Circle Saturday, Feb.10, on your calender right now so that you won't miss the Reichhold Center for the Arts concert by 21st Century, the jazz fusion septet featuring four Virgin Islanders – three of whom have made their marks recording under their own names or with some of jazzdoms major artists.
The co-founders and leaders of 21st Century are St. Thomians Dion Parson and Ron Blake.
Parson is a first-call drummer in the Big Apple whose credits include work with Stephen Scott, Monte Alexander and David Sanchez.
Saxophonist Blake has recorded as a member of the Roy Hargrove and Benny Golson bands as well as under his own name and just finished a one-week stand with bassist Christian McBride at New York City's popular Iridium Jazz café.
Double bass player Reuben Rogers has worked and recorded with Wynton Marsalis and Joshua Redmond and is presently a member of Nicholas Peyton's Grammy-winning band. Trumpeter Rashawn Ross is a recent graduate of Boston's Berklee College who has taken up residence in the Big Apple. They're both from St. Thomas, too.
The other 21st Century band members are pianist Carlton Holmes, percussionist Robert Thomas Jr. and vocalist Denise Janah. 21st Century combines jazz with the Caribbean island rhythms and melodies of soca, reggae and calypso. The group's last two appearance on St.Thomas were sellouts.
Don't miss what promises to be an outstanding musical event at the Reichhold Center Saturday starting at 8 p.m. You can purchase tickets by charge card by calling the Reichhold box office at 693-1559. Or order them by e-mail from the Reichhold web site, www.reichholdcenter.com/live/index.html.
