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originally published: 03/23/2023 

(NEWARK, NJ) -- Get ready for a night of electrifying jazz as Clements Place presents Leonieke Scheuble’s All Star Hard Bop Quintet on Wednesday, April 5th for Jazz973 Jazz Appreciation Month 2023. This powerhouse ensemble features icons like Jerry Weldon on Saxophone, Valery Ponomarev on Trumpet, Bill Crow on Bass, and Nick Scheuble on Drums. Admission is free. Showtime is 7:00pm.

Immerse yourself in the captivating hard bop sound, an influential jazz style that blossomed in the 1950s, combining the essence of bebop with rich flavors of blues, soul, and gospel music. Witness Leonieke's soul jazz quintet masterfully perform tunes reminiscent of the legendary Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Horace Silver, Hank Mobley andClifford Brown, taking you on an unforgettable journey through the golden era of hard-bop.

Don't miss this unparalleled opportunity to experience the artistry of these acclaimed jazz virtuosos on the  Clements Place Jazz stage! Admission is free, reserve your spot online today.

Leonieke Scheuble - Nina Simone learned to play music by ear, which is not normally accepted, and Nina did not let that hold her back. Our Jazz Across the Generations bandleader is Leonieke Scheuble who did not formally learn to play music. As her dad recounted, Leonieke (phonetically pronounced "lay-o-nee-ka") Scheuble started to play piano after being inspired by "Ray," a movie based on the life of Ray Charles. Without any prior musical training, she began to spend great lengths of time at the piano creating pieces that were rhythmically interesting and compositionally balanced. She was 5 or 6.

As she said within her No Boundaries | Leonieke Scheuble | TEDxLehighRiver when she was 13 and Bill Crow was 88, Jazz is her classroom and the learning as you go process is what makes Jazz so special and you learn in the moment. Take a listen. It’s very enlightening, informative and has a wonderful piano performance. The bottom line is Leonieke encourages children and adults alike to think, dream, and achieve without boundaries.

Leonieke was honored to be selected by Carnegie Hall/Weill Music Institute as an alternate musician for their 2018 NYO JAZZ season. She can be seen performing regularly as a featured artist or leading her trio at many of New York and New Jersey's finest Jazz venues.

Jerry Weldon - Veteran tenor sax man Jerry Weldon joined the legendary Lionel Hampton Orchestra in 1981 and has worked with dozens of jazz luminaries over the past three plus decades. In 1990, Jerry joined Harry Connick Jr. 's newly formed big band and Jerry was seen daily as part of the “house band” on HARRY, Connick’s daytime variety show which aired from 2016-2018. Jerry can also regularly be found gigging, both as a leader and a sideman, at clubs in the New York area ... and beyond.

Valery Ponomarev - Valery worked with Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers. With the Messengers, he performed at major concert halls, clubs, and festivals all over the world and recorded eleven record albums. He also made numerous television appearances with the Messengers in Europe, Japan, and Brazil. In the United States he has made television appearances on "To Tell The Truth," on the PBS network, National Geographic Today, and CNN. He performed at the Clifford Brown Memorial Concert in Wilmington, Delaware, 1991, which featured the music of the legendary Max Roach/Clifford Brown Quintet with Max Roach (leader) on drums, Harold Land, tenor sax, George Morrow, bass, Sam Dockery, piano, and Valery Ponomarev, trumpet. Along the way  he has performed Benny Golson, Curtis Fuller, Bobbie Watson, James "Sid" Simmons, Bradford Leali, Vincent Lewis, Byron & Robert Landham, Sean McGloin and Evelyn Blakey.

Bill Crow - Crow's first instrument was the piano, at the age of four. He started playing the trumpet in fourth grade and continued through baritone horn and valve trombone in various school and military bands. At the beginning of the '50s, Crow transformed himself from a drummer in dance bands to a jazz bassist, but one who was always ready to double or triple on other instruments. He was a trombonist in several Seattle orchestras, one led by Bumps Blackwell, the other by Buzzy Bridgford. Crow played drums, trombone and bass for bandleader Glen Moore in 1952. In the summer of 1950, Buzzy Bridgford found a summer job in the Adirondacks, in Tupper Lake, New York. By the time the summer was over, Bill could play the bass well enough to take gigs in New York City, and every gig was another lesson."

 

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On bass Bill has gigged and recorded with a flock of respectable jazz players, including saxophonists Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan and pianists Al Haig and Marian McPartland. Crow took part in baritone man Mulligan's sextet and quartet projects in 1956 and 1957, then returned for more collaborations in 1958 and 1959.

Nick Scheuble - Rounding out the quintet is the very versatile, progressive and in demand Jazz drummer and Latin percussionist Nick Scheuble (b.1960s). Drummer Nick Scheuble, has performed with a long list of jazz luminaries including trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, and trombonist Wycliffe Gordon. A 1991 graduate of William Paterson University, Nick has toured much of the United States with The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, an American orchestra formed at The Juilliard School that has served as goodwill ambassador for the U.S. government. Between 2000 and 2006, he performed extensively in Europe and alternated residence between the Netherlands and the United States.

Jazz973 @ Clements Place Jazz is located at 15 Washington Street in Newark, New Jersey.

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