Local Favorites Perform In Library’s Jazz Concert Series |
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The Main Library’s second-floor meeting room will be the site of the Atlantic City Free Public Library Monthly Jazz Concert Series. The concerts, which will run May through September, are free and open to people of all ages.
The library’s concert series will feature a list of popular and seasoned performers: Brenda Bass, Hassan Abdullah, Edgardo Cintron, Jazmine with Rodney Mannsfield and Michael Pedicin, Jr.
The library jazz series is being held in conjunction with the city’s First Wednesday promotion. On the first Wednesday of every month, participating Atlantic City-area businesses present their customers with special offers.
Listed below is the series concert schedule:
• Brenda Bass
Wednesday, May 7
6 p.m.
An Atlantic City resident, Bass and her five-piece band kick off the series. A classical and jazz trumpeter, Bass has played with numerous greats such as Bette Midler and Robert Palmer (performing on his jazz album), Debbie Boone at Carnegie Hall, Chuck Mangione, Steve Gatlin of the Gatlin Brothers and the Temptations. Please visit www.brendabassmusic.com for more information about Bass.
• Hassan Abdullah Quartet
Wednesday, June 4
6 p.m.
Abdullah returns to the library after dazzling the audience with his group’s performance during last year’s concert series. He has performed throughout the world, including tours of Italy, Spain, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, Germany, Puerto Rico, England, Panama, Honduras and Ecuador. A saxophone player and composer, Abdullah says his influence comes from legends John Coltrane, Hank Mobley, Sonny Stitt and Dexter Gordon.
• Edgardo Cintron and the Azuca Band
Wednesday, July 2
6 p.m.
One of the premier Latin jazz musicians in the region, Cintron and his Azuca Band are immensely popular and well known throughout the area. Cintron’s lengthy resume includes performances at the Cape May Jazz Festival, many Atlantic City casinos, the Chicken Bone Beach Jazz Series, Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, and the library’s Atlantic City Arts, Books & Culture Festival. Cintron and Azuca released a CD in 2006, From Fathers to Sons: Old School Clave, which features a mix of ballads, standards and salsa. A second-generation musician, Cintron began studying French horn and guitar at the age of five, and later percussion, under the direction of his father, Pablo, a former guitar player in the U.S. Army band and founder of the group Los Tropicales. By age 12, Edgardo had the percussion chair in Los Tropicales, gaining experience playing the Latin standards during performances at hotels and dances. He later formed his own groups: Tiempo Noventa Orchestra, Cintron and Azuca. Please visit www.edgardocintronazucaband.com for more information about Cintron.
• Jazmine
Wednesday, August 6
6 p.m.
Atlantic City Free Public Library employee Martin Payne will be on bass for Jazmine when it performs here in August. The six-member group, led by vocalist Rodney Mannsfield of Pleasantville, will play a mix of ballads, smooth and contemporary music, including tracks by Weather Report, Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis and John Coltrane.
• Michael Pedicin Music Quintet
Wednesday, Sept. 3
6 p.m.
The library jazz concert series concludes with a performance by the Michael Pedicin Music Quintet. A tenor saxophonist and composer, Pedicin has performed with musical giants such as Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, David Bowie, Lou Rawls, The O’Jays, Maynard Ferguson, Dave Brubeck, Peter Erskine, Stanley Clarke, The Funk Brothers, Gino Vannelli and Pat Martino. Last year the group released Everything Starts Now, combining elements from the greatest music of the past while presenting its own musical visions in original and compelling fashion. Blending selflessness and individuality, virtuosity and straightforward musicality, total accessibility and adventurous exploration, splendid interplay and palpably exciting solo excursions, the Pedicin Quintet has created a work of art in the purest context of the classic jazz tradition. Please visit www.michaelpedicin.com for more information about Pedicin.



- By Atlantic City Free Public Library
- Arts & Entertainment
- Published 05/9/2008



