NJ Jazz Society 40th Pee Wee Russell Memorial Stomp

MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY – The New Jersey Jazz Society announced today that it will hold its 40th Annual Pee Wee Russell Memorial Stomp at the Birchwood Manor in Whippany on Sunday, March 1 from Noon to 5:00pm. The Birchwood Manor is located at 111 North Jefferson Road in Whippany, New Jersey.

This year’s Stomp offers a lineup of four bands that includes Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks, Danny Tobias Quintet, Dan Levinson and His Swing Wing, and the Warren Vaché Trio. Attendees include Society members, swing dancers from around the region, and the general public. Information and tickets are available at www.NJJS.org.

The Stomp is named for clarinetist Charles Ellsworth Russell, much better known by his nickname, Pee Wee Russell. Russell's unique and sometimes derided approach was praised as ahead of its time, and cited by some as an early example of free jazz. His distinctive style was a mainstay in traditional jazz bands along the east coast until his death in 1969.

The Society began this annual event in 1970 and established a jazz scholarship program in the name of Pee Wee Russell at Rutgers University, one that currently provides multiple scholarships each year. Scholarships are announced and presented as are two additional awards, bestowed to a musician and non-musician. “It’s always a thrill for us to identify and award the Pee Wee Russell scholarships to the jazz students. It fulfills our mission to educate as well as present and promote jazz all around our great state,” said Andrea Tyson, president of the New Jersey Jazz Society.

Further information about the Pee Wee Russell Memorial Stomp and the New Jersey Jazz Society can be found at www.NJJS.org.

About the New Jersey Jazz Society
Founded in 1972, the New Jersey Jazz Society exists to promote and preserve the great American musical art form known as Jazz through live jazz performances and educational outreach initiatives and scholarships. The Society is operated by a board of directors who stage music events, award scholarships to deserving New Jersey college jazz studies students, conduct the Generations of Jazz program in local school systems, and induct pioneers and legends of jazz into the American Jazz Hall of Fame. The New Jersey Jazz Society is qualified as a tax-exempt cultural organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to NJJS are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.