Newport Live was previously known as Common Fence Music, originally established by Ed Nary in 1993 to make folk music accessible in Portsmouth, RI. Decades later, our concert series has evolved to providing diverse music across Newport County, continuing to attract audiences from all over New England to performances featuring GRAMMY award-winning songwriters and musicians, and other highly acclaimed music artists from across the globe.
Common Fence Music, a longstanding non-profit arts organization on the East Bay whose mission is to celebrate diverse music traditions by offering access to vibrant performances, has been renamed “NEWPORT LIVE.”
Executive Director Dick Lynn announced the 2022 Summer Season will begin on June 10, with Kyshonaperforming at the Norman Bird Sanctuary.
Dick Lynn stated, “We’re excited to open the summer season with Kyshona, a singer-songwriter who has been lauded by NPR Music, Billboard, and No Depression. Our goal is to make the Greater Newport region a year-round music destination and to present high-quality concerts throughout the year in venues on Aquidneck Island and beyond. Great music feeds the soul and nourishes the mind, and we can all use that right now.”
For the second year in a row, the Norman Bird Sanctuary and NEWPORT LIVE (formerly Common Fence Music) are presenting an Outdoor Summer Concert Series together. The series represents a unique programmatic collaboration between the two nonprofit organizations: bringing music and nature together for four unique evening performances throughout the summer months.
“We are delighted to build on last year’s success and continue this collaboration with NEWPORT LIVE,” said Norman Bird Sanctuary Executive Director, Kaity Ryan. “It is a wonderful way to connect the community with the natural resources we protect. The concerts bring people together for great live music outside at NBS during the summer.”
For further information including tickets, check the website here: newportlive.org
About NBS:
For over seventy years, the Norman Bird Sanctuary has served as a wildlife refuge and environmental education center. Norman Bird Sanctuary’s seven miles of hiking trails and 300 acres of scenic landscape are open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
NEWPORT LIVE is a Rhode Island-based 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization whose mission is to celebrate diverse music traditions by offering access to all to our vibrant performances.
Anchored in Newport, RI on Spring Street, our organization offers year-round high-quality musical performances in a wide range of venues such as Norman Bird Sanctuary, The Martin Luther King Center, Newport Vineyards, Channing Memorial Church, and The Newport Casino, among other locations.
Inspired by the Newport Festivals of the 1960’s and 70’s, Newport Live was previously known as Common Fence Music, originally established by Ed Nary in 1993 to make folk music accessible in Portsmouth, RI. Twenty-nine years later, our concert series has evolved to providing diverse music across Newport County, continuing to attract audiences from all over New England to performances featuring GRAMMY award-winning songwriters and musicians, and other highly acclaimed music artists from across the globe.Fueled by the hard work of volunteers and under the Executive Direction of Dick Lynn, NEWPORT LIVE continues its mission via grants and sponsors. In 2022, NEWPORT LIVE is offering three tiers of sponsorship opportunities: Friends, Patrons, and Noteables.
Something special happens when the players in Evening Sky get together. The chemistry begins. The grooves materialize and the melodies fall into place. The sound that emerges is truly its own. It dwells in the fertile ground between jazz and roots, the soft spaces between soul, country, and folk, with the spirit of collaboration and the passion of playing great music.
Chris Brooks, Eric Hastings, Joe Potenza, and Gino Rosati together make wholly unique music and have been working at it since assembling back in 2017. Drawn together by proximity, kismet, and a mutual affinity for unusual and unpredictable sounds, the quartet has the capability of blending seemingly disparate styles to create music that feels completely logical. It’s a rare feat for sure and only advised when the participants are up to the task.
