Evening worship with contemporary prose, poetry, scripture reading and amazing jazz music in our church lounge this time featuring The Ron Jackson Trio.
Come and celebrate God as we do a new thing in the spirit of Psalm 150.
Dr. Ardie Walser as singer, pianist and songwriter, was a member of the award winning vocal trio BLACK TIE, two-time winners of the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Club (MAC) Award for Outstanding Vocal Group and the winners of the Bistro Awards for Outstanding Vocal Group and Best New York Debut. With Black Tie he has shared the stage with the likes of Melba Moore at Carnegie Hall; Sylvia Sims and Ann Hampton Callaway at Town Hall; and Noel Pointer at Avery Fisher Hall; and performed on radio and appeared on a number of TV shows such as The Joan Rivers Show. He has recorded with a wide range of artists from cabaret to pop including – Jazz Composer, Anke Helfrich; Cabaret Artist, Natalie Douglas; Salsa Singer, Michael Stuart; and Salsa Star, Marc Anthony.
Ron Jackson - Guitarist
Ron, originally from the Philippines and having lived across various states, eventually settled in Harvard, Massachusetts. His musical journey began with rock influences like Jimmy Page but soon shifted towards jazz, inspired by Pat Metheny and George Benson. A scholarship at Berklee School of Music led him to study jazz composition and arranging. Ron's early career flourished in Paris among expatriates, followed by a significant presence in New York City's jazz scene. A versatile guitarist, he has contributed to over 40 albums and founded Roni Music, releasing notable works including "The Dream I Had" and "Jazz Standards and Other Songs." Ron is a celebrated educator and has been recognized with awards like the Heritage International Jazz Guitar Competition. He endorses several guitar brands and has appeared in films and Broadway shows, demonstrating his diverse talents in the music industry.
With over 135K social media followers, Ron Jackson is a world-renowned, seven-string jazz guitarist, composer, and educator. He has performed, recorded, and taught music in over 30 countries. Most recently Jackson produced, composed, and played on Kevin Powell’s GRAMMY® Award nominated album, “Grocery Shopping With My Mother”.
A notable career as a recording artist, Jackson has put out more than 10 albums as a leader starting with his debut album, It's A Guitar Thing (Muse), in 1992. His most recent release, "Standards And My Songs," was Top 10 on the JazzWeek radio chart in 2022, and is his second recorded exclusively on the seven-string. Jackson is one of a handful of master jazz guitarists in the world who plays and teaches six and seven-string jazz guitar. He has performed as a leader at jazz festivals all over the world, such as the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Edinburgh Jazz Festival, The AAPI Jazz Festival, and the Super Jazz Ashdod Festival in Israel. And, is a 2022 recipient of The South Arts JazzRoad Grant.
Jackson plays frequently in his home base of New York City at The Django, Zinc Bar, Birdland, Bar Lunatico, St. Peter's Church, and City Vineyard.
"Jackson is a master of the seven-string, which puts him in the ranks of a select few" - Adam Perlmutter JazzTimes
https://ronimusiclabel.com/pages/epk
Adrian Moring - Bassist
Born as the son of veteran NY Jazz bassist Bill Moring, Adrian Moring has been a part of the New York jazz scene his entire life. After taking piano and saxophone lessons at early ages, Adrian settled on the bass at eleven and advanced quickly with the help of his dad and many
other musicians around him. Aside from lessons with his father, Adrian has studied with Ron Carter, Rufus Reid, Larry Grenadier, Joris Teepe, Steve Laspina, Marcus Mclaurine, Harvie S, Ben Wolfe, Jay Anderson, and Harold Mabern. After receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Jazz
Bass from William Paterson, Adrian went on to pursue his Master’s degree in Jazz at Manhattan School of Music in 2014. Adrian has played with Mulgrew Miller, Phil Woods, Steve Nelson, Antonio Hart, Billy Hart, Rodney Green, Adam Niewood, Bill Goodwin, Duane Eubanks, and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. He has performed at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Small’s, Mezzrow, and 55 Bar, as well as the Montreal Jazz Festival, COTA Jazz Festival and the Scranton Jazz
Festival.
Adrian Moring now resides in Harlem and works regularly as a professional player and
teacher.
Steven Johns - Drummer
Steve has appeared on over seventy albums by Leon Thomas, George Russell, Thomas Chapin, Dr. Billy Taylor, Houston Person, John McNeil, Sonny Fortune, Peter Leitch, Gary Smulyan, and Bob DeVos, among many others. In addition to his work as a sideman, Steve is also a member of the collective group Native Soul, and has been co-leader on recording projects by that group (One Mind, 2012, American Showplace, Soul Step, Talking Drum Records), as well as on an album with saxophonist Peter Brainin (No Saints, No Sinners, Playscape).
In addition to his extensive credits as a player, Steve has long been active as an educator. While with the Billy Taylor Trio, he took part in over a hundred lecture/demonstrations throughout the U.S., and has regularly served on the faculty for educational programs at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Long Island University, Montclair State University, the Litchfield Jazz Camp, the Vermont Jazz Center, and Jazz House Kids. Steve and Debbie co-direct the JCC Thurnauer TeenTown Jazz Program in Tenafly, NJ, which has featured such guests as Larry Coryell, Bernie Williams, and Jimmy Owens.
Steve and Debbie’s musical talents have been passed directly to a new generation. Their son, bassist Daryl Johns, while still a teenager, has already made his mark as one of the most highly touted musicians to burst onto the scene in recent years. A highlight of Steve’s career was the 2015 release of his CD aptly titled Family, on which Steve, Debbie, and Daryl were joined by guitarists Dave Stryker and Bob DeVos.
The consummate team player, Steve Johns has always managed to retain his own singular sound and distinctive musical persona while serving the common purpose of any group he is with. “One thing I love about jazz is having the freedom to express your own style,” he told once told Star Ledger jazz writer Zan Stewart. “I knew from a young age you have to have your own voice.”
https://www.stevejohnsjazz.com/