Centenary Stage Company’s Winter Thaw Festival of concerts kicks off 2024 with a performance by Jumaane Smith in his show titled: “Louis! Louis! Louis!”. The concert will take place at CSC’s Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center at 715 Grand Avenue, Hackettstown, NJ on January 13^th at 8:00 PM. Ticket prices are $25 for adults and $15 for students of any age & children under 12. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit centenarystageco.org or call the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979-0900. 

Jazz trumpeter, vocalist, and composer Jumaane Smith has performed on 5 GRAMMY Award-winning records (selling more than 60 million copies), 2 Emmy Award-nominated TV performances, the GRAMMY Awards with Stevie Wonder, in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” (trumpet solo actor), at The White House, on the Today Show, Tonight Show, Oprah, Good Morning America, and American Idol. He’s spent the last 17 years touring and recording with Michael Bublé as lead trumpeter and vocalist; was a member of Harry Connick Jr. ‘s house band for the syndicated daytime TV show “Harry”. He’ll take the Sitnik stage to give his renditions of classics from his biggest influences – Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima, & Louis Jordan. 

Jumaane has spent the last 17 years touring and recording with Michael Bublé as lead trumpeter and vocalist; was a member of Harry Connick Jr. ‘s house band for the syndicated daytime TV show “Harry, and the featured guest soloist for Jackie Evancho’s “Songs of the Silver Screen” world tour backed by a 60-piece symphony orchestra. He has toured with his own band to such world-class venues as Jazz At Lincoln Center, Vail Jazz Festival, Java Jazz Festival, Low’s Regency, North Star Festival, Joe’s Pub, Rochester International Jazz Festival, Catalina Island Jazz Festival, and many more. 

Jumaane Smith’s debut album, “I Only Have Eyes For You,” features special guests Michael Bublé, Jackie Evancho, and Naturally 7. His sophomore album, “When You’re Smiling,” was released in January 2020.

As a composer, Smith has scored music for films such as “Handsome Harry” (starring Steve Buscemi and Jamey Sheridan) and the documentary “Being in the World,” as well as for his own recordings and the interactive sheet music company Tomplay.  Smith has worked with musical legends such as Quincy jones, Herbie Hancock, Aretha Franklin, Christian McBride, Barbra Streisand, and many more. As a full scholarship recipient at the Juilliard School of Music’s Jazz Studies program (2001-2005), Wynton Marsalis was Smith’s primary trumpet teacher. 

The music festival will continue with concert performances by Reverie Road on January 20, Rosaway on January 27, and Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba on Februrary 3. All performances will begin at 8:00 pm in The Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the campus of Centenary University at 715 Grand Avenue, Hackettstown, NJ.  

For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit centenarystageco.org or call the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979-0900. The Centenary Stage Company box office is open Monday through Friday from 1:00-5:00 pm and two hours prior to performances. The box office is located in the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the campus of Centenary University at 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, NJ. Centenary Stage Company can also be found across social media platforms; Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter. Like and follow to receive the latest in CSC news and special offers.  

The 2023-24 Season of Performing Arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Sandra Kupperman Foundation, the John and Margaret Post Foundation, The New Jersey Theatre Alliance, the CSC corporate sponsors, including Platinum Season Sponsor the House of the Good Shepherd, Silver Sponsors, Heath Village, Visions Federal Credit Union, Explore Warren, and Fulton Bank, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.