The Red Bank, NJ-based Jazz Arts Project will celebrate both its 20th Anniversary and Jazz Appreciation Month at its annual gala on April 30 at Red Bank’s Triumph Restaurant & Brewery.
The organization’s Hero Awards will be presented to trumpeter Warren Vache and educator/journalist Gilda Rogers. Vache will play at the gala with Will and Peter Anderson’s Roarin’ 1920s Orchestra. There will also be performances by the Eddie Allen Quintet and the Jazz Arts Academy Allstars.
The gala will be preceded by three Wednesday evening Jazz Cafe Nights at Triumph featuring guitarist Stephane Wrembel on April 9, alto saxophonist Bruce Williams on April 16, and vibraphonist Behn Gillece on April 23.
Vache performed at the New Jersey Jazz Society’s 50th Anniversary concert in October 2022. The 74-year-old Vache has played with a long list of jazz giants including Benny Goodman, Gerry Mulligan, and Rosemary Clooney. The New York Times’ John S. Wilson once wrote of his “gorgeously warm tone,” adding that he “adds rough-toned vitality to the brass section.” Rogers is Executive Director of the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center in Red Bank and teaches African-American History at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, NJ. She is also a Contributing Editor to Jersey Jazz Magazine.
For more information, log onto jazzartsproject.org or call (732) 784-3350.