Jazzy Jams Scheduled On Tuesdays
The Times Record
Fort Smith, Arkansas
By Scott Smith
June 3, 2010
(Fort Smith, AR) - Jazz, blues and other musical styles will swing dance together during a weekly concert series in Fort Smith.
The Fort Smith Jazzy Tuesday Jam Sessions will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesdays at the Golden Goose, 522 N. 10th St., and the concerts will be a wide-open canvas for any musician wishing to learn from professional-level musicians and any music fan wishing to relax and smile, said Oliver Willis, one of the event's organizers.
"It's fun because the bands play as long as the audience and other musicians are going," he said of the concerts, which are helping to kick off area Juneteenth Celebration activities. "Sometimes, they play until midnight. It goes on and on, as long as everyone is in the groove."
The concerts will feature the Rev. Ronald V. Myers Sr., a piano and trumpet player and National Juneteenth Jazz Artist who moved from Mississippi to Fort Smith a few years back, Willis said. Myers is a professional musician who has taught countless other musicians over the years, he said.
"Dr. Myers teaches people how to play jazz and blues," Willis said. "People who played rock and pop before came back later and told Dr. Myers that they can now play better rock and pop because of the jazz and blues rhythms he taught them."
Myers and all other participating musicians have "really been into" the jam sessions, which are open to players of multiple skill levels, he said.
"Dr. Myers, who has played from Washington to Virginia to California, was surprised that there wasn't a place here in Fort Smith to do something like this," Willis said.
"These jam sessions and concerts are a good thing because they expose people to jazz and blues music," he added.
Willis said the concerts will be much more than a month-long series.
"We hope to continue to do this on Tuesdays," he said. "We are wanting this to be a continuous thing from here on out, definitely."
Those attending must be 21 or older. Doors open at 2 p.m.
For information, call (479) 696-8697 or visit www.jazzarkansas.com and www.juneteenthjazz.com.
Fort Smith Jazzy Tuesday Jam Sessions
When: 7 p.m. Tuesdays
Where: The Golden Goose, 522 N. 10th St.
The Rev. Ronald V. Myers Sr., a National Juneteenth Jazz Artist, will perform jazz, blues and other styles with percussionist Earlton Battles Manley and other artists. The free concerts are open to all musicians and are helping kick off the 2010 Juneteenth celebrations. Those attending must be 21 or older. Doors open at 2 p.m.
For information, call (479) 696-8697 or visit www.jazzarkansas.com and www.juneteenthjazz.com.
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