Join us and celebrate America's Music!
PAST EVENTS
RODNEY WHITAKER
7:30 p.m., Friday, June 13, 2025
MESSIAH UNIVERSITY - Parmer Hall
On Friday, June 13, CPFJ welcomes Rodney Whitaker, one of the country’s leading bass performers and teachers of the jazz double bass, to perform at Messiah University. Whitaker is this year’s CPFJ Jazz Camp guest faculty, and he will perform alongside fellow Messiah faculty as they close out this year’s Camp.
ABOUT RODNEY WHITAKER
Internationally renowned bassist and Mack Avenue recording artist, Rodney Whitaker, currently holds the titles of Professor of Jazz Bass and Director of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University where he has built one of the leading jazz degree programs and performing faculty in the United States of America.
Melissa Aldana Quartet
Grammy Nominated Saxophonist
Sunday, April 27, 2025 at Trinity Luteran Church, 2000 Chestnut Street, Camp Hill
3PM - Reception
4PM - Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School Jazz Band
5PM - Melissa Aldana Quartet takes the stage
Michael Deese
Sun, Dec 15th, 2024 at 3:00 PM - Rose Lehrman Arts Center, HACC, Harrisburg, PA
Join us at the Rose Lehrman Center for an evening with Michael Dease & Company!
Join us early for a reception with light refreshments. More details to come.
ABOUT MICHAEL DEASE
Michael Dease is one of the world's finest trombonists, lending his versatile sound and signature improvisations to over 200 recordings and groups as diverse as Grammy winning artists David Sanborn, Christian McBride, Michel Camilo, and Alicia Keys.
Jonny King
Sun, Oct 13th, 2024 at 3:00 PM - Rose Lehrman Arts Center, HACC, Harrisburg, PA
ENSEMBLE: Jonny King, piano; Steve Wilson, sax; Dezron Douglas, bass; Allan Mednard, drums
(Click on each artists' name to learn more.)
ABOUT JONNY KING
Jonny King has been described by Downbeat as "one of the strongest piano voices" of his generation and a "bandleader who kicks ass." JazzTimes likewise wrote that he “represents the best of what jazz has to offer” as both a performer and composer. A native New Yorker, he grew up in the City's jazz clubs, participating first as a fan and then as a performer.
Brandee Younger
Mt Gretna - July 24, 2024
In 2022, she made history by becoming the first black woman to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition. She has worked with cultural icons including Common, Lauryn Hill, John Legend, and Moses Sumney. Her current album, Brand New Life, cements the harp’s place in pop culture. As the title of the album suggests, Brand New Life is about forging new paths – artistic, personal, political, and spiritual.
Charles McPherson
Mt Gretna Playhouse - August 17, 2024
For more than 50 years, saxophonist Charles McPherson has been one of the most expressive and highly regarded voices in jazz. His rich musical style, rooted in the blues and bebop, has influenced and inspired generations of musicians and listeners.
TERELL STAFFORD
SPRING CONCERT SERIES
Friday, June 14th at 7:30PM
Messiah University, One University Avenue, Mechanicsburg
WE WELCOME TERELL AS THE 2024 CPFJ JAZZ CAMP
GUEST ARTIST AND FACULTY!
Terell Stafford, acclaimed trumpet player based in New York, has been hailed as “one of the great players of our time, a fabulous trumpet player” by piano legend McCoy Tyner. Stafford is recognized as an incredibly gifted and versatile player, he combines a deep love of melody with his own brand of spirited and adventurous lyricism. Stafford’s exceptionally expressive and well defined musical talent allows him to dance in and around the rich trumpet tradition of his predecessors while making his own inroads.
Learn more at: https://terellstafford.com