Music

By Steven Zaitz

Music lovers packed the area behind Ralph’s Famous Italian Ices on Main Street this past Friday, Aug. 11, for the latest installment of the Musical Moments in Kings Park concert series.

Coinciding with sunset, the crowd of about 700 enjoyed “Tequila Sunrise” and other past hits from California soft-rock legends, the Eagles, performed by the local six-piece tribute outfit known as the Eagle River Band.

There was barely an inch of space for one more lawn chair in and around Russ Savatt Park in Village Plaza, as band leaders Paul Graf and Kevin Byrne both ably impersonated Eagle front men Don Henley and Glenn Frey all evening long.

The band played all the hits of the 1970s and ’80s such as “Take It To The Limit,” “Life In The Fast Lane,” and “Desperado,” and formed a warm rapport with the audience as they made light-hearted, self-deprecating cracks at one another throughout the show.

The amiable Graf, who also uses the stage name Paul Henry, was the principal at Smithtown Elementary School from 1988-2012 and has great experience entertaining the masses. One of his annual thrills while serving at Smithtown Elementary was dressing up as Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat with full face paint as well as performing for the students whenever the opportunity presented itself.

“I’ve been playing and singing in front of my parents’ fireplace since I was kid,” said Graf, from Mount Sinai. “It’s an honor to be back in Kings Park and playing here again because the people here are always responsive, and they are a great audience.”

Graf was one of the first musicians ever to play at Musical Moments, which is supported by the Kings Park Civic Association. In 2008, the inaugural year of the series, he played as a duet with his friend Jeff Laino on bass guitar in front of a much smaller audience.

“I remember it was pouring raining and there were a few hardy souls in the crowd that night,” said Graf. “But we did our best.”

Fast forward 15 years and the delightful summer breeze, a crowd that was almost backed up onto the train platform and Graf and his five bandmates made for a perfect musical weekend kickoff.

Formed in 2017, Eagle River Band has seen lineup changes on occasion, but now features Jim Cairo (bass guitar and vocals), Mike Draddy (keyboards, guitars and vocals), Steve Lobmeier (drums) and Joe Savio (guitars and vocals) in addition to Graf (guitar, mandolin and harmonica) and Byrne (guitars and vocals). Savio was responsible for many of the famous guitar solos of legendary guitarist Joe Walsh.

The band played for about two hours and the crowd size and enthusiasm grew to a crescendo together with the music, as the band encored and closed with the Eagles’ most-beloved smash, “Hotel California” — and indeed for everyone at Russ Savatt Park in the center of Kings Park, it was “such a lovely place.”

The Kings Park Civic Association is a community group consisting of local residents who volunteer their time and energy to help maintain the highest standards of quality of life in Kings Park. Founded in 1970, KPCA has a long history of acting as a community advocate. 

Carol Kelly is a member of the association and she spearheaded and currently organizes the Musical Moments program. Local sponsors and raffle drawings fuel the project, and the Eagle River Band was the fourth act out of five for this year’s summer program. The country band Urban Rodeo will play the finale Friday, Aug. 25, at 7:30 p.m.

Hip-hop group The Fat Boys was recently inducted into the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) at its newly opened museum location in Stony Brook on Aug. 6. Kool Rock-Ski (Damon Wimbley), the last surviving member of The Fat Boys, accepted the induction in person from hip-hop legend and LIMEHOF inductee Erick Sermon of EPMD. Public Enemy’s DJ Johnny Juice (also a LIMEHOF inductee) was also on hand to show support and speak about the group. 

“It’s definitely an honor on behalf of the group, two members who are no longer here,” Kool Rock-Ski said. “To accept this on their behalf is huge, because they brought so much to the culture. Their legacy lives on with an award like this. We got to the pinnacle of our success—and we got there the hard way, by doing a lot of hard work.”

The Fat Boys rose to fame in the 1980s, where they pioneered their influential beatbox style of hip-hop music. The group was from East New York in Brooklyn and included “Prince Markie Dee” (Mark Morales), “Kool Rock-Ski” (Damon Wimbley), and “Buff Love” (Darin Robinson). They would heavily influence hip-hop culture through beatbox, comedic charisma, and rhymes. The trio released seven studio albums, four of which went gold by RIAA. In addition to their music, they went on to star in three feature films: Krush Groove, Knights of the City, and Disorderlies.  

