Schools is out, which means summer has officially begun! With more flexible schedules and generally more relaxed moods, there are so many ways to get active and take advantage of the Princeton area now. In our June issue of Princeton Perspectives, Connecting with the Community for a Safe, Joyful Summer, we share with you a variety of ways to do so.

To kick off with ideas of how to connect, we went downtown and asked people what outdoor summer activity they enjoy most. Watch our Pulse of Princeton now to hear what locals are excited for!

And…all that jazz! The rise in outdoor concerts that bring out some of the best local talent is one thing summer months bring. The article When You Want to Hear Jazz, Someone is Playing! examines the history of local jazz and shares some of the talent and locales offering it up in the area.

As you’re traveling there, or really anywhere, it should be safety, first! It is June, so an apropos time for the article, National Safety Month – All You Need to Know. There have been some incidents in the area, so read on to learn ways to ensure you don’t become a local statistic.

If you love music, but jazz isn’t your scene, there is such variety offered in the open-air concert season. For Free or Very Little, Get Outside and Enjoy All That’s Offered shares more about that as well as ideas for the more active amongst us!

It is easy to connect to your community when you take advantage of all the summer season offers, but sometimes you may want a more personal touch. Connecting with elected officials can be an important part of creating community, and If You Have Something to Share, Leighton is Listening. This article shows you how easy it is to connect, personally.

Lastly, in this month’s Perspectives Revisited we revisited two stories about joining communities together! You can read them now.

Though this week is set to bring high heat to the area, there are still so many ways to connect, get outside and enjoy all the Princeton area offers. We hope we help guide you to take advantage and wish you a great start to this wonderful, outdoor season!

Bebop, Dixieland, Swing….as many genres as there are of jazz music, there are musicians that play them. Jazz had its heyday in the Princeton area in the 1920s and ‘30s, and though it may not be as prolific as it once was, it is still alive and well in 2024. The difference today is, if you want to hear it, you may have to seek it out, as the venue options have dwindled and changed. There’s certainly an older group of performers, nonagenarians playing in ensemble, there’s also a burgeoning group of younger musicians, 20-something’s playing alone or in a quartet, and everyone in between.

“I think the thread that runs through all of this is that everybody wants to play music, we just have a different story,” says 50-year-old jazz saxophonist, Tom Tallisch.

WHEN IT BEGAN

The story of jazz at Princeton is said to have begun at the university, and can be traced to around 1900, when some of the biggest names in jazz would come to perform in Princeton University Reunion’s P-rade. More formally, bands were created around 1920, when pianist Cecil Crouse started one. Several talented men started playing for the university’s Princeton Triangle Club theatre group, and in 1923, the Princeton Triangle Club Jazz Band was formed, allowing them to play their own jazz gigs. The musicians eventually toured the United States, recorded with Columbia Records and traveled the world growing their fan base. The membership shifted and band names changed, but jazz remained strong, even enticing renowned artists from NYC such as Bix Beiderbecke to come play with them. Performances at eating clubs including Colonial and Ivy were a regular occurrence.

In the ‘40s, ‘50s and early ‘60s Princeton was still home to some excellent players, and Trenton became a hot spot for talent, with restaurants and clubs welcoming jazz music often. There were those that offered months-long gig commitments and others that just had players drop in, whether they lived locally or were passing through between the New York and Philadelphia scenes.

In 1974, the Princeton University Jazz Ensemble formed, to create a big band experience for the many matriculating students, including those that weren’t necessarily music majors. It still exists today, with faculty that are experienced, current performing artists. World-renowned alto saxophonist and composer Rudresh Mahanthappa leads today’s ensembles with other well-established faculty. They perform historic jazz through modern compositions. The groups don’t really perform much around town, but the genre is still very active on campus.

“The students play at the eating clubs with their own projects,” shares Mahanthappa. “The official jazz program ensembles perform on campus at either Taplin Auditorium or Richardson Auditorium. The top groups will also occasionally play off-campus, if an opportunity arises. We also have a jazz festival every April, that features both renown professional groups as well as student ensembles playing with prominent guest artists.”

Beyond campus, the number of traditional venues hosting live jazz music today are fewer, but there is an abundance of talent in Princeton and the surrounding communities that keep the music going.

PEOPLE BEHIND THE MUSIC

Tallisch is a local, accomplished professional musician, with 12 albums recorded on three different record labels. For decades he was part of the urban jazz scenes in Philadelphia and New York City and settled in Hopewell, NJ in 2017. When the pandemic hit, things changed. Tallisch took a day job (as music teacher at Princeton Junior School) and made performing his side gig.

