A hot summer night in August was the perfect setting for the eminent jazz bassist and reticent Buster Williams who visited the Oasis Room, at Garde Arts Center, www.gardearts.org, bringing Something More, his band - saxophonist Mark Gross, pianist Eric Reed and drummer Ignacio Berroa - and guest guitarist Adam del Monte unveiling a new work of jazz and flamenco. This new work of jazz entitled “Spanish Sun – Flamenco Rising” was first unveiled to ninety guests before Buster Williams’ Quintet headed south for a three night appearance, August 6 – 8, to the historic Iridium Jazz Club, www.iridiumjazzclub.com, located on Broadway, in New York City.

This was a first time collaboration with Rich Martin, of New London Music Festival and Kitchings Productions. Hot summer nights in southeastern Connecticut are perfect for outdoor concert performances. “August Nights at Harkness…Music the way it was…” premiered at Connecticut’s Harkness Memorial State Park, Waterford, CT on August 4th. In collaboration with the non-profit organization BRING OUR MUSIC BACK, INC., (www.bringourmusicback.org), the Preservation Hall Jazz Band - New Orleans, LA opened the steamy summer night with hot New Orleans Jazz.

Under the stars, jazz enthusiasts, family, friends, kids and picnics, united on the park’s sweeping lawns in excess of 230 seaside acres, with stately trees and breathtaking gardens, highlighted with a panoramic view of Long Island Sound listening to traditional New Orleans jazz performed by the gentleman of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Sugarfoot Youth Jazz Band and jazz guitar magician (a Waterford native) Tosh Sheridan where included in this well seasoned gumbo.

The 2010 "August Nights at Harkness" beneficiaries include The Isaac School, New London High School music scholarship awards, The Yellow Bus Fund of the Lyman Allyn Museum, and Bring Our Music Back, Inc. community music initiatives of the organization.
Well you may have wondered what has happened with Kitchings Productions website... the truth is it was on hold until I got through my daughters wedding this July. What made this wedding so busy for me was that it took place at my house. I know what it is like to put on a music production, but this was a different animal all together. There was so much to be done around the house, my wife and I got right to work. Fixing the driveway, clearing out some dead trees, working on the garden, building a small terrace where they would be married in the back yard, this went on for three weeks until we got the place looking the way we wanted it.

Next came the tent, the caterers, light technicians, jazz trios, string quartets, a DJ, a dance floor, flowers, bartenders, outhouses, and the grandkids who really kept me on my toes! The wedding was a great success and it was an experience I will not forget for a long time to come.

This summer I have been supporting the wonderful jazz concerts at Harkness State Park. Bring Our Music Back Produces "August Nights at Harkness" Music the way it was!

Also, Steve Sigel and I just came back from The Newport Jazz Festival and met many wonderful musicians who are excited about playing in The Oasis Room in the near future. We hope to see you at the shows.

As for Kitchings Productions, I am back on the scene for this Fall and Winter. Coming to The Garde Arts Center this Fall/Winter I have Marc Cohn, New Orleans Nights with Allen Toussaint, Nicholas Payton and The Joe Krown Trio, Jon Regen in the Oasis Room, The Piano Jazz Summit with Cedar Walton, Hiromi Uehara, and Jacky Terrasson, and Hot Tuna Blues with Charlie Musselwhite. The music is up and going and all you have to do is show up and buy a ticket!

Best,
Ken Kitchings

Contact: Jeanne Sigel
May 26, 2009
860.444.4430;
jsigel@gardearts.org (New London) With the confirmation of the participation of founding drummer Fran Christina, the lineup is now complete for a historic musical reunion - Roomful of Blues: Now and Then, Celebrating 40 Years of Roomful at the Garde Arts Center on Thursday, June 11, 2009 at 8 pm.

“We are thrilled to present and further cement the legacy of one of our region’s, and the nation’s, best bands in a gala reunion concert on the Garde stage,” said local producer Ken Kitchings of Kitchings Productions, who along with Caswell Cooke Productions, has been working for months on bringing these artists together on one stage for one special evening.

Roomful of Blues: Now and Then, opens with the current Roomful of Blues eight-piece unit led by guitarist Chris Vachon, with singer Dave Howard, bassist Dima Gorodetsky, drummer Ephraim Lowell and long-time members keyboardist Travis Colby, baritone and tenor saxophonist Mark Earley, and tenor and alto saxophonist Rich Lataille.

