Concerts.Cafe Presents Myron McKinley's "The Speakeasy" with Rebecca Jade, Adam Aejaye Jackson, and Sy Smith
Sep 15, 2021
Florentino Buenaventura (CEO of EnterTalk and founder of Concerts.Cafe) launched the first of many in-person musical performances with artist-branded coffee and an all-star musical lineup!
San Diego, California Sep 15, 2021 (Issuewire.com) - A spectacular evening starring The Myron McKinley Trio, featured Sy Smith (Chris Botti), Rebecca Jade (Sheila E.), Adam Aejaye Jackson (Toni Braxton), and dancer/choreographer Sonya Enchill Om (Alvin Ailey). These dynamic performers entertained the San Diego crowd on Sunday, September 12, 2021, at 7:00 pm at the Pavilion Theater. The in-person event was just one of many concerts headed by EnterTalk's CEO Florentino Buenaventura who has erected a unique concert-going experience. Buenaventura is a pioneer who has continued to put on life (and streaming) concerts before and during the pandemic. He launched Concerts. Cafe last spring as a promotional outlet and resource for musical artists and bands looking to build their online presence while supplementing their income via digital ticket sales and signature consumable merchandise. Partnering with The Legacy Resort Hotel and Spa, Concerts. Cafe launched its first monthly in-person concert at their 500-seat theater. In the Roaring Twenties, there was a nod to the early 20th-century variety/cabaret shows with art-directed sets and the essence of theater. The talented musicians were bandleader/pianist Myron McKinley (Earth, Wind & Fire), upright bassist Ian Martin (David Foster), drummer/percussionist Stacey Lamont Sydnor (The Jacksons) with guitarist Tony Pulizzi (Stevie Wonder), and saxophonist and Grammy winner Gary Bias (Anita Baker). The spectacular band filled the evening with an amalgamation of New Orleans jazz, blues, and soul, accompanying incredibly gifted vocalists.
Music notables in attendance were bass fusion giant and 2-time Grammy-nominated Bunny Brunel (CAB), multi-award-winning recording artist/producer Kaylene Peoples (Hubert Laws), percussionist Walfredo Reyes Jr. (Chicago), and San Diego's own producer/bassist Josquin des Pres (Jason Mraz, The Gipsy Kings)
The Featured Performers:
Myron McKinley is a Juilliard-trained pianist, producer, songwriter, film composer, and is the current musical director and keyboardist for the legendary ensemble Earth Wind & Fire. He has toured extensively with Stanley Clarke, Chaka Khan, En Vogue, Whitney Houston, and many others. Sy Smith has a vocal range spanning five octaves, doing background gigs with Whitney Houston in the late 90s, and has worked with trumpeter Chris Botti and Foreign Exchange. Rebecca Jade has a chameleon-like quality to her voice, where she delivers each song uniquely. Touring with Sheila E., she appeared in the Emmy-nominated Let's Go Crazy: The GRAMMY Salute to Prince, and sang background vocals for Sir Elton John at the 2020 Academy Awards. And Adam Aejaye Jackson, a native of Detroit, Michigan, began singing in church at the early age of three and has worked with Toni Braxton, Melissa Manchester, David Foster, and more.
"The Speakeasy" highlighted contemporary songs, arranged in styles from the Roaring Twenties! A bold statement of the era entertained the audience through music, set design, and costumes. Southern blues kicked off the festivities and set the tone for the awaiting audience. Tony Pulizzi's as dynamic as he shredded on his guitar and ushered in vocalist Adam Aejaye Jackson. The audience was transfixed during Jackson's moving rendition of 'Walk on By.' Other highlights of the evening were Rebecca Jade's interpretation of Nat King Cole's 'Nature Boy,' and closing act Sy Smith, who was stunning in her form-fitting 1920s quintessential black gown, gave a powerful performance of Sting's 'If You Love Somebody Set Them Free'; Smith's entrance and exit was pure theater! With the audience eager for more, the musicians stepped up with a rousing encore with the Beatles classic, 'Eleanor Rigby.'" -Schmooze Jazz Magazine
Florentino Buenaventura Talks About the Concept of Concerts.Cafe:
"We do concerts with coffee so people can engage the brand. If you weren't present at the show, you will be able to see it recorded later online, but that magic from those in attendance is once-in-a-lifetime. The people there, the audience . . . it's all a part of that magical experience. The energy was electric. With Myron--when he's not on tour with Earth, Wind & Fire--we're looking to do a more regular series. For the next one, we're thinking about doing the 70s era with disco, soul, and featured singers.
Florentino continues . . .
"We don't make money on music anymore and sustaining a career for musicians, the music is in the marketing. For genre-specific musical styles, we can take it [worldwide] and give people access to a far-reaching live concert experience. During the pandemic, we were doing a lot of that. Then when we launched in April, we had a surprisingly big audience, ranging from 100,000 to 200,000 paid views. In May, the live venues opened back up, causing a severe dip in revenue. Live streaming is the long game and an in-person concert . . . you'll either sell-out or not. When you bring the two together, you have a residual income to go along with a one-off show. With Concert.Cafe, we've got the platform, the ticketing, and the ability to do the bundling packages with coffee and the concert or a dinner show. The food is simply amazing at The Legacy Hotel."
