I have seen the success of “Coffee House” events and strongly believed that if we held our first, it would be a great success. So, I began to spread the word about hosting one and looked for those interested in serving on a committee.  Through word of mouth and prayer, the vision was established and we had a group interested in organizing it so it was now time to approach the leadership for approval.  I was very pleased to receive an email from our pastor telling me that the idea was approved and to begin planning an event.

Our event is upon us and is going to be held on Saturday, October 28 at 6:00pm in the multi-purpose room downstairs in the church.  The vision of this is to create a cozy atmosphere within the church where people can come without having the stress of having to bring something.  I wanted a night out that would be social and rewarding yet still deliver a good Christian message. We can be with friends and church members sharing good food and music.  I noticed that after each of the three events at the Pilgrim Church, there was a noticeable surge of enthusiasm and energy within the church.  Each of the events was held on a Saturday so the next day in church there was a great feeling of camaraderie.  It is a great recipe of success for the church.  Whenever a church can bring people together socially and they have a great time, it is a great thing. But, when you add into that a strong Christian message it will actually draw people closer to the church and ultimately God.  Two great things to happen any church and anyone!

Although leading this charge has been a tremendous amount of work, lots of phone calls, meetings and decisions to make, I am Blessed to have a great committee to work with and a growing spirit for this event within the church.  We have a floor plan design to really transform our multi-purpose room into a quaint, yet classy restaurant feel with a stage.  We have 16 great performances lined up over two sets.  Plus, what has really been a big hit in our other events has been the trivia contest.  During the intermission, the audience gets to be a participant.  I created a trivia contest mainly of pop culture, TV and movie questions from yesteryear that definitely create a nostalgic feeling.  I also added an audio section so everyone gets to hear some great sounds of the past.  Again, this will be a great time for everyone.  In addition to the entertainment and trivia, we have a lot of great refreshment available. The best part of it all is, it is free and there is no admission to enter.  Anyone can come.  If you are reading this and will be around on the 28^th, please come over and check out this event. It will be fun.

I want people to feel like they can come to church for events other than just a Sunday service. To be able to know that there is so much more than just one hour a week! An opportunity to come to an event that does not have a sermon yet is still very spiritually rewarding. I really believe this event will do that. We have been working hard to advertise and share the word of this event.  If you are able, I would love to see you attend.

Here is our address:

Bethel Memorial Baptist Church
715 Chest Lane
Easton, Pa. 18045

If you need directions or have any questions, please feel free to call me (908) 619-4502.  I would be only too glad to assist you.

Blessings to you all!!

The Jack Furlong Orchestra is a talented 12pc. big band that was formed in 2014. Although still relatively new to the scene, they have entertained audiences throughout Central New Jersey for concerts, weddings and private shows.   The band is comprised of some of the top musical talent you will find.  They play a diverse selection of music from the world of jazz, classic standards, and even a hint of pop and favorite television theme songs.  I know this is shaping up to be a great concert as there will definitely be something for everyone. It will be a great way to spend a summer night in August.  More information about this concert can be found at www.jackfurlong.com/orchestra

I have had the privilege of knowing Jack for many years.  I met him while he was a music major at Lafayette College.  I was hired, at the time, to full out the trumpet section for a few semesters.  I then hired Jack to be a member of the Vince Pettinelli Orchestra and have enjoyed his music and friendship ever since.  In addition to this ensemble, Jack is well known for the award winning Jack Furlong Quartet.  Since 2006, the quartet has recorded 3 albums (And That Happened, Jazzeration, and Bunnies in Limbo.) His most recent recording, Charity, is a duet with Sean Gough, piano and features Christian hymns performed in a jazz setting. The title of Charity was chosen because all the proceeds from the CD sales were donated to 3 local charities.

Music is not the only way where Jack spends his time.  He is an avid baseball fan and local baseball umpire. In 2013 he founded the OSIP Foundation.  OSIP stands for Outstanding Sportsmanship is Paramount.  Its mission is 1) To provide financial aid and assistance to those affected by acts of aggression due to poor sportsmanship and/or fanship, and
2) To raise awareness of the need for better sportsmanship in all capacities throughout sports.
Jack ultimately believes that all sporting events and competitions in life can be held without malice and with respect for all involved.  A very noble desire and foundation created by Jack.

