Like every year people from all across the nation and from abroad gathered to attend the 34th Boscov’s Berks Jazz Festival in Reading, PA, the city near Philadelphia where this great event takes place. While the job of the executive director has been passed on to Trish Davis, former director John Ernesto still was very much involved as a consultant, helping to make sure that everything would turn out fine.
Main hub of the festival is the DoubleTree hotel in downtown Reading where most of the concerts take place and most of the fans and artists reside, so this is the place to be to mix and mingle. I had my room there and arrived the day prior of the festival start, to get rid of the jet lag, meet some friends and start to get in the festival mood.
Friday I made a short trip to a great record store called Record Connection in Ephrata, PA, a 30 minute car drive southwest from Reading. The store offers thousands of records and CDs in all genres, jazz, funk and R&B included, so this trip is worthwhile for any collector no matter his musical interests, in addition the store owner is a nice and helpful person. I picked up quite a few records that didn’t cost a lot, so I can absolutely recommend this store.
In the evening, the first show was held at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, one of the other main locations, 10 minutes by car from the DoubleTree. The band TMF (aka The Music Forever) comprising of the original lineup of Maze, the band that was founded by Frankie Beverly who died in September 2024. For contractual reasons, the band couldn’t continue to perform under the name of Maze so they changed their name to TMF and added singer Chris Walker to complete the lineup, keeping the legacy of Frankie Beverly and Maze. Of note is the fact that percussion player Roame Lowry has been with Frankie Beverly since the very beginning for 55 years (!), having performed with him on every song and every live show Maze ever did, truly representing the legacy of Maze. They went through a best-of collection of Maze songs like “Too Many Games”, “We Are One”, “Running Away”, “ Back in Stride”, “Happy Feelin’s”, “Before I Let Go” and – their signature song – “Joy And Pain”, that had people dance in front of the stage. The band did a great show, and singer Chris Walker brought these classic songs to life with verve and style.
Next at the DoubleTree hotel ballroom was the appearance of saxophonist Boney James with his band, they were grooving hard and provided the perfect backdrop for Boney’s smooth sax sounds on tenor and soprano. The leader was in a good mood and went through his catalog of old and new songs, promoting songs from his current release “Slow Burn” by playing tracks like “Butterfly” by Herbie Hancock and the title track. Apart of that, he did some of his classics like “Batucada (The Beat)”, “The Bounce”, “Send One Your Love” and “Butter”. Especially noteworthy was his guitar player Big Mike Hart who not only played great rhythm guitar, but also got several opportunities to play extended solos to the crowd’s delight. Also bass player Marvin “Smitty” Smith and drummer Omari Williams got their spots to show their skills. They turned up the heat with “Sweet Thing” and “Grazin’ In The Grass”, having people get up and dance, leaving a satisfied crowd.
Saturday concerts were kicked off with The String Queens, a female string trio with violin, viola and cello, covering a wide range of music. After a rather traditional start with “Lift Every Voice” and “America The Beautiful”, they switched gears and covered some soul, R&B and funk tracks with their own string arrangements, creating something new and exciting. Among the songs covered were Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely”, EWF’s “September”, a nice 90ies medley with songs by Juvenile, Backstreet and others, like Anita Baker’s “Sweet Love”. Then they did some latin, most notably Chick Corea’s “Spain”, closing their great concert with “Stand By Me”. They played with so much fervor and joy, one just had to love them.
Next were the Special EFX All-Stars, led by guitarist Chieli Minucchi, the band featured Karen Briggs on violin, Lao Tizer on keyboards and Carl Cox on saxophones, plus Joel Rosenblatt on drums and Dave Livolsi on bass. They went through a strings of Special EFX classics like “Waterfall”, “Daybreak” and “Cruise Control”, plus a few songs from the catalogs of the other featured players, giving each one an opportunity to shine. A highlight was Chieli Minucchi’s rendition of “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers” showing off his tremendous guitar skills. As surprise guest appeared singer Elliot Yamin doing a few of his songs, “Wait For You” included, they ended their show with “Take Me To The River”.
In the small ballroom, the Canadian band Four80East appeared with special guest, saxophonist Jeff Kashiwa, plus also extensively featured, guitar player Wah Wah LeGrand. Unfortunately, original band member percussionist Tony Grace had trouble with his work visa and was not allowed to enter the US, so he was replaced by Curtis McCain, who did a good job. They went through a string of their classic songs, like “Noodle Soup”, while Jeff Kashiwa played a few of his own songs like “Three Day Weekend”, “Around The World” and “Hyde Park”, with audience participation. More of it was requested for “Eastside”, which is always fun. Wah Wah LeGrand was able to show is exquisite guitar skills, which was an additional bonus for me. As always, the band entertained the crowd to the fullest with their groovy and catchy tunes.
