|
|
| Jazz Vespers (Don't miss it) Our next Rock of Ages Jazz Vespers is to be announced - stay tuned! Our Community Jazz Vespers services are held quarterly at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday nights and feature Rock of Ages' own internationally renowned jazz pianist Gary Motley and vocalist Veronica Motley, along with other invited world-class musicians. Order our CD of a compilation of music performed during Jazz Vespers services over the years:
To print an order form for our CD called "ROA Jazz Vespers Vol. 1: Where Land Meets Sky": click here
Introduction to CD
“Our Life is a gift from God. What we do with that life is our gift to God. Our Creator God has blessed us, in so many remarkable ways, to be a blessing for others. Music itself is a gift from the very heart of God; Martin Luther regarded it second only to Holy Scripture in its power to inspire us to faith. Music speaks to our innermost heart and soul, as nothing else can do. Gather a thousand people, as diverse and different as night is from day, and share with them the gift of music, and their hearts can be transformed to beat as one. Each of us has been gifted with the ability to compose music, play music, sing music, or enjoy music. The music that dances all around us speaks the universal language of love. Those who share their gift of music in this recording invite us to be inspired, comforted, healed, and transformed, so that we may joyfully share our unique gifts, whatever they might be, with all those around us."
by Pastor Randy Palm,
from the CD "ROA Jazz Vespers Vol. 1: Where Land Meets Sky" Jazz Vespers: A Brief Overview
Vespers, originally begun at the rising of the evening star, are the Church’s Evening Prayer. The fading of the light of day inaugurated the time when lamps were lighted. The Jewish tradition accompanied this transition in time with a blessing prayer, and Christians continued the custom. Vespers was also called the evening sacrifice, a counterpart of the sacrifice of incense offered every evening in the Temple at Jerusalem. Psalm 140 alludes to this practice. “Let my prayer come like incense before you; the lifting up of my hands, like the evening sacrifice.” (Ps. 140:2) The Jazz Vespers Service is itself a synthesis of several traditions, each finding a unifying voice through the unique musical heritage we call jazz. The musical tradition is about the task of giving voice to the hopes, dreams, frustrations and pains that express human experience. Jazz is the musical “incense” that collects and carries the prayers of a people. Jazz is also regarded by many as the music of the social gospel of Jesus Christ, providing a message of healing, hope, empowerment, and restoration. Numerous jazz composers have secured a place for this art form within the living tradition of the church. In his Second Sacred Concert at New York’s Church of St. John the Divine, Duke Ellington set Psalm 150 for jazz orchestra. Dave Brubeck, Wynton Marsalis, and Pat
Metheny are among this decade’s proponents of religious music written within a jazz context. Musician Biographies
 Gary Motley – Pianist Recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Great American Jazz Piano Competition, and the American Composers Forum, Gary Motley has been featured in Downbeat Magazine and on Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland. With numerous recording credits including Russell Malone’s Black Butterfly, Gary also performs with many of today’s leaders in jazz including Michael Brecker, Jon Faddis, Dave Brubeck, Kenny Garrett and Eddie Daniels. Gary holds a Bachelors Degree in Music from the University of Montevallo, a Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies from Georgia State University and is the Director of Jazz Studies at Emory University in Atlanta. Veronica Motley – Vocalist A graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Georgia School of Professional Psychology, Veronica Motley is an accomplished vocalist who began singing professionally in Fairbanks, Alaska. She has been featured with the Alan Knieter Orchestra and was formerly a vocalist for the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame’s Heritage Jazz Combo. Her performance venues include the Atlanta Jazz Festival, the W.C Handy Festival, Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, City Stages Music Festival, the Weindorf Arts Festival, the Birmingham Heritage Festival as well as Atlanta’s High Museum and Michael C. CarlosMuseum, Eclipse Di Luna Restaurant, Churchill Grounds Jazz Cafe and Hard Hearted Hannah’s in Savannah. She has performed at innumerable civic events including receptions for David Dinkins (former mayor of New York City) and local dignitaries. Veronica has opened for the Commodores and performed with Tommy Stewart’s Magic City Orchestra , bassists Reginald Veal and Herman Burney, trumpeters Russell Gunn and Phillip Harper, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, Victor Goines, and guitarist Mundell Lowe. Veronica can be heard on the Birmingham Heritage Band’s recording Birmingham is Our Home and has also been featured on BET’s Jazz Discovery.
Veronica is featured on the CD, The Good Life, with the Gary Motley Trio (2001), Keypers (2002) and Everything I Love (2005). She has been a contributor to panel discussions on WABE’s Jazz Classics with H. Johnson and on WCLK radio in Atlanta with nationally recognized jazz critic Stanley Crouch.