The Howe Commons (www.howecommons.com) is a beautiful place to listen to a concert.  The property is made up of five spacious buildings with plenty of off-street parking that blended with the quaint Colonial feeling of the town. The finished product squared off the Commons, creating a dramatic town square that accentuates the historic center-piece of the property, the Abey Building – originally a residential mansion. These common areas heightened the aesthetic appeal and provide a beautiful backdrop for any performance.

I know the concert is going to be great and a fun way to spend a Sunday evening in August. If you are able to come, it is advised to bring a lawn chair.  If the weather is iffy that day and you are unsure about making the trip, give me a call and I can let you know if it is postponed or not. You can reach me on my cell at 908-619-4502.  I hope to see you there!!!

This passion and dedication to music led to the formation of the Arturo Sandoval Institute (ASI) in 2012.  The Institute is focused on Educating, Inspiring and Supporting music programs and students without regard to financial circumstances.  The ASI can be found at www.arturosandovalinstitute.org.

One great thing they do is to provide 90 minute videos of clinics featuring Arturo with a great musician of our time.  These videos are then uploaded free to Youtube. What a great opportunity for anyone to sit and watch 2 great musicians discuss playing techniques, and anything else music related.

Below are some of the videos featured.  I have personally found these to be of a great educational value.  The fact that I can sit and watch these videos feeling like I am getting a private lesson myself is just awesome.  Plus, this is all for FREE! Thank you to Arturo and the ASI for providing this great learning tool for all of us.

Arturo with Wayne Bergeron

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhT6TtlqXtg&t=19s

In this video Arturo and Wayne share stories of the music business and discuss

playing techniques.  Highly recommended!

Arturo Sandoval Master Class Video #1 – The Warm Up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1r4fpTDIkQ

Arturo Sandoval Master Class Video #2 – Listening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VdYmj8n4TE

These 2 videos are much shorter and give great insight to Arturo’s warm up

philosophy as well as his listening approach to jazz. Both are great!

 
Arturo with Malcom McNab and Gary Grant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrOwe9dM1lI

A video featuring Malcom and Gary with special guest Chuck Findley. Four

legends of trumpet talking and discussing the business!

I know it is the way of life today and our technology has driven our lives for the past 10 years. But, there are dangers to messaging texting and posting.  When you can sit behind a screen or phone and say something without looking at the person, as we have seen on many occasions, what can be said is often vile, cruel and hurtful.  Things we would not say in person but feel the safety of a screen to hide behind.  Is this really great for our culture? Can the young minds of today actually verbally communicate with each other?  I don’t think so.  Is our youth growing up learning to help and work with others?  I really can’t say for sure.  What would they do if social media didn’t exist?  Would they know how to handle interpersonal relationships?

Another example of being lost in a phone happened last year in Polk County, Florida.  A 27-year-old woman was walking on a sidewalk and approached a railroad crossing.  With the train approaching and the conductor blowing the whistle, she continued to walk looking down texting not having any idea that a 100ton train was coming.  Well, sure enough, she NEVER looked up and was hit by the train and thrown several feet. Here is the YouTube clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ClUvrz-7pA   She was treated for a broken arm and other trauma. No other info was given on her condition.  But I cannot, for the life of me, understand how you can walk by a crossing and not even think about looking up for the train especially with a loud horn blowing.  Didn’t we all learn to look both ways before crossing?  Oh wait, that was the 1980’s.  What is on the phone that is so important to not even consider looking where you are going?

The news reporter for the story didn’t say whether or not the phone survived.

Can we Talk????

Hollywood has certainly taken notice and produced many films the past several years for this time of year.  However, many are either rips offs of old themes, an over the top amount of blood and guts or so ridiculously fake causing the seasoned movie enthusiast to tune out and be bored at the lack of creativity.

One such movie did not do this.  In 1978 John Carpenter directed AND wrote the musical score for the movie Halloween.  Featuring Michael Myers as the “boogeyman” tormenting the town of Haddonfield, Carpenter uses a simplistic piano riff he created which is known all over the world and was used brilliantly in the movie.  His use of the riff along with creative motivic development really well frames the scary feeling a viewer has when watching this movie. When hearing this riff while watching the film or wherever you might hear it, you can’t help but think, “Oh, No, run”!   It is not the blood and guts that makes this movie scary, but the creative way Carpenter uses music to draw in the viewer and move their emotions. There isn’t a very large cast and stars Jamie Lee Curtis and the late Donald Pleasence. Many scenes are either dimly lit, outdoors on a breezy night or with few actors. This is a great canvas, which allows Carpenter to illustrate his simple instrumental pattern eliciting a sense of fear or scare in all of us.  On a small budget of $300K it grossed over $70 million at the box office worldwide. With its success, of course, came a marketing blitz.  Comic books, Halloween costumes, video games, merchandise and 10 more Halloween movies since 1978 have been produced.  An amazing amount of money created because of this movie and what I feel is its strength, the piano theme.

