Catching Up with Roland's Notes - 29th Anniversary Newsletter
29TH ANNIVERSARY NEWSLETTER
&
New Concert Announcement!
June 1st, 2022 - Wow! Here we are. Twenty-nine years to the day of our first live jazz concert.
I was asked recently, “How did the promoting thing happen, anyways?” I replied as I always reply, “Completely by accident!”
Yes, it really did happen by accident. Terri, my ex-wife, and I were working at Record Hut, the music store we opened on June 1st, 1985. She was perusing through our store’s TicketMaster computer when she noticed jazz guitarist Ken Navarro was playing at the Jazz & Blues Club in downtown Orlando. We sold Ken’s music in the store, so she suggested I call him. His number was on his CDs, so I did. And here we are 29 years later!
Ken Navarro and Company - 1993
Interesting fact: Although the Ken Navarro concert June 1st, 1993, was Roland’s first concert as Brevard Jazz Series. Many are not aware that Ken Navarro wasn’t Roland’s first concert as a promoter. Believe it or not, he presented the rap group Two Live Crew in the summer of 1989 as they toured for their album release, “Nasty as They Wanna Be”. The concert was contracted as a “Clean”, all-ages concert - no nasty words were to be sung. So, the band did not sing any of the nasty words, but everyone in the audience did! That evening, as Roland sat outside the Melbourne Convention Center, he really thought he would end up getting arrested by the time the concert ended. Thankfully he got through that concert in one piece!
Club Barracudas - 1990s
The musical journey I’ve been on for the last 45 years has taken many twists and turns. So has the business of presenting concerts and events.
From those early ballroom concerts of the early 1990s, and the unforgettable concerts at Club Barracudas in Cocoa, to the hundreds of King Center concerts, two cruises and many jazz weekend events, I know our success has truly been a blessing, and can be attributed to so many incredible people who have worked so hard to move our dream forward. Success comes when people like you – who are passionate about live music - continue to support us!
Rick Braun - 2005
Interesting Fact: The catalyst for Brevard Jazz Series was in part due to the success of “The Lite Jazz Brunch” - a Contemporary Jazz radio show that Roland produced for 16 years every Sunday morning on Lite Rock 99.3 FM in Cocoa. Every week from October of 1992 to the summer of 2008, Roland recorded four hours of Contemporary Jazz on four CDs and delivered it to the radio station. For many years in the 90’s and early 2000s the Lite Jazz Brunch was the most listened to specialty radio show in Brevard on Sunday mornings.
This 29th Anniversary has an extra special meaning this year. Today we are excited and proud to announce that “An Evening with Dave Koz and Friends 25th Anniversary Christmas Tour” is coming to the King Center!
This year Dave Koz brings with him three long-time and beloved friends. Peter White first played for us in Melbourne in January of 1995. He shared the King Center stage with saxophonist Warren Hill back then, as the very first “Guitars and Saxes” show. Peter has graced us with his talent and music for many years since, including many of his Peter White Christmas concerts.
Rick Braun has performed at our Melbourne stages since back in the mid-1990s. On his own, with Jazz Attack, and with Dave Koz and Peter White. Rick also performed for our Sizzlin’ Hot Summer Concert Series in 2018 and as part of the Jazz Weekend events we created.
David Benoit was a part of the first Smooth Jazz Christmas performance at the King Center back in December of 1997. He was a member of the Smooth Jazz Christmas concerts for the first several years we brought them to the King Center. David came back in 2017 as a special guest for the Dave Koz and Friends 20th Anniversary Tour. Out of the twelve years we’ve presented Dave Koz & Friends Christmas Tour in Melbourne, David Benoit has been a part of the tour for many of those years.
With Dave Koz, David Benoit, Rick Braun and Peter White comes one of today’s most talented female vocalists, Rebecca Jade! Rebecca has an amazing voice that you are bound to fall in love in with. We are so excited to have them all!!
I hope our Jazz Family and everyone who loves and appreciates Smooth and Contemporary Jazz will join us Tuesday, November 29th at the King Center for what has become a Brevard Holiday tradition!
Roland and Dave Koz - back in the day!
How to buy your tickets to Dave Koz and Friends 25th Anniversary Christmas Tour before they go on sale to the public:
You can help us underwrite our Emerging Artists Series and have an opportunity to purchase your Dave Koz & Friends tickets before the general public by donating $25 or more to our Emerging Artists Series project now.
When you donate $25 or more before 6 pm on June 7th, you’ll receive via email a special pre-sale code and instructions to purchase Dave Koz and Friends 25th Anniversary Tour concert tickets on June 8th beginning at 12 noon. Your donation is tax deductible and will help us in our efforts to open live music venue doors to a new generation of jazz artists and fans!
Dave Koz and Friends 25th Anniversary Christmas Tour tickets go on sale to the general public through the BMG and King Center websites on Friday, June 10th at 10 am. Ticket purchasers are always welcome to call us at 321-783-9004 with any questions or for assistance buying your tickets.
Interesting fact: Roland began playing drums in the Washington DC area with touring bands in October of 1976. He has performed music, sold music, and continues to promote live music today.
Every year when I sit to write this anniversary email, I ask myself, “So, what is ahead for me and the musical journey I’ve been on for over 45 years?
Soon my journey will take me to write my memoirs. Ahead for me is my marriage to Maureen and expanding our family. There are sailing and cruising journeys down the ICW and enjoying nature and the simple gifts God offers by being in nature’s flow. Ahead for me is more rest and revitalizing of my life's visions, passions, and my body. In the years ahead I see more live music, but only in the very distinctive ways that God will inspire me to bring live music forward.
If you wish, please share a special moment or thought that you’ve had at one of our concerts. I'd love to read your stories. Email me at Roland@JazzSeries.com.
I am indebted to you. I love each of you very much. May the good Lord bless you and yours….
Roland, Maureen,
and all our team members since June 1st, 1985!