SEMM Foundation and Jazz 98.5 FM, WSAX-LP have teamed up with Whitehall City Schools to start a new summer jazz tradition. The first Annual Ram Jam Outdoor Stadium jazz concert will be held on Saturday, July 14th from 12:00pm to 5:00pm at Mike Ferguson Stadium at Whitehall-Yearling High School, located at 675 S. Yearling Road in Whitehall. More info is available at the Jazz Brew website and tickets can be purchased here. This concert will be headlined by international saxophone superstar Marion Meadows performing with Columbus’ own Urban Jazz Coalition, and will also feature legendary jazz drummer Greg Bandy and The Jazz Alliance and bassist Mark Hampton’s Jazz Experience. Whitehall is emerging as a Columbus jazz destination through the high school’s role as the home base for the Jazz Brew series. As Ron Johnson, Station and General Manager of Jazz 98.5 FM radio, noted, “Whitehall City Schools has embraced the idea of helping to keep jazz alive and provide the community with great jazz concerts and other events. We’re really looking forward to this show and future events at Whitehall-Yearling High School.” Keep reading for full details from Jazz 98.5 FM and come out Saturday for a family-friendly jazz extravaganza!
SEMM FOUNDATION, JAZZ 98.5 FM, WSAX AND WHITEHALL CITY SCHOOLS PRESENTS THE 1ST ANNUAL RAM JAM OUTDOOR STADIUM JAZZ CONCERT FEATURING SAXOPHONIST MARION MEADOWS
Columbus, OH – SEMM Foundation and Jazz 98.5 FM, WSAX radio station in conjunction with Whitehall City Schools proudly present the 1st Annual Ram Jam Outdoor Stadium jazz concert at Mike Ferguson Stadium at Whitehall-Yearling High School located at 675 S. Yearling Road in Whitehall.
On Saturday, July 14th from 12:00pm to 5:00pm, Ram Jam will feature jazz superstar saxophonist, Marion Meadows, along with Columbus’ own national recording group Urban Jazz Coalition, with performances by legendary jazz drummer Greg Bandy and The Jazz Alliance and bassist Mark Hampton’s Jazz Experience.
Tickets are $15 and on sale now. Tickets and more information are available online at www.myjazzbrew.com or www.eventbrite.com. Ticket purchases help support SEMM Foundation’s music education programs, the construction and operations of its new 24 hour non-commercial Jazz 98.5 FM, WSAX-LP radio station, with proceeds also benefitting the auditorium improvement campaign for the Walter Armes Learning Center Auditorium at Whitehall-Yearling High School.
The Walter Armes Learning Center Auditorium at Whitehall-Yearling High School has been the host venue for the SEMM Foundation Jazz Brew fundraising concerts featuring stellar Straight-Ahead, Smooth Jazz, Jazz Fusion and Classic Big Band performances by National and notable Local “Homegrown” musicians hailing from the Central Ohio area. The summer’s outdoor Ram Jam is a natural “next step” and logical extension of the popularity of the jazz concerts being hosted at The Walter Armes Learning Center Auditorium at Whitehall-Yearling High School.
Marion Meadows first hit the airwaves in 1991 with For Lovers Only, but his career really began one day in the late ‘80s at New York’s Grand Central Station. He had been a sideman with Norman Connors for three years with only vague notions of eventually going solo. Then one day, as the oft-told story goes, he was waiting for a train, pulled out his horn and began playing under the huge dome. His sweet sound caught the attention of fellow traveler, TV composer Jay Chattaway, who was so impressed that he hooked Meadows up with legendary keyboardist Bob James. James signed Meadows to a deal with his Tappan Zee label, and though Meadows’ first recording went unreleased, the experience put him on the road to his eventual success.
Meadows hooked up with numerous artists and musicians and became a well known sideman in his own right, recording or performing over the years with Brook Benton, Eartha Kitt, Phyllis Hyman, Jean Carne, The Temptations, Michael Bolton, Angela Bofill, Will Downing and Native American flute player Douglas Spotted Eagle, among many others. In the late ‘80s, Meadows stretched his usual pop/jazz boundaries as a member of a New York avant-garde band called the Aboriginal Music Society. He was performing in Japan when he got the call that RCA Records was interested in signing him to a solo deal, based on his first album which he had recorded and financed himself. Meadows became a staple of the smooth jazz format with his subsequent recordings, which include Keep It Right Here (1993), Forbidden Fruit (1994) and Body Rhythm (1996).
After moving from his home in Connecticut to Phoenix, Arizona, Meadows signed with Heads Up International and released Another Side of Midnight (1999). A contemporary tribute to city life, his label debut was considered by critics to be his strongest work to date. His follow-up, Next To You (2000), featured a mix of R&B-influenced jazz coupled with sensual Latin rhythms, and In Deep (2002), a neo-soul blend of jazz, R&B and hip-hop, brimmed with sophisticated arrangements and impressive tenor/soprano playing. All three discs have been well received by his ever-growing, always loyal fans. Player’s Club, his fourth recording, was released in 2004.
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http://www.marionmeadows.com
http://www.urbancoalition.net
http://www.myjazzbrew.com
http://www.wcsrams.org
http://www.semmfoundation.org
http://www.myjazz98.com