The Fat Boys had several successful singles which included “Stick ‘Em,” “Can You Feel It,” “The Fat Boys Are Back,” “Wipe Out,” “Fat Boys,” and “Jail House Rap,” to name a few. Throughout their career, they participated in several tours, one of which was Fresh Fest. And despite having eventually broken up as a group, each of the three members maintained a strong brotherhood. The Fat Boys is credited as having had a strong influence on the development and growing popularity of hip-hop. 

“The Fat Boys introduced the beatbox, to the world and the song they made was funky to me,” said EPMD’s Erick Sermon, himself a LIMEHOF inductee, when he officially inducted The Fat Boys on stage. “I’m honored to do this because my memories of my kitchen on that ledge was playing The Fat Boys album.” 

Kurtis Blow, another LIMEHOF inductee, has a personal connection to The Fat Boys, as he produced their first two albums. 

“The Fat Boys being inducted into the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame is so well deserved,” Blow said in a written statement which congratulated the group on this honor. “These young men were talented and passionate about their craft at a very young age. Producing The Fat Boys was one the highlights of my career. Rest in peace, Buffy (the Human Beatbox Master) and Prince Markie Dee (Mark Morales). I will never forget you, and you are greatly missed. Continue to carry the torch, Kool Rock-Ski!”

LIMEHOF has long recognized the unique talent and contributions that Long Island artists brought to the hip-hop genre. Notable hip-hop inductees include LL Cool J, Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Eric B. & Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Kurtis Blow, Whodini, Salt-N-Pepa, and EPMD. Earlier this year, LIMEHOF held an event to honor the 50th anniversary of hip-hop which had a strong participation and turn out from Long Island artists.

“This historic induction—coupled with our recent 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop Concert—cements Long Island’s legacy as one of the most important regions in the country for contributing to hip-hop’s long-term success,” said Ernie Canadeo, LIMEHOF Chairman.  

“Inducting The Fat Boys into the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame is a tribute to their enduring influence—recognizing their role in shaping the genre and inspiring generations,” said Tom Needham, LIMEHOF Vice Chairman and longtime host of the “Sounds of Film” radio show, and who organized the induction event.

At the induction ceremony, Kool Rock-Ski announced that he is working on a documentary film about The Fat Boys and intends to hold the premiere at LIMEHOF when it’s released. 

For more information about events and future inductions, visit www.limusichalloffame.org/museum/. 

Robin Wilson Photo from LIMEHOF

By Kevin Redding

As a teenaged self-taught singer and “bedroom songwriter” in Tempe, Arizona, Robin Wilson would comb through ads of local bands in the paper—dreaming about being in one someday. The powerful yet tender voice he’d honed, mostly in his room and car, ultimately landed him in a new band that was blowing up in Tempe called Gin Blossoms.

Not long after that, the group found major mainstream success. Throughout the 90s, Gin Blossoms’ catchy harmonies and jangle guitar-driven pop rock dominated the airwaves with massive hits like “Hey Jealousy,” “Follow You Down,” “Found Out About You,” “Til I Hear It From You,” “Allison Road,” and “As Long As It Matters.” 

Wilson and his bandmates had music videos on MTV, became mainstays on late night shows, and were nominated for a Grammy. They’ve not only contributed to the soundtracks for such movies as Wayne’s World 2, Empire Records, and Speed, but for many people’s lives. 

On Aug. 25, Wilson will be inducted into the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in Stony Brook Village. He’s bounced between Arizona and Valley Stream since the mid-90s, but says he became a full-time Long Islander in 2001 and even more so over quarantine. 

TBR News Media had the opportunity to interview Wilson by phone last Sunday as the singer/songwriter took a trip down memory lane.

What does this induction mean to you?

It makes me very proud and it’s really great to be part of the “Big Rock Story” and to know that we’ve had the same sort of impact that so many of my favorite groups did. I was just onstage last night [in Reynoldsburg, Ohio] looking out at 6,000 people who all know the words to a song I wrote in my bedroom and I was thinking, ‘Ya know, we really did great. Nobody thought we could still be doing it this long.’ And here we are 35 years later…I’m very gratified and grateful that I still get to do this for a living. It’s bewildering to me.

We got inducted into the Arizona Hall of Fame back in 2017 alongside the Meat Puppets, one of my favorite bands. I still just shake my head in disbelief because one minute you’re a teenager going to open mic nights and thinking ‘God I hope someday I can be in a band that plays this bar’ and now we’re among the most successful acts to ever come out of our homestate, alongside Jimmy Eat World and Alice Cooper. 

More than anything else, I’m really proud for my family here. It really feels like their achievement and it means the world to me that so many of them are going to be there for the ceremony. My son’s band is rehearsing and his biggest influences all come from the 90s.

What was it like to be a rock band in the 90s?

There were so many great moments where we knew we were accomplishing something very rare. Most of it was the grind of doing the work and being a touring rock band…it’s only with the perspective of time that you realize how grandly we succeeded. We’re going on tour in a couple weeks with some of my all time favorite bands to tour with: Fastball, Tonic, and Sugar Ray. We’ve been on these package tours with Lit and Everclear and Smash Mouth and none of them have done “Saturday Night Live.” 

We performed at the American Music Awards and I got to front KISS on Letterman! There was a lot of diversity [in the 90s] but the bands that survived as the soundtrack of those times were delivering high quality music and really great, memorable songs. I think certainly the key to our success has been having really good songs.

How did you come to join the band?

As I was finally forming my first band with my best friend, Gin Blossoms called and asked me in for an audition. They had only been playing out for a few months but as soon as they hit the local scene, they were a big deal. I already knew our bass player, Bill Leen, and our original guitar player/songwriter Doug Hopkins [who penned many of their early hits and passed away in 1993]. We all went to high school together. They were a few years ahead of me, but they were the only kids that had a band and putting out records. I was listening to Bill’s and Doug’s music since I was like 15. 

Bill and Doug had heard me sing at a couple of parties so when they needed somebody for Gin Blossoms, I got the call. I auditioned on a Wednesday, they gave me the job that night, we rehearsed on Thursday, and then we did three days of shows that weekend, Friday-Sunday. I was playing rhythm guitar and they’d let me sing a couple tunes. Jesse Valenzuela [Gin Blossoms’ guitar player] was the lead singer. I got the job because he and I sounded so good together; it was really special right from the beginning. 

A few months in, Jesse said, “You and I are gonna switch. I’m gonna be the guitar player and you’re gonna be the lead singer.” I was just blown away. In the history of rock and roll, has a lead singer ever done that? It was just such good fortune and destiny…the right place at the right time with the right skillset.

What’s your favorite song to play live?

Doug started the band with this incredible batch of songs, including “Found Out About You,” so it was easy for me to just step in and sing them. And then there were a handful of songs he and I wrote together. The only one of them we ended up recording was “Hold Me Down” [off their 1992 LP “New Miserable Experience”] and that one’s really special to me. Playing the hits is very gratifying too. There’s a song I wrote for our last record called “Break” and it’s great to see them react to it and to know it’s a song that holds up to the rest of our catalog.

What was it like bringing your own songs to the band?

Being in Gin Blossoms with seasoned composers, it helped me to raise my [songwriting] game at an accelerated pace. It wasn’t until I wrote “Allison Road” that the whole band seemed to realize I was approaching their level as a songwriter. Earlier this year, our hometown of Tempe honored us by renaming a street Allison Road.

What’s the strangest bill the band has been on?

[Laughs] We did a show once with Missing Persons, MC Hammer, Joe Walsh, and Toto. And it was just like, ‘How did we end up on this bill?!’ Missing Persons was on before us and MC Hammer was on after us. That was like 12 years ago or something.

In honor of Empire Records, if you were in a record shop right now, what would you be looking for?

My favorite band right now is called White Reaper. They’re one of the best bands of their generation and I love them to death. If I walked in right now, I’d be looking for White Reaper on vinyl. My favorite band of the last couple decades is The Darkness, and I’m excited they’re going to be performing in Tempe in October and so my son and I are going to home to Arizona at a club I’ve played a bunch of times to see them. Another great rock band I love is called Volbeat.

What’s it like being a rock star on Long Island?

This is the first time since winter that I’ll be home here on Long Island for more than five days. I’m home until the Hall of Fame induction and then I leave town the day after that and I’ll be gone for about six weeks. But I have until the 26th to actually be in the same place so I’m fixing to make the most of it, spend time making the racket down in the basement in our new studio, exercising. I played a lot of video games during the pandemic. I bought a Switch and I love that system.

