3rd Annual Soular Jazz Festival

The 3rd Annual Soular Jazz Festival will be held on June 10, 2017 from 10:00 am to 5:45 pm on the grounds of the First Parish Church Unitarian Universalist, 40 Church Street, Northboro, MA. Besides relaxing with delicious food and listening to great live jazz by acclaimed musicians, you’ll be able to learn about many technologies and strategies for saving energy and our planet.

The Soular Jazz Festival was conceived by composer-saxophonist, Ed Harlow, leader of The Gringo Kings and a passionate believer in the need for us to be committed stewards of our planet. He has gathered renewable energy professionals who will highlight and demonstrate some of the newest technology in order to accelerate the transition to renewable energy.

Among the items spotlighted will be the Smartflower, a home solar system presented by Mass Renewables. You’ll be able to see this amazing technology up close as it demonstrates its self-deployment and sun-tracking capabilities. Take time to investigate “plug-in” cars provided by the New England Electric Automobile Association which will also be present. There will also be demonstrations of solar cooking as well as other technologies and products.

When the music starts you’ll be in the front row to hear the Gringo Kings, who are based in the Boston area, and “leap from transformed covers to quirky originals with the nonchalance of hardened musical criminals.” Leader, composer and tenor saxophonist for the group, Ed Harlow has toured in the US, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Brazil, France, the Caribbean and has performed with Tony Bennett, The Temptations, Johnny Mathis, Paquito D’Rivera, and Lionel Loueke.

During the day long festival, you’ll also hear The A-Beez, whose music is loosely classified as “soul” but derives from the tradition of funk and R&B is eclectic and original. If you listen closely you’ll also pick up “hints of rock, country, jazz, hip hop, and even classical.”

Boston favorite, Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, will also be performing. They have appeared in Boston’s Regattabar, Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and the Mardi Gras Parade in New Orleans. This costumed “funk/street beat improvisational brass band” performs a “unique blend of original and traditional music. The RSE is energetic, fun, and a band that makes listeners get up and dance.

The By & By offer “a fresh approach to American Roots music.” They infuse the raw energy of gospel, blues, and country and explore “contemporary interpretations of traditional music.” They are influenced by the Carter Family, Muddy Waters, and Blind Willie Johnson, among others. Their electrifying stage performances will have you basking in their inventive and yet familiar sounds.

Fugue Mill weaves jazz through the fabric of Bluegrass, Celtic, and Classical music. Led by pianist Mark Shilansky, Fugue Mill creates a complex yet attractive blend of musical styles and traditions. Original group pieces are featured side by side with music by such composers as Thelonious Monk, Leonard Cohen, and Samuel Barber. Violin and mandolin augment the lineup, creating a transparent and vibrant palette of improvisation and counterpoint. Members of the group combine their wide-ranging experience playing with such artists as Luciana Souza, Esperanza Spalding, Stevie Wonder, and Darol Anger into a musical melange that explores diverse idioms, linked through improvisation and groove. Jon Garelick wrote in the Boston Globe: “[Mark Shilansky’s ‘Fugue Mill’ is]… an especially fresh and inventive jazz album.”

The Soular Jazz Festival is free and will be held on the grounds of First Parish UU in Northboro. In case of rain the Parish Hall and the Meeting House will host the music. Food which has been designed to have low environmental impact will be available for purchase and includes homemade burritos, veggie burgers, and Middle-Eastern wraps served with minimum use of paper and plastic products.

For more information got to soularjazzfest.com or email Ed Harlow at soularjazz.ed@gmail.com