Jazz Fest at the Tribeca Rooftop

Zooey & Willie’s reception was incredible! Zooey is the associate director of public relations at Jazz at Lincoln Center for their orchestra in Manhattan. Her husband, Willie, is a jazz drummer in Brooklyn who has performed and recorded with great artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins, among others, and he is owner/producer of his own label, WJ3 Records. As you can imagine, their wedding reception at the amazing Tribeca Rooftop was overflowing with the sound of jazz music. In fact, Zooey said:

I hear that our reception was more like a concert which, in our case, is so appropriate. We went into our planning knowing we wanted to have a party, not just a reception. And not only did we pull it off, but you captured the spirit so perfectly! I love that you could connect with Willie II and III as they were playing together. It was a special moment for all of us.

Indeed, we knew just how special this evening was for everyone. We found ourselves mesmerized by the sheer weight of musical talent in the room. The evening was started off by Willie’s niece, Jessica, who played a beautiful piano solo; then continued by Willie II on the ivory keys. A real highlight for me personally was seeing Willie III accompany his dad on the drums for a truly dynamic and touching song. Then each of Willie’s groomsmen played to everyone’s delight. And trumpeter Wynton Marsalis (who actually grew up in a house originally owned by my late Aunt Ella Mae, literally just two doors down from where I lived in a small town in Louisiana) was there among them to lend his own sounds to the jam session. They were all musicians unified and playing on the same stage tonight for their cherished friends, Zooey & Willie.

Here’s a peek at this amazing portion of the night’s musical entertainment, led by Willie III himself on drums. Just press the PLAY button:

Some of the evening’s performers included:

• Jessica Keyes (Willie’s niece on solo piano)
• Willie Jones II (Willie’s father, his earliest musical inspiration)
• Willie Jones III (the groom himself, of course)
• Teodross Avery
• Justin Robinson
• Danton Boller
• Mark Thornton
• Wynton Marsalis
• Eric Reed
• Eric Wyatt
• Sherman Irby
• Aaron Goldberg

More with Zooey & Willie.