A few years ago, when the pandemic hit, that’s when I really got to meet my neighbors, and they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re in a band, huh?’ I’m like ‘Yeah’ and they’re like ‘Well, you keep at it!’ And then a few months later, the neighbor will come up and be like ‘Holy ___, apparently my brother has your record!’

It took me a while to get used to living here, but I’m finally a citizen. And I’m the only guy on Long Island who flies an Arizona flag on his front porch.

The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame, 97 Main St., Stony Brook will hold an induction ceremony for Robin Wilson on Friday, Aug. 25 from 7 to 10 p.m. Wilson will perform with special guests on the Exhibit Hall stage as part of the evening’s ceremony. Tickets are $40, $35 members at www.limusichalloffame.org or by calling 631-689-5888.

AHOY MATEY! Visit with pirates at this year's festival. File photo by Aidan Johnson/TBR News Media

By Julianne Mosher 

Harborfront Park in Port Jefferson will turn into a pirate’s paradise this weekend and it’ll make visitors want to shake their “booty.”

On Saturday, Aug. 19, singers from around the world will head to the Village to share the gift of song, and some history, with tunes that came straight from the seas, as part of the 3rd annual Port Jefferson Sea Shanty & Maritime Music Festival.

Amy Tuttle, program director of the Greater Port Jefferson Arts Council (GPJAC), said that the free event brings in local sea shanty singers and others from all over New England, Canada, and even the UK. From noon until dusk, visitors can sit and sing along in Harborfront Park, located at 101-A East Broadway, or they might catch glimpses of a few street singers walking around town. 

“Port Jefferson was a shipbuilding community,” Tuttle said. “A lot of the captains and ship builders lived in these very houses that are still standing.”

Tuttle added that over a century ago, Port Jefferson was one of the largest shipbuilding communities in the state. Not only were a large number of big boats created right on these docks, but a huge number of small, wooden boats, as well. 

“Sea shanties were work songs developed by people who worked on and who built the ships,” she said. “They could be considered one of the first genres of world music —wherever there was a port, there would be different influences. It’s really interesting.”

And to really bring the vibe of early century Port Jefferson, across the park at Bayles Boat Shop, which is part of the Long Island Seaport and Eco Center (LISEC) and a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of maritime history on Long Island, will be hosting its annual Sikaflex Quick and Dirty Boat Build. 

Now in its 12th year, the event allows would-be boat designers and builders to have a weekend of fun and showcase their creative skills and talents. Using only a provided supply of plywood, plastic cable ties, and Sikaflex/sealant, two member teams must build, paint and then paddle their design around the village dock in Port Jefferson Harbor located just offshore of Harborfront Park.

Several two-person teams will have five hours on Saturday and return on Sunday to decorate their boats and prepare to race them at 3 p.m. Trophies will be awarded after the races for design, decoration, first built and race winners. “People will be able to watch the boats being built, listen to music and sing along,” Tuttle said. 

Port Jefferson hosted the first Sea Shanty & Maritime Music Festival in 2021. Tuttle said that for many years, Mystic CT would host a Sea Shanty Festival, but unfortunately, it was discontinued. In the time passing, she heard from many of the artists looking for other places to sing their songs, so the GPJAC partnered with the Village of Port Jefferson and the Folk Music Society of New York to bring this whaling town back to its roots.

Featured performers will include John Roberts, David Jones, David Littlefield, Bonnie & Dan Milner, Heather Wood, Joseph Morneault, Geoff Kaufman, and Deirdre Murtha and Alan Short — plus a grand finale concert featuring all the musicians at around 6 p.m. Pirates at Large will be at the “pirate camp” outside the Village Center in character, singing along, too.

“Each year this gets a little bit bigger and we’re so excited to bring it back again,” Tuttle said. “There’s nothing else like it.” For more information, visit www.gpjac.org.

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Eric Dubin, left, of The Whiskey Crows rocks Lake Avenue Sunday night, Aug. 6, during the Celebrate St. James concert series. Photo by Steven Zaitz

By Steven Zaitz

If you were strolling down Lake Avenue in St. James this past Sunday evening, Aug. 6, you might have been compelled to check the map on your phone to see if you were magically transported to Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Springsteen’s “Rosalita” rang out from Celebrate Park in the latest of the 2023 Summer Concert Series and this time it was The Whiskey Crows who got the people on their feet. The dynamic eight-piece band is an upbeat rock ‘n’ roll, twang and soul revue in the Jersey Shore bar band tradition. The band included a three-piece horn section.

