“A lot of what we do comes from spontaneity, the idea of creating a moment.” That was a bit of advice from tenor saxophonist Don Braden to the six young musicians who received this year’s scholarship awards from the New Jersey Jazz Society.
Then, Braden and one of the scholarship winners, vocalist Kyra Cioffi, demonstrated that “spontaneity.” Cioffi, winner of the $1,000 Vocal Performance scholarship award, was singing the Vincent Youmans/Irving Caesar standard, “Tea for Two”, with a healthy dose of scatting, when Braden, off script, joined her on the stage with his sax. The result was an exhilarating, extemporaneous call-and-response that delighted the crowd at NJJS’ November 2nd Jersey Jazz LIVE! concert at the Madison (NJ) Community Arts Center (See photo above).
The concert was the annual meetup between the scholarship recipients and seasoned jazz professionals. The music was preceded by a roundtable discussion enabling the students to ask questions and receive guidance before taking the stage.
It was truly an inspiring afternoon that included alto saxophonist Nate Tota’s solo performance of Arthur Johnston’s “Pennies From Heaven”, vocalist Sophia Varughese’s knockout rendition of W.C. Handy’s “St. Louis Blues”, and a video of a big band playing Matt Cline’s winning composition, “Diplomat’s Dilemma”. The finale embraced, in Braden’s words, “a time-honored tradition, the blues”, a stirring performance of Thelonious Monk’s “Straight No Chaser”.
The scholarship winners were: tenor saxophonist Joseph Foglia, Raleigh, NC/William Paterson, $1,000 prize for Instrumental Performance; Kyra Cioffi, Rutherford, NJ/William Paterson, $1,000 prize for Vocal Performance; multi-instrumentalist Matt Cline, Shanghai, China/Princeton, $1,000 prize for Composition; alto saxophonist Nate Tota, Clinton, NJ/William Paterson, $500 prize for Instrumental Performance; Sophia Varughese, Delray Beach, FL/Princeton, $500 prize for Vocal Performance; and alto saxophonist Aiden Woods, Warwick, NY/William Paterson, $500 prize for Composition.
The professional musicians, in addition to Braden, were: trombonist Mariel Bildsten, trumpeter Ted Chubb, pianist Caili O’Doherty, bassist Mary Ann McSweeney, and drummer Alvester Garnett. (Photo below, from left: Bildsten, Foglia, Woods, and Cline).
The Scholarship competition is generously supported by Nan Hughes Poole, and NJJS Board members Cynthia Feketie, Mike Katz, and Jackie Wetcher.
PHOTOS BY MARGUERITE LA FOUNTAINE
