An eclectic mix of music is coming to Burrell Park in Carmi on July 26, starting at 6:30 p.m. The Deep Roots Festival is presenting A Saturday In The Park, featuring Carmi native Rob Endicott who will be playing a mix of jazz and blues, along with members of the House Band, which will also be on hand to play a set of funk music. Starting the evening will be Mark Rogers with special guests, who will kick things off with acoustic music. The event is free, and people are welcome to bring picnics, coolers, blankets and lawn chairs.
Rob was born and grew up in Carmi, Illinois. He began playing the cornet in third grade at the age of 9, and studied both the trumpet and cornet privately in Evansville, Indiana through grade school and high school. Rob received a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana (studying with Ray Sasaki), followed by a master’s in music from the Juilliard School of Music in New York City (studying with Mark Gould). He freelanced for several years in and around the New York and Connecticut area and spent a year in The Netherlands studying with Ed Carroll at the Rotterdam Conservatory and performing with the Rotterdam Symphony in the late ‘80s, including several recordings and television broadcasts.
A lawyer at the Bryan Cave law firm in St. Louis, Rob remains very active musically, primarily in the jazz and blues genres. He has recorded with the Javier Mendoza Latin Jazz Project and the Jim Stevens Group, and has played with the Johnnie Johnson Band, the Soulard Blues Band, the John Farrar group, Jon Thomas and Friends, Park Avenue Jazz, Tim Green, and Anita Rosamond. He has performed with the Skeet Rogers and the Inner City Blues Band, including opening for such legendary blues acts as Bobby “Blues” Bland and Jerry “the Iceman” Butler. Rob has played at the Sheldon Concert Hall, the Jazz at the Bistro, various jazz and blues festivals (including Taste of St. Louis, Bluesweek, the Big Muddy Blues Festival, the Uncorked Festival in St. Louis and Belleville Days). Rob has played alongside Eric Marshall (below) for nearly a decade in the Voodoo Blues Band, which plays regularly in the St. Louis Soulard area, frequently backing Roland Johnson, one of St. Louis’ premier soul and blues singers.
Eric Marshall, a fellow member of the Voodoo Blues Band will be joining Rob, along with Scott Kittinger on bass, and Tim Mitchell on drums. Eric graduated from Bradley University in Peoria Illinois in 1976 with a Bachelor of Music degree and then completed two years of graduate study at The Washington University in St. Louis. He his been a private piano instructor since that time, primarily out of Tower Music in Fenton. Eric played Buffalo Bob and the Bedroom Blues band from 1989-1991. He also had a long running stint with the Park Avenue Jazz group from 1997 to the late 2000’s. Eric and Rob play together in the Voodoo Blues Band, Eric having been with the band since its inception in 1997. He also plays with the Rhythm Kings and frequently backs Roland Johnson, one of St. Louis’ premier soul and blues singers.
Eric has noted his main musical influences in jazz piano are Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett. Eric is a talented classical musician as well.
Mark Rogers has been a fixture on the area music scene for years, playing both electric and acoustic music. Known for his soulful vocals and solid guitar technique, he will be performing original compositions as well as standards.
The House Band is an evolving group of local musicians, which vary from show to show. For A Saturday In The Park, they’ve chosen to perform a set of funk standards from the seventies, guaranteed to make hips shimmy and feet tap. Those signed on for the performance so far are Mark Doane, Mark Witherspoon, Mike Naney, Todd Lane, Scott Kittinger, Kip Russell, Tim Mitchell, Steve Mallette, Alex Smock and Todd and Teelin Atteberry, with others likely to join in.
The event is part of Carmi’s Deep Roots Festival, which aims to bring quality entertainment to town at no charge for the public. The musicians donate their time and talent at no charge. Donations for the event have been provided by Gottzz’s, Kays Printing, Greeman Design Studio and the City of Carmi.
The first event in the festival, Burrell’s Woods Boogie drew several hundred people to the park. The next Deep Roots event, BBQ and the Blues is set for August 23.
For more information visit www.carmibicentennial.com, or email todd@greenmandesignstudio.com
A splendid time is guaranteed for all.