Energetic front man Eric Dubin bounced around the stage and, thanks to the technology of wireless amplifiers, was able to sing and play while mixing with the crowd.

With a mix of Elvis, Dobie Gray, Mitch Ryder, St. James-resident Dubin and the boys played for two hours and had the crowd dancing with them in front of the canopied stage.

In addition to Dubin, the band features Mike Breier (bass and vocals), Rich Dashnaw (guitar and vocals), Andrew Rubenstein (drums), Joe Ferrante (keyboards and vocals), Mike Baratelli (saxophone), Josh Seifert (trombone) and Joe Boardman (trumpet).

As part of the Celebrate St. James Summer, a lucky raffle winner won the tidy sum of $318. Second place was slightly less lucky with the prize being a Whiskey Crows T-shirt.

Celebrate St. James Past-Present-Future is a nonprofit cultural arts organization. Housed in the historic St. James Calderone Theatre and built in the early 1900s, its mission is to preserve and celebrate St. James’ rich history and inspire an appreciation and knowledge of the arts in the community. 

Founded in 2017, Celebrate St. James was born as a nonprofit cultural arts organization by Jack Ader, Arline Goldstein and Natalie Weinstein to assist in the revitalization of the Lake Avenue district.

In November 2020, Town of Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) and the Town Board joined Celebrate St. James in a groundbreaking ceremony commemorating the construction of Celebrate Park.

Blu Bayou, featuring the music of Linda Ronstadt, will play on Aug. 13 and the final concert will be Aug. 20 with SouthBound, which is heavily influenced by the music of the Allman Brothers.  

By Samantha Rutt

Blankets, lawn chairs and picnics dressed the front lawn of Emma S. Clark Memorial Library in Setauket on Friday evening, Aug. 4, as the Three Village community staple held a free concert, featuring Grand Folk Railroad, a 1960s-’70s inspired band. 

Despite gloomy skies, the event brought families, couples, pets and passersby together. Children danced as fans clapped and sang along. 

GFR’s lead guitarist, Frank Doris, enjoyed performing for the audience saying, “When you see someone singing along, it’s a great feeling for all of us.”

The library has been hosting summer concert events for over three decades, showcasing a variety of genres such as folk, blues, rock and jazz.

“Having community events like these are important for library patrons to see that we can create a fun and relaxing environment where the community can join together on a beautiful lawn in the summer,” said Carolyn Emerson, event organizer and reference librarian at Emma Clark Library.

Having been together for nearly 14 years, GFR has played at venues across Long Island’s North Shore, including the Port Jefferson Village Center and Stony Brook’s Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame. In 2010 the band released its first CD, “True North,” a collection of forgotten favorites.

“The event was great — great turnouts, and such an incredible building,” lead singer Susan Schwartz-Christian said. She was joined by her husband, Mike Christian, who performs as the band’s drummer. The fourth band member, Gary Shoenberger, played the keyboards.

On the cool summer evening, GFR played songs such as “Summer Breeze” by Seals & Crofts. The group also played songs by another local band, Alive ‘N Kickin’. 

People gathered from all over the Long Island for the free event. “I love the bands the library hosts, they always deliver,” said Gale Putt, an East Setauket resident. 

Throughout the show, Schwartz-Christian exchanged her guitar for a banjo and demonstrated her musicianship with a perfectly pitched flute solo.

Between songs and switching instruments, bandmates cracked jokes and offered cheerful conversation to the audience. As the concert came to a close, all band members showcased their vocals together, and drummer Christian traded his sticks for an electric guitar.

Emma Clark, standing as Suffolk County’s oldest public library, has been serving the Three Village community since 1892. Comprising over 200,000 books, periodicals, audio, video and software materials, the library’s collection continues to expand, finding new ways to serve the community. 

The library has recently undergone its latest construction project, including an outdoor terrace and a cafe, adding nearly 800 square feet to the historic building. 

“The summer evening concerts have brought together more than 200 community members [per concert] each year,” Emerson said, adding that she hopes to continue holding summer concerts in the future. 

Several pieces from the famous Blue Guitar Collection, once on display in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, will be part of the Jazz Loft’s annual John Monteleone: Art of the Guitar Festival

These stunning historic and iconic guitars were once on display at the Smithsonian!

Several pieces from the famous Blue Guitar Collection, once on display in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, will be part of the Jazz Loft’s annual John Monteleone: Art of the Guitar Festival, August 11-12, at the Jazz Loft in Stony Brook. In addition to the blue guitars, the festival will also include an exhibit of iconic and historic guitars, including James D’Aquisto Excel, a Monteleone Mirabella Carmela and a Monteleone Radio City Deluxe.

The vision of a Blue Guitar Collection came from vintage guitar collector, the late Scott Chinery, a major figure in the vintage guitarworld. A lover of the arch top guitar, Chinery said he “often thought that it would be neat… to get all the greatest builders together and have them interpret the same guitar, an 18-inch archtop, in the same color blue.”

The result went beyond anything the various luthiers had ever done.

“We ended up with a collection of the greatest archtop guitars ever made,” Chinery said.

The Blue Guitar Collection was displayed at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History from 1997 through 1998. The Blue D’Aquisto Centura Deluxe, the Benedetto La Cremona Azzurra and the Monteleone Rocket Convertible were featured at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the museum’s “Guitar Heroes” exhibit in 2011. After Chinery’s passing in 2000, the guitars have remained with the Chinery family and in 2021 were passed along to The Archtop Foundation.The Foundation’s goal is to share the collection with everyone.

Numerous samples from the collection will be available to professional musicians looking to record on–or just experience– these wonderful instruments, as part of the guitar festival at the Jaz Loft. Renowned guitar craftsman John Monteleone, will feature two days and nights of demonstrations, exhibits, workshops and performances by Dario NapoliJohn JorgensonFrank VignolaVinny Raniolo and Steve Salerno.

Other iconic guitars on display will include John Monteleone’s Grand Central Station; a trio of blonde D’Angelico New Yorkers, including George Benson’s; James D’Aquisto, Bucky Pizzarelli’s D’Angelico and his very first guitar; a restored Epiphone Deluxe by way of master luthier Cris Mirabella, and a collection of Cris’s own creations including, ‘Carmela.’

The Jazz Loft is located at 275 Christian Avenue in Stony Brook. Tickets for the guitar festival can be purchased here: https://www.thejazzloft.org/tickets

Melanie Marod

The Jazz Loft, in partnership with Stony Brook University and Stony Brook Medicine continues its 2023 Summer Stage With A Purpose (Summer SWAP), an outdoor concert series of Thursday evenings throughout the summer, with a performance by vocalist Melanie Marod on Thursday Aug. 10 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Marod has performed at Birdland, The Blue Note, The Oak Room at The Plaza Hotel, and the Carlton. The band includes Michael O’Brien on bass; Paul Francis on drums; John Simon on sax and flute’ and Pete Smith on guitar.

The free event will be held on the front lawn of the Jazz Loft, 275 Christian Ave., Stony Brook and is a wonderful way to experience all that Stony Brook village and our community businesses have to offer.

“This series was born from the desire to have the Jazz Loft collaborate with Stony Brook University, and Stony Brook Medicine as a way to invest in the community and especially to nurture cultural development,” said Jazz Loft founder Tom Manuel.

“We are so proud that Thomas Manuel, a member of our university community, has established the Jazz Loft, which celebrates the history and performance of jazz,” said Judith Greiman, Chief Deputy to the President/Senior Vice President for Government and Community Relations. “We welcomed the opportunity to sponsor these shows, enabling our broader community to come together to enjoy extraordinary musical talent.”

The Jazz Loft will be offering a variety of refreshments for sale in the Basie Garden which is adjacent to the Jazz Loft. Attendees are welcome to bring their own chairs and blankets to set up on the lawn.

The series continues with a performance by The Phoenix Big Band on Aug. 24.

For more information contact the Jazz Loft at: 631-751-1895 or visit https://www.thejazzloft.org

On a picture-perfect evening, the Sound Symphony Orchestra took to the Village Green of the Caroline Episcopal Church in historic Setauket and filled the Three Village air with music from its diverse songbook.

The 300 Lights Pops concert was free and part of the church’s 300-year anniversary celebration, which coincided with the arrival of a welcomed autumnal chill that replaced a sticky heat wave that had been in place on Long Island for more than a week. 

Under the direction of maestro Dorothy Savitch, the 60-piece orchestra, many of whom are former Comsewogue High School musicians, delighted the crowd with tunes from the likes of Mozart, Cyndi Lauper, Puccini and George Gershwin – just to name a few.