“There aren’t as many venues, there are a lot of musicians. The rotations in these venues may be longer than before when there were more. I might play at one place now every 6 months as opposed to quarterly,” he explains. “When Covid came, restaurants closed and when they opened back up, everything closed earlier. Jazz clubs closed down; people didn’t go out. Down here, the restaurants that survived from the grants and loans, a lot of them didn’t bring music back because it was this extra expense.”

The local scene today appears to be largely made up of people like Tallisch, who either use their day job to get by or are retired and continue to play as a hobby or side job. Jerry Rife, a recently retired Professor of Music at Rider University, has also had a long career as a professional jazz clarinetist. Beyond his university job, Rife had a regular local gig, spending nine years playing every Friday night (418 performances!) with his group the Rhythm Kings at the now-closed Marroe Inn, in Lawrence. He still jams with numerous local and visiting professionals and with several bands. Mostly he plays with his Blue Skies Quartet (which includes Danny Tobias, Pat Mercuri & Pete Reichlin), a well-polished ensemble. They can often be found playing concerts across the river hosted by the Pennsylvania Jazz Society or in south Jersey and Philly coordinated by the Tri-State Jazz Society. There are monthly concerts as well as a once-a year open jam session.

In his role at Rider, Rife was integral in bringing the best-known jazz musicians to this area, including Dave Brubeck and Dizzy Gillespie.

“I called him [Gillespie] and asked him to come play, and he said yeah, I need $10,000 and a limo. So, I rode in the limo to get him at his house then rode back to Rider with him talking about jazz. He played 2 shows! He ended the first show with A Night in Tunisia – one of his greatest songs. Then he did a 2^nd show and he ended that with Salt Peanuts. The band was made up of teenage kids that were monster players from New York, and it was amazing!” recalls Rife.

Since 1985, Rife has also been the conductor and musical director of Blawenberg Band, an old-fashioned John Phillips Sousa-type band that had its original start back in 1890 and is made up of professionals and amateurs as well. Some members of Blawenberg Band also enjoy playing Dixieland, which was a big draw for tuba player Tom Spain, one of the older musicians that grew up playing as a child then returned to it later in life.

“Some of them used to get together and play Dixieland after rehearsals on Monday nights and my fellow tuba player asked me to join them,” Spain shares. “He showed me how to play the chords to (Back Home Again In) Indiana and I really liked it. So, then I bought a record and sat in the basement and played along with those records and learned from them. It’s very informal.”

Spain and his partner, Nancy Kays, have additionally formed the Rivertown Vintage Jazz Band which performs the jazz of the 1920s and ‘30s.

“I’m like one of the newbies, still learning trombone, but it’s been so fun performing with this band we put together that plays on our front porch,” Kays explains. “We started doing it with a traditional jazz band, they used to use the term dixie. In that tradition there are 3 people in front line, trumpet, trombone and reed player. The rhythm section, which is usually a banjo, drummer and tuba or string base. We started doing that with Scott Rickets, he would do arrangements, and we did this for about a year before the pandemic came. We did it a couple times a month, now we do about once a month. During the pandemic, we spread out down our sidewalk. We live in Stockton, NJ. We had all kind of people stopping by and we even got hired to play at Bucks County Playhouse because the executive director was riding his bike down the street!”

Rickets, a trumpeter in Rivertown Vintage Jazz Band, recalls warm weather months playing outside Princeton’s Thomas Sweet and Say Cheez on Nassau Street (a performance space that is no longer in use) as well as years of JazzFeast on Palmer Square, a September happening that was organized by New Jersey Jazz Society for several years, which brought five or six bands out to perform, often including national players.

THE YOUNGER CROWD

One of the up-and-coming younger musicians of the area, bass player Kai Gibson, is at the opposite end of the age spectrum. A 20-something, working his craft as one of the locals that is a fulltime performer. He was raised in Princeton, taught and encouraged by some other talented musicians who, like Tallisch, have made teaching their day job as well.

“I would attribute our early love for music to our professors. Directors like Joe Bongiovi, Steve Kramer and Dave Pollack showed us a love and desire for precision and perfection in our playing at an early age,” Gibson notes. “There’s a whole new wave of younger musicians coming up. And it’s not just to play music and show off or for money, it’s because they’re passionate about the music.”

