A Jazz Thanksgiving-Eve With Art Foxall
November 10, 2006
FOR RELEASE: November 10 - 22, 2006 Music Performance - Jazz
A JAZZ THANKSGIVING-EVE WITH ART FOXALL
Legends Of Seattle Jazz Art Foxall and Overton Berry Join The Ponderay Café & Lounge Thanksgiving-Eve Jazz Wednesday With Mark Lewis
Art Foxall, tenor sax veteran, will bring his smooth, seasoned sounds to the Ponderay Café & Lounge, 610 N. Callow Ave in Bremerton, on November 22 from 6:30 to 9:30 pm.
Foxall, 81, has performed for over 60 years at venues and jazz festivals around the world with some of the biggest names in jazz history, including Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughn, Roy Eldridge, Ivory Joe Hunter, and Jaki Byard. Foxall has also shared the stage with icons Miles Davis and Charlie Parker.
"I was in the Navy band in Bremerton years ago," Foxall said. "I enjoy coming to Bremerton to play with Mark, and seeing his fans. Mark is one of the most dedicated musicians I know. He's a very dedicated genius at music."
Mark Lewis, a Kitsap County native, left town with his alto sax for nearly 20 years on a journey that developed his natural gift for music to a master level. He lived and performed in Europe for most of that time, then in San Francisco where he auditioned for tenor sax great Stan Getz and jazz historian/author/pianist Ted Gioia. Getz and Gioia selected Lewis for a highly successful (by jazz standards) recording contract that brought notoriety for Lewis on the national and international jazz scene.
Now back in Bremerton to be near family, Lewis hosts a weekly Jazz Wednesday at the Ponderay Café & Lounge where he performs with a variety of high-caliber musicians.
Rounding out the stellar line-up on the 22nd is the ever-popular Overton Berry on piano, who is also widely regarded as a Northwest Jazz Legend. Berry has worked with such jazz greats as Carmen McRae, Joe Pass, Dave Brubeck, and Peggy Lee.
"Art and Overton are truly two of the "Last Mohicans" in foot-pattin', hard swingin' jazz, " said Lewis about his colleagues. "I've known both of them since 1978 when the famous promoter, Norm Bobrow, put us together for Seattle's Cirque Dinner Theater. They have helped teach me "the business" and shown the soul of Music to me. There is always a little of each of them in the work I do." *
For more information contact (360) 479-4487 or marklewismusic.com.
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Contact for press release: Rhonda Stewart is manager for jazz musician Mark Lewis. You can contact Rhonda at Rhonda@marklewismusic.com or (360) 692-2540.
*Addition to Mark Lewis' quote:
"After re-reading this quote, there is one name that must be added to give an accurate description of my thought. It is Vonne Griffin. Though she is no longer with us in the flesh, her spirit resounds. The respect I feel for all of them may be apparent by the fact that it was these musicians, out of so many, I chose when the executive producer of AUDIO DADDIO gave me a blank check to produce our second LP (the first being my own) when visiting the States after residing in Europe for fourteen months. When I retured with the master tapes and played them he was ecstatic. We called it "Scrapbook" by Vonne Griffin and it featured none other than Overton Berry and Art Foxall!"