Jazz in the Garden Series Opens June 28

The 47th Jazz in the Garden festival will kick off June 28 with trumpeter Jeremy Pelt in the Alice Ransom Dreyfuss Memorial Garden at the Newark Museum.

Pelt, 35, a graduate of Berklee School of Music, got his start in 1988 playing for the Charles Mingus Big Band. He was voted "Rising Star" five years in a row by "Down Beat Magazine" and Jazz Journalist Association. He has recorded 10 albums including his most recent, "Soul." His band features JD Allen on tenor sax, Danny Grissett on piano, Dwayne Burno on bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums.

The jazz concerts will be held every Thursday, rain or shine, from 12:15 to 1:45 p.m. through August 2. Cost is $3 for general admission and free to children and museum members. Lunch is available for purchase at the museum cafe but brown-baggers are welcome.

The series is co-hosted by the Newark Museum Business and Community Council.

2012 Schedule for the Jazz in the Garden series:

July 5: Akua Dixon

A cellist, composer, arranger and conductor, Dixon released her debut CD, "Moving On," where she performs original works and arrangements of jazz classics. Her recording illustrates that the cello can be effectively used to play jazz. Growing up on New York City, she attended the School for Performing Arts. Armed with the experience of working with the likes of Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, Dizzy Gillespie, Itzak Perlman, to name a few, Dixon lead the successful group, Quartette Indigo, and founded the Uptown String Quartet. In addition, she supplied the string arrangements for the five-Grammy award-winning album "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" and Aretha Franklin’s Grammy-nominated "A Rose Is Still A Rose."

July 12: Steven Kroon

A Latin jazz percussionist/band leaders, Kroon has been a professional musician for more than 35 years. Born in Harlem, he moved to St. Albans, Queens, with his family when he was nine. Surrounded by great musicians Kroon soaked up all genres of music from R&B to jazz. He began working with notables such as Luther Vandross from 1981 to 2001; and from 1987 to 2004 he performed, recorded and traveled with bassist Ron Carter. In the past five years Kroon has been working on his solo career and has produced four highly acclaimed recordings under his label Kroonatune Records, LLC: "In My Path," "Senor Kroon," "El Mas Alla," and newly released "Without a Doubt."

July 19: Gregory Generet

A native New Yorker,  Generet grew up listening to vocal legends such as Billy Eckstine, Jon Hendricks and Joe Williams. Known as "Monsieur," this crooner has re-imagined the Great American Songbook, adding his own unique vocal styling and flexibility. Three Emmy Awards and 25 years later, Generet found himself artistically unfulfilled and the desire to hone his craft as a singer moved to the forefront. The result is his 2009 debut CD "(re)Generet-ion." Generet lives in Harlem with his wife, Tony Award winner Tamara Tunie.

July 26: David Gibson

Gibson has enjoyed a varied musical career that is deeply rooted in the genres of jazz and funk. Although he was reared in Oklahoma, Gibson’s musical journey steered him to New York City. His early experience there had him performing with Slide Hampton, Jon Faddis, Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Heath, James Moody and others. In 2003, he was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Trombone Competition and subsequently released several recordings as a leader. Gibson’s newest recording, "End of the Tunnel," is currently available from Posi-tone Records.  The CD is a set of music that evokes the essence of '60s Blue Note Soul-Jazz in combination with the modern elements expected from today’s current crop of jazz musicians. Jared Gold-organ and Rudy Royston-drums will be on board. 

William Paterson University Summer Jazz Program is sponsoring the David Gibson performance.

August 2: Rhoda Scott

A Newark native, Scott, has returned after making her home in France for more than 30 years. A minister's daughter who was brought up in the classical music tradition, she was surrounded by traditional Afro-American music. At the age of seven, Scott began playing the organ for the choir. Later she attended Manhattan School of Music in New York. Known as “The Barefoot Contessa,” her performances combine themes, original compositions, traditional jazz and gospel.

– Staff reports