Racial & Economic Justice

Via e-mail:

An Evening of Jazz to Benefit the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service
New Year's Eve 2008
United Church of Chapel Hill
 1321 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514


United Church of Chapel Hill will host an evening of jazz beginning at 7 pm on New Year's Eve as a benefit concert for the Inter-Faith Council.  The Bradshaw Quartet will play and Christen Campbell will sing. A free-will offering will be taken.  Last year's concert raised more than $3,000 for the Inter-Faith Council and great fun was had by all.  It is early on New Year's Eve so people can start the evening at a benefit concert which concludes before 9 pm.

The Bradshaw Quartet began in 2003 as the rhythm section for the United Voices of Praise Gospel Choir.  Charles Bradshaw (Keyboards), Matthew Busch (tenor and soprano saxophone), Brad Kintner (upright and fretless bass), and Odessa Shaw (drums) each bring more than 20 years of musical experience and training from a broad range of musical styles. The Quartet brings this diverse knowledge, from swing dance to R+B top 40, from classical to punk to gospel, to form a jazz ensemble capable of  looking beyond the standards for inspiration. The quartet will be showcasing selected jazz standards, new interpretations of R+B and pop classics, and original compositions.

Christen Campbell comes to North Carolina by way of Boston, Massachusetts.  Before her career as wife and mother, Christen traveled the world as a jazz singer.  She has performed in dozens of major cities including New York, Rome, Athens, Tokyo and Cairo. Christen has performed with musical legends like Dave McKenna, The San Francisco Swing Experience and Marcus Miller.  Clive Davis of the New York Daily Post said: "She is a jazz singer with a sense of humor and a good sense of the stage…an unbeatable combination."

From its beginning of seven women from area congregations responding to need in our community, the Inter-Faith Council has been responding to human needs for forty-five years.  The number of households served by the Food Pantry continues to grow at an alarming rate.  Last month 98 new households became members due to loss of income or rising expenses in their households.  IFC volunteers now give monthly grocery allotments to a total of 1,697 families.  As we go through this holiday season and enter a new year, you are invited to do so in the company of those who enjoy good jazz and in solidarity with those in need.

An Evening of Jazz, a benefit concert for the Inter-Faith Council, will be on New Year's Eve beginning at 7 pm at United Church of Chapel Hill, 1321 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Chapel Hill, NC.  For more information, www.unitedchurch.org or call 919-942-3540.

Richard Edens
United Church of Chapel Hill
1321 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Chapel Hill, NC  27514
919-942-3540     Voice Mail Box # 60