Jeanne Ricks

Jeanne Ricks brings a powerful blend of spirit‑centered artistry, national musical accomplishment, and community uplift to Blues & Blessings. A gifted guitarist, vocalist, and composer, Ricks wrote “Love Remembers,” the title track of George Benson’s Warner Bros. album, and her work has been recorded by major artists including Chaka Khan and Anita Pointer. Her instrumental “Simple Pleasure” appeared on The Weather Channel Presents: Best of Smooth Jazz, a compilation that held #1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz chart for seven weeks, while her track “War & Insufficient Peace” spent 24 consecutive weeks as the nation’s #1 Independent Contemporary Jazz Song on Roots Music Report. She also contributed music to Francis Ford Coppola’s film “Assassination Tango,” adding a cinematic dimension to her creative reach.

Fresh off her role as a featured artist in the Gregory Burrus Productions Jazz, Health & Food Truck Festival, Ricks arrives at Mt. Zion with renewed momentum and a performance presence shaped by sharing the stage with top‑tier jazz talent. With more than a decade of national broadcast exposure and collaborations with Grammy‑winning musicians, Jeanne Ricks offers a worship‑uplifting, blues‑rooted musical ministry that brings both blessing and blues to the 2nd Sunday experience.

Rev Eyesha Marable –

Rev. Eyesha K. Marable is a dynamic worship‑arts leader, pastor, and cultural visionary whose ministry blends spirit, movement, and community uplift. As Associate Pastor of Mt. Zion AME Church, Millburn and AVP of Community Engagement at NJPAC, she has spent more than three decades shaping transformative arts‑in‑ministry experiences across New Jersey. Rev. Marable is also the founding director of the National Liturgical Dance Network, guiding worship dancers nationwide in sacred expression. Her leadership has anchored major statewide events, including NJPAC’s Clements Place Jazz Sessions and the City of Orange Gospel Festival, where her praise and flag ministry has become a signature highlight. Rev. Marable brings a powerful, spirit‑filled presence to Blues & Blessings, grounding the series in worship, joy, and community connection.

Sacred Arts Leadership

Blues & Blessings and Jesus & Jazz are guided by a powerful artistic and spiritual leadership team that continues to shape Mt. Zion’s sacred‑arts identity across New Jersey. Under the worship‑centered vision of Rev. Eyesha Marable, these programs blend praise, community uplift, and culturally rooted performance. Gregory Burrus, producer and curator, expands the musical reach of both series through his statewide festival work and artist development, bringing top‑tier talent into Mt. Zion’s worship‑arts environment. Pianist and arranger Phil Bingham adds a deep musical foundation, shaping the sound of Jesus & Jazz with his signature blend of gospel, jazz, and improvisational excellence. Together, Rev. Marable, Burrus, and Bingham anchor these programs as a unified ministry of music, culture, and spiritual connection — elevating every artist who steps onto the Blues & Blessings and Jesus & Jazz stages.

Blues and Blessings Presents Guitarist & Singer Jeanne Ricks in Mt. Zion AM Tickets, Sunday, August 9  •  11:30 AM – 1 PM | Eventbrite