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All Nite Soul Jazz Festival 2005 All Nite Soul Jazz Festival 2005 in October Celebrates Forty Years of The Jazz Ministry at Saint Peter's Church and Looks to the Future Live performances by jazz greats, documentary films, artwork and photography by jazz musicians, tributes to women jazz legends and newly commissioned works of sacred music will be among the highlights of the Festival, to be held October 2 - 9, 2005. Saint Peter's Church, 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street, will celebrate the fortieth anniversary of its ministry to the jazz community with a week-long festival of diverse jazz performances and events. Seven evenings of musical performances and other jazz-related activities, across various media, will reflect the wide diversity of Saint Peter’s jazz offerings and the community it serves. The celebration culminates with All Nite Soul on Sunday, Oct 9, 2005 with more than a hundred musicians performing in tribute to the Jazz Ministry. The Jazz Ministry at Saint Peter's provides vibrant worship and pastoral care and through intersecting partnerships offers jazz programs, education and services. The Ministry is committed to addressing the needs of jazz musicians, their families, and those who love jazz. From its long-standing Jazz Vespers held on Sundays at 5 PM to its other signature events, including All Nite Soul, the Annual Lester Young Tribute, Midtown Jazz at Midday, memorial tributes for members of the jazz community, and the newly created Jazz on the Plaza, Saint Peter’s has become known as “The Jazz Church.” The All Nite Soul Jazz Festival 2005 opens on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 8:00 PM at Advent Lutheran Church (2504 Broadway at 93rd Street) where the late Rev. John Garcia Gensel first held Jazz Vespers. The service will be a tribute to Ruth Ellington, the sister of the legendary Duke Ellington. The Duke Ellington Orchestra will participate. Ruth played a major role in helping Rev. Gensel establish Jazz Vespers at Advent Lutheran Church. Rev. Gensel later brought the ministry to Saint Peter’s, where Jazz Vespers continues every Sunday at 5 PM, with the Rev. Dale Lind officiating. The service will be held at Advent Church; all other events of the All Nite Soul Jazz Festival 2005 take place at Saint Peter’s, 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street, NYC. To reach Saint Peter's by subway, take the “E” or “V” trains to the Lexington Avenue stop or the “6” train to the 51st Street stop. Monday, Oct. 3 at 7 PM: a jazz art & photo exhibition will feature musicians who are photographers or artists, including guitarist Peter Leitch, flutist Jeremy Steig, trumpeter Joe Wilder and others. Live jazz will be presented by the musicians whose artwork will be on display that evening. Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 7:30 PM: This benefit concert of sacred music and spirituals in tribute to the culture and musicians of New Orleans is being organized by Ike Sturm, Saint Peter's Assistant Director of Music for the Jazz Ministry. In partnership with The Jazz Foundation of America proceeds will be given to New Orleans Jazz Musicians. Deeply expressing the vitality and breadth of sacred jazz, the Nicholas Payton Quartet, John Patitucci, Jon Cowherd, Brian Blade, Gene Bertoncini and the John Ellis Band will provide a new perspective on the classic sacred jazz repertoire. Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 7 PM: a jazz film double feature will present The Last of the First, a prize-winning documentary about The Harlem Blues and Jazz Band, and The Shepherd, a classic tribute to the late John Gensel, the original “Pastor to the Jazz Community”. Greg Thomas, Producer of “Harlem Speaks” of the Jazz Museum of Harlem, will introduce the films and conduct live interviews with jazz musicians who are also seen in the films. Thursday, Oct. 6 at 6:30 PM: in partnership with The International Women in Jazz (IWJ), a 10th Anniversary musical celebration will honor jazz activist Cobi Narita and feature women jazz legends, including Valerie Capers, Della Griffin, Sarah McLawler, Helen Merrill, Carline Ray and other surprise jazz greats. Cobi has been instrumental in helping many musicians advance in their careers from the days of the Universal Jazz Coalition to IWJ and now at “Cobi’s Place”. The concert will begin with music by the Gloria Cooper Trio, Antoinette Montague with the Norman Simmons Trio (with