Guitar legend Mike Stern and jazz fusion band Unfulfilled Desires led by Andrew Cohen play outdoor benefit concert in Berkshires, Massachusetts.
Lenox, MA, July 30, 2005 -- Jazz-rock guitar virtuoso Mike Stern and his band
will be making their debut appearance in the Berkshires, playing a benefit concert
for local environmental and educational nonprofits: Northeast Sustainable Energy
Association and Voices from the Edge speakers’ series, Saturday July 30
at 7:30pm, at Foxhollow Estate, Route 7, in Lenox, Massachusetts.
“Live at Foxhollow,” produced by EnlightenNext, will be held on
the hill overlooking Laurel Lake, the site of the very first Boston Symphony
Orchestra concert in the Berkshires. Lenox-based Unfulfilled Desires will be
the opening act. Tickets are $20/$18 online; students $12/$10 online; children
under 12 free. Food, beer, and wine will be available for purchase. Doors open
at 7pm.
Mike Stern is an internationally renowned jazz guitarist whose three-decade-long
career is a testament to both his talent and creativity. Named Best Jazz Guitarist
in the 1990s by Guitar Player magazine, Stern is recognized by critics, colleagues,
and fans as a master musician. “Mike Stern is one of the true guitar greats
of this generation,” says Andy Aledort, senior editor at Guitar World
magazine. The three-time Grammy nominee’s discography reads like a who’s
who of the cutting-edge of jazz and rock over the past thirty years –
he’s played with Miles Davis, John Scofield, David Sanborn, and Steve
Smith, to name a few, and has recorded twelve CDs. His most recent release,
These Times, is considered one of his best.
Unfulfilled Desires is an up-and-coming jazz-rock-funk band based in Lenox,
Massachusetts. They made their debut at the Berkshires Blues club in Lee, MA,
in 2002. Since then, they have been touring clubs in the northeastern US and
Europe. The band has a fresh and eclectic sound – the combined expression
of the classical, jazz, and rock backgrounds of the players. The five members
come from New York, Germany, France, and Chile.
Unfulfilled Desires founder and drummer, Andrew Cohen, is also the founder
of EnlightenNext, the main sponsors of this benefit concert. EnlightenNext is
an education nonprofit dedicated to furthering the evolution of human consciousness.
It hosts a variety of programs and publications, and has a growing network of
centers and members around the world.
“We wanted to have this concert to share a purely positive and joyful
experience with as many people as possible,” says Andrew Cohen, “so
we invited Mike Stern, one our favorite musicians, and his band to play. We’ve
received generous support from the local community and through the concert,
we’re pleased to be able to offer support to two worthy causes, our speakers’
series and the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association.” Cohen says that
they hope this year’s concert will be the first of many to come.
EnlightenNext is located at the Foxhollow Estate, which has great historical
and cultural significance. Built by George Westinghouse, it was later sold to
the Vanderbilts who first brought the Boston Symphony Orchestra to the Berkshires
to perform on the lawns of Foxhollow. This event marked the beginning of the
Tanglewood Music Festival.
The two nonprofit beneficiaries of “Live at Foxhollow” are Voices
from the Edge and the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association. Voices from
the Edge is a nonprofit, educational speakers series sponsored by EnlightenNext,
which brings leading thinkers in politics, science, business leadership, environmental
activism, and contemporary culture to the Berkshires year round. Recent speakers
have included NPR commentator Andrei Codrescu, Nobel Prize nominee Dr. Munawar
Anees, and MIT Leadership Lab founder Otto Scharmer. Events are held at Foxhollow.
The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) is the nation's leading
regional membership organization focused on promoting the understanding, development,
and adoption of energy conservation and non-polluting, renewable energy technologies.
For more than thirty years, NESEA has facilitated and enhanced a network of
professionals, practitioners, and other citizens in pursuit of responsible energy
use.
“Live at Foxhollow” is being sponsored by several local businesses
including Berkshire Bank, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Highland Farms,
Carr Hardware, Barrington Coffee, Cranwell, Evviva, Taft Farms, Berkshire Flowers,
Clover’s Organic Market, and the Apple Tree Inn, to name a few. It is
expected to draw 500-700 music fans.
EnlightenNext is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to furthering
the evolution of human consciousness. It produces a variety of programs and
products, including an international speaker’s series called Voices from
the Edge, an accredited Master's Degree in Conscious Evolution, and online studies,
seminars, and retreats worldwide. EnlightenNext's publishing arm, EnlightenNext
Media, produces educational websites, books, audios, and videos related to the
teachings of Evolutionary Enlightenment, as well as the award-winning magazine
What Is Enlightenment? Its newest venture is a multimedia website of audios
and videos from today’s leading thinkers in business, politics, environmental
issues, science, spirituality, and contemporary culture. EnlightenNext is based
in Lenox, MA.
Information websites:
The concert
Mike Stern
Unfulfilled Desires
EnlightenNext
About Mike Stern and his band
"Not only a magician of the fretboard, but a heartfelt and mature composer
of great depth." –Jon Chappell, Guitar Magazine
"An incredibly talented group of players exploring pure musicality ...
Stern leads his ensemble in surprising directions on every tune.... This team
just gets better with every outing." –Drum! Magazine
About Unfulfilled Desires
“Unfulfilled Desires brings an innovative and dynamic sound to mostly
new original material – powerful and expressive, they play with infectious
enthusiasm.” –Johnny D’s, Boston
“Unfulfilled Desires are real masters of their style. With a strong jazz
influence, they know how to groove and rock with explosive energy.” –Baiser
Sale, Paris
