By Danny Coleman
originally published: 08/05/2021
"Jazzforpeace.org is the website; there is a lot of stuff on YouTube and Vimeo but there is a recent livestream that took place at a club in Upstate New York and you can Google Jazz For Peace, Rick DellaRatta or Caffe Lena which was the name of the place and you can see a very recent performance."
Rick DellaRatta; philanthropist, musician, organizer, poet and a man on a mission; he is also the founder of the multifaceted Jazz For Peace; a unique model of philanthropy and one which has set a standard others only hope to follow.
To understand a bit more about this organization and its work, one must delve into the humble beginnings from whence it came.
"It really started as a poem and I wrote it on the rooftop of my Lower East Side apartment where I was living on the morning of 9/11," said a reflective DellaRatta, "Then I thought; maybe I should try to live up to these words that I wrote. So, it kind of led to a situation where I felt like, maybe we as individuals should stop depending on our government and our state and our country to fix everything and maybe see what we can do ourselves; you know? I realized with the art form of jazz and music in general that you can do a lot being that it crosses so many barriers; cultural, religious and all of that stuff. I've traveled all over the world already so, it was just a matter of taking my talent and just putting it with the words of the poem and using the art form of jazz to help outstanding causes; assuming that if we can help outstanding causes, not only can we make things better today that but we can also avoid problems in the future. Then it kind of took a life of its own, I would've been very happy just to do a handful of events in New York which I did do and at one of those events I was with the band over on the side and I heard these people reading a letter all about me and Jazz for Peace and I was like; what is that letter? I went and asked them and they said that they had received it from the mayor of New York City who at the time was Michael Bloomberg and I asked them for a copy of it. I was reading the letter and I was seeing how not only leaders here in New York; then I realized that the mission is global and I should at least take it around the country and then I started taking it around the world. It is kind of common sense; a lot of people have come on board and said that this is a really good thing to help outstanding causes and I didn't realize how many of them there were; I don't know if anybody does. I mean there are so many outstanding causes for every single problem and it is just a matter of finding the ones that are the most dedicated and if they are doing better, they will be further along with addressing their mission statement."
Jazz For Peace is interesting on so many fronts; why jazz? Why not rock, hip-hop or classical music for peace? Jazz as an art form doesn't always get the publicity or radio play of those other mentioned forms, so again; why jazz?
Advertise with New Jersey Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info
"I grew up like everybody else; with pop music, rock 'n' roll and probably a lot of the blues and jazz music that you've featured on your radio programs; that's where I come from. Those were my roots; I was just an American kid loving the music of the day but I came across jazz in a library and it just kind of pulled me towards it. So, I decided to explore; I also played classical music and really played all forms of music. I figured if I could play anything then I had a good shot at making music my profession. So, I've played every kind of music in every kind of band; I've been a piano bar entertainer all over the world and all kinds of stuff but when my own CDs started coming out in the jazz idiom then I started to get a lot of things as a leader. I was doing a lot of stuff when 9/11 hit; it was a good opportunity because I had some notoriety as a band leader at that time and it was kind of an opportunity to take it in kind of an amazing direction for me in terms of just being able to put my philanthropic goals with my musical goals. A lot of musicians have philanthropic dreams or goals, it kind of comes with being a musician, I think. That's one thing that I want to get across, I really want to show people how we have created a dignified opportunity for musicians. I'll be honest with you, not one single event has a musician ever not gotten paid. So, in other words, it's a dignified professional performance opportunity for the musicians but what I want to get across is that we help the organizations raise the funds to confirm their event with money already in their account and that way they are able to send our foundation a percentage of our expenses. This gives us the autonomy to be able to choose any outstanding cause rather than who our donors tell us to choose and at the same time it allows us to pay all of the musicians for their services because we don't hire off-duty police officers; we hire some of the greatest musicians in the world. We've done this for so long and I bet a lot of people don't know our model and I'd like them to see how we are doing what we do because maybe they'd like to help an outstanding cause and get paid for it at the same time as they deserve to be."