Evening Sky’s newest recording, The Desert at Night, their fourth and most fully realized recording, is rhythmic and smooth, playful, and intriguing. The street date is March 4, with an album release show on Saturday, March 12 at The Parlour in Providence. With Brooks on pedal steel, Rosati on electric guitar, Potenza on bass, and Hastings on drums, the band stakes out an extraordinary aural ground. There’s the sultry opener “Van Cleef,” the mild boogie of “Bowlagumbo,” and the Jerry Reed-style chicken picker “Goodbye Columbus” are all memorable. Flutist Wendy Klein adds serious flair to the title track and the closing “A Blustery Day,” the latter of which features an atmospheric King Crimson vibe and builds subtlely and satisfyingly until Klein wraps things up. “Bill’s Porch” would sound great on a summery, sunshiny porch with a frosty lemonade. Brooks’ pedal steel carries the lead responsibility and it’s a delight. Easy listening, indeed, with the emphasis on aaaah.
Recorded by Hastings at The Grapevine in Providence, mixed by Graham Mellor at Uptown Sound, also in Providence, and mastered by Scott Craggs at Old Colony Mastering, the songs on The Desert at Night are all composed by Gino Rosati, except for the funky jazz nugget, “Where the Buses Don’t Run,” written by Potenza. All the tracks on this recording are instrumental, though the band works with some very talented vocalists. (When you get a chance, check out the band’s epic cover of Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited.”)
Incidentally, Evening Sky is staying busy, with a full slate of shows and upcoming recording sessions, including a recording with singer Tish Adams and an additional handful of new music.
Chris Brooks, Joe Potenza, Gino Rosati, Eric Hastings
A bunch of our musical friends will be joining us onstage to play the music they’ve recorded with us! Come through and hear us play with:
Singers Tish Adams, Eden Casteel & Michelle MyBelle Hill, plus Wendy Klein (flute), Carl Gerhard (trumpet), Ben Shaw (tenor sax).
Welcome to New England! This time the new release takes us to the smallest US state of Rhode Island and introduces musicians who are quite famous on the local stage – the Evening Sky ensemble from Providence. The ensemble is unique, they characterize their music as “root music under the influence of jazz and jazz under the influence of root music”. Bassist Joe Potenza said in an interview that Evening Sky’s music ranges from Bill Frizell to the Grateful Dead. In general, Evening Sky is a quartet, where, in addition to the bassist mentioned above, two guitarists play, Chris Brooks on a pedal steel guitar and Gino Rosati on an ordinary electric guitar, as well as drummer Eric Hastings. The ensemble already has a number of albums in its discography, and local vocalist Tish Adams also joined the band in her new project, which is why the designation +1 appeared in the title. Adams is also not the last person on the local scene. A versatile vocalist and a popular radio host for many years, Adams is a perfect fit for her collaboration with Evening Sky, which should clearly reflect on the popularity of the new album.
The album’s program looks rather motley. Here is the classic of American music Cole Porter (My Heart Belongs to Daddy), and Wes Montgomery (West Coast Blues), who influenced many generations of American jazz guitarists, and the popular singer and songwriter Joe Henry with the composition Stop, which became famous performed by Madonna, and Percy Mayfield’s old R&B ballad Please Send Me Someone To Love, and Horace Silver’s hard bop standard Peace. Such a set may seem eclectic, but just as everything King Midas touched turned to gold, Evening Sky and Tish Adams turn all these very different works into their own product with a very distinctive personal touch. The group’s motto mentioned above works in this project as well, and Adams, with her obvious inclination towards the blues, sings in such a way that in each track the listener receives a story-story composed as if specially for him. Small Day Tomorrow has been turned into a blues, there is practically nothing left of the characteristic swing in Porter’s My Heart Belongs to Daddy, and I would call Stop simply the pinnacle of the album, and even here there is very little in common with Madonna’s version. In a word, a real indi, a great gift for those who do not like standard sounds. https://jazzquad.ru/index.pl?act=PRODUCT&id=6252
Something special happens when the players in Evening Sky get together. The chemistry begins. The grooves materialize and the melodies fall into place. The sound that emerges is truly its own. It dwells in the fertile ground between jazz and roots, the soft spaces between soul, country, and folk, with the spirit of collaboration and the passion of playing great music.
