras Gala
Ballroom - 7:00pm
Thursday, February 16
The Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival signature presentation’s kick off with a big Thursday evening program in celebration
and support of our award winning student ensemble the Jazz Academy of Music. This gala evening celebrates the
life force of the jazz big band tradition with our signature student ensemble
the Jazz Academy Orchestra, and from New Orleans, Delfeayo Marsalis and
the Uptown Jazz Orchestra. Guaranteed to bring some Uptown NOLA fire,
Delfeayo Marsalis’ assemblage features some of the Crescent City’s finest musicians, including a number of exciting young musicians who’ll likely grace the
MAJF stages in festivals to come.
Born and developed out of a regular series of weekly performances at New Orleans legendary Frenchman Street
home of modern jazz, Snug Harbor, the Uptown Jazz Orchestra under
the leadership of trombonist-composer Delfeayo Marsalis brings not only
the rich Crescent City legacy but also the proud heritage of one of the
first families of jazz, the Marsalis dynasty. You’re guaranteed carloads of
those distinctive New Orleans rhythms that at some point in the program
just might spark a Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival second line processional
around the Ronnie Wells Mainstage room, reprising the spirit Delfeayo
elicited at a past MAJF with Steve Turre and Frank Lacy as part of our
raucous Trombone Summit.
Ronnie Wells Main Stage
Session # 1 - 7:00pm | 8:30pm | 10:00pm
Friday, February 17
The trombonely Delfeayo Marsalis, a product of the tutelage of his father NEA Jazz Master Ellis Marsalis, like his
older brothers Branford, Wynton, and younger brother Jason, has maintained the rich family tradition of selfless
engagement in jazz education. He’ll kickoff our Friday evening program directing the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate
Jazz Orchestra, a Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival exclusive.
Following the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Orchestra’s performance will be the luscious, caramel coated
vocal tones of Vanessa Rubin. Arriving in New York from her Cleveland hometown in the early
80s, Vanessa quickly gained the seal of approval from many of the great instrumentalists of jazz,
which as any vocalist will testify is no mean feat! Blessed with a keen level of simpatico for her
fellow musicians, Vanessa Rubin knows how to truly inhabit a band. With her versatility, easy
sense of hard swing and lovely way around the ballad form, Vanessa is well poised to positively
thrill the MAJF audience. Vanessa is always at home in the company of great tenor sax, and
MAJF’s own Paul Carr will join Ms. Rubin for this performance.
In a neat handoff befitting MAJF’s always savvy programming, Vanessa will yield the mic to
the evening’s closer, the Houston Person Quartet. What makes this such a perfect follow-up
to Vanessa Rubin is not only the fact that Houston Person has long luxuriated in the company
of great singers, but also because Vanessa was dear friends – and a collaborator on one of her
albums – with the late Etta Jones, whose long term partnership with Person was a signature of
the soulful side of late 20th century jazz. Deeply bred in the blues, Houston Person brings a
huge, warm sound and deeply expressive tenor saxophone that is guaranteed to take the MAJF
audience home in grand style as he closes the evening’s Ronnie Wells Main Stage proceedings.
Ronnie Wells Main Stage
Session # 2 - Noon | 3:00pm | 5:00pm
Saturday, February 18
Our Saturday matinee session on the Ronnie Wells Main Stage will truly be a next generation affair. We begin
at noon with the always popular 2017 edition of our Mid-Atlantic Jazz Voice Finals. Culled from a deep well of
aspirants, the cream of this year’s entrants will square off musically, voices lifted high in jazz song.
The six (6) finalists are Renee Georges, Lydia Harrell,
Arta Jekabsone, Monica Pabelonio, Una Stade, and
Danielle Wertz. They will be accompanied by the Chris
Grasso Trio. Judges: Connaitre Miller, Wayne Wilentz
and Sharon Clark.
Come early and see if your choice makes the cut, as did our 2016 Jazz Voice Winner, Noel
Simone Wippler, whose performance will follow at 3:00pm.
The festival’s annual High School Band Competition finals will follow Noel Simone
Wippler to the stage at 5:00pm.
Ronnie Wells Main Stage
Session # 3 - 7:00pm | 8:30pm | 10:00pm
Saturday, February 18
Saturday evening’s festivities on the Ronnie Wells Main Stage begin with the enchantingly
self assured vocal tones of Detroit bred Kathy Kosins, making her Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival
debut. Ms. Kosins not only knows her way around the jazz and soul songbook, she is also
quite the skilled arranger and songwriter.
Kosins will be followed at 8:30 by what has become a MAJF hallmark, the
instrumental summit meeting. This year’s focal point will be a Guitar Summit,
which will be represented by three disparate yet complimentary guitar voices:
the good humored, high class stylings of that Georgia peach Russell Malone; the
pungent, diverse approach of Illinois native, Baltimore trained Paul Bollenback,
and the bluesy approach of Harlem’s own Bobby Broom, in his return appearance
to the MAJF stage.
That February spirit of carnival returns to close out the evening’s Ronnie Wells Main Stage
proceedings, courtesy of Trinidad’s own trumpet ace Etienne Charles and Creole Soul. A
jazz educator in the proud tradition of MAJF’s Paul Carr and so many of the jazz educators
who’ll be on hand throughout the festival, Etienne currently teaches at Michigan State
University. His series of enthusiastically received recordings on the Culture Shock label
are topped by his latest exploration of what he calls creole soul on the acclaimed San Jose
Suite, his musical tribute/exploration of the city bearing that name. Expect a definite spirit
of island jump up with Etienne Charles’ music.
Ronnie Wells Main Stage
Session # 4 - 1:00pm | 2:30pm | 4:00pm
Sunday, February 19
No festival would be complete without exclusive performances that one can only
see at that festival. Our Sunday matinee session on the Ronnie Wells Main Stage
begins with a MAJF exclusive, the assertive swing and power of the MAJF Women’s
Collective. Some of the DMV’s mightiest female musicians join forces for this very
special festival attraction. These include vocalist Akua Allrich, pianist Janelle Gill,
bassist Amy Shook, and drummer Savannah Harris joining forces at 1:00pm.
Soulful sounds are among the hallmarks of any Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival, and there is no
style of jazz more soulful than the sound of a Hammond B-3 organ played with that bluesdrenched spirit. That sound will be well represented on the Sunday afternoon matinee by
the Greg Hatza Organization. Baltimore has long enjoyed a jazz organ tradition and this
Reading, PA native has long called BMore his home base.
Closing our Sunday matinee will be a perennial Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival favorite, the blues/
jazz/soul and cabaret friendly vocal stylist, Lavenia Nesmith. On this occasion Ms. Nesmith will
present her program in tribute to the deeply influential NEA Jazz Master Nancy Wilson.
Ronnie Wells Main Stage
Session # 5 - 6:00pm | 7:30pm | 9:00pm
Sunday, February 19
As has become customary, and a Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival favorite, festival
director, ace educator and proud Texas Tenor (and soprano) saxophonist Paul
Carr Quartet will be the curtain raiser for our Sunday evening proceedings.
Never one to spare shining the spotlight on a deserving vocalist, this time PC will
welcome to the stage an ever-swinging voice that may be new to our audience –
but not for long – the engaging baritone of Mr. Jamie Davis.
Following Paul Carr’s introduction of Jamie Davis to the stage, and taking a brief holiday from
his longtime stint in the renowned Saturday Night Live studio band, is the perennial pollwinning trombonist Steve Turre Quartet. Stylistically Steve Turre emerged out of the proud
post bop tradition of the legendary J.J. Johnson. In addition to his deep, broad trombone
sound, Steve Turre also delights worldwide audiences with his peerless, uncanny prowess on a
family of instrumental seashells. Expect to be amazed!