DellaRatta has traveled the world before and after the formation of Jazz For Peace and has brought musicians from all walks of life, countries and religious backgrounds together. Shows and events at The United Nations with Israeli and Palestinian performers sharing the stage as a unit as well as nine different trips to Africa and he's even brought a taste of Latin American rythms close to home. "We've done Latin Jazz For Peace in The Bronx with Dave Valentin, we featured Ray Mantilla the great Latin percussionist as well in the early days and a bunch of stuff with Latin and Cuban musicians'."
Oh and that U.N. gig? Seems like one of the Jazz For Peace family received some long overdue recognition and it is things such as that which has given DellaRatta the ability to develop new and different ways to further his efforts.
"We just found out recently that for the first time ever an award was given to a sponsor of Jazz For Peace just because they had played such an instrumental role in an event that we did at The United Nations which was 20 years ago. We are always trying to roll out new opportunities to help outstanding causes with everything that we offer. One of the very new things that we have is a cryptocurrency and people think that stuff is crazy and all that except for the problem that Bitcoin is now over 30,000 dollars. I think it was only about six or seven years ago when a guy named Max Kaiser tried to pay the Baldwin brothers for doing an independent film. He told them he didn't have a budget but he offered to pay them 10,000 Bitcoins and they turned him down and now that would be worth over 380,000,000 dollars for two days of shooting and two of those brothers could've really used the money. So, we are ushering out the very first philanthropic cryptocurrency to give to outstanding causes as part of our award because Jazz For Peace is a grant. We put on a world-class cultural event at no cost to the organization and we provide the staffing, expertise and guidance to make the event a success so that we can help them get sponsors, new and prestigious supporters, publicity and awareness; it's all part of something called an Empowerment TREE. We are offering this cryptocurrency for free and they are going to get it for free and what we like about this; have you ever heard of something called, The Fourth Turning? It is like a 90-year cycle and at the end of that cycle there is a time of crisis and as you and I can probably agree, we are in a time of crisis now and that's kind of the end of the cycle. Things reveal themselves by being literally backward and as everybody knows, we have a trickle-down economy that results in the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer and what we want to usher in is a philanthropic cryptocurrency and it's a trickle-up economy for outstanding causes. So, in other words, when we give the currency to an outstanding cause; when they use that currency whether it be for an incoming donation or to get volunteers to do things for them or however they use it, it trickles up from them instead of things trickling down and outstanding causes getting the funds last. Now the outstanding cause is getting something first and it's trickling up instead of down and we've had outstanding causes already tell us from the past that if they have the cryptocurrency, they can advance themselves with it. There are people who will do things for them and help them in return for the currency and volunteer work which could be worth something down the road but is already good for in-kind services and donations already. So, "Trickle-up" is the word; they are my two favorite words right now (laughs)."
To discover more about Rick DellaRatta and Jazz For Peace; please visit www.jazzforpeace.org.
That's it for this week! Please continue to support live and original music and until next week....ROCK ON!
