Gospel/Jazz Concert Coming to Eisenhower Park

A Gospel Meets Jazz Concert featuring Everton Bailey and the Instrumental Sounds of Praise will take place at Eisenhower Park’s Harry Chapin Lakeside Theatre in East Meadow on Saturday, Aug. 20. The show will begin at 8 p.m. with a special African American program from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.

Everton Bailey is the founder and leader of the Everton Bailey and Instrumental Sounds of Praise band. The band is made up of a diverse group of musicians from various churches all around the New York area. The music is a hot blend where “gospel/jazz meets reggae/funk” and has a purpose of positive inspiration and encouragement for its listeners. The sound of hot horns -- saxes, trumpets and trombones -- with keyboards and a strong “drum and bass riddim section” make for a unique sound that is just as much at home in the church as it is in the jazz club or concert hall.

Inspired and influenced by the sounds of the Winans, Donnie McClurkin, Kirk Franklin, Skatalites, Bob Marley, Kool and The Gang, Ohio Players, Earth, Wind and Fire, and even Count Basie and Duke Ellington, the ISOP! sound experience is something you have to hear to believe. They have been performing around and “mashing up” churches around the New York area for more than two years now and have definitely drawn praises from all that have heard this new group with a “new sound!” The musicians have roots from all over the Caribbean -- Jamaica, Haiti, Panama, Antigua, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and more, and musically they have created a fusion of styles that will please your mind, soul and spirit!