Elling is one of my favorite Jazz Vocalists. His phrasing is out of this world and his writing is always intriguing. Found this tonight…

The Forefront will be returning to perform at the Canvas 5 Art Show at The Element Church in Tampa on Friday October 16th.

The event begins at 8:00pm and will feature various artists from Florida. The Forefront will be performing from 10:30pm to midnight. The group has been working on a recording to be released in late 2009 and will be feature some of the music from this recording as well as various new original pieces as well as some new arrangements of songs by artists such as Britney Spears, Sufjan Stevens, Passion Pit, and Deftones.

Canvas is in their sthird year and exists as a annual art premier. This is an excerpt of their purpose statement: “Canvas exists simply to promote a community of inspiration. Our idea, our dream, was born to provide a springboard for up and coming artists, in such a way that would benefit both their craft and career.”

Click here for directions!

Justin Woodall potentially could still be my long lost brother. He is one of my best friends and currently serves as the youth pastor at Surfside Presbyterian Church in Surfside, SC. Justin is currently completing his M.Div. and possesses God-given insight into theology and the freshness of the Bible and how it applies to this post-post-modern (whatever) world that far surpasses his age.

Justin said this in his introductory post:

“Rich and I share a passion for our Reformed heritage and a desire to see our churches (both local and global) live out the mantra of the reformation, “Soli Deo Gloria”. We both would like to turn our hearts toward improving the quality of worship on our communities.”

Justin will be taking the premise, Worship is first theology and second, music. I however, will be taking the vantage point, Worship is equally theology and music. Like the sculpture above, what are we missing if one is secondary to the other?

Writing these posts will be a dialogue, a stream of conscious, and at times a sparring match. In this series we will address various the topics and many times we will critique, attack, defend, refer to certain areas as broken or decrepit, or lift up others. Usually all of that happens in every conversation that I have about worship. Long story short, some topics could ruffle some feathers. We welcome comments and a greater dialogue community and look forward to it. We would ask that any comments or responses remain cordial and respectful. As Justin said, It is our hope that on the other side of this series, we will have provided more insight into worship in order to grow the community of believers as a whole.

With that being said, Woo, the ball is in your court!

(By the way…I foresee this being a very long series!)

Responses will be found at Justin’s Blog, Confessions of a Futon Reformer, which is always found in my Blog Roll on the main page of my website.

Last night, President Obama awarded Stevie Wonder the Library of Congress George Gershwin Award at a private event at the Whitehouse. Mr. Wonder’s massive body of work has become a significant addition to the standard jazz repertoire. I might even go as far as to say that he is one of the greatest and most influencial songwriters of American Popular Song, and in my opinion deserves to be mentioned among names such as Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and John Lennon & Paul McCartney.

Here is an article from musicradar.com by Ben Rogerson entitled “5 Reasons Why Stevie Wonder Deserves His Gershwin Award.“

I will be performing with drummer and composer Jose Cochez’s new group “Bob Hope was a Pedophile,” (Don’t ask me!)on Friday December 5th. The festivities start around 8pm and there will be food and libations. The music is composed mainly by Jose, with some selections by cellist and composer Tom Kersey. The pieces are heavily improvised and draw from a vast group of musical influences.

Café Hey Celebrates One Year of ‘Prosperity’

We will be celebrating our one-year anniversary on Friday, December 5th starting 8pm with Prosperity, a celebration of art, music, and small business.

Over the past year the we’ve been laboring away in Downtown Tampa’s still-emerging North Franklin business district and have started to build a loyal following with out homemade menu items, organic free trade coffee, laid back atmosphere and cutting-edge art exhibitions.

Friday’s anniversary celebration features art and photography from Heather Forsyth, Irma Diaz, Cathy Hughes, Amanda Gahan, Nicole Sutherland, Christina Cedeno, Molly Malnic, and Bradley L’Herou, with music by D.J. Fuego, Hooker and the Cheap Hotels, Bob Hope Was a Pedophile, Various Others and Bill Johnston.

Passed on from Bob Seymore:

“In her first solo concert in the Tampa Bay Area, pianist Lynne Arriale will perform at Tampa’s historic Springs Theater on Sunday, November 23, at 3:00 PM.

Arriale’s recordings and live shows have earned her international critical acclaim, comparing her in stature to Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans and Ahmad Jamal. The New York Times said, “Lynne Arriale’s brilliant musicianship and bandstand instincts place her among the top jazz pianists of the day.” JazzTimes lauded her “flawless touch,” and “impeccable sense of complex rhythms” while the BBC Music Magazine raved about her “luminous tone and superlative melodic flair.”

Although the November 23 concert, presented by the Tampa Jazz Club, marks Arriale’s first solo performance in the Tampa Bay area, this Florida resident’s trio performances have been among the area’s outstanding jazz events at the Jacksonville Jazz Festival in the past. As noted in Jazz Week: “She pinpoints a song’s power, majesty, and soul simultaneously.”

In early 2009, Arriale releases a new CD/DVD on Motema Music, backed by a new trio of jazz icons featuring Randy Brecker, George Mraz and Anthony Pinciotti. Titled NUANCE, The Bennett Studio Sessions, the studio produced CD will be accompanied by a bonus DVD capturing the group’s debut live performance with a studio audience.

The Spring Theater is located at 8029 Nebraska Avenue. Tickets are $23, $18 for Jazz Society members and $5 for students, and will only be available at the venue on the day of the show. For further information, contact 813/915-0074. For additional information on Lynne Arriale, visit www.motema.com/lynnearriale, or www.lynnearriale.com.

Please contact cary@gomediapr.com for high res images or to schedule an interview with Lynne.”

The Forefront will be performing at the annual USF Winter Wonderland on December 4th at 9:00pm. It will be held on the USF Tampa campus right outside the. There will be music, dancing, a Christmas market, and other holiday festivities. The group will be playing some of it’s usual repertoire, and some new stuff, along with all of your Holiday favorites. We hope to see you all there!

Wayne Shorter Quartet featuring Brian Blade, John Patitucci, Danilo Perez and Imani Winds (1er juillet 2008 - Vienne France)

On Saturday, October 18, I will be performing at the Clearwater Jazz Holiday with the Ken Loomer Big Band. Here is an excerpt from the Band’s Bio: “The idea behind this band Ken states is to “First keep Jazz and Big Band Music Alive”, which is America’s greatest true art form, and having this music played by the best jazz musicians in the country. Many of the charts in the Ken Loomer Big Band are original arrangements, plus those done by Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, Bob Mintzer and other famous big bands. The performance of this big band, driven by the consummate drummer Ken Loomer and his exciting musicians go through the repertoire of vital and brilliantly arranged contemporary music to produce a sound you will not forget!”

It should be a great concert and I hope to see you all there!

Where: Coachman Park, Clearwater FL

When: Saturday Oct. 18, 2008 3:45 - 5:00pm

How Much: Free!!!

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This is a quick excerpt of the Forefront playing “Siren’s Eye,” a composition by Rich Van Voorst, that was performed at a benefit concert last Monday. This is also posted in the videos section on the media page.