Date: February 16, 2007

Written By: Zachary Herrmann

Legendary jazz saxophonist and Blue Note Records alum James Moody will headline a benefit concert at B.B. King’s Blues Club and Grill in New York City on March 26. Proceeds from “Moody & Friends” will go to the James Moody Scholarship Fund at Purchase College, a New York institution that encompasses liberal arts studies and professional training in the visual and performing arts. Tickets are $100 and include the performance as well as a birthday toast with Moody and other noted jazz artists.

According to the press release, “NEA Jazz Master James Moody will be joined by Todd Coolman, bass; NEA Jazz Master Paquito D'Rivera, clarinet and saxophone; Jon Faddis, trumpet; Roberta Gambarini, vocals; Roy Hargrove, trumpet; John Lee, bass; Mike Longo, piano; Jeremy Monteiro, piano; Adam Nussbaum, drums; Jimmy Owens, trumpet; Ken Peplowski, clarinet and saxophone; Renee Rosnes, piano; and Yotam Silberstein, guitar. Faddis will serve as music director for the concert.”

Moody enlisted in Dizzy Gillespie’s influential bebop big band in 1946. Two years later, he fronted James Moody and His Bop Men, a group steeped in improvisation. His most famous composition “Moody’s Mood for Love” has been covered by Eddie Jefferson, Aretha Franklin, George Benson, Van Morrison and, most recently, Queen Latifah.

In 2005, Moody and his wife Linda founded the James Moody Scholarship Fund to ensure the future of jazz. Potential candidates for the Fund must exhibit both musical and scholastic excellence as well as community leadership. The annual concert serves as the chief fundraising effort for the scholarship.

To order tickets, email moodyscholarship@cox.net. For more information, call (619) 698-2988 or visit www.jamesmoodyscholarship.com.