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The Jazz Trio from the Mannes School of Music at the New School will perform a benefit concert at Raritan Valley Community College, Thursday, February 3, at 7 p.m. The event, which is being presented by RVCC’s Arts & Design department in collaboration with The Paul Robeson Institute for Ethics, Leadership, and Social Justice, will be held in the Nash Theatre at the College’s Branchburg campus.

The concert also will be streamed live at https://www.facebook.com/RVCCMusic. Masks are required in all RVCC facilities and social distancing will be followed.

The concert, which will feature jazz standards as well as original compositions, is part of the College’s celebration of Black History Month. It will spotlight The New School students Sebastian Alexander Johnson (vibraphone), Naisha Walton (bass), and Gary Jones III (percussion).

The performance is part of the department’s MOZAIKA Concert Series, designed to promote multicultural dialogue through the performance of music from the classical canon through the 21st Century. Ticket proceeds will go to the RVCC Applied Music Fund to help the College’s music majors pay for private lessons on their primary instruments.

Vibraphonist Sebastian Alexander Johnson currently attends The New School of Jazz & Contemporary Music. Originally from the San Francisco Bay area, he began playing vibraphone in high school after being around jazz his entire life. After coming to New York City, he continued to pursue his passion for jazz but also began finding new applications for the vibraphone in less traditional styles.

Based in Brooklyn, NY, Gary Jones III is a 21-year-old percussionist and composer who is pursuing his education at The New School, College of Performing. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Jones has been influenced musically by both gospel and hip-hop music. Over the past few years, he has been studying traditional, contemporary jazz, and Latin music. He has a deep passion for creating art and hopes to bring people together through his music.

New School musician Naisha Walton, a bassist, composer, singer and educator, has studied with Cedar Walton, John Clayton, Henry Grimes, Rufus Reid, Ida Bodin, Alphonso Johnson, and Buster Williams. She regards Reggie Workman as a most important mentor. As an electric bass player she performed and recorded with groups in New York City and Los Angeles, where she began playing double bass. Her work includes jazz, folk, Afrobeat, soul, R&B, Euro-classical, Black Americana, jazz improvisation, and experimental theatre, as well creating as a fully improvised solo bass album.

A post-performance discussion with the artists will follow the February 3 concert, which will be available for viewing online after the initial performance date. General admission tickets cost $15 each; admission is free for students and seniors. For advance ticket reservations, contact the RVCC Theatre Box Office at 908-725-3420. For information, call the Arts & Design department at 908-218-8876.

For additional information, contact Anna Keiserman at anna.keiserman@raritanval.edu. To learn more about the upcoming MOZAIKA season, visit https://www.rvccmusicprogram.org/mozaika-concerts.

The MOZAIKA Concert Series is made possible by funds from the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

RVCC is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, NJ. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu.





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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 20, 2022

PR #65