Closing Session #5 will be one of the most distinctive voices on the scene, the cheeky,
politically conscious Rene Marie. Noted for crafting pithy arrangements of great
old standards (hear her mélange of Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero” with Leonard Cohen’s
“Suzanne” or the R&B classic “Just My Imagination”), she’s a writer of pungent, often
humor-laden, sometimes controversial original songs and song pairings (check her
pairing of Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing with the Star Spangled Banner). Given our current
roiling U.S. political climate, expect Rene Marie to deliver some sharp commentary
alongside her characteristic warm balladry and hard swinging vocal improvisations.
MAJF Club
Friday
February 17
7:00 pm
Herb Scott
9:00 pm
Candice Bostwick
CD Debute
Saturday
February 18
1:00 pm
Chad Carter
2:30 pm
Terry Koger Quintet
Concurrent with each afternoon and evening session on the Ronnie Wells
Main Stage, the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival Club space across the Hilton Hotel
hallway has become a favorite hangout for MAJF audiences. After all, there’s
still a large portion of the jazz audience that just wants to get their club on, in
the classic jazz performance venue tradition.
This year’s offerings at the MAJF Club will welcome a broad array of singers,
leavened by several smokin’ instrumentalists. We’ll kick things off in the Club
with one of the DC area’s busiest and most promising young saxophonists,
alto man Herb Scott. Throughout the weekend Club devotees will experience
many flavors of the jazz voice, including Iva Jean Ambush and Ambuscade’s
Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald to mark the centennial year of the great songstress.
Maija Rejman will take us south of the border with a program likely to include
many selections from her current album of Brazilian song.
On the instrumental side the Club will present violinist Chelsey Green and the
Green Project; and Chelsey will sing some for you too! Alto saxophonist Terry
Koger’s Quintet will hit the Saturday matinee, as will MAJF fave, vocalist Chad
Carter. The vocal duo of Tacha Coleman Parr and Anthony Compton will take
the stage early Saturday evening. Candice Bostwick will sing
selections from her new CD, “Taking Flight,” with a band
featuring veteran DMV alto saxophonist Marshall Keys.
4:00 pm
Iva Jean Ambush and Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Jazz Ambuscade
12am - 2am
Midnight Jam Session
6:00 pm
Tacha Coleman Parr & Closing each night at the Club as part of MAJF’s homage to a time-honored
Anthony Compton
jazz tradition, the versatile Wes Biles Trio, featuring Wes Biles (bass), Eric
Byrd (piano), Jeff Neal (drums), leads our Midnight Jam Sessions, capping
off each night at the first minute of the new day. The MAJF Midnight Jam
7:30 pm
Session is brought to you by The Union Labor Life Insurance Company. The
Maija Rejman
Jam Session is free and open to the public. All traditional Jazz musicians
amature and professional are welcome to sit in. Bring your ax or your voice!
9:00 pm
Chelsey Green and the
Green Project
Sunday, February 19
10:30am - Vespers Program
Sunday
Eric Byrd and Common Ground
February 19
3:30 pm
The Lovejoy Group
5:00 pm
Petra Martin
7:00 pm
Nico Sarbanes
Music on the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Club Stage is provided by
the MAJF.
[Meals may be purchased at Olive’s Restaurant or Starbucks.]
Sunday’s Club offerings begin with our annual Jazz Vespers, befitting the
Sabbath. Closing day will also include performances by the vocalists Karen
Lovejoy Group, Petra Martin, and the latest aspirant in the long line of singing
trumpeters, young Nico Sarbanes.
Juke Joint
9:00pm - 1:00am
David Cole and
Main Street Blues
9:00pm - 1:00am
Anthony “Swampdog” Clark
The blues I perform is a nod to the 9:00pm - 1:00am
BT Richardson
Black Coffee Experience
Hot driving blues sure to past blues artists i.e., BB King, Jazzy/Urban Blues and
get you up off of your feet.
Muddy Waters, and Albert King Soul covers and Originals.