This week's event listings
Al's Airport Inn636 Bear Tavern Road West Trenton
(609) 883-5252
Sun. 12 p.m. Sunday Brunch (6 p.m.) "Sunday Funday" w/ DJ Spinning
Tues. 7 p.m. Just Jeff
Arts Council of Princeton 102 Witherspoon Street Princeton
(609) 924-8777
Fri. 6 p.m. "Summer Nights" Concert Series feat. Grace Little Band. (Takes place at Princeton Shopping Center 301 North Harrison Street)
Bill's Olde Tavern 2694 Nottingham Way Hamilton
(609) 586-0192
Thurs. 7 p.m. Eric Daab Trio
Fri. 7 p.m. Katfish Lucy
Tues./Wed. 8 p.m. Karaoke w/ DJ "Super" Dave Curtis
Ages 21+
Blend Bar & Bistro 911 Highway 33 Hamilton
(609) 245-8887
Sat. 7 p.m. Bob Banka
Bowman's Tavern 1600 River Road New Hope, PA
(215) 862-2972
Thurs. 6:30 p.m. Neil Podgurski Trio
Fri. 8 p.m. Bob Egan
Sat. 7 p.m. Dave Dales Trio
Sun. 6 p.m. Lorenzo
Wed. 6 p.m. Andy Prescott
Broken Goblet Brewing 2500 State Road Bensalem, PA
(267) 812-5653
Thurs. 7 p.m. Mike Estabrook
Sat.8:30 p.m. "First Saturdays" w/ Bridge Beat Duo
Wed. 8 p.m. Open Mic w/ Cara Cartney
All Shows 21+
Candlelight Lounge 24 Passaic Street Trenton
(609) 695-9612
Thurs. 6 p.m. Thursday Night Blues Jam Hosted by The Mojo Gypsies. $5 (Includes hot buffet)
Championship Bar 931 Chambers street Trenton
(609) 396-5457
Tuesday 8 p.m. "Jam Night" Hosted by Nikki & Caleb
Ages 21+
City Streets 510 Highway 130 South East Windsor
(609) 426-9400
Fri. 9 p.m. Jim Delre Band
COARadio.com 125 South Main Street Hightstown
(609) 241-7103
Sun. 7 p.m. "Rock On Radio" feat. Patti Parks, Karen Jonas and Music from Various Artists
Cooper's Riverview 50 Riverview Plaza Trenton
(609) 393-7300
Thurs. (7 p.m.) Fuzzy Side Up (9 p.m.) Club Night feat. Rotating DJs (inside event)
Fri. (5 p.m.) "It's 5 O'clock Somewhere Happy Hour" (8 p.m.) Tom Petty Tribute w/ "Pure Petty"
Sat. 8 p.m. "The Flying Circus" Led Zeppelin Tribute
Sun. 11 a.m. " Sunday Latin Jazz Brunch" w/ Victor Tarassov
Mon. 7 p.m. "Sunny Monday Blues Jam"
Tues. 7 p.m. Karaoke w/ Karen and Mark
Wed. (12 p.m.) "Wine Down Wednesdays" (7 p.m.) The Bambu Weasels
All Events Ages 21+
Cream Ridge Winery 145 Route 539 Cream Ridge
(609) 259-9797
Sat. 4 p.m. Car Show Night
Sun. 1:30 p.m. Sangria Sunday
Cross Pollination Gallery2 North Union Street Lambertville
(609) 213-6734
Fri. 5 p.m. "Friday Happy Hour." (Talk art, wine and musicians who bring instruments)
Dacey's Pub 215 West Philadelphia Avenue Morrisville, PA
(215) 295-4838
Fri. 6 p.m. Acoustic Music Night
Wed. 8 p.m. Quizzo
Dadz Bar and Grill744 Main Street Lumberton
(609)267-4344
Thurs. 7 p.m. Open Mic Night
Dempster's Pub437 Pine Street Mount Holly
(609) 261-0500
Thurs. 9 p.m. "Throwback Thursday/Ladies Night" w/ DJ entertainment feat. retro 70's, 80's and 90's music.
Fri. / Sat. 9 p.m. DJ entertainment
Eddington House Bensalem2813 Hulmeville Road, Bensalem, PA
(215) 639-1220
Fri. 8 p.m. Kickbax Trio
Sat. 8 p.m. Danny Lynch Acoustic
Escape Resort, Restaurant & Bar120 Pheasant Run Road Newtown, PA
(215) 968-0600
Fri. 6 p.m. Skylar Love
Gleason's Bar6700 Mill Creek Road Levittown, PA
(215) 943-4781
Thurs. 7 p.m. Weekly Corn Hole Tournament
Fri. (6 p.m.) "Happy Hour" (9 p.m.) Dance Party w/ DJ In D Groove
Sat. 8 p.m. Karaoke
Greenhouse 90 South Main Street New Hope, PA
(215) 693-1657
Thurs. 8 p.m. "Musicians Night Out" Hosted by Lovelight
Tues. 8 p.m. Open Mic Hosted by Sam Ryan
Wed. 8 p.m. Trivia Hosted by Dwayne Dunlevy
Havana New Hope
105 S. Main Street New Hope, PA.
(215) 862-9897
Thurs. 7 p.m. Funk n' Blues Jam
Fri. 9:30 p.m. DJ Dance Party
Sat. (6 p.m.) Buzzer Band (12 a.m.) DJ Dance Party
Sun. 3:30 p.m. Benefit Concert w/ "Joey D's Rockin' Oldies"
Mon. 9 p.m. Karaoke w/ Dwayne
Hopewell Valley Vineyards 46 Yard Avenue Pennington
(609) 737-4465
Thurs. 5:30 p.m. Carmen Marranco
Fri. 4 p.m. "Music & Merlot" feat. (5:30 p.m.) Christine Havrilla
Sat. (1 p.m.) Silent Q (5:30 p.m.) "Music & Merlot" feat. Rainbow Fresh
Sun. 1:30 p.m. "Jazzy Sundays" feat. Darla & Rich
Irish Rover Station House 1033 South Bellevue Avenue Langhorne, PA
(215) 970-5412
Fri. 9:30 p.m. DJ Entertainment Paula & Sam Dance Party
Sat. 9:30 p.m. Karaoke Party Hosted by Paula & Sam
Iron Plow Vineyards 26750 Mount Pleasant Road Columbus
(732) 306-9111
Fri. 6:30 p.m. Bob & Dave
Sat. 6:30 p.m. Ed Wilson and Carol Brooks
Sun. 2 p.m. AudioPilot
Iron Plow Vineyards Tasting Room61 High Street Mt. Holly
(732) 306-9111
Fri. 6:30 p.m. Wayne Palmer & Friends
Ivy Tavern 3108 S. Broad Street, Hamilton
(609) 888-1435
Thurs. 9:30 p.m. "Thursday Night Dance Party"
Sat. 9 p.m. Asylum Choir
All shows 21+
John & Peter's 96 S. Main Street New Hope, Pa
(215) 862-5981
Fri. 8:30 p.m. Essie + Nap. $10 (advance)
Mon. 9 p.m. Open Mic (Sign-ups start at 8 p.m.)
Wed. 9 p.m. The Invitational
All shows 21+
Killarney's Publick House 1644 Whitehorse-Mercerville Road Hamilton
(609) 586-1166
Thurs. 7 p.m. Radio Fiction
Sat. 5 p.m. Mario & Frank
Laurita Winery 85 Archertown Road New Egypt
(609) 752-0200
Thurs. 7 p.m. "Laurita Junior Idol 2021" Tryouts
Fri. 12 p.m. "Wine In The Grove Friday" (6 p.m.) Sunset and Sangria/BBQ Grill Night
Sat./Sun. 11 a.m. Winery Weekend feat. (1 p.m.) Luau at Laurita. FREE ages 20 and under, $12 ages 21+ (Music, Hawaiian cultural demonstrations, food trucks)
Wed. 12 p.m. "Girls Night Out"
Lawrenceville Main Street17 Phillips Avenue Lawrenceville
(609) 219-9300
Thurs. 6 p.m. "Music In The Park" feat. (TBA) (Weeden Park FREE admission)
Makefield Highlands Golf Club1418 Woodside Road Yardley, PA
(215) 321-7000
Fri. 5 p.m. Ryan Shubert
Marie's Kozy Korner111 Trenton Road Fairless Hills, PA
