Country and folk singer Jonathan Edwards first made a name for himself in 1971 with his protest song Sunshine, released on his debut album. Now, after a long musical career, Mr. Edwards will perform songs from his latest release, My Love Will Keep, when he appears at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs on Thursday, Sept. 6.
Dr. Kenneth Alleyne, 46, and his wife, Dr. Shaun Biggers-Alleyne, love jazz. They also love Martha’s Vineyard. So they began brainstorming a way to combine these seemingly disparate passions. The result was Jazz on the Vineyard, a daylong jazz festival now in its second year, which will be held tomorrow, August 18, at Featherstone Center for the Arts in Oak Bluffs.
Wynton Marsalis is, well, Wynton Marsalis, one of the premier jazz trumpeters of our time. Mr. Marsalis is also a composer, teacher, music educator and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York city. He has been awarded nine Grammys and one of his jazz recordings won the Pulitzer Prize for music.
Wynton Marsalis, the jazz composer, band leader and trumpet player, brought his quintet to the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs on Saturday evening. The concert, entitled Treasures at Dusk, featured some new compositions and old standards that saw an enthusiastic reception from the audience. Mr. Marsalis is also managing and artistic director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
Just two more Monday Night Specials left for the summer season. These works-in-progress events are hosted by the Vineyard Playhouse and take place at the Hebrew Center in Vineyard Haven. Last week featured plays by Robert Brustein and starred Tony Shalhoub and Brooke Adams in the reading. Earlier in the summer Joyce Carol Oates took the stage for a question and answer session following the reading of her new play Emily & Joyce.
The YMCA is harkening back to some distinct Island musical roots by opening the Wintertide Collective, a black box-styled performance and dance space. The name Wintertide is a name many Islanders remember fondly. The Wintertide Coffeehouse was a mainstray of the Vineyard music scene for many years. The YMCA’s teen program director, Tony Lombardi managed the Wintertide Coffeehouse and now he has resurrected the name for the YMCA as he continues to help teenagers find constructive outlets.
After clown school shut down unexpectedly, May Oskan was a little lost and rather bitter.
“The floor went out from under me... I didn’t have my community, teachers or classmates,” said Ms. Oskan of her time at the San Francisco Circus Center. “I didn’t have my tightrope or anything to juggle. I was a clown with no circus.”
Always one to be involved in a project, Ms. Oskan knew she had to do something big.
“And I knew I didn’t want it to be funny,” she added with a laugh.
The Pit Stop is located inside an inconspicuous garage across the street from Tony’s Market in Oak Bluffs and is hard to find even when you’re looking right at it. A small marquee out front advertises the night’s musical entertainment and a white hand-painted sign directs visitors around an old trailer to the entrance at the back of the building.
A few weeks ago, while sitting on a porch here on the Vineyard, Jessica Ashley leaned back, closed her eyes and began to sing. Or rather, she belted out a few lines, totally absorbed in the music. Afterwards she opened her eyes and asked, “Do you know that one? My sister and I used to sing that one together.”
