Festival to thaw away the blues

A&E. Centenary Stage's annual January That Music Festival features three musical guests - Rodney Marslis Philadelphia Big Brass, Diego Figueiredo and Ken Peplowski: The Bossa Nova New Wave and Sam Reider and the Human Hands.

Grammy /
| 26 Dec 2019 | 03:55

Centenary Stage Company’s annual January Thaw Music Festival heats things up through the month of January with three exciting musical guests in the Lackland Performing Arts Center. The festival features Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass, Saturday, Jan. 11, Diego Figueiredo and Ken Peplowski: The Bossa Nova New Wave, Saturday, Jan. 18, and Sam Reider and the Human Hands, Saturday, Jan 25.

All performances start at 8 p.m. and will be held in the Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center at 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, NJ.

Kicking off the January Thaw Music Festival on Saturday, January 11 at 8 pm is Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass. Mixing classical, big band jazz and New Orleans swing, this brass ensemble brings together top musicians from across the country. The group is led by trumpeter Rodney Marsalis, who learned from none other than his cousin, Wynton, and is now Principal Trumpet for the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and an Artist in Residence at Temple University. Join this dream team of brass players for some swinging January sounds.

Tickets for Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass are $27.50 for adults and $17.50 for students and children under 12 in advance. As with all concerts, jazz and special programs ticket prices increase $5 on the day of the event.

January Thaw Music Festival continues on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 8 p.m with Grammy nominated Diego Figueiredo and Ken Peplowski: The Bossa Nova Big Wave. George Benson, legendary guitarist, raves “Diego Figueiredo is one of the greatest guitarists I’ve seen in my whole life.” Together with Ken Peplowski - “arguably the greatest living jazz clarinetist” – these two virtuoso musicians bring the music of the famous album "Jazz Samba," that launched the Brazilian Bossa Nova craze in North America. The original album featured Charlie Byrd and Stan Getz and created an explosion of Grammy and Billboard hits.

Tickets for Diego Figueiredo and Ken Peplowski: The Bossa Nova Big Wave are $27.50 for adults and $17.50 for students and children under 12 in advance. As with all concerts, jazz and special programs ticket prices increase $5.00 on the day of the event.

Finally, the January Thaw Music Festival wraps up Saturday, Jan. 25 at 8 p.m. with Sam Reider and the Human Hands. Sam Reider is an award-winning composer, multi-instrumentalist and singer that is making waves at the intersection of the jazz and Americana worlds. He's been featured on NPR's "Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland" and performed or recorded with artists ranging from Jon Batiste and Stay Human to viral YouTube group CDZA, as well as, legendary NY Philharmonic composer David Amram and Latin Grammy Award-winner Jorge Glem. He was awarded "Best Americana Album" by the Independent Music Awards for his work with Silver City Bound and has toured as musical ambassador for the U.S. Department of State in eight countries overseas.

Tickets for Sam Reider and the Human Hands are $27.50 for adults and $17.50 for students and children under 12 in advance. As with all concerts, jazz and special programs ticket prices increase $5 on the day of the event.

For more information or to purchase tickets visit centenarystageco.org or call the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979 – 0900. The box office is located in the Lackland Performing Arts Center at 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, N.J., on the campus of Centenary University. The box office is open Monday through Friday from 1-5 p.m. and two hours prior to every event.