One of the highlights of the evening was the appearance of world-renown soprano Stefanie Izzo, who belted out arias from “Così fan tutte” and “La bohème” that drew warm and sustained applause from the crowd of about 300 that filled the great lawn. 

Overlooking the Setauket Village Green, the Caroline Episcopal Church of Setauket’s congregation started in 1723 and the church building was erected in 1729. It is listed on the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places, and in addition to this free concert, it has marked its tricentennial with plaque unveilings, historical lectures and special sermons and services.

On Sunday, hundreds of white lanterns lit the perimeter of the grounds and as the late summer afternoon turned to dusk, they shone more conspicuously around the venue. The music started with a medley of hits from the musical “Grease,” which of course included the smash hit “Summer Lovin’”. Soon after, Izzo took to the stage.

In addition to her singing, Izzo cheerfully explained the settings, characters and context of the arias for the benefit of the opera-uninitiated. 

The soprano has studied languages and performed recitals in Italy, Germany and Austria, and was chosen as the first-ever recipient of the National Italian American Foundation’s Andrea Bocelli Music Scholarship. Along with her solo work, Izzo is a co-founder of the Queens-based chamber group The Astoria Music Project, which has been hailed by critics as possessing a “flawless soprano” and a “gorgeously rich and full sound” for her work in opera and musical theatre. She was nothing short of that on this Sunday in Setauket, with her rendering of the works of Verdi, Puccini, Mozart and Gershwin.

The orchestra was also pitch-perfect, led by Savitch, who also serves as the director of the Brooklyn Conservatory’s Music Partner’s Program, which provides hands-on musical training to nearly 5,000 New York City schoolchildren. She has been the musical director of SSO since 1997, and during that 26-year period, the orchestra has grown into one the finest community ensembles in the New York metropolitan area, receiving high praise for their vibrant performances and expansive repertoire.

This night certainly could be counted on that list. Another major highlight was the “Armed Forces Salute Medley.” Savitch encouraged the military veterans to stand up when they heard the song of their branch of service. She led the band in “Anchors Aweigh,” “The U.S. Air Force,” “The Marines’ Hymn” and “The Army Goes Rolling Along.”

The crowd gave each person who stood up during the 7-minute medley a round of applause in gratitude for their service to the nation.

Many participants from last year’s concert will be returning this year. Photo from Dan Kerr
Stony Brook University musician Lindsay Ross will take part in this year’s concert. Photo from Dan Kerr

Historic All Souls Church, 61 Main Street in Stony Brook Village presents monthly Saturdays at Six concerts, Second Saturdays poetry readings, and Native American Drumming to the community.  Each of these programs brings its own unique mix of visitors to the Stanford White-designed national landmark chapel on the hill across from the Duck Pond. Their latest event, Conversations on the Sacred on Saturday, Aug. 5, will combine, music, poetry and drumming in one unique performance for the community.

The special program is the brainchild of Stony Brook University adjunct professor, poet, and literary scholar Carmen Bugan.  She selected the sacred readings for the evening and collaborated with Stony Brook University musicians and composers Ford Fourqurean and Lindsay Ross, All Souls organist Dan Kinney, and Native American Elder and Drummer Ric Statler on the musical interludes between readings.

The selection of poems includes works that are widely regarded for their technical virtuosity and lyrical beauty. Each reading includes a specific conversation with the sacred but offers at the same time a way into the life and sensibility of the poet. Christian and Judaic religions are in conversation with mystical Judaism, Taoism, Zen Buddhism, and Native American tradition. The literary selections will be placed in descending chronological order, beginning with a Native American chant (Where I Stand is Holy), all the way to several hundred years before Christ with a reading from Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching).

Long Island poets Adam Fisher, Linda Dickman, Mindy Kronenberg, Vivian Viloria-Fisher, Greg Alexander, Bruce Johnson, Jack Zaffos, and Kathy Donnelly will serve as readers. The musical pieces interspersed with the poetry will include Native American Drumming; a mix of baroque, modern, improvisation; and classical hymns performed by Dan Kinney on All Souls’ almost 200-year-old Henry Erben-designed tracker organ.

The concert will begin promptly at 6 p.m., will include a 15-minute intermission and conclude by 8 p.m. The event is free. All Souls collects food to feed the hungry at every event.  “Lend a Hand; Bring a Can.” For further information, call 631-655-7798. just