April 28, 2007

The Annual Benefit Concert for the Milford, CT Public School System Music Department featuring Marion Meadows, Ken Navarro, Chieli Minucci and Nelson Rangell.

From the very first Smooth Jazz for Scholars concert in 2003, keyboardist Jay Rowe has given back something special to his hometown of Milford, CT.  He brings the Smooth Jazz for Scholars event into town every spring with the goal of raising scholarship money for an aspiring music student.   

Many fans know Jay as the keyboard wiz who plays with Special EFX, backs up Marion Meadows, Nelson Rangell and Ken Navarro as well as performing with Wayman Tisdale, Phil Perry, Angela Bofill and The Sax Pack among others.  But in Milford, CT, Jay is the local hero who brings his friends to play at Smooth Jazz for Scholars.

Jay gives it his all, each and every year because he really believes in what music can do for students.  He once explained, “The bottom line with music and art is it's there to inspire all students, broaden their horizons and show them there are other things out there besides math, English and science.”  

This year’s Scholars lineup reunited Marion Meadows (saxophone), Chieli Minucci (guitar), Ken Navarro (guitar) and Nelson Rangell (saxophone and flute).  Marion, Chieli and Nelson have played in all 5 Smooth Jazz for Scholars events but Ken Navarro is no stranger to the event, having appeared in the 2003 and 2004 shows.   

Backing them up every year has been the F.U. Jazzboy house band, led by Jay on keyboards and featuring vocalist Timmy Maia, Dave Livolsi on bass, Trever Somerville on drums and former Boney James sideman, Rohn Lawrence on guitar. This year, they were joined by Steve Scales, the percussionist from the Talking Heads.

It’s a Super Band for a show with a special cause.  The audience grows every year and this year was no exception. The venue isn’t trendy or hip but the music is world-class, bringing in fans from all over the Northeast for a show which they know will be an all-star jam.   The hometown fans come back each year to feel the magic that they remember from “back in the day” when Marion played in a local band called “The Lift” with Jay and Rohn.  If you’re from Connecticut, you also know that Ken has a connection, too – he was born in New Britain, CT.

It’s a real homecoming event for the community and a chance to give back some positive vibes.  Ken Navarro hosted a music clinic for 600 middle school students on Friday, coaching and giving them an inside look at how music is created and recorded.  On Saturday morning, Jay, Marion and Ken led a “Celebrity Bike Ride” for the scholarship cause.

What makes the Smooth Jazz for Scholars show so fantastic is that the featured musicians back each other up in a seemingly spontaneous format.  The audience was buzzing with pre-show anticipation because Jay and all 4 of the featured artists have had CD releases since the 2006 concert. The night kicked off with each musician walking onto the stage to an introduction by Jay Rowe. 

The opening tune with all musicians was the sonic fusion of Guitarzzz, the first cutfrom the latest Special EFX CD, “Sweet Surrender”.  Chieli Minucci was then joined by Nelson Rangell for the upbeat and catchy Mystical, the second cut from “Sweet Surrender”.  From the 2006 release “Soul to Souls”, Nelson’s arrangement of the Earl Klugh song, Vonetta followed, featuring a delicate acoustic guitar intro from Chieli and Nelson on the flute.

The next block of tunes started off with a solo Ken Navarro on the title track from 1997’s Smooth Sensation. With help from Nelson, he launched into The Challenge from his current CD, the “The Meeting Place”.   For those who haven’t seen Ken live or perhaps are familiar with his mellower music, he absolutely rocks out with a searing guitar solo on The Challenge. Not your Daddy’s Smooth Jazz!

To the delight of the fans, Connecticut native Marion Meadows played Dressed to Chill with guitar support provided by Ken Navarro. Next, joining Marion on stage was guitarist Rohn Lawrence and vocalist Timmy Maia, who wowed us with an upbeat version of My Cherie Amour.

From the very beginning, Jay always included students in the show and this year was no exception.   Just when you didn’t think the hometown crowd could cheer any louder, it happened for a tremendous performance of the 1971 rock hit from Focus, Hocus Pocus.  The blast from the past was played with furious energy by Gianluca Minucci on bass and Caitlin Kalafus on drums.  They were joined by their Dads on guitars!  You could see the enormous grins on the faces of Chieli Minucci and Chris Kalafus and the entire audience as this tune rocked everyone’s socks off!   Gianluca has had his own band, The Malibu Boyscouts for several years. Caitlin was recently proclaimed “The Reigning World's Fastest Drummer (Female Division - Feet)” and also plays guitar and bass.

Bumpin' On Hollywood, Jay’ s tune from Red, Hot and Smooth featured Rohn Lawrence and the Foran High School horns.  The tune itself is a tribute to Wes Montgomery’s Bumpin on Sunset, a tune that makes you imagine riding in a convertible with the top down.  It’s always great to hear the students play with the pros and to hear the families and fans cheer them on.  

Jay continued with the first single from Red, Hot and Smooth - The End of Summer, which originally featured Ken Navarro on the CD. For the Scholars show,  Ken and Chieli traded off on guitar, with Marion joining in on sax.   A solo Marion followed with the lilting sound of Suede from Player’s Club, bringing the fans the magic that they remembered from his days as a local musician.  

Ken was joined by Nelson Rangell on sax for a version of Pat Metheny’s 1977 classic, Lakes which demonstrated the depth of both of these amazing musicians.  When you listen to it on “The Meeting Place”, you realize that it was an ambitious undertaking which Ken pulls off with ease.  When you hear it live, it is absolutely breathtaking and jaw dropping.

Ken was featured on Always and Forever while Rohn brought the audience to their feet with his rhythmic feel to I Want You Back.  Nelson  and Rohn gave the fans a nod to the “old school” which  brought us on a walk down memory lane with  the dance groove, I Want You Back (Jackson 5).   You could hear the audience singing in unison to the tune as they danced in the aisles.

Chieli and Gianluca played an emotional version of the Jeff Beck guitar anthem, Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers.  It was a privilege, to watch and listen to them, a Father and Son, bringing their music to us.  More magic.

And then, we all knew that we nearing the end of the show.   It was nearing the 3 hour mark.  We weren’t disappointed! We were up and dancing to a vibrant Mornin with Timmy Maia and Rohn Lawrence.

The Finale had all the musicians on stage.  Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) was totally fun and something that involved everyone on stage and in the audience.  Everyone was moving and smiling. Those positive vibes again. 

We can’t wait for next year, it seems so far away.  But it’s all for a good cause, and thanks to Jay Rowe, Smooth Jazz for Scholars is a yearly event.

-  Kat Sarracco