Chicken Bone Beach!

The 16th annual Chicken Bone Beach Jazz on the Beach Series – a popular Atlantic City summertime tradition that showcases some of the nation’s top jazz artists – returns to Kennedy Plaza on July 2.
 
The Chicken Bone Beach Historical Foundation, Inc. presents this free concert series, which takes place on Thursdays in July and August from 7-10 p.m. at Kennedy Plaza, located on the Atlantic City Boardwalk between Mississippi and Georgia avenues.
 
The schedule features:

  • Avery Sharpe Quartet on Thursday, July 2 – Honesty. Clarity. Dignity. These are words that come to mind when you listen to the music of bassist-composer Avery Sharpe. In an age of ephemeral pop stars and flavor-of-the-month trends, Sharpe is a reminder of the lasting value of steadfast dedication and personal integrity. As the title of one of his tunes asserts, “Always Expect the Best of Yourself.”  Across the Globe with Tony Day is the opening act.
  • John Satchmo Mannan Quartet on Thursday, July 9 – John Satchmo Mannan (originally known as John McRae) was born in Central Harlem and grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan,.  Living near the corner of change in the 1960, Mannan’s life was wonderfully transformed by the music of Louis Armstrong (for whom he had voice affinity) and John Coltrane in whom he found a golden door to new worlds of beauty. Mannan plays the alto sax and is also a vocalist.  Nasir & Renaissance Messengers is the opening act.
  • Philadelphia Heritage Art Ensemble on Thursday, July 16 – The jazzmen of Philadelphia, from which much of hard bop arose celebrate it in concerts, in tributes, in writings, on radio and in schools. Fred Adams decided to concentrate all of these references into a single group, the Philadelphia Heritage Art Ensemble. The vitality and youthful enthusiasm that drove hard bop as a confluence of the intricacies of bebop and the soul of gospel are evident again in Adams' group. The Connie Jackson Quartet is the opening act.
  • Ella Gahnt & the EG Trio on Thursday, July 23 – Ella Gahnt has performed professionally since the age of 18, and since then the Philadelphia vocalist has worked with many top artists, including Grover Washington, Jr., The Stylistics and Pieces of a Dream. She tells musical stories in a manner all her own, while honoring the vocal styles of great divas such as Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McCrae, Betty Carter and her namesake Ella Fitzgerald. Tony Deluca’s (Bella Blu) is the opening act.
    Chicken Bone Beach Youth Alumni Jazz Ensemble on Thursday, July 30 –The Chicken Bone Beach Youth Jazz Ensemble is the opening act.
  •  Bootsie Barnes Smoking Quintet on Thursday, Aug. 6 – Robert "Bootsie" Barnes is an American jazz tenor saxophonist from Philadelphia. In the 1950s Barnes played with various musicians in Philadelphia, including Lee Morgan, Philly Joe Jones and Bill Cosby (then a drummer). During the 1960s he performed with various organists including Jimmy Smith and Don Patterson, with whom he recorded in 1978. In the 1980s he toured with Sonny Stitt. He continued to play in his home town and recorded his album "You Leave Me Breathless!" in 1995. Carrie Jackson & Jazzim Allstars is the opening act.
  • Steve Pouchie Latin Jazz (Hembo) on Thursday, Aug. 13 – Steve Pouchie has been performing regularly for more than 30 years in the New York City area.   His new CD entitled "North by Northeast" is Steve's newest and most creative work to date.  Featuring the incomparable Wilson "Chembo" Corniel on congas and percussion, Diego Lopez on drums, Solo Rodriguez on bass, Julio Botti on Sax, Sam Barrios and Adan Perez on keys and a host of other great musicians.  It is a CD that you will find hard to stop listening to. Suzette Ortiz Latin Jazz Ensemble is the opening act.
  • Steve Turre Quartet on Thursday, Aug. 20 Steve Turre is an American jazz trombonist, a pioneering musical seashell virtuoso, a composer, arranger, and educator at the collegiate-conservatory level who, for fifty-one years, has been active in jazz, rock, and Latin jazz – in live venues, recording studios, television, and cinema production. As a studio musician, Turre is among the most prolific living jazz trombonist in the world.  As a member of a television orchestra, this is Turre's thirty-first year as trombonist with the Saturday Night Live Band. Dwain Davis & Friends is the opening act.

The 16th Annual Chicken Bone Beach Summer Jazz Series is funded in part by the NJ State Council of the Arts/Department of State through the Atlantic County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs, City of Atlantic City, NJ Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA), Atlantic City Free Public Library, Comcast, NT Design, Kramer Beverage Co., COORS, AC Convention Center, AC Alliance, & ZEO Brothers.

Tune in to Stockton University Radio Station WLFR – 91.7 Wednesdays for Chicken Bone Beach Hour from 7 to 8 p.m.