All Night Soul 2010 Honoring NEA Jazz Master, Saxophonist and Flutist Frank Wess

The Jazz Ministry at Saint Peter’s Church announces Musicians who will perform at All Night Soul 2010

Honoring NEA Jazz Master, Saxophonist and Flutist Frank Wess

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Saint Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington (at 54th Street), New York City

 New York, NY – September 10, 2010 -  The Jazz Ministry of Saint Peter’s Church – the Jazz Church – announces the musicians who have, as of this date, confirmed their planned performance at the 40th Anniversary of All Nite Soul on Sunday, October 10, 2010, including:

Frank Wess; The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra – John Mosca, Dick Oatts, Douglas Purviance, Jim McNeely, Nick Marchione, Tanya Darby, Terell Stafford, Scot Wendholt, Luis Bonilla, Jason Jackson, Billy Drewes, Rich Perry, Ralph LaLama, Frank Basile, John Riley and David Wong; Michael Weiss; Steve Wilson; Peter Washington; Peter Van Nostrand; Javon Jackson; Jeremy Manasia; Ameen Saleem; McClenty Hunter; The Harlem Blues and Jazz Band, Steve Turre, Jimmy Owens; Winard Harper Quintet; Dominick Farinacci; Arturo O’Farrill; Nadje Noordhuis; Fabian Almazan; Deanna Witkowski; Filo Machado; Gabriel Allegria and his New York University Afro Peruvian Jazz Quintet; James Weidman; Joe Fielder; Josh Roseman; Alan Ferber; Bob Stewart; Alexis Cole; Joe Wilder; Chanda Rule; Gernot Bernroider; Jesse Lewis; Chris Dingman; Ike Sturm; Paul Knopf and Ken Simon. Tulivu-Donna Cumberbatch and Brian Lynch will be the emcees and will also perform.  More performers are continuing to be added upon confirmation.

This year Frank Wess, National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Master, saxophonist and flutist will be honored.  The event begins with Jazz Vespers at 5 PM. All Nite Soul starts at 7 PM with over 80 musicians celebrating All Nite Soul and honoring Frank Wess. An “exhibit wall” in the Living Room of Saint Peter’s Church will tell the story of Frank Wess with memorabilia including photographs organized by James “Tad” Hershorn and Ed Berger of The Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University - Newark.  "Jazz Expressions," a photo exhibition of jazz musicians by RI Sutherland-Cohen, will also be on display in the Living Room.

Frank Wess is revered as a smoothly swinging tenor saxophone player in the Lester Young tradition, as an expert alto saxophonist, and as one of the most influential, instantly recognizable flutists in jazz history. He was a member of several Orchestras in the late ‘40’s including Billy Eckstine, Eddie Heywood, Lucky Millender and Bullmoose Jackson.

He was a long time member of the Count Basie band as well as band leader of his own bands, composer, arranger, teacher, saxophonist and flutist.  He has performed with numerous Broadway shows as well as many TV shows.  In 2007, Frank Wess received America’s Highest Honor in Jazz, the prestigious NEA Jazz Masters Award.

“In jazz parlance, tenor saxophonist and flutist Frank Wess is ‘somethin’ else.’ On one hand, (as Luis Bonillo said) Frank is the ‘pinnacle of elegance.’  On another, he is a down-home character who can swing like there’s no tomorrow, can play the blues with hearty grit, can write band parts that stand up and shout.”  The Star Ledger, Zan Stewart

All Nite Soul 2010 – Honoring Frank Wess takes place on Sunday, October 10, 2010 at Saint Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington Avenue (at 54th Street), New York City.