For Hometown News
MARTIN COUNTY - Treasure Coast singer Jonathan Cummings will perform with his jazz ensemble at StarStruck Theatre on Aug. 25 in a concert he is calling, "Jazz, Then & Now."
Tickets are $25 and 10 percent of the proceeds will be contributed to The Fort Pierce Jazz and Blues Society. Another 10 percent will go to St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Stuart.
Several members of the Fort Pierce Jazz and Blues Society will join Mr. Cummings on stage for a night of what he calls traditional jazz music.
"Most people who were alive during the 30s and 40s refer to this kind of music as the pop music of their time," said Mr. Cummings.
"But the truth is, this music - made popular by singers like Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Ella Fitzgerald - is traditional jazz."
Mr. Cummings fell in love with jazz in the late 1970s when he was 15. By the time he was 18 he had already learned to scat, an improvisational vocal performance that is specific to jazz music.
"Jazz is in my very soul," he said.
"The problem is finding an audience for the music today. What's the difference between a rock musician and a jazz musician? A rock musician plays three chords in front of 3,000 fans. A jazz musician plays 3,000 chords in front of three fans," he said.
In an effort to promote jazz, one organization after another champions the preservation of the music, claiming it is the only true American art form, with roots existing exclusively in the U.S.
Whether that statement is true or not, jazz music, with its horn players, upright acoustic bass and improvisational solos, is radically different from other genres.
For tickets call (772) 634 0178 or visit www.jcafjazz.com.