The second half of the show will feature many of the original members including guitarist Duke Robillard, keyboardist Al Copley, horn players Rich Lataille, Greg Piccolo and Doug James, bassist Preston Hubbard, and percussionist Fran Christina.
Click to read more Contact: Jeanne Sigel
April 9, 2009
860.444.4430;
jsigel@gardearts.org (New London) The Surfers Alumni Association and the 7th Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps are presenting Brass In Force: An Evening With New England’s Drum & Bugle Corps on the Garde Arts Center stage on Saturday, May 16, at 7:30 pm. The evening will help raise funds for the New London-based 7th Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps, Connecticut’s only competitive junior drum and bugle corps, for their comprehensive educational program in music, marching , and the performing arts.

Brass In Force, sponsored by Kitchings Productions and the Community Foundation of Southeastern Connecticut, features more than 400 musicians from five award-winning drum and bugle corps in New England, including 3-time world champion The Connecticut Hurricanes (Seymour, CT), The Park City Pride Alumni (Bridgeport, CT), The Connecticut Alumni featuring musicians from all over New England, The New Hampshire Muchachos (Manchester, NH) and New London’s 7th Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps.

“We are proud to provide a platform for New England’s drum corps in a pre-season indoor stage spectacle right here in the heart of New London,” said Edgar Frazelle, a New London drum corps alumnus and board chairman of the non-profit Surfers’ Alumni Association. “I am looking forward to showcasing our youth alongside some of the finest competing drum corps in the nation.”

According to Garde Executive Director Steve Sigel, stage drum corps presentations are very rare. “We are eager to present a very unique theater experience that in terms of artistry, diversity and sheer numbers surpasses past Garde events like Drumline and Blast. Hopefully this exciting, inspiring evening for audiences of all ages will become an annual attraction.”

The Surfers Alumni Association founded in 2002, created the 7th Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps to continue the legacy of the New London Surfers Drum & Bugle Corps, who won World Open Class B Championship in 1971. Through music, marching, performing arts competition, and travel, the 7th Regiment mission is dedicated to developing leadership, character and life skills for its members.

Tickets for Brass In Force: An Evening with New England Drum and Bugle Corps are $25 orchestra, $35 loge, $25 front balcony, and $20 rear balcony. Tickets may be purchased at the Garde Arts Center Box Office located at 325 State Street in New London, or by calling 860.444.7373 ext. 1, or at the Garde website www.gardearts.org.

CALENDAR LISTING What: Brass In Force: An Evening with New England Drum and Bugle Corps
When: Saturday, May 16, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Where: Garde Arts Center, 325 State St., New London, CT
Event Sponsors: Kitchings Productions and the Community Foundation of Southeastern Connecticut
Prices: $25 orchestra, $35 loge, $25 front balcony, and $20 rear balcony.
Tickets on Line: www.gardearts.org
Box Office Phone: (860) 444-7373 ext. 1
Box Office: 325 State St, New London, Mon-Fri, 10 am – 4 pm

MEDIA INFO
For photos and interviews, please contact Jeanne Sigel at 860-444-4430 or jsigel@gardearts.org.
To contact the Surfer’s Alumni and the 7th Regiment Drum ande Bugle Corps, contact Birse Timmons birsetimmons@aol.com 449-2691, or Edgar Frazelle eefrazjr@sbcglobal.net or Dawn Aguiar dmzmosh@aol.com 860-514-7386

Artist Websites:
http://7th-regiment.tripod.com/index.html
http://www.ctalumni.org/
http://www.cthurricanes.org/homepage.html
http://www.theparkcitypride.org/
http://www.muchachos.org/index.html

The Garde Arts Center is southeastern Connecticut’s non-profit center for the performing arts. The Garde owns and operates the historic Garde Theatre where it presents musicals, opera, orchestras, contemporary music, dance, and family events. The Garde produces the annual New London Film Festival, and provides after-school programs and matinee performances to more than 10,000 young people. Under the leadership of Steve Sigel, Executive Director, since 1988, the Garde has become a major catalyst for the cultural and economic revitalization of New London.