New Brunswick Jazz Project Celebrating National Women's Month

With a few taps on the cymbals, the band in the back launches into a jazzy rendition of “Goin’ Out of My Head.”

A man in a sharp suit seated a few feet from the stage has his arm around a beautiful woman in a blue dress, his hand tapping on her shoulder along to beat of the 1964 hit by Little Anthony and the Imperials.

Another couple sitting at a table in the middle row looks up from their drinks – she slides her hand across the table and he moves his to meet it.

A man seated at the bar is wearing a Kango cap on his head and a hint of a smile on his face as he begins to approvingly nod along with the music.

The dimmed lights, the clank of ice at the bottom of a double, the blue notes be-bopping in the air – New Brunswick of all places is witnessing the rebirth of the cool.

In moments, the bottom floor of Tavern on George has been transformed one recent Thursday night into a smoky, sophisticated jazz club straight out of the 1950s - minus the wafting cigarette smoke, of course.

The New Brunswick Jazz Project has been dedicated to making this original American art form available and accessible since 2010, including the past five in this intimate, rectangular room at 361 George Street.

It’s a celebration of the music and the men and women who make it at a time when fans typically have to resort to booking jazz cruises or locating jazz festivals or trekking to clubs in cities like Chicago and New York City to hear it played.

The Jazz Project is closing in on 2,000 shows, and piano players such as Nat Adderley Jr., bass players such as Chris Burger and drummers such as Dwayne “Cook” Broadnax – the band on this night – have graced its stage.

The singers have over the years told a thousand tales – some of them true – and Rob Fulton on this night continues the tradition.

He talks about how his life was changed one day while walking on Coney Island.

“I saw this young lady, and I went crazy,” Fulton tells the crowd.

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The New Brunswick Jazz Project has always sought to honor women’s many unique contributions to jazz, going back to its first year when bands booked during March’s National Women’s Month were asked to include at least one woman.

The past 11 years, the organizers have only booked women leads during the month of March.

This year, the New Brunswick Jazz Project booked 13 performances in celebration of National Women’s Month in New Brunswick and four in Franklin.

This year’s lineup at Tavern on George includes the Ariana Sowa Quartet on March 15, the Emily Braden Quartet on March 16, the Jacqueline Lee Trio on March 22, Nancy Kelly Quartet on March 24, the Gary Kerkezou/Liam Sutcliffe Quartet on March 29 and the Akiko Tsuruga Quartet on March 31.

Playing at Delta’s Restaurant at 19 Dennis Street will be Mariel Bildsten Quartet on March 23, the Najwa Parkins Quartet on March 30.

Tsuruga, who was introduced to jazz by her grandmother while growing up in Osaka, Japan and began playing the organ when she was 3, has developed into one of jazz’s bright stars since moving to the United States in 2001.

She says it’s hard to define what women bring to jazz. Everything, really. Maybe some women might have a different interpretation of a song than their male counterparts. For Tsuruga, it provides her with creative freedom.

“I get to show my emotions,” she said. “And the Hammond Organ that I play, there’s so much potential and so many ways to show my emotion.”

And even though she has toured around the world in support of her records, she packs her organ in her car and makes the trip from New York to New Brunswick several times a year.

“I love New Brunswick,” she said. “The people are so much fun, and Michael, Virginia and Jimmy have become like my family.”

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Michael, Virginia and Jimmy are Michael Tublin, Virginia DeBerry and Jimmy Lenihan – the founders and organizers of the New Brunswick Jazz Project and guardians of jazz music and the people who make it.

They have formed the Jazz Project into a nonprofit that is supported by City Center and local businesses. Grants help and donations are always welcomed.

On this Thursday night, Tublin and DeBerry can be found in their usual seats.

They embody the socioeconomic and ethnic diversity of their crowd and the musicians.

Tublin, sporting his trademark fedora, used to trade crude oil on Wall Street. DeBerry, in her shimmering red dress, is a writer who counts among her many accolades a Merit Award for Fiction from the Black Caucus of American Library Association. Lenihan hails from Ireland and has his own engineering company.

“We talked about let’s stop complaining because there isn’t any place for grownups to go,” DeBerry said. “You can come to New Brunswick for a great dinner. You can enjoy theater. But in terms of music entertainment, there was no entertainment that was really for adults. There was a lot of college bands, garage bands and punk rock. There wasn’t anything if you wanted to go for a nice dinner and listen to some music. It just didn’t exist. We said, ‘Well, what if we don’t complain and we actually make something happen?’”

The opening night was packed with friends and family members. Other nights, it was just Tublin, DeBerry and Lenihan, the bartender and the band.

Once word caught on that New Brunswick was a place where someone such as Conrad Herwig, one of the world’s great jazz trombone players, might walk in and sit in with the band, the crowds began to grow. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many musicians can from New York for a chance to play under the outdoor tent on George Street.

The New Brunswick Jazz Project’s reputation proceeds itself. It’s based on treating the musicians right, right down to the dinner that’s waiting for them during a break in the set.

“That’s the beauty of the Jazz Project,” Tublin said. “We treat everyone so well. So the musicians will understand, they’re not going earn the same top dollar that they’re going to get in Manhattan or some fancy place. But they’re going to get treated here like they’re royalty.”

Speaking of jazz royalty, Nat Adderley Jr. stops as he makes his way over to the giant burger that’s waiting for him and says hello to Tublin and DeBerry.

He is the son of a great composer and jazz trumpet and cornet player, and the nephew of jazz alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley. Some fans might know him for his career as musical director for Luther Vandross.

“I love playing here because of the crowd,” Adderley said. “The audience knows the music and this is one of my most favorite places to play in the world. This is a place where you don’t think you’re supposed to hear anything and you can come here and hear some great stuff. It’s like, ‘Where am I? Am I in Carnegie Hall or something.’”

Story by: Chuck O'Donnell

Photo by: Chuck O'Donnell