Arts Center offers evening of outstanding jazz and fine wines

Rosenblum played at the Arts Center last year with his trio, which has expanded to a sextet. In addition to his regulars, bass player Marty Jaffe and percussionist Ben Zweig, Rosenblum will be joined by the “incredible” Wayne Tucker on trumpet, Jasper Dutz on sax and bass clarinet, and Rafael Rosa on guitar. Ben Rosenblum’s Nebula Project, as the sextet is known, in 2023, released their latest album, “A Thousand Pebbles,” to critical acclaim from several leading jazz publications, including Downbeat Magazine.

“It’s been quite a while since Orangeburg has had a sextet of this caliber performing for the public and with the Lusty Gallery’s outstanding acoustics, this promises to be a very upbeat and entertaining evening, musically,” said Vivian Glover, director of community arts and development, who added, “And to make our evening even more enticing, we’re sponsoring a wine tasting.”

Heather Rast, executive director of the Arts Center, working with Advintage Wines, wine merchants to the Columbia Museum of Art, selected outstanding European and West Coast wines for guests to sample as they listen to the sextet. “We are so pleased Advintage wanted to come to Orangeburg, participate in our jazz evening and offer samples of their fine wines.” Rast explained that they narrowed the selection down to six wines: a medium-bodied red from the Mediterranean region of France, two wines from Spain, one a pink sparkling Moscato and the other a sparkling white. There are two outstanding California wines: a chardonnay and a cabernet sauvignon. The sixth is an Oregon pinot noir, a region with an excellent reputation for that red.

Both Rast and Glover said the jazz and wine tasting evening, a first of its kind at the Arts Center, has been an exciting project to organize and for a very worthy cause. “This will be a fundraiser for our summer camp program,” Rast noted. “Having arts and crafts programs for area youth was an Arts Center summer tradition, which we are growing again. This summer we want to award grants to deserving children, who would benefit from participating in our classes. We hope by the summer to have raised $2,500 to engage art teachers and purchase supplies.”

“There will also be a new exhibition in the Lusty Gallery,” Glover announced. “Retrospection • Introspection, works by Orangeburg fiber and mixed media artist, Susan Livingston, will be on show. Our exhibitions are always free and open to the public, which is very much a part our mission.”

“We’re looking forward to showcasing just how much the Arts Center can offer on Thursday, February 29,” Rast concluded, “by presenting an incredible band, exhibiting the works of a very gifted local artist, and hosting a fine wine tasting.

The Ben Rosenblum performance and wine tasting is on Thursday, February 29, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Orangeburg County Fine Arts Center, 649 Riverside Drive, Orangeburg.

Tickets are 25.00 and can be purchased by calling 803-536-4074 or dropping by the Arts Center.