(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)April 10, 2006

(Mahwah) – Jazz at the Berrie Center presents Soul Jazz Party!” Saturday, May 6 at 8 p.m. in the Sharp Theater on the campus of Ramapo College of New Jersey.  The party features alto sax bop master Lou Donaldson performing with his quartet.  The performance also features Hammond B-3 organ prodigy Dr. Lonnie Smith for a night of organ soul jazz.

Lou Donaldson, alto saxophonist and singer, began studying clarinet at the age of 15.  He performed in a Navy band with Willie Smith, Clark Terry, and Ernie Wilkins.  He first recorded with Milt Jackson and Thelonious Monk.  As the leader of several small groups, his sidemen included Blue Mitchell, Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Clifford Brown and Philly Joe Jones.

In 1954 he and Brown joined Blakey’s Jazz Messengers.  Donaldson continued to lead small groups, mainly in the eastern United States.  He also toured and recorded in Europe.

Dr. Lonnie Smith is internationally known as one of the premier jazz keyboardists.  A dominant talent and pace-setting proponent of the Hammond B-3 organ, and widely recognized as a gifted pianist, Smith has been at the forefront of the jazz scene since 1969 when he was named Top Organist by Downbeat Magazine.  Most recently, Smith has been awarded the Organ Keyboardist of the Year award in 2003, 2004 and 2005 by the Jazz Journalists Association.

Music store owner Art Kubera gave Smith his first Hammond B-3 organ.  After recording several albums with George Benson, Smith became a solo recording artist and produced over 30 albums under his own name.  Several legendary jazz artists have joined Smith on his albums including Lee Morgan, David Fat Head” Newman, King Curtis, Blue Mitchell and Joe Lavano, among others.  Smith’s album, Lenox and Seventh Avenue, recorded in Paris, has become a jazz classic.

Tickets for Soul Jazz Party!” are $21 for adults, $18 for senior citizens and $15 for youth.  The Sharp Theater is located at the Angelica and Russ Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts on the Ramapo College campus.  For more information call 201.684.7844.

This program is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

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About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

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