Salem Jazz and Soul Festival continues monthly concert series with the Marika Galea Quartet
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 28, 2015 – The Salem Jazz and Soul Festival will continue its 2015 SJSF/Berklee Summer Series in Derby Square, Salem, on Saturday, June 13 with a concert featuring jazz bassist Marika Galea, and her quartet.
The free show will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. and will feature an educational interview about music and the Berklee experience.
Creative Salem will sponsor the performance.
A rising star and bandleader, Marika Galea is a respected young jazz bassist and composer who has studied with and opened for a number of highly acclaimed artists including Bucky Pizzarelli, Branford Marsalis, Al Jarreau, and Teri Lyne Carrington. Originally from Cananda, Marika is carving out a reputation on this side of the border as a jazz bassist, journalist, and educator with longevity. She is pleased to present her international quartet, including Yoav Eshed (Israel) on guitar, Tomoaki Baba (Japan) on saxophone, and Jongkuk Kim (South Korea) on drums.
Marika’s band members bring their respective talents to Derby Square as well. Yoav Eshed, guitar, has been studying music since he was a toddler and won the third place prize in the 2104 Montreux Jazz Festival International Guitar Festival in Switzerland. Tomoaki Baba, saxophones, began playing in a big band at age seven that ended up playing at the Sydney Opera House during a cultural exchange. Johgkuk Kim, drums, released his first solo album when studying at the Seoul Institute of the Arts at age 16. All members of the quartet are current Berklee College of Music students.
Two more SJSF/Berklee Summer Series concerts will take place this year: Beneil Miller on July 11; and Chuks Okpu on Aug. 8. The ninth-annual Salem Jazz and Soul Festival will be held during the weekend of Aug. 15-16, featuring 10 bands, a kids’ tent, music-education tent, artisan fair and 21-plus beer pavilion. The two-day concert is free.
The festival is a nonprofit, volunteer-run organization that produces free concerts and raises money for music education causes on the North Shore.
Check salemjazzsoul.org for more information. Photos provided upon request.