DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (October 20, 2023) – The North East Florida Jazz Association (NEFJA) is proud to announce that the Nat Adderley Jr. Quartet featuring internationally acclaimed Jazz pianist, bandleader, producer and arranger Nat Adderley, Jr. will be performing a concert at NEFJA’s 20th annual Jeep McCoy Memorial Scholarship Concert Supper, Sunday, October 29 at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach.
Adderley is best known for his more than 20-year tenure as music director, arranger, producer, and frequent co-writer for Rhythm and Blues legend Luther Vandross. His work as a pianist can be heard on countless other studio recordings, as well as all the music used in the Broadway production of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson.”
Since returning home to his Jazz roots, Adderley and his ensemble have performed all over the country and the world, including Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo, Jakarta, and Vienna, and frequently in New York. Most recently he has worked with notable Jazz musicians including Vincent Herring, Regina Carter, Tom Scott and Jay Hoggard, whose January 2023 CD release, “Raise Your Spirit Consciousness” features Nat on piano.
The Nat Adderley Quartet consists of some of the finest contemporary Jazz musicians.
Chris Berger is one of the most sought after Jazz bassists in New York City. He has performed and recorded with such Jazz luminaries as Joe Lavana, Mondello Lowe, Junior Mance, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Mickey Roker, Loston Harris, Russell Malone and Maria Schneider’s big band. He also toured the United States, Europe, and Asia with legendary trumpeter Maynard Ferguson and his Big Bop Nouveau.
Saxophonist Mike Lee balances a thriving performing career with a distinguished teaching resume. He is a professor of Jazz saxophone at Montclair State University, New Jersey and he performs regularly at the Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, and the Jazz Gallery in New York City. His current associations include the Jimmy Heath Orchestra, the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra, Wallace Roney Universal Orchestra, Loston Harris Trio, and the Roy Hargrove Big Band.
Percussionist Dwayne “Cook” Broadnax studied at the Berkeley College of Music and has worked with many musical greats including Kevin Eubanks, Eartha Kitt, Illinois Jacquet, Savion Glover as well as performing for 14 years with Little Jimmy Scott. Broadnax also worked in Spike Lee’s film “Malcolm X“ and television’s “Madam Secretary.” An adjunct professor at Long Island University, he has toured Europe and Japan and has played for three Presidential inaugurations.
The late Eugene “Jeep” McCoy and his wife Muriel founded NEFJA in 1986, shortly after they moved to Palm Coast. Disappointed by the lack of opportunities to hear good live Jazz locally back then, the McCoys created the North East Florida Jazz Association. The mission of the not-for-profit organization has always been to keep Jazz alive by presenting concerts featuring world class Jazz musicians for local audiences; and to perpetuate Jazz, America’s indigenous art form by providing scholarships for talented young musicians enrolled in a Jazz Studies program at a Florida college or university.
Jeep McCoy passed in 2002 and since then, Muriel McCoy has served as President. Since its inception, NEFJA has presented more than 130 Jazz-related concerts and events and has awarded more than 88 scholarships. The Jeep McCoy Memorial Scholarship Concert Supper is the organization’s primary fundraiser with all proceeds going to provide additional scholarships.
The “Jeep” McCoy Memorial Scholarship Concert/Supper will be held from 4 – 7 PM on Sunday, October 29 at the Museum of Arts & Sciences, 352 S. Nova Rd, Daytona Beach. The cost for the Concert AND Supper is $80. Tickets are also available for the concert only at $40. They can be purchased online (with no service charge) at www.nefja.org, at Chez Jacqueline (386-447-1650) in Palm Coast, or by calling Carolyn Hawkins at 386-793-0182 or Muriel McCoy at 386-445-1329.
