J. Sylvester CD Release Party for “Inside Out”

The Center for Southern Folklore, the Jazz Lover U92 WUMR and ProbamMusic pull out all the stops in celebrating the release of “Inside Out” the first CD by former Memphian and neo-jazz saxophonist J. Sylvester. The concert is also a tribute to long-time Center favorite Fred Ford, whose son Jamil is founder of ProbamMusic.

The late Fred Ford was one of three Memphis saxophonists honored at this year’s Memphis Music & Heritage Festival.

The action takes place in the Center’s Folklore Store Friday night, October 2 from 8 p.m. to Midnight. Tickets are $10 and are available online at the Center’s website and at the Center’s Folklore Store as well as at the door. The Folklore Store is located at 123 S. Main Street near the Peabody Place Trolley Stop in the heart of downtown Memphis.

J. Sylvester got his first exposure to Memphis’ rich jazz and blues heritage when he moved to the Bluff City as a teenager in 1985. His initial musical training came in his church band and continued in high school where he became seriously interested in the saxophone. After a four year stint in the Marines (playing in a military jazz band), he moved back to Memphis in 1994. This is when he got the courage to try out his craft on the stage. He went from venue to venue “sitting in” with various musicians. This was like going to “school” for him as he was determined to learn the numerous styles of blues and jazz. One such saxophonist he learned from was the legendary Fred Ford to whom this concert is a tribute.

Looking to expand his musical horizons, J. Sylvester moved to Nashville where he continued to “sit in” at various venues and learned how to incorporate the straight ahead jazz of John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, and Sonny Rollins with the more contemporary sounds of Joshua Redman, Grover Washington Jr., and Memphis’ own Kirk Whalum. These days he resides in Houston, Texas where he has become a regional jazz sensation. Fittingly, he recorded his first CD “Inside Out” for ProbamMusic (which stands for Preservation of Black American Music), an independent record label created to honor the memory of none other than J. Sylvester’s onetime mentor, saxophonist Fred Ford.

J. Sylvester's "Inside Out" CD can be purchased online at CDBaby or downloaded from iTunes. You may also walk in any music store and ask them to purchase the CD for you.

We appreciate your interest in and support of the Center for Southern Folklore. To learn more, go to www.southernfolklore.com.