New blood flows again in Jazz Vespers

By BRUCE JEFFRIES-FOX
Howard Isaacson, the highly accomplished saxophonist/composer who has supported such luminaries as Tony Bennett, Natalie Cole and Shirley Bassey, will be back on the Jazz Vespers concert stage with his group, the Howard Isaacson Quartet. This concert will be held at the First Presbyterian Church 500 Hughes Street, Cape May on Sunday, July 27 at 8 p.m.
Donations of $10 a person will be collected at the door. The box office opens at 7:30 p.m.
A child prodigy, Isaacson took clarinet and piano early on and became quite accomplished. But as soon as Isaacson tried playing a sax, he got hooked. He joined school marching bands, which soon turned into orchestras, which turned into jazz bands.
Just after Isaacson earned music degrees in education and performance from Temple University, he got his big break–an audition with the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
One night, their lead sax man was ill. The road manager spotted Isaacson in a hotel lobby just before the orchestra was to take the stage.
Isaacson recalls the incident this way: “He asked me if I really played. I said, ‘Sure I do,’ and he said, ‘Follow me.’ He led me into a men’s room and told me to play. I asked, ‘Here?’ He just nodded and said, ‘I figure you got about two minutes before the next guy comes in here to do his business. Start playing.’ I played, and got the job. Thankfully, no one walked in.”
Isaacson fit in nicely with the Glenn Miller Orchestra because of all his listening to Benny Goodman and the Big Bands of the 1940s and 1950s, as well as more contemporary groups with horn sections such as Blood Sweat and Tears, and Chicago. Relocating from Philly to Atlantic City about 1990, Isaacson started to play all the casinos, supporting performers such as Paul Anka and Bernadette Peters.
For the past few years, Isaacson has played all over the region, as both a group leader and a band member. His groups routinely win accolades for their exciting contemporary jazz performances. Howard has released 2 CDs to critical acclaim and has a third one nearly finished.
Don’t miss the long-awaited return appearance of this great quartet. Howard will play soprano, alto, and tenor saxes, and flute. He’ll be joined by master bassist Andy Lalasis, Demetrius Pappas on keyboards and Keith Hollis on drums.
The quartet will perform a number of contemporary jazz songs made popular by groups such as Spyro Gyra.
No reservations are required but Vespers concerts are frequently SRO, so coming a little early is suggested. Call 609-884-0680.