(215) 943-3131
Fri. 7 p.m. Blue Reign
McGuinn's Place 1781 Brunswick Avenue Lawrence
(609) 392-0599
Tues. 9 p.m. Karaoke
Ages 21+
McStews Irish Sports Pub 5316 New Falls Road Levittown, PA
(215) 949-9570
Sat. 8 p.m. Eyes Of The Living, Superstar Galactica, Solow, (TBA). $10
Tues. 7:30 p.m. Trivia Night
Wed. 9 p.m. Karaoke w/ Paula and Sam
Mercer County Park (Boathouse at Mercer Lake)
334 South Post Road West Windsor
(866) 683-3586
Thurs. 5:30 p.m. Shameless
Millhill Basement 300 S. Broad Street Trenton
(609) 989-1600
Thurs. 9 p.m. "Summer In Da City" Art Exhibit (Final Day)
Fri. 10 p.m. NO$P: Fatfuk, LMI, Kirkby Kiss, Coach's Son. $8, Doors Open at 9 p.m., Ages 21+
More Than Q 13 Klines Court Lambertville
(609) 773-0072
Sun. 11 a.m. Gospel Brunch Open Mic
Music Mountain Theater1483 Route 179 Lambertville
(609)397-3337
Fri. 8 p.m. Matilda
Sat./Sun. 3 p.m. Matilda
Music On Main 25 East Main Street Yardley, PA
Sat. 6 p.m. Magadaliz and Her Latin Ensemble Crisol
New Egypt Flea Market Village933 Monmouth County Road Cream Ridge
(609) 758-2082
Sat. (8 a.m.) "Farmer For A Day" (11:30 a.m.) Gene Potts & Sal Marra at "Tye Dye Amy's"
New Hope Winery 6123 Lower York Road New Hope, PA
(215) 794-2331
Fri. 8 p.m. AJ Croce
Sat. 8 p.m. "Laurel Canyon" The Music of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Newtown Brewing Company103 Penns Trail Newtown, PA
(215) 944-8609
Thurs. 7:30 p.m. Trivia Night
Fri. 6 p.m. Red Sammy
Nick's Roast Beef4501 Woodhaven Road West Philadelphia, PA
(215) 637-5151
Fri. 6 p.m. Casey Welborn
Sat. 8 p.m. Penny Rhodes Band
Sun. 4 p.m. AJ Slick
Wed. 7 p.m. LeCompt Acoustic Duo
O'Fowley's Tavern & Grill200 State Road Croydon, PA
(215) 785-6998
Fri. 8 p.m. DJ Entertainment
Old Hights Brewing123 West Ward Street Hightstown
(609) 469-5976
Thurs. 7 p.m. Trivia
Old Town Pub 135 Farnsworth Avenue Bordentown
(609) 291-9232
Thurs. 7 p.m. Quizzoholics Trivia
Palmer Square40 Nassau Street Princeton
Thurs. 4 p.m. "Locals Night" w/ Live "Strolling" Musician
Sat.12 p.m. Eco Del Sur
Pasquale's Sports Bar9078 Mill Creek Road Levittown, PA
(267) 202-6268
Fri. 5 p.m. Happy Hour feat. (TBA)
Sat. 8 p.m. DJ or Live Band Entertainment
Tues. 7:30 p.m. Quizzo
Wed. 7 p.m. Open Mic
Patriots Crossing 1339 River Road Titusville
(609) 737-2780
Thurs. 8 p.m. Open Mic Night
Wed. 7 p.m. "Quizzo"
Pete's Steak House 523 Whitehorse Avenue Hamilton
(609) 585-8008
Fri. 9:30 p.m. Timi Hendrixx & Friends
Randy Now's Man Cave
134 Farnsworth Avenue Bordentown
(609) 424-3766
Sat. 7 p.m. Sloppy Seconds
Revere Restaurant802 River Road Ewing
(609) 882-6365
Wed. 7 p.m. David Boyd
Robbinsville Community ConcertTown Center Lake Drive Gazebo, Robbinsville
Tues. 7 p.m. DJ Reggie
Rosedale Mills101 Route 31 North Pennington
(609) 737-2008
Sat. 1 p.m. Outdoor Line Dancing. $10 (Rain date Sundays 12 p.m.)
