After having spent a large part of his musical career in California, Jim Fittipaldi and some very special friends will bring his mellow west coast jazz sound to Cape May. Jim will be playing his saxes and flute as part of the Cape May Jazz Vespers program at the First Presbyterian Church 500 Hughes St. (on the corner of Hughes and Decatur streets in downtown Cape May) Sunday, May 18th, at 3 p.m.

The lure of the Golden State hit Jim early on. Having just graduated High School in North Jersey, Jim saw no reason why he shouldn’t pack his saxophone up and move to San Francisco. But like many people who headed west in that era, he found Frisco no picnic. Being talented and eager wasn’t enough. “I had to keep learning my instrument and at the same time learn the jazz repertoire and how to be a professional.” Fortunately, Jim hooked up with an excellent piano player named Harold Bradford who taught him a huge number of jazz standards. They played together for 10 years and during that time Jim developed a sweet sound all his own. “It’s not just to differentiate yourself from all the others—it has to do with discovering your own character. After a while, even if I was playing a standard, I could interpret it in a way that made sense to me.”

Some changes in Jim’s personal life brought him back to the East Coast. “I really didn’t expect to stay very long, but I discovered Cape May, and that was that. I’ve been here ever since.” Jim has played the South Jersey casino and club circuit both as a headliner and a sideman.

Jim is putting together a quartet of some of the finest musicians in the region, including Robin Van Duzee on keyboards. If you enjoy mellow, laid-back jazz, don’t miss the Jim Fittipaldi quartet. The concert begins at 3 p.m. A love offering is requested. No reservations are required but Vespers concerts are frequently SRO, so coming a little early is suggested. For further information go to www.capemayjazzvespers.com or call 609-884.0680.