NEW ORLEANS - As the democratic foundations of America are being challenged, the Leah and Edgar “Dooky” Chase Foundation will host a special Juneteenth celebration this year at the iconic restaurant on Orleans Avenue. The June 19th event will focus on the on-going efforts of Black people to realize the American Dream of Liberty and Love!

The five-course, formal, sit down dinner event is a fund raiser for the Chase Foundation and one of the first formal Juneteenth Celebrations in the New Orleans area. African American opera, gospel and popular music singers will highlight the struggles for freedom with stirring renditions of Negro Spirituals, gospel classics and popular songs. The historical tribute will feature compelling spoken word led by 4 generations of the Chase family.

Juneteenth – the day the slaves in Texas learned they had been freed by the federal orders of Abraham Lincoln – is a major celebration in many cities throughout the United States. This Afro-Centric historical marker has special significance this year as the country recovers from COVID-19, which disproportionally impacted the Black community; the attacks on democratic elections as witnessed by the terrorist attacks on the U. S. Congress; and the massive efforts to hold police accountable for their treatment of Black citizens.

The Chase Foundation was created to provide support to organizations and individuals working for social change with a heavy emphasis on uplifting creative talent and artistic contributions. New Orleanians will have the opportunity to join in this uplifting celebration through the efforts of the Chase Foundation. Tickets for the event are $250.00. Platinum, Gold and Silver sponsorships are also available. A portion of proceeds from this event will fund scholarship support for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s).

Tickets are available at https://chasefamilyjuneteenthcelebration.eventbrite.com.

For media inquiries or sponsorship information, please contact Bill Rouselle at (504)

638-8244.

BATON ROUGE, LA - The 4th Annual Baton Rouge Soul Food Festival is pleased to announce the talent line-ups for the three day event.

On Thursday, June 24 at Henry Turner Jr.s’ Listening Room, a Greens, Beans and Chicken Wings Pre-Party will open the festival. The evenings’ entertainment includes performances by Henry Turner Jr. & Flavor, the Listening Room All-Stars that include Larry ‘LZ’ Dillon, Kelton ‘Nspire’ Harper, Wynda Paul, Melerbee, Ras Wayne Vicks and comedian Eddie “Cool” Deemer. Special guests are Challa Sabre, Katrina, Doug Brousseau and the River City All Stars and R&B singer Lady Bain from Houston. DJ is Teddy ‘Lloyd’ Johnson of Teddy’s Juke Joint. Tickets are $25.00 and include a buffet and soft drink.

On Saturday, June 26 at Riverfront Plaza in downtown Baton Rouge the festivities open at 11:00am. The talent lineup features gospel, contemporary Christian, soul, blues, R&B and reggae artists. Performers in order of appearance are blues folk singer Jonathan Foster from California, Wyanda Paul, Pastor Leon Hitchens, Konai Adelphia an R&B/gospel group from Knoxville, Christian singer Belwin, Special Olympian and motivational rapper David “Price$$ Lion” Steffan from Nebraska, gospel singers Anthony J. Veal and the PEW, R&B/Soul singer Lady Bain from Houston, Larry “LZ” Dillon, comedian Eddie ‘Cool’ Deemer, Henry Turner Jr. & Flavor, the Real Southern Grace Band from Memphis and Xavie Shorts. Saturday’s musical lineup ends with a Jam lead by Joe Monk of Club Elite. Hosts are Teddy Johnson of Teddy’s Juke Joint and television personality Whitney Vann.

Sundays’ lineup opens with blues singer Greg Robinson, Jr., R&B artist Melerbee, Reggae percussionist Simon Oguinye, blues rocker Owen Scott, David “Price$$ Lion” Steffan, Soul Singer James Jr. from Mississippi, House Of God Ministries Gospel Choir, ‘Nspire and the Inspiration Band, comedian Eddie “Cool” Deemer, Henry Turner, Jr. & Flavor, blues greats SmokeHouse Porter and Miss Mamie, smooth jazz band Infiniti and the festival closes out with Eric G Soul Spectrum Band. In addition to Teddy Johnson and Whitney Vann, special guest co-host is Christian radio host Kerwin Fealing of WTQT, 106.1. The talent lineup is subject to change. Please check the website for exact times.

Special Guests include the Kings and Queens of Mr. Black Louisiana and Miss Black Empowerment. They will be there to Empower, Enhance, Encourage and Educate your SOUL. So come meet the Royal Court.

The Pioneer Award, for outstanding contributions to the soul food industry, will be will presented on Saturday afternoon at 4:00pm. This years’ recipient is Lizzie’s Restaurant. Accepting the award are Lizzie Griffin’s son Ricky and daughter Kwanda. Mrs. Griffin was famous in the community for lovingly making hearty soul food dishes for patrons of the former bar room Night Cap.

The Soul Food Cooking Competition winners for Entrees and Side Dishes will be announced at 2:30 on Saturday and the winners in the Appetizers, Desserts and Drinks will be announced Sunday at 4:30pm. The contest is open to entrants until Friday, June 18. First, second and third place prizes will be awarded in each category. More information is available on the website.

