Salem Jazz and Soul Festival continues monthly concert series with the Marika Galea Quartet

Marika Galea Quartet

Salem Jazz and Soul Festival continues monthly concert series with the Marika Galea Quartet

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 28, 2015 – The Salem Jazz and Soul Festival will continue its 2015 SJSF/Berklee Summer Series in Derby Square, Salem, on Saturday, June 13 with a concert featuring jazz bassist Marika Galea, and her quartet.

The free show will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. and will feature an educational interview about music and the Berklee experience.

Creative Salem will sponsor the performance.

A rising star and bandleader, Marika Galea is a respected young jazz bassist and composer who has studied with and opened for a number of highly acclaimed artists including Bucky Pizzarelli, Branford Marsalis, Al Jarreau, and Teri Lyne Carrington. Originally from Cananda, Marika is carving out a reputation on this side of the border as a jazz bassist, journalist, and educator with longevity. She is pleased to present her international quartet, including Yoav Eshed (Israel) on guitar, Tomoaki Baba (Japan) on saxophone, and Jongkuk Kim (South Korea) on drums.

Marika’s band members bring their respective talents to Derby Square as well. Yoav Eshed, guitar, has been studying music since he was a toddler and won the third place prize in the 2104 Montreux Jazz Festival International Guitar Festival in Switzerland. Tomoaki Baba, saxophones, began playing in a big band at age seven that ended up playing at the Sydney Opera House during a cultural exchange. Johgkuk Kim, drums, released his first solo album when studying at the Seoul Institute of the Arts at age 16. All members of the quartet are current Berklee College of Music students.

Two more SJSF/Berklee Summer Series concerts will take place this year: Beneil Miller on July 11; and Chuks Okpu on Aug. 8. The ninth-annual Salem Jazz and Soul Festival will be held during the weekend of Aug. 15-16, featuring 10 bands, a kids’ tent, music-education tent, artisan fair and 21-plus beer pavilion. The two-day concert is free.

The festival is a nonprofit, volunteer-run organization that produces free concerts and raises money for music education causes on the North Shore.

Check salemjazzsoul.org for more information. Photos provided upon request.

Salem Jazz and Soul Festival kicks off their SJSF/Berklee Summer Series at Derby Square, Salem

The Berklee Yellowjackets Ensemble

SJSF/Berklee Summer Series monthly concerts kicks off with the Berklee Yellowjackets Ensemble

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 29, 2015 – Salem Jazz and Soul Festival kicks off SJSF/Berklee Summer Series monthly concert series with The Berklee Yellowjackets Ensemble

The Salem Jazz and Soul Festival will begin its 2015 SJSF/Berklee Summer Series in Derby Square, Salem, on Saturday, May 9, with a concert featuring The Yellowjackets, a band made up of current Berklee College of Music students.

The free show will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. and will feature an educational interview about music and the Berklee experience.

The Lobster Shanty restaurant will sponsor the performance.

The Berklee Yellowjackets Ensemble is a sought-after band led by Dave Weigert (drums), a professor in the Ensemble Department. They play the repertoire of the world-renowned Yellowjackets, one of the few jazz bands that has been together for over 30 years. The students—bassist Elin Margareta Sandberg (Sweden), tenor and alto saxophonist Andrew Denicola (Stamford, Connecticut), guitarist Lior Tzemach (Ramat Gan, Israel), and piano synth player Zak Leever (San Francisco, California)—are highly motivated, dedicated, and accomplished musicians.

The selected Yellowjackets repertoire that the ensemble will play is funk oriented and groove based with beautiful, soaring, and expressive melodies and rich harmonies. Audience members will be treated to an uplifting and inspiring performance.

Three more SJSF/Berklee Summer Series concerts will take place this year: Marika Galea on June 13; Beneil Miller on July 11; and Chuks Okpu on Aug. 8.

The ninth-annual Salem Jazz and Soul Festival will follow during the weekend of Aug. 15-16, featuring 10 bands, a kids’ tent, music-education tent, artisan fair and 21-plus beer pavilion. The two-day concert is free.

The festival is a nonprofit, volunteer-run organization that produces free concerts and raises money for music education causes on the North Shore.

Check salemjazzsoul.org for more information. Photos provided upon request.

##