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Shows

Previous events

Date Event Location
 —  — Jazz Infuzion - Live at Bourbon Boulevard (Chantilly, VA) Bourbon Boulevard, Chantilly, VA Bourbon Boulevard, Chantilly, VA
 —  — Courtney Nero Quartet, featuring Kiris Powell (vocals) - Bourbon Boulevard (Chantilly, VA) Bourbon Boulevard, Chantilly, VA Bourbon Boulevard, Chantilly, VA
 —  — Jazzy Thursdays with Common Ground - At Della J's (7-9pm) Della J's Restaurant, Alexandria, VA Della J's Restaurant, Alexandria, VA
Common Ground live for Jazzy Thursdays at Della J's Della J's Soul Food Restaurant, Alexandria, VA Della J's Soul Food Restaurant, Alexandria, VA
Common Ground Jazz - Live Bourbon Boulevard (Chantilly, VA), Chantilly, Virginia Bourbon Boulevard (Chantilly, VA), Chantilly, Virginia
Common Ground Jazz - Live! Bourbon Boulevard, Chantilly, VA Bourbon Boulevard, Chantilly, VA
Courtney Nero Quartet, featuring Asa Nero (drums) Bourbon Boulevard, Chantilly, VA Bourbon Boulevard, Chantilly, VA
Common Ground Jazz - Live at Della J's Della J's Restaurant, Alexandria, VA Della J's Restaurant, Alexandria, VA
Jazz Night Featuring Common Ground Jazz at Della J's (Alexandria, VA) Della J's Restaurant, Alexandria, VA Della J's Restaurant, Alexandria, VA
 —  — Common Ground Jazz Plays Jazz in the Park -- Gypsy Hill Park, Staunton, Virginia Gypsy Hill Park, Staunton, Virginia, Staunton, Virginia Gypsy Hill Park, Staunton, Virginia, Staunton, Virginia
 —  — Common Ground Jazz - Live! (Birthday Celebration for CG Leader, Tim Jones) Bourbon Boulevard restaurant (reservations encouraged), Chantilly Bourbon Boulevard restaurant (reservations encouraged), Chantilly
 — (EDT, UTC-04)  — (EDT, UTC-04) Jazz Infuzion Bourbon Boulevard, Chantilly, VA, Chantilly, VA Bourbon Boulevard, Chantilly, VA, Chantilly, VA
Jazz Infuzion Bourbon Boulevard, Chantilly Bourbon Boulevard, Chantilly
Common Ground Jazz Epicure Cafe, Fairfax Epicure Cafe, Fairfax
Common Ground Jazz MGM Casino (Parking Lot) (Forest Heights, MD), Forest Heights, MD MGM Casino (Parking Lot) (Forest Heights, MD), Forest Heights, MD
Common Ground Jazz Bourbon Boulevard (Chantilly, VA), Chantilly, VA Bourbon Boulevard (Chantilly, VA), Chantilly, VA
Common Ground Jazz Epicure Cafe, Fairfax, Virginia Epicure Cafe, Fairfax, Virginia
Jazz Infuzion Bourbon Boulevard (Chantilly, VA), Chantilly, Virginia 20151 Bourbon Boulevard (Chantilly, VA), Chantilly, Virginia 20151
Jazz Night at Prosperity Flats Apartments with Common Ground  
Southern University Alumni Mardi Gras Ball Marriott Bethesda Conference Center Marriott Bethesda Conference Center

Latest News

 

ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN JAZZ JOURNAL (UK) ON TENOR SAX GREAT JUNIOR COOK

Today (15 July) Jazz Journal (UK) published an article I authored in the musical career and impact of tenor saxophone great Herman "Junior" Cook.  The article is entitled, "Junior Cook: Quintessential NYC Hard-Bop Tenor."  The information in the article comes from my forthcoming publication, "Have Horn, Will Travel: A Biography of Herman "Junior" Cook," the first comprehensive biography of Cook's life and career.  Check out the article at this link:  https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2023/07/15/junior-cook-quintessential-hard-bop-tenor/

 

COMMON GROUND JAZZ - LIVE AT DELLA J's SOUL FOOD RESTAURANT (Alexandria, VA)

Join Common Ground Jazz EVERY THURSDAY EVENING for Jazz Night at Della J's Soul Food Restaurant, 7692 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA (Route 1, about 10 minutes south of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and Beltway).  Common Ground plays from 7pm to 10pm.  Great music, great soul food, great atmosphere....in northern Virginia.  Get in on a good time!

 

NEW RELEASE, "FULL,"  ON DIGITAL PLATFORMS...

Excited to announce the recent release of my new gospel single, "FULL."  It features Naomi Nero on vocals and Asa Nero on drums.  Music by Courtney M. Nero and lyrics by Courtney M. Nero and Alvin Fruga.  Please check it out on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, and other digital platforms.