Gibson, several Princeton High School alumni including Liam Sutcliffe (trumpet), Caleb Eckstein (trombone) and Ilan Eisenzweig (guitar), and many other younger artists coming out of Rutgers and Temple University work the NJ/PA scene. Gibson has a regular gig nearby with singer Jill Ashcroft at Havana in New Hope, PA every Tuesday – one of the few local venues that offers regular jazz nights.

In Princeton, Lillipies Bakery welcomes jazz musicians for its Sunday Jazz Brunch Series and you can sometimes catch a group playing in the alley by Halo Pub or inside Witherspoon Grill.  Beyond restaurants/clubs, today’s jazz venues are more commonly house parties, block parties, summer concert series and being part of events like Princeton Reunion’s P-rade or The Arts Council of Princeton’s Porchfest. There’s also a good deal of church or nursing home gigs, and jobs playing pit for musical theatre.

If you leave the municipality, Candlelight Lounge, a holdover from Trenton’s big jazz days has been a well-known spot but is soon closing. It is not too far from what was once a popular jazz destination, Joe’s Mill Hill Saloon. Jazz stopped there in Covid, but under new ownership, the now Mill Hill Restaurant and Lounge is expecting to bring it back later this summer. If you cross the river, you can find some great music at Rosetta’s Jazz Café in Morrisville, PA as well as a growing jazz scene north of here in New Brunswick.

In 2010, Jimmy Lenihan, Virginia DeBerry and Michael Tublin started the New Brunswick Jazz Project to bring music to town. By respecting the artists, creating connections and forming relationships with the city of New Brunswick and Tavern on George, they have been part of a developing jazz scene that today offers emerging artists performance opportunities every Tuesday night, with “heavy hitters” playing every Thursday.

“As we developed a following, we realized that we had created a special community of music lovers – that gave us the strength to persevere through all the challenging times,” Lenihan details. “Now we are established, with a strong track record and resources to put on festivals and present some of the top music in the jazz world.”

Now that the weather’s warmed up, there will be an abundance of outdoor performances to enjoy. At times, you might see a mix of the emerging and experienced artists, jamming together. The elders love to play with the young talent, and both seem to find benefits of playing with the other. For example, Gibson and his friends encouraged their elementary school band teacher, Kramer, to get back out and play live, and now they perform gigs together.

BRING ON THE JAZZ

If the musician in you wants to hear live jazz or your inner artist is seeking to come out, you can get some inspiration at places like Live at Lew’s, at the home of Princeton resident, Lew Maltby. He is known to host concerts, opening his house to the interested public. There are offerings of wine and cheese, and he collects a small fee to pay the artists – some of the best. To play yourself, you could head up to Frenchtown where there’s an opportunity, organized by Mike Green, to just show up and jam. There’s no pay but he always has snacks and musicians appreciate the food.

Jazz may have had its heyday in Princeton in the 1920s and ‘30s, but it surely is alive and well in 2024. Whether amateur or professional, in the form of acid, avant-garde, cool or some other jazz genre you may prefer, go out and find what the greater Princeton community is providing.

In cold, winter months, most people hibernate indoors. As the temperatures rise and the sun has a more daily presence, it entices people to come outside, creating wonderful opportunities to connect with the community and all that it offers. Whether it’s through meetups, music or visits in nature, there are many ways Mercer County entices you to join in the summer fun!

GET MOVING

For active folks, the chance to get moving outdoors offers multiple physical and mental health benefits. They include increased Vitamin D, decreased anxiety, improved sleep and focus, better immunity and healthier weight. And walking doesn’t cost a penny while it is amongst the easiest of activities to take part in. One can choose to walk briskly or more slowly, depending on your needs.

If you prefer not to walk alone or find having a meet-up appointment provides you with more incentive to show up, you can take part in the Saturday Morning Walking Club. An easy way to get you moving along the Lawrence Hopewell Trail, members of the public meet the 2^nd Saturday of every month. The next one, on July 13^th, takes you out for about an hour along a section of the nearly 22-mile trail. Starting points vary each month, so make sure you check the site for the latest starting point.

If you prefer something weekly, Everybody WALK! gathers every Wednesday at 9am, organized by Center for Modern Aging. The walk is described as “not just a walk” as it is led by Dr. Laura Wong Koenig, a Doctor of Physical Therapy in Princeton. Throughout it, she provides opportunities to ask health questions while you stroll. The group aims to move at a good pace but does welcome those with walking sticks and canes to join in! There is no cost to go but you must register to attend, upon which the walk’s meet-up location will be emailed to you.

