Jenifer Kinder is connected with the songs she sings even when they are not her own words but cover songs. Jenifer is not only an amazing singer but a songwriter as well and her song, ‘I Can Breathe’, is charting on commercial radio. She wrote this for her Twisted CD. It was re-recorded and released a second time with the Uptown Band, with whom she has been singing for 10 years. Jenifer says “All my songs are true. Everything that I’ve written about has happened”. Writing is how she works though it “As an artist my writing has become more dear to me than my singing”.

A dream of hers since she was a little girl has been realized. She is on the radio! Jenifer started ‘working’ on her career when she was 14 years old. She worked with producer Scott Verret recording a lot of studio jingles and commercials for Boscov’s, Tom Masano, Easter Seals and more.

Jenifer talks about the work she did developing her career. She says “There is no greater feeling and joy that I get than when performing in my home town”. Jenifer developed and performs tribute concerts to Amy Winehouse and talks about why she picked Amy. “I absolutely fell in love with her voice the first time I heard her”. Jenifer adds, “I wanted to always do a tribute while she was alive… but no one seemed to know who she was … lyrically she is just a phenomenal songwriter. Her music was overshadowed by her life. I wanted to bring her music to life … that she was a singer, musician, storyteller”.

Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest is almost surreal to her because of all the big names that come to town. She says, “To be among that energy is powerful and brings so many people together from all over the world. It’s amazing”. Jenifer will be singing with Erich Cawalla and the Groovemasters at the Peanut Bar. It is the traditional ‘opening concert’ for Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest. She will be performing a couple times during the Fest … at a ‘Groovemaster’s Celebration for Alissa B’ and again with the ‘Uptown Band’.

Tim Price is one of the country’s foremost woodwind instrumentalists who graduated from Berklee College of Music. The sax is his instrument of choice. He shares lots of fond musical memories including some from the Grand Hotel at 7th and Franklin St in Reading.

Tim still studies music and he says it all started right here in Reading. Tim Price talks about Joe Miller being a big influence on him, “Joe Miller really was one of the saxophone players that played on a major level … a melodic swinging player. He was no nonsense as a human being and helped me as a kid. … I studied clarinet and sax with Joe.” Tim has fond memories of Joe and is grateful for his influence. Tim adds, “Joe was certainly a driving force in giving me a reality of learning how to play … He knew about jazz …. He was aware of the great players …. He was really thrilled when I went to Berklee. Joe would tell you right out …. In music you need a reality check”

Tim remembers the musical era in which he grew up. He was able to look at things and the music was always up close and personal. He would watch and think that he could do that. And he did! Tim says, “I saw how an audience related to stuff. I was exposed to a grits and gravy organ group sound”. That is what you will hear when Tim Price plays the blues with Greg Hatza. Time notes, “The organ thing is the best when you are really trying to relate to people. An organ group has a different vernacular than anything else. You can’t fake an organ group”

Tim is keeping that vernacular alive, as a teacher, a clinician and a musician. Greg Hatza and the Tim Price Organ Quartet will be featured Sat April 2 at Michael Tozzi’s ijazzglobal.com Café at the Crowne Plaza.

Let’s begin at the beginning with John Ernesto, the General Manager of the Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest. He has been involved since the beginning 26 years ago when The Arts Council and The Visitor’s Bureau and area hotels wanted to put together a Jazz Festival. It was meant to be a cultural art experience to draw people to Berks County during a slower time of year. 4 years later John Ernesto took over and learned along the way. It started as a weekend event, it expanded to a 10 day event to celebrate the 10th Anniversary and that format has continued to this day.

The economic impact on Berks County is between 8 and 10 million dollars. Now the challenge is to keep people and artists coming back every year. The enthusiasm doesn’t wane. It has become a real destination for music fans. We try to keep the Boscov’s Berks Jazz Festival fresh so artists are brought back in different contexts. The fans come back every year because they trust us. It’s kind of like a jazz cruise on land. The artists mingle with the fans whether at a restaurant or a hotel lobby. Another staple of the Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest is the midnight music jams. Musicians love to join the jam even after already performing multiple shows throughout the day and fans stay up through the wee hours of the morning to enjoy the music. The Jams will be held at Bldg 24 this year.

