Evening worship with contemporary prose, poetry, scripture reading and amazing jazz music in our church lounge this time featuring The Katie Cosco 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.
Katie Cosco is a talented NYC based jazz pianist. Kate began studying classical piano at the age of five and continued her formal music education through college, where at Indiana University, she received a degree in piano performance and audio engineering. She completed a master’s degree in jazz piano performance at the University of Memphis.
Her professional experience ranges from jazz to pop to gospel styles. She has performed in many concert venues, casinos, hotels and clubs in Las Vegas, Chicago, Philadelphia, Memphis and Manhattan. Her credits include playing concerts with many well-known recording artists, retaining a notable position as traveling keyboardist with the world famous Four Tops. Other artists include Smokey Robinson, Little Anthony and the Imperials, and Ben E. King, to name just a few.
Katie has been selected numerous times in recent years to perform at the annual International Women in Jazz and Lady Got Chops festivals. She leads groups in well-known jazz clubs in Manhattan, including Mezzrow, Smalls, Cellar Dog, Ornithology, Little Branch and Brush Culture in nearby Teaneck, NJ. Katie currently retains a residency at Robert at Mad Restaurant in Manhattan and Unity Church of Christ in Maywood, NJ.
She is a member of the esteemed jazz faculty at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey and has maintained this position for the past ten years. She currently maintains an adjunct position at William Paterson University. She freelances as an in-demand side person and jazz pianist across the tri-state area.
Billy Mintz was born in Queens, New York. By the age of 15 he was playing in the show bands of the Catskill Mountain resorts developing his musicianship.
In his twenties, he played and recorded with the Lee Konitz Nonet (1978), Kundalini with Perry Robinson and Badal Roy, the Eddie Daniels Quartet, Gloria Gaynor, the Steve Tintweiss Quartet, and the Harold Danko Quartet.
In 1981 Mr. Mintz relocated to Los Angeles where he was a member of the Mike Garson Trio with Stanley Clarke ; the Kim Richmond Sextet; the Bobby Shew Quintet, the Joey Sellers' Jazz Aggregation, and the Vinny Golia Quartet. He perfomed several times with the Mose Allison Trio and with Mark Murphy, and did a stint with the Merv Griffin Show band.
Mr. Mintz was also the drummer for the Bill Mays Quartet, as well as for Road Work Ahead, with Mr. Mays, Bob Magnusson and Peter Sprague. In 1988 he toured Europe with saxophonist Charles Lloyd's band. Throughout the 1980's he performed and recorded with Bill Perkins, Frank Strazzeri, and Pete Cristlieb.
Throughout his life Mr. Mintz has taught privately and done clinics at schools around the world, including the Berklee School of Music, NYU, California Institute of the Arts, North Texas State University the Dick Grove School of Music, Musikgymnasium in Innsbruck, Austria, Long Island Drum and Percussion Club, Eagle Rock H.S., Arizona State University at Tempe, and University of Arizona at Phoenix. He has also taught extensively while on tour with various artists in Sydney, Australia, Tel Aviv, Israel and Wellington, New Zealand.
Bassist Charlie Himel grew up in a musical family in Falls Church, VA. His grandfather was a college choir director, and his parents met competing at a Battle of the Bands. Since moving to Brooklyn, NY in 2014, he has had the humbling opportunity to work with jazz luminaries such as Michael Kanan, Peter Mihelich, Alex Graham, Greg Ruggiero, Katie Cosco, Steve Ash, and Carol Morgan.
He has held residencies and toured with bands such as the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Grand Hotel Orchestra, The James Hunter Six, Nefesh Mountain Band, and Wild Magnolia.
Charlie now resides in Englewood, NJ, and maintains a full-time schedule as an in-demand bassist in the Tri-State area and abroad.