The East Coast Jazz Festival is a major element of singer Ronnie Wells' Fish Middleton Jazz Scholarship Fund. This fund sponsors a variety of jazz education and information programs and even a jazz summer camp. This album records the jazz happenings at the festival held in February of 2001. The program is divided into two parts. The first half of the proceedings, dubbed "The Concert," has Wells presenting a play list of seven tunes with mostly local, but very good, jazz musicians backing her. The second half of the afternoon's entertainment, "The Jam Session," has Wells joined by fellow vocalist, the inestimable and seemingly ageless Ernie Andrews. These two are backed by the likes of Houston Person and bass player Keter Betts. Both parts of this musical event have their special moments. On the concert it's Wells' poignant interpretation of a medley of Love Dance and This Is Always. Wells is especially mellow here, as her deep, dark-hued voice completely takes over these two pieces. Helping to make it work so well is the piano of Aaron Graves. Other special attractions of the first half of the program include How High the Moon and Easy Street. The jam session has only four songs on the agenda. But each is a gem, kicking off with Andrews taking the first chorus of The More I See You as Person noodles underneath. Andrews and Wells end with a call and response of the last four measures. Barry Gordy's Marvin Gaye-made-popular Try It Baby is an appropriate coda for the jam session, running for more than ten minutes with no one leaving anything behind on the bandstand. The pairing of these two singers was inspirational and so was the result. Highly recommended. ~ Dave Nathan, Rovi