Gospel Meets Jazz Band of Gainesville returns to performing after 3-year hiatus
The Gospel Meets Jazz Band led by trumpeter Lanard Perry serenaded hundreds of people during its first concert since 2020.
The band held its first concert after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic on Friday at DaySpring Baptist Church at 1945 NE Eighth Ave. It was billed as “New Beginnings,” and featured performances by musicians, singers and dancers as a fundraiser in partnership with the church.
Created and organized by Perry, of Gainesville, the first Gospel Meets Jazz concert was held in 2014, and he said he is excited about restarting the concert series.
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"I'm really excited,” Perry said. “I have a supportive group who attends Gospel Meets Jazz programs. People would ask me when the next show would be and I decided to come back and I wanted to do something different.”
He said the theme of the concert was chosen because of a specific reason.
"I titled it 'New Beginnings' because during the post-COVID era, we have a new band and a new re-imaginative way of doing presentations,” Perry said. “During our concerts, we usually have two guests, and in this year's concert we have featured four guests.”
This year's concert featured Smooth Flava Line dancers, Joy Banks, Sebrenah Phillips, Rob Rothschild and the Atmosphere Shifters.
Singers from the band who performed also include Tran Whitley and C.J. Washington.
"I love the spontaneity, the fellowship and playing music with good musicians and interacting with the audience,” Perry said.
Perry attended Duval Elementary School (now Duval Early Learning Academy), Howard Bishop Middle School and Gainesville High School. He was first introduced to the trumpet when he was in the seventh grade.
However, his first instrument was the bass guitar, and he said his uncle would have band practice at his grandparents house when he (Perry) was a young boy. His uncle's band would leave their instruments at the home and he would play with the bass guitar, the keyboard and the drums, but he said the trumpet was the instrument he took to the most.
“I guess playing the trumpet is in my genes,” Perry said.
He said he had two uncles — one in Jacksonville and one in New York — who played the trumpet.
Shirley Sessions and Yvonne McKnight attended the concert because they said they were looking forward to hearing good music.
Both ladies said they heard about the event through a local social group called ‘Seniors on the Move.’
“This is my first time (attending a Gospel Meets Jazz concert), and I'm looking forward to listening to good music,” McKnight said.
"I am looking forward to everything,” Sessions said.
Jackie Johnson, of Gainesville, said she attended the concert to support her husband, Darrell Johnson, who is a member of the Smooth Flava Dance Group's Gainesville chapter.
"I love gospel music because of the messages in the songs,” Johnson said.
Wanda Daniels has been friends with Perry since childhood.
“He has been a part of my life for a long time and we grew up in the same neighborhood,” Daniels said.
Daniels was there when Perry first began the Gospel Meets Jazz concert.
She said she would help with collecting concert tickets and was the stage manager.
"I'm really glad to see him come again,” Daniels said. “I like gospel and I love jazz and I also love the way he blends them together. You hear gospel singers, jazz singers and it is great entertainment. This is what he was made for — to entertain.”
Perry said the next concert will be held from 7-9 p.m. on Oct. 6 at the Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center at 837 SE Seventh Ave.
The following concert will be on Dec. 22, also at the Cotton Club Museum, and it will be billed as the "Christmas Jubilee Jam." It will be a fundraiser for homeless children in Alachua County to receive money and toys.
Perry said $5,000 was raised during the last Christmas Jubilee Jam, and he hopes $10,000 will be raised this year.
To stay updated on the next concert. visit gospelmeetsjazz.com and to sign up for the band’s VIP mobile text club dial 888-296-9994.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Gainesville-based Gospel Meets Jazz Band performs at NE G'ville church
