Celebrate Summer with Music al Fresco
Music for everyone is in the air – from Cajun to swing, from Irish jigs to cool jazz – at the upcoming West Windsor Arts Council (WWAC) outdoor event, Midsummer Night’s Music, Saturday, July 24, from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Nassau Park Pavilion.
The event will feature several bands of local musicians, including the VooDUDES, a Cajun ensemble that plays a mix of New Orleans funk, Southern soul, and Caribbean music, among other musical mixes. Performers include Dave Ambrosy (vocals/drums), Gary Ambrosy (vocals/guitars), Andy B! (vocals/percussion), Fred Saunders (bass), and John Barry (keys/accordion). Also scheduled to perform are Back Porch Swing & Friends and One Time Only.
“”I started playing music when I was very young,”” says Jeff Nathanson, vice president of WWAC, co-chair of the music festival with Dave Haneman, and one of the members of Back Porch Swing & Friends. “”I come from a very musical family. I got my first guitar when I was 12.””
Back Porch Swing & Friends offers an eclectic music experience of Irish jigs, swing standards, gypsy compositions, and jazz. Core band members include Haneman (guitar/bass), Larry Frazer (mandolin/guitar/vocals), and Dennis Normile (percussion/vocals). Friends performing with the group include Nathanson on guitar and special surprise guests.
Nathanson played music professionally for many years when living in the San Francisco area, performing as a session musician and recording music. Four years ago, he moved to the Berrien City neighborhood with his wife, Connie Tell, a professional artist, and his daughter, Anya, 8, a rising third grader at Maurice Hawk School. Nathanson, who received a degree in Fine Arts from the University of California in 1977, is director of Contemporary Integrated Arts, a consulting business he started recently.
“”I love the social interaction with other musicians,”” says Nathanson. “”It moves my soul and really lifts me.”” His mother, Janet, a lawyer who was a classical pianist and played jazz, and his father, Ron, who was in the textile business, live in the Los Angeles area.
The third band at the music festival is One Time Only, which plays diverse styles of music, including jazz standards and original compositions by band member Sam Roth. One Time Only is an apt name, as the band was only formed at the beginning of the summer, and captures two undeniable realities for the band – its limited performance schedule due to the members’ scattered locations during the school year and the group’s improvisational style with nothing ever happening exactly the same way twice.
The performers include Ariana Markowitz (flute), a sophomore at McGill University in Montreal who graduated from High School South in 2003; Sergei Panov (violin), a sophomore at Temple University and High School North graduate, Class of 2003; Sam Roth (vocals/guitar/songwriter), a sophomore at Montclair State University; Eric Kang (keyboard), a senior at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South; Rex Surany (bass/ backup vocals), a junior at High School North; and Ben Rose (percussion), a sophomore at High School South.
“”Sometimes I forget how professional high school and college students are. They’re top-notch players,”” Nathanson says about One Time Only.
Markowitz began her love affair with the flute in the fifth grade. “”I think the flute has an enormous range,”” she says. “”It can be used to play jazz and rock and oftentimes is a prominent instrument in a band.”” When she’s not away at school, Markowitz resides in the Sunrise development with her parents, Jeff Markowitz and Elane Gutterman, who own Health Data Analytics, and her sister Talia, 17, a rising senior at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South.
Markowitz also plays the piccolo. “”I’ve been told my piccolo playing is better than my flute playing,”” she says. Markowitz shares her talent with Kalmunity, a Montreal band that she started playing with this year at college. Although she hopes to pursue a career as a foreign correspondent, she says she would love to continue giving private flute lessons – which she has enjoyed doing since her freshman year of high school.
Sam Roth, the songwriter for the group, former Plainsboro resident who now lives in Ewing, is a graduate of High School South, Class of 2003. He has known Markowitz since middle school. “”I’ve always been a songwriter first before an instrumentalist,”” he says: “”Every minute of every day I think about music.””
-Eileen Koutnik
Midsummer Night’s Music, Saturday, July 24, 7 to 10 p.m., Nassau Park Pavilion. Free. Festival underwriter is the Cleveland-based Developers Diversified Realty, owners and operators of Nassau Park. For more information, call 609-919-1982 or visit www.westwindsorarts.org.
