Sweet Sounds Downtown Returns to Westfield for Summer Season

The threat of rain and thunderstorms may have pushed it back a day, but many still came out for this year's first Sweet Sounds Downtown. Tents proved unnecessary as the rain held off long enough for the weekly Jazz Night to kick off Wednesday. Crowds young and old gathered to get in a relaxing night of jazz music before a busy day filled with barbecues and fireworks. Sweet Sounds Downtown offers a variety of music that fans from all walks of life can enjoy. 
The first stage located in front of Banana Republic featured Lauren Shub & the Trio. Having performed at the event many times before, Lauren Shub joked with the viewers and garnered quite a large crowd. Lauren provided great vocals which were accompanied by both an electric keyboard and drums.
No Name James & Butterball performed at the plaza on the corner of East Broad and North Ave in front of PNC. No Name James is considered one of the most talented guitar players and vocalists around and it was quite apparent why. No Name along with his band, Butterball, have performed at many different venues in the Metro Area over the past 15 years. The crowd seemed to love No Name James' energy and up beat tunes.  
In front of the Baptist Church on Elm Street, the Richard Reiter Swing Band caused at least a few couples to get to their feet and start dancing. Very well known in the area, the Richard Reiter Swing Band is perhaps New Jersey's most popular swing combo over the last 20 years. Tricia Slafta provided the vocals while Richard Reiter manned the saxophone. They are known for performing familiar standards from the Swing Era and if requested, the best of classic rock.
In front of the North Avenue Train Station, listeners were perplexed by the sounds of the Chris Colaneri Quintet who proved you don't always need vocals for good jazz music. The quintet broke out the bells and electronic keyboard, playing both jazz legends such as Charlie Parker and jazzy takes on more modern tunes such as Nirvana's "Smells like Teen Spirit" and "Fly Like an Eagle".  
The year's first Sweet Sounds Downtown was a great opportunity to get out and listen to some fantastic jazz music. The rain didn't seem to hamper spectators, as all four stages had great turnouts. Sweet Sounds Downtown now occurs weekly on Tuesdays for the rest of July and August and offers some great acts for the rest of summer.