Zombies and the Jersey Shore - a perfect Halloween Cocktail

Throughout the decades, the iconic Jersey shore has been glorified in many different ways in literature, song and film, but a recent song by the jazz band Sweet Whiskey adds a new interpretation to the allure of our vaunted coastline.

Now streaming on YouTube a new MUSIC VIDEO combines the band’s song “Jersey Shore” with the recent Annual Zombie Walk in Asbury Park to cast a rather sinister, but inviting appeal to come visit our shore just in time for the Halloween season.

From the opening line “take me to the sunrise on the Jersey shore,” the video features a tantalizing mix of zombies that rival creatures from The Walking Dead – dancing, lip-synching and floundering about on the boardwalk, the beach and abandoned buildings around Asbury Park.

All in good fun, the video manages to capture the essence of what is now called “the world’s largest zombie walk” in the Guinness Book of Records with a jazzy, pop tune boasting all the wonderful reasons to take a trip down to the shore.

Formed by Jersey natives, vocalist Maggie Worsdale and pianist John Colianni, Sweet Whiskey is a band made up from five of the top jazz musicians in the NJ-NY area. They’ve created a sound that blends a healthy serving of traditional jazz, a touch of blues and rock, a dash of international flair, combined with a steady mix of standards and new material that sets them apart from much of the sound normally heard in a typical jazz or pop band.

Colianni has been a force in the music scene since age 19 when first working with famed bandleader Lionel Hampton as his pianist. He went on to become the accompanist for legendary vocalist Mel Tormẻ and later to work with the great Les Paul as part of his quartet.

Worsdale has performed nationally and internationally, working with industry giants Bob Hope and George Burns while in California in the 1990s. She was also chosen as one of the top NJ-NY jazz singers to perform twice at the annual Sinatra Birthday Bash at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, NJ.

“Putting this video together was just a whole lot of fun,” said Worsdale. “We spent the day at the Zombie Walk and just went up to people and asked them to dance for us or lip-synch a line or two from a boom-box. It was a blast, and all the zombies were just great. The event organizers do a wonderful job of bringing together a crazy bunch of folks –they’re amazing.”

The song “Jersey Shore,” along with another Sweet Whiskey original “Pinot Noir,” are available on cdbaby.com and a “live” album is currently in post-production from a concert earlier this year at the Summer Jazz Café held at the Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ.