By Virginia Anzengruber, Fountain Street Church
The Jazz in the Sanctuary concert series will conclude its sixth season at Fountain Street Church on Sunday, May 5th. The concerts, curated and hosted by West Michigan jazz mainstay Robin Connell, pair the spontaneous wonder of jazz with the acoustic and architectural beauty of the century-old, neo-Romanesque sanctuary in downtown Grand Rapids. As the church celebrates its 150-year Anniversary in 2019, Connell will welcome fellow Michigan musicians Elgin Vines on bass and Alain Sullivan on saxophone.
Vines has been described as one of the most sought-after jazz bassists in West Michigan. As a student at Norfolk State University, he paid his tuition by gigging along the Virginia Beach strip and was a member of the house trio on the daily Morty Nevins Television Show for three years. After graduating, he went on the road with The New Direction for eight years, and then in 1972 settled in Grand Rapids to play for the Bennie Carew Trio and work as a technologist for Amway. In 2005, the West Michigan Jazz Society named him their Musician of the Year.
Sullivan is a 19-year-old jazz saxophonist, bandleader, composer/arranger, and woodwind instrumentalist based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He currently attends the University of Michigan, pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry toward pre-medicine, as well as a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in jazz studies under the tutelage of its esteemed faculty, including Andrew Bishop, Ellen Rowe, Dennis Wilson, Robert Hurst, and Benny Green. He has performed in a wide variety of musical settings, including jazz settings of all types and several pit orchestras for musicals, doubling on flute and clarinet. He has played frequently throughout Michigan, across the country, and in Germany and Denmark. In 2018, he was presented with a YoungArts award, which is given to just a handful of young artists in multiple disciplines.
Connell herself is a prolific jazz pianist, vocalist, and educator who received the 2017 Musician of the Year award from West Michigan Jazz Society for her widespread collaboration with other artists and her continuing work on the Jazz in the Sanctuary series. Whether solo or in a group, she performs regularly throughout the region.
General admission to Jazz in the Sanctuary is $15 online or at the door. College students may show ID for $5 admission. Tickets and additional information are available at fountainstreet.org/jazz.
Fountain Street Church is an independent house of worship with an open pulpit and a 150-year history of progressive action in the heart of West Michigan.
For more information about Fountain Street Church or the Jazz in the Sanctuary concert series, please contact Conor Bardallis, Events Manager, at cbardallis@fountainstreet.org or 616-459-8386 ext. 221 or Virginia Anzengruber, Content and Communications Manager at vanzengruber@fountainstreet.org.
