Jazz Vespers Continues!

 

               

 

 Jazz Vespers

                 

 

 

Don’t miss Jazz Vespers this month!  The Midiri Brothers return to our sanctuary on Sunday, April 27th at 5PM.  Proceeds from the offering will benefit the Wildwood Fresh Air Home, a mission near and dear to our hearts.

 

 For more information, check out their website - www.midiribros.com

 

Joseph Midiri is an instrumentalist on the clarinet, alto, baritone and soprano saxophones.   Not only featured as a classical soloist in several orchestra performances, he is also the leader of the Midiri Brothers Orchestra.  The Midiri Brothers Orchestra is a sixteen piece big band featuring authentic yet creative performances of the music of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Fletcher Henderson, and the Dorsey Brothers, including the orchestra’s own special arrangements in the tradition of the swing era. 

 

Paul Midiri’s talents are inspired by Lionel Hampton in doubling on the vibraphone and drums, and performing on trombone, trumpet and piano as well.  Since 1990, the MIdiri Brothers’ various jazz ensembles have performed at the East Coast’s premier venues including the Rainbow Room in New York City, Atlantic City’s Trump Taj Mahal, Sands, and Caesars casinos, as well as their Orchestra performing for thousands each year at Philadelphia’s Penn’s Landing.  Their CDs are available on amazon.com and cdnow.com.

 

Jim Lawlor was drummer for the Chris Sooey String Band for many years before joining the Midiri Brothers Orchestra.  For the past six years, the Midiri small ensemble, featuring Jimmy on drums and lead vocals, has been a house band at the Showboat Hotel/Casino in Atlantic City.

 

 Pat Mercuri is one of the most sought-after musicians in the Delaware Valley. He has played guitar, banjo and mandolin with the Philadelphia Orchestra.  His Broadway credits include such notable musicals as Showboat and Ragtime.  For the last twenty years, he has performed for most of the shows at the Merriam and Shubert Theatres.

 

Harry Salotti received his musical training at Glassboro State College and Indiana University. He has performed at all of the Atlantic City casino/hotels, throughout the Philadelphia area, and for several cruise lines.  His big band credits include the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, the Guy Lombardo Orchestra, Sammy Kaye, and locally with the Midiri Brothers.  Harry teaches in the Mount Laurel school district, and has been adjunct professor of Music at Camden County College for ten years.

 

 

 

 

The First Presbyterian Church in Pitman is located at 305 South Broadway and Wildwood Avenue in Pitman.  Directions and maps to the church can be found at http://firstpresby.org/directions.htm

 

Further information is available by calling 856-589-1050

 

 

Please come and join us for this joyous spiritual event.  The worship service is informal, and this would be an excellent opportunity to invite family, friends and neighbors.  A free will offering will be collected, and proceeds beyond the cost of the musicians will be dedicated to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.  For more information, please contact the church office at 589-1050, or Marilyn Rabbai at 589-3901.

 



Below is a list of last years’s 2006-2007 season:

September 24, 2006 – Rosemary Benson and Friends – offering proceeds benefit Hurricane Katrina Relief

October 22  2006 – the Brazilian Sounds of Minas  offering proceeds to benefit Pitman Food Pantry

November  26  2006 – George Rabbai/Denis DiBlasio Quintet – proceeds “  “  Jean Webster’s Kitchen

December 10 2006 – Christmas Vespers (not jazz) with:

 Chancel Choir, Sunshine Singers, Tyler Bell Choir, Clown troup  offering proceeds TBA

January 28 2007– Rowan University Lab Band proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity

February 25 2007 - Dixieland Jazz Vespers with Harry Salotti and friends  - proceeds benefit Contact

March 25 2007 – Jazz Vespers (Carl Granieri) proceeds benefit Urban Promise

April 22 2007 – Jazz Vespers (Midiri Brothers) proceeds benefit Wildwood Fresh Air Home

 

Please come and join us for these joyous spiritual events.  The worship service is informal, and this would be an excellent opportunity to invite family, friends and neighbors.  For more information, please contact the church office at 589-1050, or Marilyn Rabbai at 589-3901

 

 

 

Further information is available by calling 856-589-1050

A brief background on jazz vespers..........


Jazz vespers began in New York City in 1961 when the late Reverend John Garcia Gensel started an evening service at St. Peter's Lutheran Church.  It was designed for those musicians of his growing night ministry who couldn't make it to Sunday morning service after those late Saturday gigs.  He invited them to perform "a worship service by and for jazz musicians...the public is invited."  It became the church home for many of the musicians and their families.  The legendary "Duke" Ellington was a frequent worshiper.   He called Pastor Gensel "the shepherd who watches over the night flock," and wrote a tune by that name which many groups have recorded.  He actually wrote three sacred concerts, which have been performed in churches, cathedrals and synagogues throughout the world.  (Note:  our choir has performed "Come Sunday," from one of Ellington's sacred services, on a few different occasions)  Jam sessions soon began at St. John the Divine in New York City.  By the mid-1960's, many of the era's jazz legends were performing in these and other churches, and word began to spread about this unique worship service.  Since then, jazz vespers services have become popular across the country, and continue to thrive in urban areas like New York and Philadelphia, where there is a strong jazz audience.


Local churches who have hosted jazz vespers include:  Old Pine Street Church in Philadelphia, a popular site for jazz vespers for 17 years, First Presbyterian Church of Haddonfield, and First Methodist Church of Ventnor. "Jazz is a part of my inside journey with God!"


The spiritual event that can take place when jazz is offered in worship has been wonderfully described by Rod MacDonald, a member of Old First Presbyterian Church in San Francisco:  "The improvisational nature of jazz helps me create a freedom inside my mind.  This freedom encourages me to explore thoughts...........Jazz can have repeating themes, but seldom are the notes always played exactly the same.  In the same way, jazz at vespers encourages me to take a question, a thought, a sound, and shape it into many different meanings.  For example: the sound of cymbals being tapped or brushed allows my mind to think about the pleasure of the moment; the influence of music and cultures of centuries past; what music sounded like in biblical times; and how pleased God must be there is jazz at Old First."  (This information was taken from the websites of Old First Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, and History of Jazz and the Church.)

Please come and join us for this joyous spiritual event.  The worship service is informal, and this would be an excellent opportunity to invite family, friends and neighbors.  A free will offering will be collected, and proceeds beyond the cost of the musicians will be dedicated to a mission projects.  For more information, please contact the church office at 589-1050, or Marilyn Rabbai at 589-3901.

 

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