We rushed over to the Scottish Rite Cathedral, where the highly anticipated show by Brian Culbertson would take place. He had his trusty band with him, comprising of Eddie Miller on keys, Darnell “Showcase” Taylor on guitar, Rishon Odel on bass, Walter English III on keyboards, Chris Miskel on drums, plus Michael “Patches” Stewart on trumpet and Adrian Crutchfield on sax. The band was grooving hard and Brian Culbertson wowed the crowd with his awesome keyboard playing, doing several new tracks from his upcoming new album “Day Trip”. They covered EWF’s “Serpentine Fire” and Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music” which is always the climax of their show, having people dance in front of the stage. They returned for an encore, slowing it down with “Secret Garden”, bringing their show to a great end.
I was a little late for the Lalah Hathaway show that took place at the DoubleTree again, so I missed the first part of the show, which was opened by guitar player Jubu Smith who is quite a talent. He is not only a great singer, but also a terrific guitar player, bringing things nicely up to speed. After half an hour, he moved to the back and Lalah Hathaway entered the stage, looking good. After an uptempo start, she slowed it down, which allowed her great voice to be featured a lot better, with some classics like “When Your Life Was Low”, “Someday I’ll Fly Away” and “Love, Love, Love”, a song her late father Donny covered as well. Then she summoned Jubu to the front of the stage again to do Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” and Rufus’ “Sweet Thing” with heavy audience participation, people knew every word. Then surprise guest Gerald Albright entered the stage for one song, playing some great sax. She returned for two encores with some more uptempo material, ending a great show.
Sunday morning, the traditional jazz brunch took place in the ballroom of the DoubleTree hotel, people lined up at lavish buffets to get their meals and sat at big tables in front of the stage. At noon, the show by saxophonist Gerald Albright and band started, he played songs from his vast catalog like “New Beginnings”, “Taking Control”, the classic “Bermuda Nights”, “G-Wiggle”, the current “Full Throttle”, a nice cover of “Anniversary” and – my personal highlight – his rendition of James Brown’s “It’s A Man’s Man’s World”. During “G & Lee”, he gave his band members ample space to do their solos, each player is top-notch. He was well received.
It took me a short walk of the the Miller Center for the Arts, where Aubrey Logan and Ilya Serov would appear with the Reading Pops Orchestra. These concerts with the Reading Pops Orchestra are always special experiences you can only have at this festival, besides the Miller Center for the Arts is a great venue where you can enjoy the concerts in an intimate setting. Aubrey Logan started the show, wearing a nice dress, playing “Habanera” on the trombone, her singing is awesome, on this song, she even veered in to classical territory. She gave us her rendition of Carole King’s “Natural Woman”, before she did “I’ve Got The World On A String”, a song from the 30ies and “The Remembering Song” from her own catalog. Then Ilya Serov joined the stage do play his own “A Day In Rio” and “Blossom”, showing his great instrumental skills on the trumpet. He also went back to the golden days of the 30ies, singing classic songs from that era, plus Antionio Carlos Jobim’s “The Girl From Ipanema” sung in Portuguese and English. Then Aubrey Logan returned after a dress change to sing Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park”. For the last part, they joined together for more songs, ending a great concert. These two fit very well together.
I spent the next few days visiting friends in Greensboro, NC and Washington DC, taking the opportunity to see some live shows there – catching what was playing in that time slot – attending a show by violinist Damien Escobar at the Birchmere and Brazilian guitarist Diego Figueiredo at the Blues Alley.
The festival continued for me Thursday night with the traditional all-star jam, now called Chuck Loeb Memorial All-Star Jam in memory of guitarist Chuck Loeb who passed away much too early in 2017. The all-star jam was put together and led by him for many years, he still is sorely missed. Responsibility for the all-star jam now has been taken over by bassist Gerald Veasley and trumpet player Rick Braun, both longtime regulars of the festival as well. The ideal of the all-star jam is to bring together all players present during the festival and have some fun, improvising over familiar songs.
But before the all-star jam started, the Chuck Loeb Scholarship winners, the So What Trio, opened the show. The trio consists of drummer Dexter Sales, keyboardist/vocalist Noah Gibrey and guitarist/bassist Tommy Creighton, all still being in their teenage years, providing great 30 minutes of music, playing songs like “In Memory Of Elizabeth Read” by the Allman Brothers, “I Don’t Need No Doctor” by Ashford & Simpson and Chick Corea’s “Spain”, during the last one being joined by special guest Eric Marienthal on sax. They did a great job and were much appreciated.
