Jan. 25, 2002 – The Eddie Russell Sextet will perform at the next Jazz Vespers concert, set for Feb. 3 in the St. Croix Reformed Church sanctuary.
Russell "has earned a world-class reputation for his work on trumpet and flugelhorn and his association with some of the finest jazz musicians in the business," concert coordinator Willard Fields says.
Joining Russell in playing a program of his original compositions will be Mario Thomas on bass, David McKean on drums, Rene Encarnacion on congas, Ronnie Russell on guitar and Fred Thomas on piano.
Jazz Vespers "is a family event held on the first Sunday of each month in the alcohol-free, smoke-free environment of the St. Croix Reformed Church," Pastor Rod Koopman says, "where the sunsets are more than spectacular — they are a wonder to behold!"
Edwin Russell began playing music professionally at age 15. He formed his first group, Eddie & The Playboys, on St. Croix in 1964 before going off island to earn his B.A. in music from the City College of New York and his master's from Queens College. He has played and studied with Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy Garrison, James Moody, "The Mighty Sparrow" and Sam & Dave, among others. He says he remains "eternally grateful and humble to the Creator for the great blessing of being able to express myself through the wonderful art form of jazz music." He can be heard on Ron Carter's "Mr. Bow Tie" CD.
Mario Thomas took up the bass at the age of 10 and was soon playing calypso, reggae and whatever was popular on the radio. In the 9th grade, he formed his first group, Together Root. He studied at the Military School of Music in Washington, D.C., and at Howard University, touring Africa with the Howard Jazz Septet. He has played with John Fadis, Louie Belson and Wynton Marsalis and was a mainstay in saxman Dave Yarborough's Jazz Band. In 1990, he formed Rhythmix, a band that currently can be heard Saturday nights at the Buccaneer Hotel.
McKean picked up the sticks at age 15. He attended the Army Navy School of Music in Norfolk, Va., and played with the Army band in the state of Washington for two years. He toured with Forecast and Suite 7, did music tracks for commercials, played with Hank Crawford, was house drummer at Jimmy Smith's club in Los Angeles, and taught percussion with the Tacoma Symphony's Youth Development Program. He arrived on St. Croix in 1994 for the jazz festival and a few days later was gigging with The St. Thomas All Stars at Pier 69. He played with the Rhythmix for seven years and is now a mainstay in VI Art Ensemble.
Encarnacion, conga drummer/percussionist as well as accomplished bass player, took up steelpan first. His began formal music studies at Seventh Day Adventist School on St. Croix. "Everyone else at school had guitars, so I decided to play bongos," he recalls. He led Conjunto Topico de Santa Cruz for 10 years and was part of Sanora Santa Cruz with Ruben Santana and legendary sax man Skippy-O. He also worked with Tito Puente and Jovani, regarded as the No. 1 conga player in Latin America. He can be heard on The Mighty Sparrow's "Saltfish" album, with Tuff Enough and Rhythmix.
No biographical information was available for Ronnie Russell and Fred Thomas.
The concert will begin at 5:30 p.m. There is no admission charge, but a freewill offering will be taken. Refreshments will be served following the concert.
The Reformed Church is located in Estate La Reine on the hill above the Kingshill post office. For more information, call Fields at 719-3672 or Koopmans at 778-0520, or send an e-mail to Jazz Vespers.
Coming Jazz Vespers concerts will feature the Rhythmix on March 3 and Marcus Rabb on April 7.