Presenting sponsor is Louisiana Film Channel. Sponsors include Blue Runner, Henry Turner Jr.’s Listening Room Museum Foundation, the Mayor-Presidents Office of Baton Rouge, Piyahhhhh!! Seasonings, Cutting Edge Music Conference, E Eric Guirard Injury Lawyers, the East Baton Rouge Parish Library and River Parishes Tourist Commission. Community Partners are Visit Baton Rouge, Tactical Impact Security, Off Beat Magazine and Where Y’at Magazine, Pushback LLC and Hotel Indigo.

The 4th Annual Baton Rouge Soul Food Festival is being held Saturday, June 26 from 11:00am to 8:00pm and Sunday, June 27 from 11:00am to 7:00pm at River Front Plaza, 300 River Road South, in downtown Baton Rouge. The festival is family friendly, free to the public and also features a Vendors Village. VIP tickets, available on the website, include food, beverages and photo ops with the talent. For more information please visit www.brsoulfoodfest.com or call 225-802-9681.

BATON ROUGE - Stephanie Jordan, whom critics have placed in the company of Diana Krall and Dianne Reeves, began to receive noted prominence following the national televised Jazz at Lincoln Center Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert for victims of Hurricane Katrina. “On that memorable night; none sang with greater authority or emotional resonance than Stephanie Jordan, who enthralled the packed house and a national PBS NPR audience of millions with an ascendant reading of “Here’s To Life.” Bill Milkowski of JazzTimes Magazine writes “Stephanie Jordan, a standout here, was the real discovery of the evening. Her haunting rendition of this bittersweet ode associated with Shirley Horn was delivered with uncanny poise and a depth of understated soul that mesmerized the crowd and registered to the back rows. Singing with a clarity of diction that recalled Nat “King” Cole . . .”

Stephanie has shared billings with Norman Connors, NaJee, Roy Ayres, Wes Anderson, and Howard Hewitt and has been featured with the Harlem Renaissance Orchestra during Jazzmobile’s “Great Jazz on the Great Hill” in Central Park, the Lionel Hampton Big Band Official Centennial Birthday Celebration and others.

In addition to these accolades, Jordan was awarded 1st prize in the “Billie Holliday Competition” in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1995 Stephanie Jordan performed the title soundtrack “Season's Start” in the Tribecca Film release of Café Society staring Lara Flynn Boyle and Peter Gallagher.

Jordan is the fifth performer to emerge from a family of New Orleans bred musicians. As the daughter of saxophonist Edward “Kidd” Jordan, Stephanie's musical roots run deep. Siblings include flutist Kent Jordan, trumpeter Marlon Jordan, and violinist Rachel Jordan.

On February 26, the venerated multi-instrumentalist and composer Joe Chambers will release Samba de Maracatu, a notable Blue Note Records return for a significant figure in the label’s history. The album’s Brazilian flavored title track “Samba de Maracatu,” which is available today to stream or download, was composed by Chambers and features him performing drums, vibraphone, and percussion with Brad Merritt on keyboards and Steve Haines on bass. The album is a nine-song set of original compositions, standards, and pieces by Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, and Horace Silver.

In the mid-to-late 1960s, Chambers played drums for numerous Blue Note luminaries appearing on some of the decade’s most progressive albums including Shorter’s Adam’s Apple and Etcetera, Hutcherson’s Components and Happenings, Freddie Hubbard’s Breaking Point, Joe Henderson’s Mode for Joe, Sam Rivers’ Contours, Andrew Hill’s Andrew!!!, Donald Byrd’s Fancy Free, and many more.

The label’s owners – Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff – offered Chambers a chance to record his own album for the imprint during that fertile period, but he was riding so high on recording and touring with so many jazz greats that he declined the opportunity. Chambers eventually did release his own Blue Note debut Mirrors in 1998 featuring trumpeter Eddie Henderson, saxophonist Vincent Herring, pianist Mulgrew Miller, and bassist Ira Coleman.

On Samba de Maracatu, Chambers asserts himself more as a mallet player, particularly on the vibraphone. Throughout the album, he uses the vibraphone as the lead melodic and improvisational voice that often converses with Merritt’s piano accompaniments and solos. While Samba de Maracatuisn’t a Brazilian jazz album in this strictest sense, Chambers utilizes various rhythms and indigenous Brazilian percussion instruments on several pieces, including the title track, which references the syncretic Afro-Brazil rhythms that were originated in the north-east region of Brazil.

The track listing for Samba de Maracatu is as follows:

1. You and the Night and the Music (Arthur Schwartz/Howard Dietz)

2. Circles (Joe Chambers)

3. Samba de Maracatu (Joe Chambers)

4. Visions (Bobby Hutcherson)

5. Never Let Me Go featuring Stephanie Jordan (Jay Livingston/Ray Evans)

6. Sabah el Nur (Karl Ratzer)

7. Ecaroh (Horace Silver)

8. New York State of Mind Rain featuring MC Parrain (Joe Chambers/Fenton Chambers)

9. Rio (Wayne Shorter)

JIM EIGO, JAZZ PROMO SERVICES

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Phone: 845-986-1677

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“Specializing in Media Campaigns for the music community, artists, labels, venues and events.”

Marlon Jordan is pleased to offer private lessons and Master classes to aspiring musicians.

For aspiring Jazz students, Marlon will also provide exercises and methods used to study Jazz Music.

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