They’ll take you through the with some contemporary influences history of the Blues with a by Bernard Allison, Keb Mo Special Guest: D L Watson
high level of musicianship.
sprinkled with some original songs.
Discovery Stage
GROUNDS PASS REQUIRED
8:00 pm and 10:00 pm
Amp Trio
AMP Trio (Addison Frei (piano), Perrin Grace (bass) and Matt Young (drummer)) has
performed and recorded as the rhythm section for many other musicians such as John
Raymond, Tim Green, Quamon Fowler, Drew Zaremba, Spenser Liszt and Sky Window.
Each member has been a participant in Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead program and was
collectively invited to participate in the 2014 Steans Institute residency at Ravinia.
8:00 pm and 10:00 pm
Kelsi Bolden and Friends
A native and resident of Southern New Jersey, Kelsi currently attends Camden Creative Arts
High School where she is learning advanced music theory, transcription and composition
skills. Starting on the xylophone at the age of 12, Kelsi transitioned to the vibes at 13. Her
exceptional talent, however, went unnoticed until she enrolled at the Philadelphia Clef
Club of Jazz. Currently touring with the Camden Creative Arts Jazz Collective, Kelsi has
met esteemed artists such as Christian McBride, Khan Jamal, Arnetta Johnson, Tia Fuller
and Mark Whitfield; and counts them all as inspirations.
8:00 pm and 10:00 pm
Kristina Koller
It is always a joy to witness a new musical talent. Kristina Koller has become part of the
New York City jazz scene in recent years, developing quickly into a highly individual jazz
singer. Her sound is both timeless and contemporary. While she loves singing standards
and straight ahead jazz, Kristina also enjoys arranging tunes in unusual ways, knowing
that adding to the legacy of jazz is much more important than merely recreating the
performances of others. She reinvents classic material while retaining their essence, putting
her own winning personality and fresh ideas into the lyrics that she interprets.
Main Stage
Friday, February 17 @ 7:00pm
2017 MID-ATLANTIC COLLEGIATE JAZZ ORCHESTRA
Guest Conductor & Soloist - Delfeayo Marsalis
David Kauffman, Coordinator
SAXOPHONES
Lead Alto – Simon Crosby-Areaza (Sophomore), Temple University
Second Alto – Anthony Nigro (Senior), University of the Arts
Alto Alternate – Ken Yoneda (Graduate), Fordham University
Lead Tenor – Henry Tirfe (Senior), University of the Arts
Second Tenor – Christian Lewis (Junior), Temple University
Tenor Alternate – Erick Miranda (Senior), West Chester University
Baritone – Josh Lee (Graduate), Temple University
Baritone Alternate – Nicholas Biagini (Junior), University of Massachusetts
TRUMPETS
Lead – Andrew Connors (Senior), University of the Arts
Section – Hart Guonjian-Pettit (Senior), University of Maryland
Section – Matt Salazar (Senior), University of the Arts
Section – Eric Smith (Senior), University of Massachusetts
Section – Tyler Perske (Senior), West Virginia Wesleyan College
GROUNDS PASS REQUIRED
BILLY TAYLOR ROOM
Humanities Room
FRIDAY - FEBRUARY 17
6:00pm Vanessa Rubin Interview
9:00pm Delfeayo Marsalis Interview
10:00pm Movie - “Born To Be Blue”
SATURDAY - FEBRUARY 18
10:00am Houston Person Interview
11:00am Russell Malone and Bobby Broom Interview
12:00pm Paul Carr “Demystifying Improvisation”
1:00pm Kathy Kosins - Vocal Workshop
2:00pm Chelsey Green - Jazz and the Violin Workshop
3:00pm Panel Discussion: Preservation, Education and
Promulgation | Moderator - Cedric Hendrix
6:00pm Etienne Charles
8:00pm Movie - “What Happened, Miss Simone?”
10:00pm Movie - “Miles Ahead”
SUNDAY - FEBRUARY 19
2:00pm Movie - “What Happened, Miss Simone?”
