The Rutgers Jazz Ensemble is a very fine group so it was a natural to have the students involved in this. We wanted to have a real mix of musical styles, from vocals to the Hammond B3. And also, for this series, I felt it should be mostly artists from around the area who you might not hear in New York.

This is kind of a pre-series for a bigger summer series next year. So, with these four concerts, we can give the (city officials) in New Brunswick a preview of what we would be doing in terms of the jazz series.