John Ernest attributes the lasting success to this, “A simple philosophy is take care of the artists, take care of the fans, and everything else will take care of itself”. And so John and his team will do that again this year. John adds the biggest challenge is coordinating the artist availability and schedules.

Manhattan Transfer, Take 6, Mavis Staples, an All-star cast performing the music of James Brown, Bela Fleck and Chick Corea, and child prodigy pianist Joey Alexander are just some of this year’s highlights.

Mike Eben spent his career in music education. He was a Muhlenberg school district music teacher. Now semi-retired he continues to teach part time at Albright College in addition to offering private sax, flute and clarinet lessons. He also serves on the Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest Education Committee. The committee helps fill some gaps that music budget cuts may present in schools. As a result of the Jazz Fest we now have the All County Jazz Band and the Jazz Vocal Group. The Education Committee has been conducting music workshops every year in conjunction with the Berks Jazz Fest and they have had a varying amount of success. This year they are doing things differently. Mike Eben says there will a full day of events devoted to workshops. Educators will come in and host workshops, profession musicians will be performing and jazz vendors will be setting up shop. This will be all day at the new DoubleTree in downtown Reading on Saturday April 2. There will also be performances by local school groups. Mike Eben says Jazz is the root of many forms of music and provides a student the opportunity to see how chords and scales work which is the basis of all music.

What does a music program or workshop opportunity do for a student? Mike Eben says “It changes a student because there has to be that commitment. You can’t be successful in it if you aren’t into it 100%. You have to practice if you want to maintain your chops. You have to listen to it if you want to sound authentic”

He adds that most kids playing music in schools aren’t going to go into music but they will carry that music with them wherever they go. Mike and the education committee of Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest hope to develop a robust group of jazz music listeners because that will keep the jazz music alive.

Michael Tozzi, a Philadelphia radio legend entrenched in the jazz industry and jazz music scene now operates an internet streaming business, Ijazzglobal.com. He programs the music in accordance with listener demand. Musicians and audience, it’s all part of a family for Michael Tozzi. Michael will be hosting 7 or 8 shows featuring an amalgam of great talent both weekends of Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest shows at his ijazzglobalcafe at the Crowne Plaza.

Michael Tozzi says when he was with Smooth Jazz Radio WJJZ in ’95 one of his assignments was to go up to Reading and cover the Boscov's Berks Jazz Fest. He came here not knowing what to expect. When he went back to Philly he said to his bosses, “Do you realize what’s happening in Reading?” Tozzi says “It has grown into an incredible festival, one of the most respected in the world”.

So how does Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest impact Michael’s work? Tozzi says Reading is impacting the Greater Philadelphia marketplace. Video and music streaming brings BJF to a broader market”. Tozzi says, “I’ve been to a lot of music fests around the world and none of them compare to Reading. It’s the volunteers that set Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest apart”.

Gary Spencer is the Production Manager for Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest. He knows what an audience wants and he and his team endeavor to make it happen. Gary started volunteering with the Berks Arts Council in 1994 at Bandshell concerts in City Park. Gary Spencer says “They said they needed volunteers, I went up and knocked on the door. The rest is history. It’s been 22 years now”.

Jazz Fest used to be a weekend event, then a 4 day weekend event and in the year 2000 the Jazz Fest ran 10 days. It was supposed to be a one year event in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Jazz Fest. It was so successful it became an annual 10 day event. That’s when Gary got hired to help coordinate and move the project forward.

So what does being the Production Manager for Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest entail. It is a master juggling act to keep multiple stages, performances, venues, artists, bands, and fans happy at the same time. Gary and his team make it happen seamlessly. If there is a snafu, nobody knows it. According to Gary Spencer that is because, “Everyone has the same goals, to have a successful show, and everyone works together”.

