Jazz Saxophonist Tivon Pennicott took the Jamaica Performing Arts Center stage on Thursday, February 12th. Pennicott’s performance was a part of the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning’s Thursday Night Jazz series.
The every-other-Thursday series, which was once free, now costs $10 per person – next to nothing compared to the price of a jazz club ticket in Manhattan.
Pennicott’s latest album, Roots to Branches, is his third and features his vocal prowess for the first time on one of his albums. A vocal debut makes sense, given the fact that Pennicott grew up in a house full of music – a house in which he claims his mom sang in his ear his entire life.
In response to my question, What’s a nice Jamaican boy doing playing jazz? Pennicott responded: “The Afro-Caribbean contribution to jazz is vast. It all started, for me, with my man Sonny Rollins…I just continued in that energy. It’s always in me, and will always be in me.”
JCAL’s Thursday Night Jazz series, curated by Rio Sakairi, Artistic Director of Manhattan’s Jazz Gallery, is presented in the Jazz Gallery vein of providing – among other things – a platform for emerging artists to discover their unique voice.
Pennicott continued this unique voice tradition on Thursday night. The pedals connected to his instrument, pedals normally associated with guitars, resulted in some incredibly interesting sounds coming from Pennicott’s saxophone, and for a fantastic set.
According to Courtney Ffrench, the Artistic Director of the Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning, the 11-year-old series – launched in 2015 – began in the 94-seat theater down the block at the Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning. Of the series, Ffrench shared: “You are seeing artists that you’ll pay $65, $85, for $10 here. You can’t beat that.” Over 200 people had purchased tickets for Pennicott’s performance.
The Thursday Night Jazz Series runs from October through May and culminates in the Downtown Jamaica Riddim & Jazz Festival, which takes place on the last Saturday in July in Rufus King Park. For additional information on the series, visit: https://jcal.org/thursday-night-jazz