Chris Brooks, Eric Hastings, Joe Potenza, and Gino Rosati together make wholly unique music and have been working at it since assembling back in 2017. Drawn together by proximity, kismet, and a mutual affinity for unusual and unpredictable sounds, the quartet has the capability of blending seemingly disparate styles to create music that feels completely logical. It’s a rare feat for sure and only advised when the participants are up to the task.
Evening Sky’s newest recording, The Desert at Night, their fourth and most fully realized recording, is rhythmic and smooth, playful, and intriguing. The street date is March 4, with an album release show on Saturday, March 12 at The Parlour in Providence. With Brooks on pedal steel, Rosati on electric guitar, Potenza on bass, and Hastings on drums, the band stakes out an extraordinary aural ground. There’s the sultry opener “Van Cleef,” the mild boogie of “Bowlagumbo,” and the Jerry Reed-style chicken picker “Goodbye Columbus” are all memorable. Flutist Wendy Klein adds serious flair to the title track and the closing “A Blustery Day,” the latter of which features an atmospheric King Crimson vibe and builds subtlely and satisfyingly until Klein wraps things up. “Bill’s Porch” would sound great on a summery, sunshiny porch with a frosty lemonade. Brooks’ pedal steel carries the lead responsibility and it’s a delight. Easy listening, indeed, with the emphasis on aaaah.
Recorded by Hastings at The Grapevine in Providence, mixed by Graham Mellor at Uptown Sound, also in Providence, and mastered by Scott Craggs at Old Colony Mastering, the songs on The Desert at Night are all composed by Gino Rosati, except for the funky jazz nugget, “Where the Buses Don’t Run,” written by Potenza. All the tracks on this recording are instrumental, though the band works with some very talented vocalists. (When you get a chance, check out the band’s epic cover of Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited.”)
Incidentally, Evening Sky is staying busy, with a full slate of shows and upcoming recording sessions, including a recording with singer Tish Adamsand an additional handful of new music.
Tim Ray Trio on Thursday, March 2, both as part of the Eastern Bank Jazz Series. Tickets for these shows are available online at www.spirecenter.org, call (508) 746-4488.
For more info on Tish Adams’ productions, performances & more: www.tishadams.com
THANK YOU for supporting LIVE MUSIC!
7.10 • 6:30p • Starlight Square • 84 Bishop Allen Dr., Cambridge, MA 02139 • Tim Ray Trio with Terri Lyne Carrington and John Lockwood • Release show postponement due to Covid • Click here for tickets
Sunday April 25th
1 – 3pm
LIVE SHOW: “Tish Adams Presents…” THE TIM RAY TRIO
#ICYMI: Tim Ray Trio performs at the Centre Street Sessions for VAHA New Bedford
This Centre Street Session features two sets by the Tim Ray Trio (5:30p and 7:15p, and streaming thereafter at AHA New Bedford’s Facebook page) with Dave Zinno on bass and Mark Walker on drums.
Until the pandemic shut live music down, Tim was touring as music director and pianist for Tony Bennett, and his recent CD with Terri Lyne Carrington and John Patitucci made the top 10 in the JazzWeek National Radio Chart.
Centre Street Sessions usually take place in the Summer months of June through September outside, in the parking lot of Fiber Optic Center, in the heart of the Historic District and within the Whaling Heritage Historical National Park. Sponsored by AHA, Fiber Optic Center and Whaling City Sound these concerts have showcased many performers and enabled people to enjoy world class music in a relaxed, informal and acoustically comfortable setting.
This performance was recorded earlier in July in the chapel of the renovated Steeple Playhouse new home of the 70+ year old Your Theatre and formerly the First Baptist Church. Renovation is being overseen and supported by the non-profit Waterfront Historic Area LeaguE (WHALE, www.waterfrontleague.org). Professional quality audio, as well as video, was done by John Farrell of Middlehouse Sound. For the last 8 years, Your Theatre has also produced the widely acclaimed New Bedford JazzFest, held on the waterfront near downtown, and surrounded by New Bedford’s record setting fishing fleet.
