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| The 42nd Annual All Nite Soul Honoring the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra On this, the 42nd anniversary of All Nite Soul, the Jazz Ministry of Saint Peter's Church — the Jazz Church — is thrilled to honor the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. On Sunday, October 7 at 5 PM, Jazz Vespers begins with Fabian Almazan, pianist and composer, with Strings Group. All Nite Soul goes into full swing at 7 PM with over 80 musicians celebrating All Nite Soul and honoring the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the 16-piece modern big band established in 1966 by Thad Jones and Mel Lewis and that performs every Monday night at the world famous Village Vanguard night club in Greenwich Village, New York City. Cornetist, composer, arranger Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis founded the band in New York after leaving successful tenures with their respective touring jobs with Count Basie and Stan Kenton. With a handful of arrangements they approached legendary club owner Max Gordon and were booked at the Village Vanguard for just three Mondays starting February 7, 1966. Critical acclaim, awards and international success followed a series of magnificent records, then Thad left in 1979 to lead the Danish Radio Orchestra in Copenhagen. Mel continued to lead the band and called upon his friend and former band member Bob Brookmeyer whose writing continued to provide the innovation and influence that Thad and Mel had begun. Mel Lewis's death in 1990 marked the end of the era of the originators and the band members made a decision to continue the band as a cooperative effort under the name of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra (VJO). Their success continues at the Village Vanguard every Monday night. The band has won GRAMMY's and travels internationally. "The VJO is an ebullient, deeply artistic large ensemble. Boasting long-standing, rarely changing personnel, the band plays its challenging material with spot-on accuracy. Yet it can also deliver with a refreshing looseness - functioning, alternately, as a big band and small group." Zan Stewart – The Star Ledger "The VJO, which has played at the Village Vanguard nearly every Monday since 1966 is the most influential jazz big band of the contemporary era: This is the band in which every student musician dreams of playing, the band that virtually every college jazz orchestra tries to sound like. Nearly every band of the last 40 years is an unabashed spin-off of the VJO, and at least one club in every major metropolitan area has a "Monday night band" that follows the VJO business model. Indeed, it's a safe bet that a majority of all the big bands in the world right now emulate the VJO." Will Friedwald – New York Sun The Legend Wall, an "exhibit wall" in Saint Peter's Living Room, will tell the story of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra from its inception to its current day activities with memorabilia, including photographs organized by photo archivist Tad Hershorn of Rutgers University Institute of Jazz Studies. The exhibit will also feature memorabilia from the Thad Jones archives at William Paterson University provided by archivist David Demsey. "All Nite Soul" was originally created in 1970 to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the creation of Jazz Vespers in 1965. The event has continued every year since then with hundreds of musicians performing and coming together in a "jazz love fest." The Hungry Souls' Café, an important feature of the event, serves homemade Soul Food! All Nite Soul is held in October starting on the Sunday evening of Columbus Day weekend and continues into Monday morning — hence the name All Nite Soul. Each year a major jazz icon is celebrated. Those celebrated in recent years include Dr. Billy Taylor, Benny Powell, Jane Jarvis, Joe Wilder, Frank Wess and Randy Weston. The Jazz Ministry at Saint Peter's Church is a home for diverse individuals and communities which celebrates the dignity and vitality of Jazz, provides vibrant liturgy and pastoral care, and through intersecting partnerships, offers jazz programs, education and services. An outreach program of Saint Peter's Lutheran Church in New York City, The Jazz Ministry was founded in 1965 by the late Reverend John Garcia Gensel who created Jazz Vespers, a worship service featuring a wide range of jazz musicians that is held each Sunday at 5:00 PM. Our pastors include Amandus Derr, Jared Stahler, Kaji Spellman, Bill Eschen, and Jazz Pastor Emeritus Dale Lind. Ike Sturm, bassist, is our Director of Music for the Jazz Ministry. The Jazz Ministry thrives today with many events and programs such as All Nite Soul, Prez Fest, Jazz on the Plaza, Seminars for Musicians, Midtown Jazz at Midday, memorials, tributes, concerts, and others yet to be developed, to serve the jazz community. "All Nite Soul 2012 – Honoring The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra" takes place on Sunday, October 7, 2012 at Saint Peter's Church, 619 Lexington Avenue (at 54th Street), NYC, 212 935 2200. write your comments about the article :: © 2012 Jazz News :: home page |