THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 11, 1996 TAG: 9601100157
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
A night of dining and jazz awaits patrons of the Suffolk Museum Jan. 19.
Drummer Robert Jospe and his band, Inner Rhythm, will appear as guests of the Suffolk Art League and Suffolk Fine Arts Commission. They promise jazz for listening and dancing.
Jospe said the museum seeks a night club atmosphere, so ``we'll keep it jazz, swing, rhythms.''
Jospe's five-piece band features some of Virginia's best-known musicians on trumpet, saxophone, piano, bass and, of course, drums.
Musicians who influenced him - and are part of his presentations - include Miles Davis, John Coltrane, George Gershwin and Duke Ellington.
``It's a good mix,'' Jospe said, that appeals to a range of audiences. ``The music is contemporary but reflects the roots of American jazz.''
The performance, after a buffet dinner, will include original pieces and familiar fare.
``I've been a drum professional about 25 years,'' Jospe said in a phone interview from his Greene County home, at the base of High Top Mountain. For the past 15 years, he's taught jazz drumming at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
When the 45-year-old Jospe is not teaching, he is touring - thanks, in part, to a grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, co-sponsor of the Suffolk concert.
``I usually conduct a world beat workshop, an educational program,'' Jospe said. ``It's a lecture-demonstration, another drummer and myself looking at the African influence in Central and South American dance music.''
Jospe studied with Miles Davis' drummer, Tony Williams, and has worked closely with some of the country's best-known jazz musicians. He merges several rhythm styles - calypso, salsa, fusion, African, contemporary jazz.
``Very early jazz was my inspiration,'' he said, but inspiration also came from performers featured in the large record collection of his father, an Antwerp native. They ranged from Motown artists to the Beatles and black jazz artists.
This is the Suffolk Museum's third dinner concert. The first two, in January and June, had a local touch. John Jenkins, band director at Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, featured his group, Odyssey. Later, music was provided by N-trigue, conducted by Mike Carson, band director at Nansemond River High School.
``Attendance was quite good,'' said Linda Bunch, Suffolk Art League administrator. ``We had more than 100 for the first one - only slightly less in June.
``We'll have another later,'' she said, ``possibly a top-40 country band, one from out-of-town.'' ILLUSTRATION: Robert Jospe and his band, Inner Rhythm, will perform Jan. 19.
AT A GLANCE
What: ``An Evening With Robert
``An Evening With Robert Jospe and Inner Rhythm,'' dinner and
music
When: 7 to 10 p.m., Jan. 19
Where: Suffolk Museum, 118 Bosley Ave.
Tickets: $20. Reservations by Jan. 15
Call: 925-0448
[For a copy of the INFOLINE box, see microfilm.]
by CNB