Welcome to Connected, LLC!
Announements!
Welcome to Connected's new website! Here you can find information about the band and its members, and upcoming performances!
Who Are We?
Connected is a local jazz band based in Elizabeth City, NC. We offer jazz entertainment for all occasions. We specialize in playing a variety of musical styles in the jazz idiom, including Dixieland, Swing, Blues, Bebop, and Commercial (Smooth Jazz). We also like to incorporate Gospel, Rhythm and Blues, Motown, and Soul to our repertoire. Full band consists of rhythm section (piano, bass, guitar, and drums), horn section (trumpet, trombone, and saxophone), and 2 vocalists.
About Connected
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Formerly known as Jazz Connection of Elizabeth City, NC, Connected was founded by Wayne James, former band director of Northeastern High School in 1996. Mr. James featured students from his high school band including Heston Morris, Kentric Morris, and Phillip Anderson. Mr. James plays trumpet for the group. Dennis Figgs was added later that year and played piano and keyboards.
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Currently managed by Wayne James, Dennis Figgs, and Ellard Forrester, Connected has been both blessed and fortunate to feature many great musicians of the Albemarle Area. Current members include Dennis Figgs on keyboards and vocals, Wayne James on trumpet, Jeremy Ward on bass, Ellard Forrester on drums and percussion, Will Lane on Guitar, and Joel Taylor and Shannah Boone on lead vocals. Other members who have performed with Connected include Dr. Rev. Quin Rawls, Timon Stallings, Alana Houston, Dr. Steve Raisor, Naomi Rogers, CJ Mercer, Wells Gordon, Michael Gregory, Douglas Jackson, JP Peele, Marlow Greene, and Wes Smith. John Brown was a featured guest artist for Connected for a Lyceum Series concert in 2007 at Elizabeth City State University.
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Connected has performed in various venues, including The Duck Jazz Festival in Duck, NC, the North Carolina Potato Festival in Elizabeth City, NC, several local summer concert series, including Harmony on the Perquimans Riverfront in Hertford, NC, The Summer Concert Series at Newbold-White House in Hertford, NC, the Music by the Bay Concert series in Edenton, NC, the Summer Breeze Concert Series in Corolla, NC, Music on the Green Concert Series, in Elizabeth City, NC, as well as venues in Columbia, NC and Roper, NC. The group has played at local restaurants including 3 Amigos Mexican Restaurant in Elizabeth City, The Table Restaurant and House 51 Restaurant in Edenton, NC, Kelly’s Restaurant and Tavern in Nags Head, NC, Mack Daddy's Seafood in Avon, NC, and Coastal Cravings (Tap Shack) in Duck, NC. The group currently plays at 2 Souls Wine bar in Elizabeth City once a month and is scheduled to play at the Duck Concert Series on June 13, 2024, and the Tap Shack on June 21, 2024.
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Connected showcases a variety of styles and genres in the Jazz idiom, as they spread this wonderfully created American music across the Northeastern Albemarle Area. Their goal is to provide this uniquely special music to any and all who lend an ear to appreciate America’s greatest artform, Jazz.
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Connected has performed virtual concerts for the Elizabeth City State University Gala Event in Elizabeth City, NC and the Suffolk Art Council in Suffolk, Va., as well as performed during the summer months at two locations in Nags Head, NC and in Cape Charles VA.