Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Foundation Scholarship Awarded to Young Jazz Musician

Aug. 2, 2012 - PRLog -- Red Bank, NJ – On July 7th, 2012, Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Foundation Scholarship recipient Scott Reeves performed a solo set at the Middletown Jazz and Blues Festival on stage at the Middletown Arts Center. His performance was outstanding and he truly showed the crowd why he deserves to be the recipient of the Talmadge Holt Farlow Scholarship, which is awarded yearly by the Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Foundation.

Scott Reeves resides in Morganville, NJ and will be attending Berklee College of Music in Boston as a Jazz Guitar Performance/Composition Major this fall. The instruments that he plays are the guitar, upright bass, piano and percussion. His wide range of musical interests include traditional-contemporary jazz, smooth jazz, progressive-hard rock, metal, jazz fusion, classical and funk. He began taking an interest in playing music when he received a guitar for his fourteenth birthday, and quickly became inspired to learn how to play after experimenting with it and listening to guitarist legends Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton.

At first, the majority of his early lessons consisted of learning the basics and playing simple rock tunes, however as he progressed, he wanted to broaden his musical horizons and began to pursue more complex styles of music. “I was introduced to jazz guitar master Jerry Topinka. Jerry began immersing me in jazz guitar theory, as well as teaching me the mechanics of jazz guitar playing and improvisation,” says Reeves. “Because of Jerry’s guidance and influence, I have had the privilege of performing with some of the world’s greatest jazz guitarists, including Martin Taylor, Howard Alden, Jack Wilkens and Tommy Doyle. I also continue to perform regularly as part of Jerry’s “Top Gun” guitar trio.”

Scott Reeves is also the principal string bassist for the Holmdel Community Orchestra under the direction of his high school music director Patrick Dalton. During high school, he participated in marching band as the percussion squad leader, concert orchestra as a string bassist and jazz ensemble as a guitarist. He was also given the opportunity of forming and leading the Marlboro High School Jazz Fusion Quintet as a guitarist and musical arranger.

“It was a pleasure to award this year's Tal Farlow scholarship to such an extraordinary musician, Scott Reeves,” says Scholarship Chairwoman, Christine Zemla. “The Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Foundation is very proud to support Scott and we wish him all the best as he continues his career at the Berklee College of Music this fall.”

To be eligible for the Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Foundation’s Talmage Holt Farlow Scholarship or the David O. MacNamara Memorial Scholarship, the recipient must be a high school senior with an interest in pursuing music in the future. The Foundation has been awarding these scholarships to young musicians for ten years. For more information on the scholarships awarded by the Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Foundation, visit www.jsjbf.org.

About the Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation
The Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation (JSJBF) is a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation whose mission is to preserve, promote and perpetuate jazz and blues in the northern New Jersey shore region through performance and education. www.jsjbf.org.