Hot jazz on a warm summer day

The concert was partly sponsored by the Youngstown Parks Commission.

By SEAN BARRON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

YOUNGSTOWN — If you were on the west end of downtown Sunday, your ears got a taste of jazz.

A few hundred people filled the lawn of the B&O Station and Banquet Center on the Mahoning River to hear music from more than 30 years ago being played by Old Skool featuring Billy Beck, which was part of the Jazz in the Park series. Beck, a Youngstown native, is a former member of the 1970s R&B group the Ohio Players.

Jazz aficionados took advantage of perfect weather to hear the group’s version of “Skin Tight” as well as other hits from Ohio Players, and other selections. The three-hour program was sponsored by the Youngstown Parks Commission and Players Express Entertainment.

Beck, who joined the Ohio Players in 1973 at age 19, said he’s in the process of making a compact disc and still tours regularly. When not touring, he performs many live shows, he added.

About the series

The series began more than 10 years ago under the direction of Mike and Karen Clarke-Green. After Mike Green died in 2001, his brother Jeff took over, explained Al Robinson, who served as master of ceremonies.

The series features various bands, over six weeks, that perform from about 3 to 6 p.m. each Sunday at the B&O, ending around Labor Day, Robinson noted.

Jeff Green, a saxophonist who produces the series and owns Players Express, said the shows also are in memory ofhis brother Mike, who started Jazz in the Park in 1994. The shows are continuing in Mike Green’s name, he added.

Members of Old Skool play in other bands but come together at various times, Green said.