Grammy-Winning Jazz Pianist Plays Valentine’s Fundraiser for All Saints Youth Choirs

A founding member of the two-time Grammy-winning jazz group Yellowjackets will take the stage at All Saints Church on Valentine’s Day — not for a concert hall performance, but for a coffeehouse fundraiser to send the church’s young singers to a choir festival.

Russell Ferrante, a pianist who has performed with Joni Mitchell, Bobby McFerrin and Al Jarreau over a career spanning five decades, is also an All Saints parishioner. He will join the church’s children’s and youth choirs and fellow parishioner Jonathan Berry for the Valentine’s Coffee House on Saturday, February 14.

All proceeds from the evening will fund the choirs’ trip to a choir festival in San Diego in March, the church said. Tickets are $30 for adults and $20 for seniors and youth, available online, by QR code on the event flyer, or on the church lawn after Sunday services.

Ferrante co-founded the Yellowjackets in the late 1970s. The band has recorded 25 albums, earned 17 Grammy nominations and won two Grammy Awards, according to the band’s official website. Ferrante teaches in the Jazz Studies department at USC.

Berry, a musician and music educator who has been part of the All Saints community for 20 years, operates a recording studio in Pasadena and records for film, records and commercial media, according to his All Saints Church profile. He is an instructor at the California School of the Arts and Pasadena Conservatory of Music’s community outreach program.

The evening will feature love songs, fresh coffee from Pasadena-based Jones Coffee Roasters, hot chocolate, cider, tea and sweet treats, the church said.

All Saints’ children’s and youth choirs are a regular part of Sunday worship at the church, which was founded in 1883 as Pasadena’s first Episcopal parish. The choirs include Unidad, for younger children, and Trouvères, for students in sixth through 12th grade, according to the church’s music program page.

Ferrante’s connection to All Saints runs deep. His trio plays an annual jazz vespers concert at the church, and he has described All Saints as the venue where the group played its first gig, according to his album liner notes.

The Valentine’s Coffee House takes place Saturday, February 14, from 5 to 8 p.m. on the Quad lawn at All Saints Church, 132 North Euclid Avenue. Tickets are $30 for adults and $20 for seniors and youth, available online, by QR code on the event flyer, or on the church lawn after Sunday services. Street metered parking is available on Euclid Avenue and nearby streets; the Plaza Las Fuentes parking structure on Union and Los Robles avenues is within walking distance. For more information, call (626) 796-1172 or visit allsaints-pas.org.