For some, simply walking around isn’t stimulating enough. If that’s you, why not take part in a walk that is enlightening as well! Princeton University offers two variations on Saturdays and Sundays, to not only get moving but also to see and learn. Campus Art Tours will be meeting at 2pm in June, 5pm throughout July and August. The Residential Colleges Neighborhood Tour held on Saturdays meets at Ai Weiwei’s Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads near Roots Ocean Prime. The Main Campus Neighborhood Tour on Sundays begins at Nassau Hall.

MUSIC ABOUND

You could also get your body moving with a little soul-filling sound, as live outdoor concerts are a-plenty around the area. Live music events are a whole-body experience, said to create a sense of community, increase endorphins and help with stress. Whatever your preference of musical genre, you can find it somewhere this summer!

In the heart of downtown Princeton, Palmer Square hosts its final McCarter Concert on June 27^th with two performing groups. At 1pm, Esteem All Stars will cross all genres, playing music from the 50s through today. Jeiris Cook Trio performs at 4pm bringing their R&B styles to you. The square’s Summer Music Series also kicks off, with concerts June 22, June 29 and July 6 from 12pm-2pm with performances featuring jazz and blues, power rock and swing. For those that like a more collaborative performance, you can interact with the Flying Ivories for Dueling Piano Nights on the Green, July 11, 18, 25, August 1, 8.

Nassau Park Pavilion, outside of Panera, is also the site of some moving and grooving. The West Windsor Arts Center is bringing free live music (as well as art activities) to the pavilion July 13^th,  July 27^th and August 10^th from 5pm-7:30pm. All will open with cellist Dan Kassel who utilizes technology for a multiple genre performance. July 13^th, the headliner El Noordzo will share Afro-Cuban interpretations while on the 27^th, Rini will perform her blend of Indian and American music described as Indian Jazztronica. If blues is more your thing, Dukes of Destiny entertains with their original music on August 10^th.

You can bring along your blanket and set up a spread at the Mercer County Park Summer Concert Series, where live music will fill the air every Friday evening from July 12^th through August 16^th. Parking is free but there is a small $5.00 entry fee to attend. Tribute bands celebrating Earth, Wind & Fire, Yacht rock, the Eagles, Queen, Elton John and Billy Joel can be heard throughout the weeks as well as some funk salsa and American soul. The music begins at 6:30pm.

ROUGH AND TUMBLE

If you are into a bit more adventure, there are options for you as well! Being adventurous has its health benefits, of course, including building your confidence, expanding your mind, reducing stress and increasing your Vitamin D intake. If you’re looking for something different, here you go.

When it comes to driving, some people purchase a Jeep, simply as their car to drive. Others buy a Jeep because it’s a Jeep, filled with opportunity. “Jeepers” are often enthusiasts, who love to take advantage of the great outdoors. If you call yourself one and would like to meet other like-minded people, mark your calendar for June 21^st to attend Friday Night Jeep Meet, organized by Open Trails NJ and NJ Jeep Association. Open to all Jeeps, this opportunity to gather and meet others who like to off-road, tends to bring together 40-80 Jeep owners. Make new friends and support access to state forest trails with a 6:30pm get together at Mission BBQ in Hamilton Marketplace.

Whether you have a Jeep or not, you may like to spend the entire night outdoors. And you do not have to travel far to do so. Mercer County Park offers campground rentals for just $20 a night! Perhaps you want to try camping with young children, or maybe you want to get away but need it to be a bit more of a “staycation,” you simply need to sign up on CommunityPass and book your spot. Ten sites are available in the East picnic area of the Mercer County campgrounds – six of them include lean-to structures with 3 sides and a roof while the other four offer space to pitch a tent. All sites offer a place for grilling and a campfire, a picnic table and access to water and restrooms. During the day, you can also take advantage of boating, fishing, hiking and biking trails offered in the park.

Beyond Mercer County Park, there are numerous other hiking options. We’ve written about them before, but this article would not be complete without mention of hiking in and around the county. We researched them to help get you outside during the pandemic, but our list still holds up with great experiences in nature. Read Tracks and Trails – The Hidden Gems All Around Us for specific details including locations, what to expect and where to find your next hike. Whether you prefer a low incline walk with your pup or a more rigorous endeavor that gets your heart pumping, there are options for all.

TAKING ADVANTAGE

Now you know where to go and what you can do, the only other thing is to hope for continued beautiful weather to allow access to all of the above! Whether you’re choosing to enjoy some music, go for a walk or tap into your more adventurous side, ask a friend to join you, be safe and most importantly, have fun!