December 9th – Friday 7:30pm Tony Bennett and his Quartet in Concert
featuring Tony – voice, Tim – piano/MD, Gray Sargent – guitar, Marshall Wood – bass & Harold Jones – drums
Dodd Auditorium, University of Mary Washington
Fredricksburg, VA
for more info please visit www.tonybennett.com
December 10th – Saturday 7pm Tony Bennett and his Quartet in Concert
featuring Tony – voice, Tim – piano/MD, Gray Sargent – guitar, Marshall Wood – bass & Harold Jones – drums
Pfleger Concert Hall, Rowan University
Glassboro, NJ
for more info please visit www.tonybennett.com
December 12th – Monday 8pm Tony Bennett and his Quartet in Concert
featuring Tony – voice, Tim – piano/MD, Gray Sargent – guitar, Marshall Wood – bass & Harold Jones – drums
Paramount Theater
Charlottesville, VA
for more info please visit www.tonybennett.com January 12th – Thursday 7 – 10pm The Tim Ray Trio
featuring John Lockwood – bass & Mark Walker – drums
Thelonious Monkfish
Cambridge, MA
for more info please visit www.theloniousmonkfish.com
I’m Beginning to See the Light (D. Ellington) 5:37
Monk’s Dream (T. Monk) 5:12
Toys (H. Hancock) 6:27
DE-Train (T. Ray) 3:50
Joy (T. Ray) 6:38
I’ve Been to Memphis (L. Lovett) 5:47
Dolphin Dance (H. Hancock) 3:23
Windows (C. Corea) 5:37
So Tender (K. Jarrett) 5:52
Star Eyes (G. de Paul / D. Raye) 6:51
Peace (H. Silver) 5:22
12 x 7 (J. Lockwood) 3:08
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tim Ray – piano
John Lockwood – bass
Mark Walker – drums
Recorded 2014 in the WGBH Fraser Performance Studio, Boston, MA
Engineering, mixing and editing – Antonio Oliart Ros
Liner notes – Bob Blumenthal
Thanks to Neal Weiss, Dave, Ginny and everyone at Whaling City Sound for all your work to help make this recording possible. Thanks also to John, Mark, Antonio and Bob for their artistry and unparalleled skills. And a big thank you to Tyson for her help in making this project (and all my projects) a better and more rewarding experience.
Tim Ray is a Steinway artist and endorses Steinway Pianos
Mark Walker is a Yamaha, Paiste, Remo, Vic Firth and LP artist
For more information on this recording, or inquiries on booking this group, please visit AgitatedCatMusic.com
Music industry consultant and publicist Ginny Shea has garnered international exposure for her clients through radio and video promotion, print media, and her vast industry network.
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Welcome to New England! This time the new release takes us to the smallest US state of Rhode Island and introduces musicians who are quite famous on the local stage – the Evening Sky ensemble from Providence. The ensemble is unique, they characterize their music as “root music under the influence of jazz and jazz under the influence of root music”. Bassist Joe Potenza said in an interview that Evening Sky’s music ranges from Bill Frizell to the Grateful Dead. In general, Evening Sky is a quartet, where, in addition to the bassist mentioned above, two guitarists play, Chris Brooks on a pedal steel guitar and Gino Rosati on an ordinary electric guitar, as well as drummer Eric Hastings. The ensemble already has a number of albums in its discography, and local vocalist Tish Adams also joined the band in her new project, which is why the designation +1 appeared in the title. Adams is also not the last person on the local scene. A versatile vocalist and a popular radio host for many years, Adams is a perfect fit for her collaboration with Evening Sky, which should clearly reflect on the popularity of the new album.
Music industry consultant and publicist Ginny Shea has garnered international exposure for her clients through radio and video promotion, print media, and her vast industry network.
