The concert I witnessed on April 8, 2013, was well worth the trip to Points Formerly Unknown (the Bickford Theatre in Morristown, New Jersey).
Randy Reinhart (cornet); Mark Shane (piano); James Chirillo (guitar); Brian Nalepka (string bass / vocal); Kevin Dorn (drums) played beautifully — in solo and in ensemble.
Bruce Gast made everyone more than comfortable, and the Bickford itself is a truly congenial place to hear music.
Here’s a sample — with more to come!
The quintet urged us to LINGER AWHILE — no protests here!
The venerable but still blushing-pink ROSE ROOM:
Randy growls (but doesn’t bite) on DO NOTHIN’ TILL YOU HEAR FROM ME:
Mark offers a lovely cosmological vista with MOONGLOW:
And congratulations to Brian Nalepka — this was his first gig back after a series of medical adventures . . . he sounds beautiful!
The Bickford Theatre/Morris Museum: On Columbia Turnpike/Road (County Road 510) at the corner of Normandy Heights Road, east of downtown Morristown. Near Interstate 287 and the Route 24 expressway. This is a 300-seat hall with generous parking on site. Wheelchair access. Weeknight concerts are one long set (8-9:30 p.m.). Tickets are generally $15 in advance, but $18 at the door. Tickets may be purchased via credit card over the phone by calling the box office at 973-971-3706. The box office can also provide information, directions, or a simple “jazz map.”
You can be kept up to date on brilliant concerts to come by emailing Jazzevents@aol.com.
For my part, I’ve made BICKFORD one of the “Favorites” on my GPS — evidence of my new courage and musical happiness.
May your happiness increase.
