Mother’s Jazz Collective will be returning to Springfield’s Jazz And Blues Festival 2024, opening the evening at Mother Stewart's Brewery on August 9th, at 5:00pm on Friday.
As a staple of the annual jazz and blues event the Mother's Jazz Collective's righteous lineup this time around will feature their more familiar faces, including trumpeter Chris Jeffery, saxophonist Jason Swann, and percussionist Mark Smareli. Their stage will also be blessed by accompanist Kent Brooks. If the name sounds familiar that's because Brooks was a music professor at Springfield's Wittenberg University for ten years. Presently he is teaching classes on the history and performance of Black gospel music in America at Northwestern University.
The group of journeyman musicians have been collaborating since coming together in 2017, and offers an eclectic mix of melodies. Typically, the setlist of the Mother’s Jazz Collective provides viewers with anything from classic to contemporary sounds, from cool to smooth and everything in between.
Below are just a few of our top picks for the jazz and blues event.
If you are attending the festival and would like to share your photos of favorite performances, along with a one sentence caption, please send those along with your name, to
[email protected]. We will publish those with our review of the festival in next week's edition.
Joe Waters Trio
The Joe Waters Trio is made up of leading man Joe Waters, alongside Rob Thaxton and Joseph Ray Prescott. This triad of tunes brings the blues to the stage at Mother Stewart's Brewery on Friday, August 9th, at 6:30pm. If you haven’t already gotten to see these musicians take to the local stages in Dayton then this is your opportunity to enjoy the rich, folk sounds of these home-grown instrumentalist pros. Not to mention the captivating soul which Water’s vocals possess.
Carmen Bradford with the Bobby Floyd Trio
Carmen Bradford with the Bobby Floyd Trio is set to close Friday’s festivities on the stage at the National Road Commons park. These two sovereign performers share the stage for the evening, alongside Floyd's accompanists Derek DiCenzo on guitar and Reggie Jackson keeping the rhythm going on drums. Bradford and Floyd are both grammy nominees in their own right, and jazz/blues artists at the core. Both have entertained audiences all over the map. While Carmen Bradford delights with her vocalist and composition talent, Bobby Floyd’s abilities on the keyboard or piano are both passionate and smart. It is sure to be a stylish evening of jazz in all forms coursing through the streets of downtown Springfield.
Summer Camargo Quintet
The stage at Springfield Commons welcomes trumpetest and Juilliard alumni, Summer Camargo, on the first night of the city’s Jazz and Blues Festival at 7:30pm. Joined by a quintet of accompanists, Camargo’s transcendent skill on the horn is fine-tuned and methodical. The 22 year old has graced stages all over the world and recently joined the supporting band behind New York City-based television series, Saturday Night Live. For one night only, enjoy the seasoned talents of Jazz’s freshest face, August 9th.
Nasty Nati Brass Band
Whew boy talk about a powerhouse of big, bold, and bad-arse brass sound! Headed up by Band Leader and Trumpeter Mike Wade, this nine-memeber brass and percusion ensemble has an impressive ouvre comprised of unqiue arrangements of popular music heavily influenced by New Orleans style second-line jams and historical Black College marching bands standards. The Nati refers to its Cincinnati home base from which it also draws inspiration. Mike Wade and his Nasty Nati Brass Band storms the Mother Stewart stage with its towering wall of epic sounds on Saturday, August 10, at 9pm.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.