Sav'Aged Designs110 South Main Street New Hope, PA
(609) 937-6104
Sat. 10 a.m. The Art of Adriana Groza
Sherman Theater/Penn Community Bank Amphitheater2400 Byberry Road Bensalem, PA
Wed. 7 p.m. "Double Vision" The Foreigner Experience (Doors open at 5:30 p.m., tickets available online)
Stars & Stripes Harley Davidson600 South Flowers Mill Road Langhorne, PA
(215) 752-9400
Sat. 11 a.m. Babes & BBQ (Music, FREE hot dogs, beer and more)
Stumpy's Hatchet House (Princeton)
745 Alexander Road Princeton
(609) 436-9737
Sat. 3 p.m. Asylum Choir
Tankard Pub440 Keim Boulevard Burlington
(609) 306-5079
Thurs. 7 p.m. The Williamsboy
Tara's Tavern 1 Cookstown-New Egypt Road, Wrightstown
(609) 286-2300
Fri. 9 p.m. Karaoke w/ Big Daddy G
Sat. 9 p.m. Jason Fox
Tavern On The Lake 101 Main Street Hightstown
(609) 426-9345
Fri. 9 p.m. After The Flood
Wed. 9 p.m. Karaoke
Temperance House 5 South State Street Newtown, PA
(215) 944-8050
Thurs. 7p.m. "Blues Night" w/ Steve Guyger
Tues. 8 p.m. Trivia w/ Righteous Jolly
Wed. 7 p.m. Open Mic Night w/ Cara Cartney
Terhune Orchards 330 Cold Soil Road Princeton
(609) 924-2310
Fri. 4 p.m. "Sips & Sounds Friday" feat. Danny Weiss and Larry Cohen w/ Bill Flemer
Sat./Sun.10 a.m. "Peach Festival" (Live music, demostrations and more)
The Buck Hotel1200 Buck Road Feasterville, PA
(215) 396-2002
Thurs. 7 p.m. Kevin Kirko
Fri. 7 p.m. Love Junk
Sat. 9 p.m. Spectrum
The Cool Cricket 216 Burlington Street Fieldsboro
(609) 291-9110
Fri. 8 p.m. Karaoke
Sat. 8:30 p.m. Unleashed
The Morrisville Tavern376 West Trenton Avenue Morrisville, PA
(215) 295-5310
Sat. 7 p.m. Bill Monach
Mon. 7 p.m. Karaoke w/ DJ Tim
Tues. 7 p.m. Open Mic
Wed. 7 p.m. Trivia Night
Thomas Sweet Ice Cream183 Nassau Street Princeton
(609) 683-8720
Sat. 7 p.m. The Shaykz
Tindall Road Brewing Co.102 Farnsworth Avenue Bordentown
(609) 526-8651
Sat. 7 p.m. Chet & Ari
Triumph Brewing Company (New Hope, Pa. Location)
400 Union Square New Hope, Pa.
(215) 862-8300
Thurs. 8 p.m. Trivia
Sun. 7 p.m. Open Stage
All shows 21+
Vault Brewing Company 10 South Main Street Yardley, PA
(267) 573-4291
Fri. 7 p.m. Behn Gillece Duo
Sat. 7 p.m. Greg Snyder Trio
Vault Tap Room19 West College Avenue Yardley, PA
(267) 907-8550
Sat. 7 p.m. Boondashark
Wilson's Pub1870 Brownsville Road Trevose Heights, PA
(215) 355-4739
Fri. 7 p.m. EarCandy Duo
Working Dog Winery 610 Windsor Perrineville Road Hightstown
(609) 371-6000
Sat. 1 p.m. Spoondrift
Sun. 1 p.m. Chris Giakas
WWFM 89.1 FM HD2 RadioMCCC Old Trenton Road West Windsor
Jazzon2.org
Mon. 7 p.m. "Danny Coleman's Got The Blues"
Yankee Doodle Tap Room10 Palmer Square Princeton
(609) 921-7500
Thurs. 6 p.m. Dueling Piano Night (Palmer Square)
Danny Coleman is a veteran musician and writer from central New Jersey. He hosts a weekly radio program entitled “Rock On Radio” airing Sunday evenings at 7:000pm EST on multiple internet radio outlets where he features indie/original bands and solo artists.
