Held in historic Norcross, Georgia, (Betty Mauldin Park), Jazz In the Alley has an upward attendance of 1,000. did we mention that it's FREE? That's RIGHT! Thanks to generous sponsors like the City of Norcross and Peachtree Awnings, so bring your entire family.
We plan to have lots of great stuff there, from music, to interviews, to personal messages, and much more!!!
I know you didn't come here for that but I really need everyone's support! So thank you in advance for subscribing.....ok...I'll make it easy for you....just click the link below!
OK....back to the reason for the blog....
Atlanta is saturated with festivals...fall festivals, brunch festivals, jazz festivals, taco festivals, music festivals, chicken wing festivals....I think I should come up with a "festival festival"! I'm not complaining because all these festivals and events make it very easy to find something to do on the weekend! Sometimes on the weekend, I jump in my car and just ride around Atlanta and the surrounding cities to see what is going on....usually if you drive to the downtown areas you will find something going on. About a year ago, I was riding in downtown Norcross, and I stumbled upon a jazz event calledJazz In The Alley. I hadn't heard much about it but it seemed to be really nice event so I parked my car and went to check it out.
The event was really nice because it was located behind the restaurant area of downtown Norcross restaurants and you could listen to live jazz music while you dined. There were some people eating the restaurant patios and others were sitting in lawn chairs enjoying the music.
Whenever there is music I'm there! Especially live music, so of course, I stopped to check it out noticing that the local jazz station, WCLK, also was involved.
Well....after the event was over, I really didn't get a chance to go back to check it out but I was always thinking...."that was really nice". And then, this year I was online and noticed a flyer with Tony Hightower on it. If you don't know, Tony Hightower, has been a guest on my show, When We Speak.
When I saw the flyer, I immediately noticed that it was in Norcross, GA, and called Jazz In the Alley.....then it hit me! That's the same event that you stumbled upon a year ago! So of course I made it my business to go and see Tony Hightower perform, and I'm glad I did because in the process I got a chance to meet Ziggy, the Event Director and visionary behind Jazz In The Alley.
In fact, I admired her passion, work ethic, and over all spirit, that I wanted to share her with you!!!!!
As a trailblazer and a maverick, the
genre-morphing singer, songwriter and producer, JOI, has always been ahead of
the mainstream cultural and artistic landscape. Debuting with the 1994
critically acclaimed The
Pendulum Vibe (EMI), JOI and producer Dallas Austin created a sharp,
kaleidoscopic set of unclassifiable jams (later dubbed ‘Neo-Soul’) powered by
lead single "Sunshine & the Rain". An all-black, all-woman
version of the album cut “Freedom” was issued for Mario Van Peebles’ film, “Panther”.
Mary J Blige, Queen Latifah, En Vogue and a teenage Aaliyah were among the 60
plus vocalists.
During the 2000's, JOI was signed to
the Universal label that produced the funky effort Star Kitty’s Revenge, her most commercially viable album to date. Star
Kitty’s Revenge featured signature tunes “Lick” and “Jefferson St.
Joe”, an ode to her father Joe Gilliam, the NFL’s first black starting
quarterback. JOI was asked to join R&B super-group Lucy Pearl alongside
Raphael Saadiq, soon after.
In 2006, she independently released the emotional
tour-de-force; Tennessee Slim Is The Bomb under her Joilicious Records imprint.
The last decade has found JOI free of
the fledgling label system and fully immersed in Artisan Polishing, DJ'ing, and
vocal work on productions by Max Martin (Ariana Grande, Tori Kelly), Polow Da
Don (Monica) and others. A 20th anniversary international tour with
Outkast preceded her own #20YearsOfJOI run and a 2015 European tour with
D'Angelo & The Vanguard. Her highly anticipated fifth solo effort Rebekkah
HolyLove's Salvation Symphony is due for independent release later this year.
Jermaine Sainis the host/ creator of a talk show called When We Speak. After exiting the U.S. Army in 2003, as a Medical Sergeant, Jermaine began pursuing a career in music after he auditioned for American Idol in 2005, in Austin, Texas.