After a short break, the all-star jam started with a plethora of artists filling the stage, playing “Always There” and “Put It Where You Want It”. The band consisted of Eric Valentine on drums, Ron Reinhardt on keys, Gerey Johnson on guitar, Curtis McCain on percussion, plus bass players Gerald Veasley, Nathaniel Phillips and Marcus Miller, trumpet player Rick Braun, keyboardist Bobby Lyle, guitarist Andrea Lisa, plus saxophonists Eric Marienthal, Eric Darius, Mindi Abair, Marcus Anderson, Alex Han and – last but not least – singer Rebecca Jade.
After these two opening numbers, the players alternated during the evening to give each an opportunity to shine. Andrea Lisa did “Feel Like Making Love” by Roberta Flack, singing the song and doing a nice guitar solo, supported by Eric Marienthal on sax. Then trumpet player Rick Braun provided his rendition of Chuck Mangione’s “Feels So Good” with some nice bass work by Nate Phillips. Then Mindi Abair and Rick Braun did their take on the Adderley’s “Work Song”, followed by “Caravan” featuring Marcus Miller, Alex Hahn, Eric Marienthal, Rick Braun and Bobby Lyle. Then Eric Darius, Rick Braun and Gerald Veasley did Herbie Hancock’s “Butterfly”. For a change of pace, Andrea Lisa did George Benson’s “Affirmation’” featuring Marcus Anderson on flute. For the finale, singer Rebecca Jade joined the stage to do Rufus’ “Tell Me Something Good” with all players back on stage, ending a great show, they played for over 2 hours. Everybody did a great job, and the selection of songs provided an entertaining concert.
Friday afternoon, bassists Jacob Webb and Phylicia Rae were scheduled to appear in the small ballroom. Jacob Webb runs the labal Next Paradigm and has built a successful roster of artists with a number of successful singles under their belt. They even started a jazz festival in Hawaii called the Aloha Jazz Festival taking place August 21-25, 2025. The two bassists have been touring together for a while, they provide a funky brand of smooth jazz, with one of the players soloing and the other taking on the supporting role. They kicked off their show with some great uptempo tunes, featuring label mate Saxl Rose playing a smooth tenor sax, perfectly fitting to the band. They slowed it down for the heartfelt “Another Soul Lost” dedicated to George Floyd with great sax work by Phillip “Doc” Martin, who joined in for that song, later doing his own “Doctor’s Order” from his upcoming release. Phylicia Rae did her radio hit “On My Way” that featured Gerald Albright on the original. Then Saxl Rose featured a couple of his songs, among them “Sunset”. Then they played a few nice covers with Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely” and Luther Vandross’ “Never Too Much”, before they had us guessing with some famous bass lines, playing short segments of “Rapper’s Delight”, “Brickhouse” and more, then turning up the heat with their covers of “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” and “Ain’t Nobody”, ending a great show with a lot of variety and top-notch musicianship.
At 6pm, the anticipated tribute show to the late saxophonist David Sanborn, who died in May 2024, was held at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, led by his longtime musical partner Marcus Miller, who composed and produced many of his hit-songs. The star-studded event featured Kirk Whalum, Mindi Abair, Eric Darius, Alex Hahn, Eric Marienthal, Ricky Peterson, Arlington Jones, Nate Phillips, Jay Williams, Kevin Turner, Munyungo Jackson, The Berks Horns, plus a special performance by his widow Alice Soyer Sanborn. Marcus Miller led through the show, telling about David Sanborn’s life and how he overcame Polio as child, with the saxophone first being employed as a therapy to improve his breathing. After hearing Hank Crawford, he chose playing the saxophone as his life goal, and the rest is history. Accordingly, they kicked off the show with “Soul Serenade” featuring Kirk Whalum on sax, before moving on to some later material like “Straight To Heart” flawlessly performed by Eric Marienthal, and “Lotus Blossom” played by Mindi Abair who poured her heart into the performance. They kicked it up a notch with “Snakes” done by Eric Darius, Kirk Whalum, Eric Marienthal and Alex Han in the spirit of a sax battle. Alex Han did a nice version of “Benny” in reference to the life-long friendship David Sanborn had with Benny Carter. Next was “Run For Cover” done by Eric Darius, with an extended bass solo by Marcus Miller pulling all the stops, provoking shouts of excitement from the audience. As a reference to his various collaborations – in this case the classic “Double Vision” album with Bob James – they did “Maputo” featuring Eric Marienthal, where both keyboardists Ricky Peterson (who was in David Sanborn’s band for more than 30 years) and Arlington Jones got their solo spots. Next was “Spooky” done by Kirk Whalum with a nice guitar solo by Kevin Turner, for this song, bassist Nate Phillips joined in, while Marcus Miller took on more the role of a conductor and MC. A special part was the appearance of David Sanborn’s widow Alice Soyer Sanborn, she was visibly moved and sang first a French song, then a song called “Bubu’s Song”, accompanying herself on the keyboard. The show continued with the Mike Sembello composition “The Dream”, beautifully performed by Mindi Abair, before they wrapped it up with “Chicago Funk” having everybody back on the stage. They were asked for an encore and did “Bang Bang”, ending a truly great concert and appropriate tribute to one of the greatest saxophone players who influenced a generation of saxophonists.
We rushed over to the DoubleTree where R&R were scheduled to play. It would be the first show for me after the mysterious transformation of Richard Elliot, who visibly lost a lot of weight and must have struggled with some health issues, which were never officially disclosed. I am happy to report that despite the fact that we now have to get used to a much leaner and slightly older looking man, his playing and stage presence have lost none of their power and appeal. The band consisted of Ron Reinhardt on keys, Eric Valentine on drums, Nate Phillips on bass and Gerey Johnson on guitar. They kicked it off with high energy, impressing the audience with flawless and tight horn playing, both Rick Braun and Richard Elliot are simply outstanding. Rick Braun did one of his most revered songs “Notorious”, segueing into “Wade Into Water”. Then Richard Elliot did his current “Very Delicious”, another hit. During the next song, both walked out into the audience, plus gave Nate Phillips some space for a great bass solo. Richard Elliot switched to the EWI for Kool & The Gang’s “Summer Madness”, then switching to the sax for Santana’s “Europa” where he blew the audience away, giving all he had got. Then they did “Use Me” with some audience participation, before Richard Elliot did a funky medley singing through his EWI, which was very cool. They raised the heat with “Grazing In The Grass” and “Groovin’”, segueing in to “Just My Imagination” and “Shotgun”. They weren’t left off the stage and did “Heartbreak Hotel” as an encore, leaving a satisfied crowd.
Saturday at noon, saxophonist Marcus Anderson with guests Julian Vaughn on bass and vocalist extraordinaire Kenny Lattimore were on at the DoubleTree hotel ballroom. Marcus Anderson and Julian Vaughn kicked it off high-energy with EWF’s “Can’t Hide Love”, followed by “Black Dynamite”, bringing things up to speed instantly. Marcus Anderson was dancing around on the stage working hard to give us a good time. Julian Vaughn did his “Care For You” with Marcus Anderson on flute, which was a nice change of pace. The heat rose again with a Bobby Brown medley featuring Julian Vaughn on bass, having people dance in front of the stage. Next he did “Busta Move”, before Marcus Anderson got romantic and put a rose into his sax, which was delivered to one lady in the front row that he selected. Julian Vaughn returned for another old-school funk medley, playing tracks like “Funky Stuff” and “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now”, turning the show into a veritable funk party. They finished with “Georgy Porgy” and others, wrapping up great show.
Without intermission, keeping the same band and adding two background singers (one of them Rebbeca Jade), the show continued with Kenny Lattimore. He sang the groovy “Never Too Busy” and “Take A Dose” to continue on a similar energy level, before slowing it down to get into his comfort zone. In between songs he told us how he became a singer and what kind of training he went trough (some of it was opera, which he expertly demonstrated) and how he ended up with Soul/R&B. He wowed the crowd with “You Are My Starship”, with a sax solo by Marcus Anderson. He also paid tribute to Luther Vandross with “Never Too Much”, “Promise Me” and “A House Is Not A Home”, which sent chills down my spine. He concluded with “For You” and “Love Me Back”, ending another excellent show.