4:00pm Steve Turre Interview
5:00pm Renee Marie Interview
7:00pm Movie - “Born To Be Blue”
TRUMAN ROOM
Master Classes
SATURDAY - FEBRUARY 18
11:00am Alvin Trask - Trumpet
12:00pm Reginald Cynthje - Trombone
1:00pm Rhythm Section Masterclass
2:30pm Antonio Parker, Language of Jazz, Saxophone
Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Jazz Orchestra
an initiative of the Jazz Academy of Music
TROMBONES
Lead – Chris Mele (Senior), University of the Arts
Solo – John Wambach (Senior), University of Maryland
Section – Ian Kaufman (Freshman), Temple University
Bass – Matthew Della Camera (Senior), Ithaca College
Trombone Alternate – Isaac Viars (Junior), West Virginia Wesleyan College
RHYTHM SECTION
Piano – Ben Brosche (Graduate), Duquesne University
Piano Alternate – Cole Abod (Freshman), University of Michigan
Bass – Lars Swanson (Junior), Marshall University
Bass Alternate – Christopher McGraw (Sophomore),West Virginia Wesleyan College
Guitar – Nick Vassar (Graduate), University of Maryland
Guitar Alternate – Elijah Cole (Freshman), Temple University
Drumset – Donovan Pope (Sophomore), Temple University
Drumset – Joseph Antico (Senior), University of Maryland
Drumset Alternate – John Venezia (Senior), University of the Arts
POTOMAC ROOM
JSLD Line Dance Event
FRIDAY - FEBRUARY 17
6:00pm - 12:00am
Workshops and Open Dancing
SATURDAY - FEBRUARY 18
10:00am - 1:00pm
Line Dance Workshops (Beginner/Intermediate)
1:00pm - 2:00pm
Zumba and Jazz Workshop
2:00pm - 7:00pm
Line Dance Workshops (Beginner/Intermediate)
7:00pm - 8:00pm
Hand Dance Workshop
8:00pm - 9:30pm
Entertainment
9:30pm - 1:00am
Request Your Favorite Dance: Line Dancing - DJ Ronnie Goode
SUNDAY - FEBRUARY 19
1:00pm - 4:00pm
Gospel and Praise Program
2017 MAJF Honorees
As has become a Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival custom, this year we will honor two gentlemen who have
contributed tirelessly to the DMV jazz scene and to jazz education, with our annual award.
Dr. Arthur Dawkins
A native of Lexington, NC who grew up in Alexandria, VA, Art Dawkins
is a key figure in jazz education in the DMV. He is Howard University’s
first director of its auspicious Jazz Studies program, which he directed for 30
years before his 2005 retirement. Among his many achievements, besides
matriculating a number of first-rate musicians who have gone on to achieve
great things in the music industry (including MAJF’s Paul Carr), Dr. Dawkins
established the HU jazz program as the first HBCU to offer a Masters in Jazz
Studies degree pursuit. As a musician, tenor saxophonist Art Dawkins was
long a first call player on the DC area scene, including as a member of the
legendary Howard Theatre house band that backed up so many of the greats
of American music.
Rusty Hassan
A native of Greenwich, CT, Rusty Hassan is truly one of the sage figures on
the DMV jazz scene, and one of the honored voices of DC-area jazz radio. His
career in radio has included stints at his alma mater Georgetown University
radio, as well as a long stint on DC’s former “Jazz 90” WDCU. Currently
Rusty Hassan can be heard on Thursday nights at 10pm on WPFW, where he
has graced the airways for the last two decades. A deeply informative album
liner notes writer, Rusty was also a contributor to the Washington Historical
Society’s much-lauded special 2016 jazz issue, contributing a comprehensive
piece on DC’s jazz radio history. In addition to his media exploits, the retired
labor leader has long taught jazz history courses, most recently at Georgetown,
and lectured on jazz across the DMV.
SPONSORS
The Jazz Academy of Music, Inc. is funded in
part by the Montgomery County government
and the Art & Humanities Council of
Montgomery County.