(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)September 22, 2004

(Mahwah) – What better way to celebrate Halloween than in 3-D with live music? Join the legendary Jazz Passengers (sorry, without Deborah Harry) as they provide the musical backdrop for the cult horror classic CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON on Friday, October 22 at 8 p.m. in the Sharp Theater at Ramapo College of New Jersey.

The Jazz Passengers were founded in 1987 by saxophonist Roy Nathanson and trombonist Curtis Fowlkes. The two musicians met in the band of the Big Apple Circus and toured extensively together as members of the band The Lounge Lizards. Early Passengers CDs involved complicated and soulful compositions mixed with original vocals and comedy pieces.

The group’s trend towards vocal-based composition reached a more sophisticated point with the release of Jazz Passengers in Love in 1994. The performance of Debbie Harry on the Song Dog and Sand” stood out and led to a collaboration that is still very much alive. The band released two CDs, Individually Twisted and Live in Spain, with Harry as lead vocalist.

The band continues to tour extensively and has done orchestral arrangements of their work for the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Buffalo Philharmonic. This combination of orchestral and original composing is evident in their replacing the soundtrack of the 1954 classic horror film Creature From the Black Lagoon.

A one-sided love story describes the movie, built on the discovery that something lurks under the waters of the Black Lagoon. The creature there, a cross between the land living and the sea living, is the target of an expedition bent on capturing it and bringing it back to civilization for study. The creature becomes enamored with the expedition’s female scientist. He escapes and kidnaps the object of his affection. A mission is mounted to rescue the kidnapped woman and to send the creature back to the murky depths from which it emerged. This exciting monster movie sparked the Golden Age of Universal Science Fiction movies during the 1950s. It remains an enduring tribute to the imaginative genius of its Hollywood creators. The audience will be provided with 3-D glasses to view the film.

A post-show costume parade and dessert party will be also be held. A costume must be worn to be admitted to the party. Admission is free with a ticket stub from The Jazz Passengers performance. Parade participants will don a costume and make their way from the Sharp Theater to the new Bill Bradley Sports and Recreation Center atrium for dessert, dancing and fun. Prizes will be awarded for the most creative costume designs.

Tickets are $21 for adults, $18 for senior citizens and $15 for youth. The performance will be held in the Sharp Theater in the Berrie Center for Visual and Performing Arts on the campus of Ramapo College. Info: 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 of 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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