About Concerts.Cafe
As the first interactive and immersive live streaming concert venue for lovers of live music and gourmet coffee, Concerts.Cafe is a unique, online concert experience for music fans and coffee connoisseurs. It is a web platform dedicated to pairing ticketed live music events and signature artist shops with consumable merchandise, offering shows in all genres with some of the finest organic flavors available in coffees and teas. Serving as a new revenue resource for music artists, Concerts.Cafe offers gourmet, artist-branded consumables and on-demand or live streaming music content to fans. Launched in April 2021, with a fantastic lineup of multiple music events and artist-inspired coffee flavors from which to choose Concerts.Cafe features special live streams and now in-person performances and artist coffee selections from a variety of musical artists and bands. (All in-person concerts adhere to Covid restrictions.) Visit https://concerts.cafe/
About The Legacy Resort Hotel & Spa
In the midst of California's breathtaking natural beauty and moments from San Diego's world-renowned beaches, you'll find Legacy Resort Hotel & Spa. Surrounded by the Legacy International Center, a state-of-the-art complex with countless features and attractions, the resort is unparalleled amidst San Diego and Southern California hotels. There is no more ideal destination for both leisure and corporate travel than right here at 875 Hotel Cir. S, San Diego, CA 92108. Visit: https://legacyresortandspa.com/
Media Contact
First Take PR
213-576-9946
Source :Concerts.Cafe
This article was originally published by IssueWire. Read the original article here.
More News
China’s Zhu Yuanling wins street skateboarding – just the latest teen winner at Asian Games
China’s 15-year-old Zhu Yuanling won gold in the women’s street skateboarding competition at the Asian Games on Sunday, the latest in a series of young winners at this edition of the continental multi-sport event. Zhu’s win came a day after Japanese primary school student Yuki Kurihara, 11, demolished opponents three times his age on the way to a historic gold in esports. Earlier in the Games, Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi, 13, became one of the faces of the event with three golds, all in record...
Asian Games 2026: Tejaswin Shankar Wins Bronze In Men's Decathlon
Tejaswin Shankar wins Bronze in the men's Decathlon at the 2026 Asian Games.
Giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang touch down in the US under new loan deal
Two giant pandas have arrived in Atlanta to take up residency at the southern US city’s zoo. The pandas, male Ping Ping and female Fu Shuang, left Chengdu in China’s southwest on Sunday, within days of Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapping up his three-day state visit to the United States. During the visit, Xi said the pandas would arrive “in a few days”. Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, whose names mean peace and double blessings, arrived at Atlanta International Airport on a chartered flight, state...
Foreign tourist arrivals grow 10.6% in August, fastest in two years
India received 6.91 lakh foreign tourists in August compared to 6.25 lakh in same month last year
How Beijing is neutralising Washington’s sanctions machine
Last week, the president of the United States stood at the podium of the United Nations General Assembly and asked aloud whether he should “annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly”. Donald Trump then turned to Venezuela’s oil and declared: “To the victor belong the spoils, you’ve all heard that …” He spoke as the Iran war neared its eighth month, a week after the UN Human Rights Council found “reasonable grounds to believe” that the US had committed war crimes. In the same speech,...
Shreyas Iyer welcomes pressure as India face Afghanistan in quarterfinal
Shreyas Iyer welcomes pressure as India face Afghanistan in quarterfinal
Keep out: why Greenland is the US military’s new eyes in the Arctic on China
Washington’s proposed military bases and expanded defence presence in Greenland will be akin to a “keep out” sign against potential Arctic military cooperation between Beijing and Moscow, according to analysts. The US, Denmark and Greenland signed a defence deal on Tuesday that allows Washington to build two new military bases on the world’s largest island, while reaffirming Denmark’s sovereignty over it. The deal – which updates and amends a 1951 defence agreement between Denmark and the US –...
Asian Games 2026: India's Ancy Sojan Wins SILVER In Women's Long Jump
Ancy Sojan Edappilly, 25, from Thrissur, wins Silver in the women's Long Jump at the 2026 Asian Games.
Harita Bhadra Wins Bronze For India In Women's 200m At Asian Games
Singapore's Shanti Pereira won the gold medal with a timing of 22.78 seconds, while China's Yujie won the silver medal with a timing of 22.93 seconds.
Two guides dead, 14 still missing after Himlung base camp avalanche
Key Takeaways: Two climbing guides have been found dead after the Himlung Himal Base Camp avalanche Fourteen kitchen staff members remain missing as search operations continue...
CM Vijay announces Rs 50 lakh for Abhay Singh after Asian Games silver
CM Vijay announces Rs 50 lakh for Abhay Singh after Asian Games silver
Dubai woman finds living in Mumbai expensive, returns within 15 days after heavy traffic and non-stop honking leave her exhausted
A Dubai based woman named Farah has said her short trip to Mumbai left her surprised by how expensive the city has become, and how quickly its traffic and noise wore her down, prompting her to head back to Dubai after just 15 days.
YOUR NEWS, OUR NETWORK.
Do you have Great News you want to tell the world?
Be it updates about your business or your community, you can make sure that it’s heard by submitting your story to our network reaching hundreds of news sites across 6 verticals.