Evan Sherman And Band Returning To Headline “Jazz For Jennings”

Jazz for Jennings continues to honor legendary news anchor, Peter Jennings, who lost his battle to lung cancer in 2005, through its annual East End summer gathering. The beloved event celebrates Jennings’ commitment to the Hamptons community and especially the Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center. This year’s benefit will be the fifth, raising critical funds each year to support The Center’s mission of educational and recreational programs. The 2019 Jazz for Jennings brunch and concert will take place on Sunday, June 23 at 12:30 p.m. at the Watermill Center.

“Jazz for Jennings is the reincarnation of Jazz at Jennings, the benefit for The Center that Peter and I hosted for many years at our home,” said Kayce Freed Jennings. “I know Peter would be thrilled that the tradition continues and that the community continues to support this vital gem in our midst and its mission of hope.”

The Jazz for Jennings Band Leader is Evan Sherman who is a native of New Jersey. He has toured the world in the bands of Wynton & Branford Marsalis, Ron Carter, Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Heath, Cyrus Chestnut, Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars and more. Sherman leads his groups all over the world which are often comprised of NYC’s best rising stars alongside a rotating cast of incredible veterans and guests. In 2014, Evan formed the 16-piece Evan Sherman Big Band as the house band for years at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola’s late-night dance parties.

The group continues to perform at the legendary, Rainbow Room in New York’s Rockefeller Center, Midsummer Night Swing, Caramoor Jazz Festival (where they premiered an original piece of jazz theater, “A Story of Patience”), The Appel Room, The Django, Bowery Electric, & Ginny’s Supper Club. Over the years, the band has featured musical legends such as Roy Hargrove, Jon Batiste, Cyrus Chestnut, Johnny O’Neal, and Lew Soloff, creating a new unparalleled sense of camaraderie with the next generation which the band’s featured trombonist/vocalist Frank Lacy (D’Angelo, Art Blakey, Mingus Big Band) calls “a new dance-music cultural phenomenon, revisiting the old school!”

Musicians include for the day include Patrick Bartley, Jr., Andrew Latona, Julius Rodriquez & Daniel Winshall.

Following Jazz for Jennings, Sherman and friends will head to the Stephen Talkhouse (161 Main Street, Amagansett) for another benefit concert for the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreation Center. The show will take place from 7 to 10 p.m.

The Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreation Center was established “out of tragedy in 1949 when a migrant camp fire killed two children of seasonal farm workers.” The not-for-profit serves the East End community, with a focus on the lower income African-American and growing Latino community. Its mission is to “deliver the highest quality educational and recreational programs to local children, youth and their families.”

The Watermill Center is located at 39 Water Mill Towd Road. To reserve your ticket, visit www.bhccrc.org.