Celebrate Peace, Hope & Joy With AMANI At Watchung Arts Center

Press release from The Watchung Arts Center:

Nov. 23, 2020

The Watchung Arts Center ushers in the holiday season with a musical night capturing the rich and joyous sounds of the season. AMANI will perform on Saturday, December 12, at 8 PM. Due to the Pandemic this special Concert will be streamed LIVE from the Watchung Arts Center to the comfort and safety of your home via Zoom.

AMANI was formed to share the concept of peace through music, performing for people of all ages, races, and religious affiliations. AMANI will perform a selection of holiday favorites as well as some hits from a variety of genres including The Great American Songbook, Gospel, R&B, Jazz, Bossa nova, and Broadway. This will be the 17th Annual Holiday visit to the WAC by Eigen, who has been a frequent contributor to the Center’s “JaZZ in the Gallery” series with his Beacon Hill Jazz Band as well as with other noted jazz performers.

The members of the group are veteran musicians led by Marty Eigen on sax and flute, vocalist Stephen Fuller, pianist Dave Braham, guitarist Flip Peters, bassist Ben Rubens, and Vern Mobley on drums.

Marty Eigen is the founder of AMANI and the leader of Beacon Hill Musicians. He plays tenor sax, flute, baritone sax, and clarinet on occasion. He has appeared many times at the Watchung Arts Center, Bickford Theatre and at Shanghai Jazz in Madison, and Trumpets in Montclair. Since 2015 Marty has produced annual benefit concerts to raise money for The Seeing Eye.

Stephen Fuller’s deep rich voice and soulful renditions have long made him a favorite with sophisticated audiences. Fuller is best known for his smooth virtuosity, which spans the breadth of jazz standards, blues, swing, bossa nova and contemporary classics. As a lead vocalist, he has worked with a number of jazz bands and singing groups, and is a very talented band leader. A graduate of Newark’s Arts High School and Colgate University, Stephen credits his musical influences to Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Hartman, Joe Williams, Jon Lucien and Bill Withers.

Dave Braham has performed and/or recorded with Irene Reid, Houston Person, Etta Jones, Mark Murphy, Al Hibbler, Arthur Prysock, Lou Donaldson, David "Fathead" Newman, Warren Vache, Al Grey, Slide Hampton and a host of other great jazz musicians and vocalists. Dave has two recordings as a leader, "Blue Gardenia"(BlueJay Records) and "To be Free"(RandomAct Records).
Flip Peters has been performing as a guitarist and singer since the early 1970s. As a member of the New York club date scene, Flip has been a house musician at The Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center, The World Trade Center, The Plaza Hotel, The Waldorf Astoria and many other top venues in the New York area. He has performed with many of the top freelance Jazz and Classical musicians in the New York Metro area.

Upright and electric bassist Ben Rubens has rapidly developed a reputation for being a supportive and well-rounded rhythm section stalwart. His blessings include being the final bass player to play with drum heroes Al Harewood and Killer Ray Appleton. Additionally, Ben was personally invited into the home of saxophone icon Frank Wess three different times to play marathon length sessions.

Vern Mobley is a drummer at heart who has been playing for nearly 3 decades. During that time, he has worked tirelessly to craft an unmistakable drumming style and talents unrivaled in the Lehigh Valley. Often playing multiple rhythmic patterns while playing additional percussion instruments, Vern's sound often gives the illusion of multiple drummers/percussionists playing the drum kit simultaneously.

Tickets are $20 per person. The box office will close at 5PM Saturday, December 12. The Zoom link will be shared via email to ticket holders by 6PM. Buying tickets in advance is strongly recommended and can be purchased securely through Eventbrite (watchungartscenter.eventbrite.com).

The Watchung Arts Center, located at 18 Stirling Road in Watchung on the Watchung Circle, is a multi-disciplinary arts facility serving Watchung, the surrounding communities and the Tri-State Area. To obtain more information about upcoming performances, classes and workshops, and monthly art exhibitions, please visit WatchungArts.org or call 908-753-0190.

This press release was produced by The Watchung Arts Center. The views expressed here are the author's own.