Jazz Night guests can expect variety of dynamic performers

A night of high-spirited music is in store for those who attend this year’s Night of Jazz & Blues, set to begin at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 20 at PJ’s, 310 S. Mechanic St., in downtown Jackson.  The event is planned by the Jackson Symphony Guild, whose mission is to “support the JSO and further the presence of all types of music in the community.” 

This year’s program will feature several hours of live jazz music plus a hearty finger-food buffet. Musicians include:

• Positive Energy with Phillip Ragland, Pat Ragland, John White & Anthony Peyton

• Dave Weatherwax & Koke McKesson

• Bigfoot Bob and the Toe Tappers with Bob Schultz, Wayne Morton, David Huber & Danny Hare

The musicians with Positive Energy, a band formed eight years ago, perform with excitement and emotion. “I try to put my soul into it when I play,” says Phillip Ragland, the band’s leader. “I try to be true to the standard we’re doing, but strive to bring a fresh vibrant approach to what we do.” Jazz Night guests can expect to hear Positive Energy play everything from “straight-ahead jazz to fusion.” Vocalist Pat Ragland loves to perform and can send a quiver down your spine  when she hits certain notes. Two accomplished musicians, guitarist John White and drummer Anthony Peyton, will appear with the Raglands. White is founder of the band Equinox, which plays throughout Southern Michigan and spent 52 days touring Asia, where they performed for U.S. troops.

Dave Weatherwax and Koke McKesson are return artists for the Guild’s Night of Jazz & Blues. Weatherwax, who has worked with some of the most well-known names in music, is widely regarded as one of the best performers in Michigan. He will offer the crowd some new original jazz pieces as well as some re-tooled rhythm-and-blues standards. When McKesson and Weatherwax perform together, they will deliver some of the world’s classic torch songs, reminiscent of such jazz greats as Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. McKesson will showcase her distinctive style, which is exuberant and flashy.

Bigfoot Bob and the Toe Tappers will present a selection of rhythm-and-blues pieces that band leader Bob Schultz describes as “old jump ... that swings.” Schultz has performed at countless engagements and is well-known throughout Michigan as a keyboardist, vocalist and saxophone player. He likes to say his motive is “to corrupt the minds of all listening with real music.” The Toe Tappers can be expected to combine R&B with humor and an eye-opening stage presence in much the same musical vein as jazz talents Wynonnie Harris, Big Joe Turner and Louis Jordan when they were topping the charts in the 1950s.

For reservations, send a check payable to the Jackson Symphony Guild for $35 per person to: Joan Cummings, Guild Treasurer, 215 W. Michigan Ave., Jackson, MI 49201.

5th Annual Night of Jazz & Blues - Planned by the JSO Guild, supported by the United Arts Council of Calhoun County, and is a program of the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs.