By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Jazz on the Waterfront will take a trip to the City of Light on Saturday – and will have a menu to match.
The decades-old fundraiser has become a tradition at the Sitka Fine Arts Camp, taking place between the middle school and high school camp sessions.
Karen Neal sings during the 2019 Jazz on the Waterfront concert and dinner at Odess Theater in Allen Hall. This year’s event will take place Saturday. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
The theme this year is “French,” and will feature tunes from Count Basie’s “April in Paris” album and a French menu created by camp chefs Olivier Peulpin and Patti Peck.
The dinner and music event starts 7 p.m. at the Odess Theater, and includes sets by a jazz combo, a big band led by Kyle Athayde, a Latin jazz group, and a rhythm and blues set featuring Andrew Hames and Karen Neal.
Roger Schmidt, camp director and a fan of jazz legend Count Basie, said this was a good year to go “French,” given the solid material from Basie’s seminal work, and the skills of this year’s chefs.
“There’s a long tradition of African Americans playing in France, particularly in the 1940s and 1950s,” he said. “France – and much of Europe – was so much more progressive, with a long history of jazz musicians emigrating to Europe where they were treated so much better.”
The album features music recorded in 1955-56. Besides the title track, the album includes a number of classics written by Ellington, Frank Foster and Yip Harburg.
“The food is going to be stunning, the music is going to be stunning,” Schmidt said. “It’s going to be a great night.”
Schmidt, who plays trombone, will perform in the band alongside camp faculty, SFAC alums and musicians from all over the country. Schmidt said one of the visiting musicians played with the pop singer Seal and other groups, and the bass player has performed with Stay Human.
Athayde, who has a big band in New York City, will lead the big band for the April in Paris set.
While the evening is an event in itself, it also helps raise funds that go toward scholarships. The camp awarded $90,000 in scholarships last year and $140,000 this year. Schmidt said the fundraiser “helps make camp accessible to all students regardless of financial background, and provide the highest quality arts experience for the kids.”
“When it’s in the right environment here, kids experience self-growth, self-esteem and skills to build a strong community together with other people,” he said.
Schmidt said both the music and the food should be a draw to the event. Peck appeared on the popular TV culinary contest “Chopped”; Pheulpin has worked in London and France, as well as the Lower 48;
The four-course menu included in the ticket lists tapenade toast points, salad, a main course of boeuf bourguignon (or mushroom bourguignon as a vegetarian option) with parsley potatoes, and a dessert of lemon mousse with raspberry coulis.
Tickets are $75 and available at fineartscamp.org, under the Shows tab.