Victor Goines -
Tenor and Soprano Saxophones, Bb Clarinet and Bass Clarinet Mr. Goines was born and raised in New Orleans. He received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Loyola University (New Orleans), and his Master’s of Music degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. Mr. Goines serves as the Director of The Juilliard Institute for Jazz Studies – a collaboration between Jazz at Lincoln Center and The Juilliard School – and serves as Education Consultant to Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has previously served on the music faculties of Florida A & M University, Xavier University, Loyola University, and The University of New Orleans. A member of the LCJO since 1993, Mr. Goines is also an acclaimed solo artist and leads his own quintet. He has made several recordings as a leader, including Sunrise to Midnight (2000), To Those We Love So Dearly (1999), Joe’s Blues (1998) and Genesis (1992). He has performed and recorded with The Wynton Marsalis Septet, The Ellis Marsalis Quartet, The Wycliffe Gordon Quintet, Marcus Roberts and The Academy Of The Ascension, The Smithsonian Masterworks Orchestra, Terence Blanchard, Ruth Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Freddie Hubbard, James Moody, Dianne Reeves, and a host of other renowned musicians and ensembles in a wide variety of genres. E. J. Hughes – Saxophone E. J. Hughes is a saxophonist with a style reminiscent of the 1950’s and 1960’s hard bop masters. He studied with George Coleman, Billy Mitchell, Sam Rivers, Bob Berg, Jerry Bergonzi and Tim Armacost. He has performed with many artists including Rivers, Joe Lovano, and Kenny Garrett. He has recorded and regularly performs with multiple Grammy- and MTV-award winners, Speech and Arrested Development. While living in New York, Hughes and his quartet performed frequently at the Copa Cabana Club and Sonny’s Place. In addition to his work with other artists, he recently released his third CD, Something to Say. Hughes teaches jazz saxophone privately and at Emory University. He holds as bachelor’s degree in music performance from Valdosta State University and a masters degree in jazz studies from Georgia State University. Hughes lives in Marietta, Georgia, with his wife Donna, a visual artist. Clay Hulet – Percussion Originally from Chicago, Clay performed regularly in that city’s vital jazz scene with such local luminaries as John Campbell, Joe Daley, Bunky Green, and Tom Hope. He appeared frequently on radio, television, and recordings, most notably on Richard Drexler’s album Flaming Spirit with Dave Liebman, Tom Harrell, and Steve La Spina. Now living in Atlanta, Clay plays regularly at clubs, festivals, and hotel venues in and around the city. In addition to accompanying nationally known musicians, he performs with many local artists. They include Kenny Banks, Dave Frackenpohl, Joe Gransden, and Syl Spann. Clay regularly appears at The Whisper Room at Churchill Grounds, performing with Danny Harper and two-time Grammy nominee Russell Gunn. Neal Starkey - Bass Bassist Neal Starkey is one of Atlanta’s busiest musicians. His expertise on a full range of low-pitch instruments (from string bass to “gut-bucket” bass) has afforded him the opportunity to record with such luminaries as the CBS Jazz All-Stars, Mose Allison, Sonny Stitt, Chuck Mangione, Herbie Mann, and Nnenna Freelon. Jazz festival appearances range from the North Sea Jazz Fest to numerous dates at the Atlanta Jazz Fest, and commercial tracks include countless name-brand spots and the Georgia’s state song with Ray Charles. Starkey has played in the orchestra for touring Broadway shows including Chorus Line, The Wiz, Porgy and Bess, and Grand Hotel. He has backed names like Bob Hope, Carol Channing, the Coasters, the Ink Spots, and Martha Reeves; he was also in the orchestra for the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Starkey is a full-time musician, and appears frequently with Gary Motley. Starkey lives in Atlanta with his wife and two sons. Gordon J. Vernick – Trumpet Dr. Gordon Vernick is associate professor of music and coordinator of Jazz Studies at Georgia State University. He holds a Bachelor of Music from Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY; a Master of Music in Education from the University of Miami, and a Doctor of Arts in Trumpet Performance and Jazz Pedagogy from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley. As a professional trumpet
player, he has performed in all musical mediums from symphony orchestra to jazz quartet and has freelanced in Miami, New York, Denver, Kansas City and the Caribbean Islands. He is currently active in the southeastern United States as a clinician, adjudicator and freelance trumpet player. As a jazz educator he is the past president of the Georgia Association of Jazz Educators, past chair of the International Association of Jazz Educators Curriculum Committee, and was recently appointed as the Southeast Coordinator of that organization. He is the co-editor of the book Teaching Jazz: A Course Of Study and recently co-wrote the college textbook, Jazz History Overview, published by Kendall-Hunt, which has been adopted by numerous universities around the country. | |
|