Youth jazz appreciation night set Oct. 12 at Bethany Blues

Bethany Blues has long been a destination for music locally. Leading up to jazz weekend in Rehoboth Beach, Bethany Blues of Lewes will be welcoming the future of jazz into their venue from 6 to 9 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 12.

This very special night is part of the True Blue Jazz Series, a 501c3 organization founded by Eddie Sherman and Peggy Raley that aims to preserve the American jazz standard through sponsoring local performances. Along with bringing in bigger acts, a cornerstone of their mission is to foster future generations of musicians, and the Youth Jazz Appreciation Night is a culmination of that vision.

For Kevin Roberts, co-owner of Bethany Blues and purveyor of music for the Lewes location, it was Raley who first inspired him to bring in varying music styles, including jazz and blues acts to the restaurant. "I saw her perform about seven years ago in Rehoboth and it was at that point I knew I wanted to have jazz music at Blues." Roberts says. Now, he is honored to be hosting this special evening for up-and-coming artists.

"For the youth jazz performance, the focus is to showcase local, young musicians in a club environment. We're thrilled that Blues is partnering with us to showcase our local music students and their band directors." Raley says. The evening will feature local students, elementary through high school aged, along with their band directors. The Cape Henlopen High School Jazz Combo will be performing, as well as a combo from Sussex Tech. Frankie Nanna, a 16-year-old with phenomenal piano talent, will also be on hand," says Roberts.

True Blue Jazz Series, now in its fourth year, went from doing four shows a year in one location to 11 performances spread over five venues, and this growth allows them to place their focus on the future: local children. "There has been a void in the community for kids, and we want to revive our effort for children." Raley says. She was highly involved with the scholarship program that ran through Lawrence "Scotty" Scott, but following his death, it lost momentum. True Blue Jazz Series wants to bring back the focus on fundraising and to that end, they are re-initiating a scholarship series. In addition to the musical event, Raley and her organization will be presenting a second scholarship that evening, in conjunction with the Sussex County Council.

Blues will have items for raffle that night, or people can make direct donations to True Blue Jazz to help local youth musicians. Raley says they are always on the hunt for donations of good quality musical instrument donations as well. For more information, go to www.truebluejazz.org.