Sunday Afternoon Jazz Series Returned to Springfield Avenue Gazebo

The Maplewood Springfield Avenue Gazebo saw the return of the highly anticipated Sunday Afternoon Jazz Series.

Jazz and Jam

This week's opening session showcased the incredible talent of saxophonist and jam leader Mike Lee who has been a part of the New York, New Jersey jazz scene for more than 30 years. He has played with some of the great jazz luminaries and performs regularly with Nat Adderley Jr, John Lee, Oliver Lake, Wallace Roney, Josh Evans Big Band, Dave Stryker, Loston Harris, amongst others. Recent tours have taken him up and down the East Coast, to Italy, France, California and Beijing, China.

Mike Lee was accompanied by Adam Wacks on drums, Jason Maximo Clotter on bass and the very talented vocalist/violinist Jacqueline Lee. For the jam session, we were treated to several talented jazz jammers including the beautiful tunes of Colombian singer Manuela Zapata Arbeláez.

The Community

Not only was the weather perfect but the park atmosphere created a relaxing and enjoyable experience for all. Attendees arrived with their blankets, lawn chairs, and tents, ready to immerse themselves in an afternoon of exceptional jazz, and Mike Lee and his band did not disappoint. The turnout was wonderful with over a 100 enthusiastic attendees, including a great number of young children. The jazz performances provided a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience for everyone. It truly was an outstanding and entertaining event.

Food Trucks

We'd like to extend our appreciation to the food trucks that participated in the event, the Urban Cone Food Truck (ice cream) - http://www.theurbancone.com and the Sandwicheria Food Truck (Peruvian street food) https://www.thesandwicheria.com. The food was very, very delicious.

Hosts

The Sunday Afternoon Jazz Series is presented by Springfield Avenue Partnership and Gregory Burrus Productions with support by Finlay + Gage Musical Instruments.

Next in Series Aug 6th

Mark your calendars for August 6th, as we return to the Springfield Avenue Gazebo with the widely popular smooth jazz/R&B band MPACK. We hope to see you there and thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to the success of this event.

About Gregory Burrus

Gregory Burrus is a local live music ambassador, event developer and community partner that develops, manages, promotes and documents local community events in the Greater New Jersey and New York Area. https://gregoryburrusproductions.com/