Now, I am not a big horror movie fan and do not care to watch the blood and guts type of movies, but, the 1978 Halloween movie is one that I will turn on when I see it airing locally during this time of year just to enjoy the artistry of John Carpenter.

Here is a great clip of the end of the movie with many of the creative musical elements prominently featured.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdJChAvbdF0

My father proudly served in the Army during World War II in the 76th Infantry Division. Later in life, he also volunteered for the local Veteran’s Affairs Office and served as Commander of the American Legion Post 446. Growing up in a solid Christian family, I learned my value system and began to understand what it meant to be an American Patriot. One way this happened for me which opened my eyes to our country began in the 6th grade. When I was a 6th grader, I started playing TAPS for military funerals. My dad would take me out of school and I would play TAPS at the cemetery at the conclusion of the grave site service. The experience of knowing that TAPS is the final salute to that individual was inspiring. Watching the firing squad, family and those in attendance stand at attention honoring the deceased as I played was incredibly powerful as well as adding a lot of pressure to not make a mistake! It really cemented in my mind the feelings for our nation. I’ve played TAPS hundreds of times since and still today, if available, will volunteer my time and go anywhere I need to play for a funeral, service or Veteran’s Day program. It pains me to see our Veteran’s not have a proper military funeral. This experience at such an early age began to shape who I am today. I developed a great respect and honor for our Veteran’s and our country.

I feel far too often many take our country for granted. Even though I did not serve in the Armed Services, I have great respect for those who did and the impact their contribution has had on our country. As a teenager, I was always involved in parades on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. They were always great displays of patriotism of those who love our country. My dad also served as a local councilman in our community which gave me a little insight on our government and how it works. Again, as a young kid, these images and experiences shaped my love for our country.

As I look at the state of our Country recently, it has become very clear to me that America is a nation in crisis. Everyone has an opinion and if you don’t agree with someone’s, problems arise. You are called out as being some sort of prejudiced person. Our racial divide has grown and protest groups have formed with the perception that they are here to solve the problem. Yet, there is a strong undercurrent of questionable methods to achieve the goals of these groups. When America saw the Civil Rights protests of the 1950’s begin, the leader, Dr. Martin Luther King always advocated for peaceful demonstrations or actions. One famous example happened in 1955 which made history for the Civil Rights movement. Rosa Parks, a seamstress who routinely took public transportation, was arrested for not giving up her seat on a public bus to a white person on her way home from work on a cold evening in December. Dr. King jumped to her defense and the next day at a church meeting organized a protest in a way that affected the situation causing positive change to occur and the Civil Rights Movement was changed forever. What he proposed was a boycott of the public transit system immediately. Well, the next day and thereafter, the bus companies began to struggle. Many of their riders were African-Americans and without them on the bus, their income dropped. One year later, the Federal Court ruled against busses segregated by color and allowed anyone to board a public bus at any time regardless of race or color. This effective protest by Dr. King proved to be successful. It was peaceful and saw results.

It seems to me there are some that feel successful protests are those where damage to public property occur, fires are started and unruly behavior is celebrated. But does that really reflect on the manner and style of Dr. King? I feel the key ingredient that Dr. King always kept as his focus was his Faith. His protests and marches were created with lawful behavior only considered. Do the protests we’ve seen in places like St. Louis, Baltimore and others sound like they are filled with a Faith and lawful centered focus? Random attacks on police seemingly to justify a revenge behavior?

But I ask, why has so much of our society turned away from God and his message of Love and Peace? Instead, choosing a path of moral depravity which is not going to solve any problem. It is only going to continue to create social unrest and never drive to find peaceful solutions to America’s problems. Perhaps our nation needs a healthy dose of the what our founders meant when the sovereignty of our country was formed Under God. If we constantly continue to live in the “what makes me feel good” society as opposed to what God wants from us, we are choosing the future of our country…