With summer turning on the heat, what better way to chill out than with some cool jazz at The Chelsea at Warren?Each summer, this assisted- living community, home to 80 seniors, invites the public to join them in a free, month-long Senior Summer School lecture series. Three of the lectures in this year's series promise to have listeners reminiscing about the jazz greats and Big Bands of yesteryear.
Big Bands
If even the mention of Big Band music gets your toes tapping and your heart racing, then Rick Busciglio's interactive presentation today on the Evolution of the Big Band, is for you.
A retired broadcast executive, radio/TV host and marketer for cable and satellite networks, Busciglio specializes in what he calls, "edu-tainment." Support-ed by an audio/video presentation, he interacts with his listeners as he shares the stories behind well-known names from the '30s and '40s, such as Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and Harry James.
"The 55-and-up set loves this music as much as I do," Busciglio said. "It's tremendously rewarding to see their enjoyment mirrored in their faces and in their tapping feet."
Ladies of Swing
On Thursday, join accomplished jazz singer Vickie Smith for A Tribute to the Ladies of Swing. Drawing on such legends of the Swing era as The Andrew Sisters, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan and Rosemary Clooney, Smith interweaves background information about these stars into her high-energy performance of their classic hits.
She explains how each of these legends made the transition from "chick singers," who were viewed as a novelty, to well-respected musicians at the top of their field.
"My grandparents greatly influenced my taste in music, with loads of original 78-rpm records, an antique hand-cranked victrola and stories that brought the music to life," she said.
Smith said she is touched by the ability of music to transcend illness.
"I would sing songs from The Andrews Sisters and Rosemary Clooney to my grandmother, who was dying of cancer. Despite her illness, she would sing along with me," she said.
"The songs I choose to share with audiences are timeless, each with a body and soul all their own. My grandparents inspired me with the music they grew up with, and now I'm giving it back to seniors. I will never stop singing for them," Smith said.
History of jazz
Professor Randall Westbrook, educator, social commentator and historian, will walk listeners through A Brief History of Jazz on Monday.
Westbrook explained that jazz traces its origins to two seemingly disparate sources: African rhythms and European music forms. Jazz is said to have originated in New Orleans, where slaves were being taught to play the piano, Westbrook said. The slaves added their own African rhythms to the music, creating what has come to be known as jazz.
It's ironic, Westbrook said, that the first jazz music was played under duress.
"Yet from the very beginning, jazz was always about the richness of this country. However we got here, the music redeems us," he said.
A faculty member at Fairleigh Dickinson University's School of Education, Madison, Westbrook is a musician in his own right: He sings and plays the guitar and the bass. This is his third season with Summer School at Chelsea. In past seasons, he had lectured about Paul Robeson and also about slavery in New Jersey.
Widely considered to be an expert on African American cultural history, Westbrook was a featured historian on the award-winning PBS documentary in the American Masters Series, "Paul Robeson: Here I Stand."
About the Chelsea at Warren
Activity Director Kathryn Richards expects about 40 of Chelsea's own residents to flock to each lecture.
"Residents may need help with activities of daily living, but they still want to learn and grow," she said.
The Chelsea at Warren, which opened in 1999, is one of six Chelsea senior residences in the state. Residents rent their rooms on a month-to-month basis. The Chelsea at Warren prides itself on its superior staff, low turnover rate and continuity of care. For more information about The Chelsea at Warren or to register for a lecture, call (908) 903-0911.
from the Courier News website www.c-n.com