The devil is in the details and success means very long days for Gary and his team. Early morning sound checks and stage sets to theatre set-ups, lunch and dinner for the artists, tear-downs at the end of the night all done by teams of 10 to 12 volunteers at each venue.

What has Boscov’s done for Gary, “It’s changed my life… Getting instant gratification … from culmination to fruition … with this you see joy in people’s faces and feel that buzz, you hear people having fun… everybody’s happy”.

The Boscov’s Berks Jaz Fest is all about making a difference in the community. Chris Heslop, composer, sax and clarinet player, educator, performer, chairs the Jazz Fest Education Committee. One of the challenges is getting kids to the Education Workshops. Get JazzEd Day of Education was formed. Chris Heslop says “A lot of schools hold a jazz invitational and competitions. We modeled that format but without the competition component … and made it fully educational”.

Get JazzEd Day of Education features 8 clinicians or professional musicians conducting workshops including, ‘efficient practicing’, ‘conducting new pieces’, ‘performing’, ‘improve your playing’ among others. This year’s featured artist is Tom Bones Malone, who Heslop says “has done everything in the music business”. Chris Heslop says the education committee reaches out to educate band directors and teachers about who the clinicians and featured artists are … which drums up enthusiasm for participation in the workshops.

By the way, opera has worked its’ way into Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest this year. Chris Heslop is scoring a piece about Mozart’s Librettist who lived in PA for a short time and did some business in Reading, PA. the productions is a collaborative effort between Collaboration between Berks Opera Company and Reading Theatre Project. There will be a one night performance April 8 at the Women’s Club of Reading.

Step into the Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest with us! This event creates an opportunity for students, musicians, artists and audience to play a part.

Karen Haver, Executive Director Berks Arts Council, notes the Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest is the flagship event for the Arts Council. She says “It’s the friendliest festival in the world …. It’s a great tribute to our volunteers”.

Karen Haver likens the Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest to a great big family reunion. The volunteers and staff go the extra mile to treat performers and audience like family. Over the years strong friendships have formed.

The Jazz Fest means spreading the art of jazz throughout Berks County. It has a huge economic impact in Berks County, infusing between 5 -6 million dollars in this community.

Both visual arts and education are incorporated in the Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest. Education is a big part Berks Arts Council’s mission. The collaboration between the Jazz Fest and local schools, helps form the next generation of jazz musicians. Karen says “It’s interesting to see the growth of musicians as they go through the program. Some students are now working professional musicians and come back to play during Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest. Haver adds, “You can make a living loving what you do”.

The Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest ‘Frank Scott Memorial Art Of Jazz Show’ for visual artists is another way the

Berks Arts Council creates an opportunity for the whole artistic community to be part of Jazz Fest.

John Ernesto, Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest Manager and Lisa Johnson, Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest Graphic Designer share the journey down 25 years of Jazz Fest Memory Lane.

Compiling 25 years of photos and stories of the artists that appeared at the fest soon became a months long all consuming project. The 231 page commemorative book showcases all the highlights over the years and preserves many musical memories of all the musicians and players that make the Boscovs Berks Jazz Fest so successful. Some are no longer with us. Others are still coming back. All are Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest treasures. Be sure to get your copy of this commemorative book and take it to the fest next year for autographs. Books can be ordered on line at berksjazzfest.com

Meet the invisible videographer Andrew Lepley. For 20 years Andrew has been the official Boscov's Berks Jazz Fest photographer and now videographer. If you've never noticed him at a concert, that is by design. He captures the moment and the music without being intrusive to the performer or the audience. He has a gift for getting the shots that allow you to feel the emotion and the music.

Andrew Lepley's photos from over the years are showcased throughout the 25th Anniversary Boscov's Berks Jazz Fest Commemorative Book. Now you don't have to miss any shows. Andrew presents his unique audio video overview on www.berksjazzfest.com.