"SEE" (ORIGINAL POETRY/MUSIC) RELEASED ON YOUTUBE...

Please view, share, and spread the word about my new YouTube release, "SEE."  Special thanks to Curtis McCain (voiceover); Rusty Brown Photography (video production); Asa Nero (snare drum); Naomi Nero (photography); Dr. Sabrina L. Wesley-Nero (everything); and all the Black men who contributed their photos to this project.  "SEE."

 https://youtu.be/VVu5o-ojf0k

 

NEW SINGLES FORTHCOMING ON ITUNES AND OTHER DOWNLOAD/STREAMING SERVICES

Hope you all are well, safe, and healthy during this period.  My prayers go out to all those affected by COVID-19: those who were infected; those family members coping with ailing loved ones; and various workers on the front line carrying for those ailing or maintaining essential stores for the public.

The COVID-19 stay-at-home order this spring gave me a unique and unprecedented opportunity to produce original music using home studio resources.  The tragic murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia pushed me with new urgency to complete a few projects I had on the shelf.

In June 2020, I am expecting the release of THREE SINGLES via iTunes and other download and streaming services:

+ "I AM A MAN" is an original jazz composition that evokes the 1968 sanitation workers' protest that used the same iconic slogan.  This declaration of African-American men is as relevant in 2020 as it was in '68.  This song features Clifton B. Brockington on flugelhorn and Asa Nero on snare drum.

+ "SEE" pairs the "I AM A MAN" original composition with poetry that calls on American society to see beyond their biases and misperceptions of African-American men.  "SEE" is an original poem by Courtney M. Nero, recited by Curtis McCain.

+ "ALDERAAN" is a very very special song.  I composed this tune about 3 years ago, following the passing of my father, James H. Nero, Sr.  The song speaks to the void left when my father departed this world.

The songs were recorded using GarageBand (shout-out to Naomi and Asa for the tutorial) and mastered using LANDR (www.LANDR.com).  I will announce when the singles hit the download and streaming venues.  I would appreciate your support by purchasing the singles and spreading the word.

 

"SEE" original poetry (copyright 2020, by Courtney M. Nero) 

 

Please view, share, and spread the word on my new YouTube release, "SEE."

https://youtu.be/VVu5o-ojf0k

 

Here is the poem in its entirety.

See our strength, 
See our pride. 
See our number, 
Unified. 


See our faces, 
See our hues. 
See our joys, 
See our blues.

 
See heads bald, 
See heads greyed. 
See heads locked, 
See waves and fades. 


See our brow, 
Tense and furrowed. 
Our question, “How long?” 
The answer, always: “tomorrow.” 


See our eyes, 
Watching the village. 
Searching our place 
Where others have privilege. 


See our gaze, 
See our vision. 
See our children? 
See our mission. 


See our mouths’ 
multi-lingual twitching. 
See our codes 
And our code-switching. 


See our cheeks, 
Leathered, worn, 
Smooth, five o’clock, 
Or beard-adorned. 


See our lips, 
Or do you dare 
suffer witness to 
the truths they bare? 


See engineers, linguists, 
doctors, preachers. 
Administrators, writers, 
IT, teachers. 


Entrepreneurs, realtors, 
too many others to call. 
Playing sixteenths in a quarter-note world, 
Creatives all. 


See our battles, 
See our scars. 
See secret wounds 
From secret wars. 


See our stance, 
See our years. 
See our humanity. 
See your fears. 


See chins up, chests out, 
See shoulders strong. 
See heads unbowed 
to our nation’s wrongs. 


My friends, my bruhs, 
My son. Me. 
Look in these faces. See us. 
See.

New Logo 

Thanks to my friend and fellow high school alum Leland Kimani Hall (Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, Washington, DC, class of 1988) who helped me create a new logo.  (I was class of '89.)  See the logo on the photos page.

JI Song Featured on WAMU 88.5 FM Capital Soundtrack 

Congratulations to Pat Mackin, guitarist for The Jazz Infuzion (JI).  Pat's original composition, "Latina," was featured on WAMU 88.5 FM (Washington area affiliate of National Public Radio (NPR)) as part of WAMU's Capital Soundtrack on 10 and 12 October 2017.  Capital Soundtrack features the music of metropolitan Washington area musicians. 

http://wamu.org/story/17/10/12/capital-soundtrack-jazz-infuzion-ps-music-group-boomscat/

"Latina" is always a crowd favorite at Jazz Infuzion performances.  JI plans to develop and incorporate more original compositions in our repertoire in the coming months.  You can check out "Latina" on the "Videos" page of my site.

Latest Track

Here is a track that I composed, entitled "I'm Listening."  Courtney Nero, alto saxophone.  Anthony Walker, Fender Rhodes.  This song is featured as the theme song for "Frankly Speaking with Tyra G," a radio show hosted by Tyra Garlington, via www.radiofairfax.org.