In the summer of 1985 John Garcia Gensel, the "Jazz Pastor" of St. Peter's Lutheran Church in New York suggested Anne Phillips as the writer of a Christmas benefit to be held there. That was the birth of The Jazz Nativity. Dave Brubeck, Clark Terry and Gene Bertoncini who are still in the cast were in that very first show with Pastor Gensel as narrator and Bob Kindred as musical director. Bob's haunting rendition of "Silent Night" created the opening mood in the darkened church that very first night just as it does today. The show has moved to several sites since then. For years it played at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church on Park Ave., Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, The Lamb's Theater, Orchestra Hall in Chicago, the Patriot Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton, NJ and even the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York. As the show has grown so has the audience. More and more jazz greats joined the cast. Charles Kuralt from CBS Sunday Morning became the host. The Kings, Shepherds and Angels have been played by Tito Puente, Lionel Hampton, Phil Woods, Al Grey, Clark Terry, Stanley Turrentine, Jackie Cain and Roy Kral and tap dancers Honi Coles, Cookie Cook and Jimmy Slyde. The ten piece band is made up of the jazz world's best including the Cuban conga master, Candido. Through the Jazz Nativity Children's Project hundreds of inner-city children were introduced to the music. The joy and love inherent in the show spreads out to the audience. Never has such a combination of jazz and theater been done. It is both moving and a rollicking good time. As one reviewer said, "This extraordinary performance will keep Christmas in your heart forever."
