NYC
Actor/Director
Producer/Jazz Vocalist
CONGRATULATIONS
to ROME NEAL
who in 2022, received the
Lifetime Achievement Award at the
AUDELCO Awards Spectacular 50th Celebration of Black Theatre Excellence!
PayPal
Cashapp: $RNBJ18
Zelle: romeneal25@gmail.com
Your Donations Make a difference!
Catch Rome Neal's Banana Puddin' Jazz
At our New Home at
Theater for the New City
155 First Ave. NY, NY
The Last Monday of Each Month!
Upcoming Events
Rome Neal's Banana Puddin' Jazz is
Celebrating 21 Years of Showcasing Jazz & Talent
in New York City!!
​
Theater for the New City
Crystal Field, Executive Director
presents
In celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month
21st Anniversary of
Rome Neal
Banana Puddin' Jazz Production
​
Rome Neal in Concert​
Musicians
Andre Chez Lewis (p), Hilliard Greene (b),
Russel Carter (ds) Patience Higgins (s)
Monday, April 29, 2024 7pm $18
Reservations at 212.254.1109
Walk ups Welcome
Streaming on the RNBPJ YouTube page
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT_rY7QXXhg
An open mic /jam session
& complementary banana puddin' for ALL
Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue (at 10th street) NYC, NY
For more info: 212-254-1109 or www.theaterforthenewcity.net
Sponsors:
Sonia Sanchez, Ishmael Reed, Woodie KingJr., Stephen Mckinley Henderson, Carl Clay, Hollis King, John D. Smith, Askia Davis, Jr., Sheryl Renee Productions, Larry Cherry, Dr. Mona Vaughn Scott,
Dr. Monika Davis, Malaika M.Scott, Black Repertory Group Berkeley, Carolyn Keith, Ken & Lisa Chau, Stephen Korstein, Samuel Harps, Steven Sapp,
Cheryl Lane Lewis, George Johnson, Doc Gray, Clarence Mosley, Basir Mchawi, Tom Southern, Charles T. Averett, Bahati Best, Bob Meyers,
Kenneth White, Tracy Appleton, Nina Causey,
Isaac Suggs, BK Soul
BECOME A MONTHLY or YEARLY
SPONSOR TODAY
call Rome Neal: at 718-288-8048 for more details on how you can support and make a difference!
Go to YouTube and like and subscribe
to the BPJ YouTube Page
SAVE THE DATE... Monday, May 20, 2024 7PM at Theater For The New City Rome Neal's Banana Puddin' Jazz features The Gentle Gentlemen in Jazz with: Rob Fulton, Steve Cromity, Eric Frazier, Tony Hewitt, and Frank Senior .
​
"The way you brought so many diverse talents with a variety of gifts from various countries and even continents together yesterday, was truly exciting and refreshing! What A Wonderful Sharing!"
- Frances Alpine Sharp
"Awesome Rome, thank you for gathering phenomenal talent from around the world.. AWESOME JOB!!"
- Jerome Preston Bates
​
“
"I listened to the WBAI's "Back Stage Stories" where you covered the upcoming March 25th event. The program was outstanding. If you can get the authorization to link that show to a follow-up email next Monday, it may lead to a stronger turnout on March 25th."
- John D. Smith (long time Banana Puddin' Jazz SPONSOR).
This was the interview we had with Marcia Pendelton last week... Not to be missed just click here: https://wbai.org/archive/program/episode/?id=48652
On November 1, 2024, the Nuyorican closed its iconic doors for a $24 million 3-year renovation project called the "Nuyoricanstruction" phase ushering us into the next 50 years.
Thank you to Rachel deAragon for article in the
New York Beacon and Philadelphia Observer!
"Wow, what an honor to be acknowledged by Woodie King Jr. for having created my very own
ROME NEAL'S BANÀNA PUDDIN'JAZZ!!!" Rome
Theater produced and created by African-Americans helped mold generations influenced by their performance art and helped shape cultures.
Now, a new documentary hopes to show these Black creators, past and present, seeking stages to share their voices, entertain and inform on issues in front of a live audience and other performance platforms.
A one-man portrait
of Jazz great, composer/pianist,
Thelonious Sphere Monk.
Written by
Laurence Holder
Directed by
Rome Neal & Laurence Holder
Composer/Arranger Bill Lee
Rome Neal is 
"Rome Neal and Laurence Holder have merged their creative resources to bring back the "High Priest of Bebop," Thelonious Sphere Monk, for an energetic discourse on the meaning of his life and his music. Considering the full flavor of his eccentric genius and the wide range of his musical influence, there may not be another jazz musician who would be more fitting as a subject for a one-man show. As one might expect, this entertaining account is an offbeat journey, and it's filled with countless detours and shifts in mood, as Monk struggles with his many demons. It's poetry in "loco" motion, written and performed like a fine bop classic, like one of Monk's best.
Working from the well crafted script developed by Holder, Neal brilliantly captures the essence of the man and all his raw emotion, weaving in and out of consciousness and delivering a colorful array of disjointed, potent (and sometimes witty) riffs about Monk's life and those who touched it: Bud, Bird, Dizzy, Kenny Clarke, Max, Art Blakey, Clifford Brown, Miles, Nica, .......... and most especially, his mother and his wife. And Neal's portrayal of the master bopper as he periodically dances into a trance, punctuating his pearls of wisdom, just like Monk loved to do while playing his music, is so convincing, it's almost eerie.
During his lifetime he may have been an enigma, but this first-class production, aided by Bill Lee's clever, unobtrusive music, helps remind us that Monk never ceases to amaze.
Do not miss this show. It's a must see."
Audiences have raved about Monk in;
Theatre Sorano in Senegal, West Africa
Bring Monk to your Theater/Event
Check out the Upcoming Productions
Press
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New York Jazz Report
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NY1
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Scribd
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​Washington Jazz Network