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Thousands Flock to the 18th Annual Berks Jazz Festival in Reading, PA
June 5, 2008 - Smooth Jazz Fans from all over gathered like a huge family reunion for the 18th Annual Berks Jazz Festival in Reading, PA from March 27 - April 6, 2008. On the first weekend, the 10 festival saw superstars like Nancy Wilson and Chris Botti , Paul Brown’s Guitar Night mellowing a Sunday afternoon, and a very special Grover Washington, Jr. tribute concert organized by keyboardist Jason Miles. |
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Kenny G Likes to Fly Solo
 June 5 , 2008 – Some people might say spotting Kenny G, Yanni, John Tesh and Michael Bolton on the same tour bus might be a sign of the end of times. More.
Peter White drags out Christmas Tree
 June 5, 2008 – Peter White might not be the most graceful performer or the best looking, actually he’s quite unassuming but his talent and spirit have been the glue that word of mouth superstars are made out of. More. |
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This tribute was not only full of good music but heartfelt stories from the artists about working with the legendary saxman who paved the way for many of today’s stars. Kim Waters, Walter Beasley, Everette Harp, each brought Grover tunes such as “Let It Flow” “Winelight” and These gentlemen had incredible singers accompanying them on stage as Phil Perry put an incredible spin on “Just The Two of us,” Maysa worked her magic on “Mister Magic” lyrics and Patti LaBelle proved that even when she’s a little hoarse, she still has it as she joined the tribute to perform “The Best Is Yet To Come”
The second weekend had plenty of jazz but also R & B. No, I’m not talking about rhythm and blues but trumpeter Rick Braun. As a native of Allentown, PA he is a well loved mainstay for the festival, so if festival goers missed Rick during the festival, I am not sure how. He started by joining a jam session on Thursday night which featured Brian Bromberg, Nick Colionne and Brian Simpson Andrew Neu and Pat Martino. |
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Farrell Sues Kanye, Common & Method Man
 June 4, 2008 – Now this has been known to happen in the biz. The daughter of the late Jazz great Joe Farrell says don’t take things that are not yours, she suing rappers Kanye. More
Billy Joel Working with Marc Anthony?
 June 3, 2008 - My first thought was, "What the hell is Billy Joel Thinking?” Word comes out today that fabulous Piano Man is working on some tunes with, of all people, Marc Anthony. More. |
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Friday night saw Rick featured with Richard Elliott as Berks was a stop on their “R & R” tour to support the “R & R” CD released last summer. In speaking to me about working with good friend Richard Elliott on this latest project Rick says “working with Richard has been such a blast because we’re such great friends,. It was just the natural thing for us.” On Saturday night Rick performed two Chet Baker tribute shows with keyboardist Phillipe Saisse and legendary drummer Ricky Lawson.
Late night concerts continued on Friday night as Candy Dulfer rocked the night away. Her funky sax style had everyone up on their feet late in the midnight hour. The onstage camaraderie with her band, particular keyboardist/singer Chance Howard, was amazing. |
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More Dates for Turner's World Tour
 June 2, 2008 - Because of increased demand, star singer Tina Turner has added more concert dates to her North American tour to satisfy her fans. More
It's Time to Vote at the BBC Jazz Awards
 May 30 - 2008 - The dust has settled on the Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards for a little bit until nominations are announced later this year but the BBC is kicking up some heat with their Jazz Awards. More |
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On Saturday afternoon Euge Groove used his energy to get the crowd pumped and it definitely worked. He even requested audience participation to receive a t-shirt but having fans come to the front and dance.
The ever popular Guitars and Saxes tour returned and with it returned everyone’s favorite English guitarist, Peter Whit along with Peter Jeff Golub and Gerald Albright. The lineup for Guitars and Saxes was shaken up a little with the addition of keyboardist and producer extraordinaire Jeff Lorber and newcomer Jessy J, whose CD “Tequila Moon” was released on March 4th. Sax great Gerald Albright graced the crowd with a couple of songs from his upcoming CD “Sax for Stax” which is set to be released on June 24th on Peak Records.
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The finale show, a CD release concert for keyboardist Brian Culbertson’s upcoming CD “The Funk Experience” was definitely something special. Not only were fans able to here music from the CD, but they were also able to take part in a question and answer session with Culbertson himself prior to the concert. The performance has lots of the new music as well as fan favorites such as “Do You Love Me?” and “Back in the Day.” We also saw a new featured performer in saxophonist/vocalist Marquael Jordan who engaged the crowd very well.
All in all the festival was a smooth jazz lover’s dream with afternoon and even concerts and late night jam sessions. If you weren’t too tired you might even head over to Vanity Fair outlets (the festival’s main sponsor and do a little shopping. As for me, I just wanted to take in all the music that I can and that’s exactly what I did. The dates for next year’s festival are March 27- April 5, 2009. I plan to be there and I hope you do, too. – by Joy Hall
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