Bill Easley, Kenny Washington and Hilliard Green) and Golda Solomon, the Medicine Woman of Jazz with Center Search Quest and Special Guest Barbara Sfraga. Friday, Oct. 7 at 7:30 PM: Arturo O'Farrill conducts the Chico O'Farrill Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra in a live concert performance of Chico O’Farrill’s compositions and selected others of the Afro-Latin Jazz genre. Also featured will be dancers from the Afro Latin Jazz Dance Company. Sunday, Oct 9 at 5 PM - The 35th Anniversary of All Nite Soul. The Festival peaks starting at 5 PM with a Jazz Mass. The Clark Terry Big Band, which performed the opening number at the first All Nite Soul in 1970, returns for this year's triumphant event. All Nite Soul will feature numerous big bands, duos, trios, quartets and quintets followed by a grand finale jam session. Those musicians who will be appearing include, among others, Marcus Printup, Catherine Russell, Ray Vega, Benny Powell, Jane Jarvis, Earl May, The Harlem Blues and Jazz Band, Valerie Capers, Patrick Poladian, Carolyn Leonhart, Wayne Escofery, Sarah McLawler and Les Jazz Femme, Chuck Folds, Dr. Lyn Cristie, Alan Eichner, and Chuck Zeuren. Phil Schaap and Jack Kleinsinger will speak. Some events have a suggested donation of $15 (or $20 for All Nite Soul on Sunday). Other events are free to the public. A $50 All-Events Pass will be available; good-will donations to the John Gensel Fund and the Hungry Soul's Cafe will be accepted. All are welcome. Rev. Dale Lind is the residing Pastor to the Jazz Community at Saint Peter's. In his ministry, Rev. Lind believes that Saint Peter's provides a “safe space, ” where musicians can joyfully come together and commune with God through their music. And while the bright and spacious sanctuary of Saint Peter’s would seem to be in stark contrast to a dark and crowded Manhattan jazz club, Pastor Lind has always felt that the musicians adjust accordingly: “I think they feel that they are offering their talent here, and since it's in a worshipful setting, their head is in a different space at Saint Peter's than it would be at a jazz club.” Ike Sturm, the Assistant Music Director for the Jazz Ministry, is a bassist and composer who creatively shapes the Jazz Vespers services each Sunday at 5 PM. “Honoring the Church's incredible roots and tradition, we are inspired to explore new contexts for jazz as a growing sacred art form, welcoming and serving musicians from our city and around the world” says Sturm. Rev. Lind and Ike Sturm look forward to the All Nite Soul Festival 2005 as a powerful illustration of the Jazz Ministry of Saint Peter's, which celebrates the dignity and vitality of jazz as a thriving, creative and cohesive force for spiritual nourishment and inclusive community. Looking to the future, in the weeks following the Festival, a new venture will begin: “Seminars for Jazz Musicians” covering various topics relevant to the career of jazz musicians. Partnerships with health and social organizations to provide other forms of assistance for musicians are also being developed. Andrew Rowan of the Jazz Commission and Rev. Dale Lind are Co-Chairs of the Festival. Lynne Mueller is Chairman of the Jazz Commission which is implementing a three-year Strategic Plan committed to strengthening the spiritual ties within the Jazz Community through innovative programs and partnerships. Pauline Smith is Chairman of the Jazz Committee which began during the time of Rev. Gensel’s ministry and has been largely responsible for the success of All Nite Soul and the Lester Young Tribute. About Saint Peter's Church: A congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Saint Peter's, located at 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street, is an evangelical-catholic communion of diverse people and communities publicly seeking God's nourishment and creatively shaping life in the city. Rev. Amandus Derr, Senior Pastor at Saint Peter's, leads a staff of clergy and lay persons that serve a congregation of 600. In addition to the Jazz Ministry, Saint Peter's provides a broad spectrum of community outreach services, including adult education forums, Bible studies, art exhibitions, classical music concerts, and meal programs for the elderly, persons with HIV/AIDS, and the homeless. Several community organizations, including The International Women in Jazz and the Duke Ellington Society (TDES, Inc.), meet regularly at Saint Peter's. source :: jazz press service © 2005 jazz news :: home page