In the middle of the afternoon, Andrea Lisa and Rebecca Jade were scheduled to appear in the small ballroom. While the whole band was dressed in black, both ladies wore pink. They opened with Sade’s “Sweetest Taboo”, after the opening track, Rebecca Jade was featured with her own songs “Bottle Up Magic” and “Gunshot”, followed by Andrea Lisa doing “Tribe”, “Calvert Street” and then sung her “Chocolates In Heaven”, which was very well received. Next was her great “Vortex”, an instrumental with a catchy hook, featuring her musical director Alex Churchill on sax, who contributed several great sax and flute solos during the concert. Rebecca Jade returned for another string of songs from her catalog, doing “Nothing Left For Us”, “Pure Imagination”, “Hourglass”, plus a special rendition of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive”. Then Andrea Lisa returned to play “Meet Me Again”, providing the highlight of the show with an extended guitar solo which showed her awesome skills, pulling all the stops. This was one my favorite moments of the whole festival. They paid a tribute to the 90ies with “I Love Your Smile”, before they ended their show with “Feelin’ Free”, a song they composed together. I really enjoyed this show.
At 6pm, Cory Wong appeared in the Scottish Rite Cathedral with his band, which had a 5 piece horn section, being an important part of his sound. He kicked it off high-energy with a number of tracks, no announcements, only short breaks between songs, a relentlessly rolling instrumental funk juggernaut. The leader was center stage, playing his guitar, alternating between rhythm and soloing, keeping the energy high. Every member of the band got solo spots, whenever a horn player had a solo, he came to the front of the stage, providing an entertaining show. I considered the set up of the band to be rather unusual, the drummer was set right at the front of the stage, putting him more into the spotlight, he provided some great drum solos, which could be seen very well. People were excited and their performance was well received.
Next was living legend bassist Stanley Clarke with his band of young players called 4EVER, consisting of Jeremiah Collier on drums, Julius Rodriguez on piano and keyboards, Colin Cook on guitar, Wallace Roney Jr. on trumpet and Cameron Graves on keyboards. At age 73, he is still at the height of his powers, creating new music and challenging himself and his band with new music. He played mostly acoustic bass and allowed each band member to stretch out and solo, stylistically mostly fusion jazz, often reminding me of Return To Forever, it was fun to watch the band play, there seems to be a lot of mutual respect and a friendly spirit of competition. The drummer was fun to watch, his playing was complex and served the band well. Stanley Clarke did several solos to the delight of the crowd, also playing some great electric bass, his sound is absolutely unique, one recognizes him right away. This concert was another highlight of the festival and Stanley Clarke is one of my musical heroes I have been listening to since he entered the scene.
Sunday at noon, the Sunday morning brunch followed by Gerald Veasley’s Unscripted Jam featuring Brian Simpson, Marcus Anderson, Eric Marienthal, Bobby Lyle, Julian Vaughn, Rebecca Jade, Andrea Lisa, Curtis McCain, Tim Hutson, Gerald Veasley and Walter Christopher took place. After everybody had gotten their food from the buffet plus some coffee from Marcus Anderson’s own brand AND Coffee, the show was started by host Gerald Veasley on bass, drummer Tim Hutson, Brian Simpson on keys and Eric Marienthal on sax, who did “Valdez In The Country” with the saxophonist raising the song to another level, plus a nice drums/percussion solo. Next was “Footprints” by Wayne Shorter which had Bobby Lyle join in, with nice interplay between Eric Marienthal and Bobby Lyle in a true jazz spirit. Then Andrea Lisa blew us away with her rendition of George Benson’s “Affirmation” showing that she is truly a rising star, after that she sang her version of “My Funny Valentine”, supported by Alex Churchill on sax, which was another highlight of the show. Singer Walter Christopher joined in to do Grover Washington Jr.’s “Just The Two Of Us” with some nice sax work by Marcus Anderson. Next was songstress Rebecca Jade giving her renditions of Sade’s “Paradise” supported by bassist Julian Vaughn, before she delved into Deniece Williams’ “Free” which is always a crowd pleaser. She upped it up a bit with “Stormy Monday Blues” with lots of great solos, especially Marcus Anderson stole the show with his vocal contributions. His twin brother Marcel Anderson joined in to sing a heartfelt version of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”. Bobby Lyle did a beautiful solo acoustic piano piece of “New York State Of Mind” showing his prowess and class, before they added Marcus Anderson on sax to do “In A Sentimental Mood” in a laid back acoustic jazz setting. Eric Marienthal returned for “St. Thomas” by Sonny Rollins which culminated in veritable sax and drums battle. Then Brian Simpson did his classic hit “It’s All Good” from 2005 with Marcus Anderson on sax. For the finale, they chose Kool & The Gang’s “Get Down On It” featuring bassist Julian Vaughn, ending an awesome show after playing for over 2 hours, in addition bringing the festival to its close.
To sum it up, this year’s 34th edition of the Berks Jazz Festival was another winner with tons of great music, a few surprises and – above all – meeting friends and artists. Thanks to everybody who had a hand in it. I will be back!