Roberta Flack, Morris 'Mo' Pleasure Perform Concert to Benefit Guilford ABC

Press release from Guilford ABC

To celebrate Guilford's A Better Chance (ABC) program's 40th anniversary, Roberta Flack Guilford High School (GHS) alumnus Morris "Mo" Pleasure performs with guitarist Rohn Lawrence and bassist David Lovolsi at GHS, 605 New England Road, on Saturday, Oct. 25. The GHS Jazz Ensemble will open the show. Doors open at 7 p.m., GHS Jazz Ensemble performs at 7:30 p.m., and Morris "Mo" Pleasure & Friends play from 8 to 10 p.m.

Roberta Flack is the legendary American singer and musician who was the first to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year two consecutive times. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" won at the 1973 Grammys, and "Killing Me Softly with His Song" won at the 1974 Grammys. She remains the only solo artist to have ever accomplished this feat.

Morris "Mo" Pleasure produced two sold-out concerts in 2009 and 20011 at his alma mater, Guilford High School, for the benefit of Guilford ABC, where he met his wife, Lori, when they were teenagers living in Guilford. An American composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and touring musician, Pleasure plays piano, bass, trumpet, and guitar, in genres that include pop, funk, jazz, R&B, soul, Brazilian, and classical music. Pleasure recorded and performed with artists such as Ray Charles, Najee, George Duke, Earth, Wind & Fire (also served as music director for the band), Natalie Cole, Roberta Flack, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Peter Cetera, David Foster, and many others. Pleasure appeared in the Michael Jackson documentary This Is It and Janet Jackson's film Janet: Live in Hawaii. Pleasure is sponsored by Yamaha.

Lawrence, widely acclaimed for his work with New Haven Funk bands such as Good News and The Lift (including saxophonist Marion Meadows), continues to work with Meadows, George Duke, Diane Reeves, Jonathan Butler, Alex Bugñon, Freddie Jackson, Najee, and many others.

Livolsi is an accomplished bass player also from Connecticut whose diversity led him to work with many world renowned artists such as John Scofield, Bill Evans, Jazz Is Dead, T Lavitz & Rod Morgenstein (from The Dixie Dregs), Jerry Goodman, Chuck Loeb, Sam Rivers, John Tropea, and David Spinozza.

Tickets are $25 for open seating; visit www.guilfordabc.org. For VIP tickets, starting at $125 and including sponsor opportunities, contact Jim Schaffer at

203-912-2802 or jim@charity-spring.org.

Presenting sponsors include Bishop's Orchards, Guilford Savings Bank, Turning Point, and Guilford Public Schools.

About Guilford ABC

Guilford ABC, now in its 40th year, is dedicated to helping to close the opportunity gap for talented minority women. Guilford ABC prepares its scholars to succeed academically and to take a leadership role in their future endeavors.

Founded in 1963, A Better Chance is a national program that refers academically talented inner-city students to elite private and public schools. In 1974, Guilford became one of ABC's earliest public school programs. Its six female students reside in a house staffed with a resident director and tutor who live in attached residences. The Guilford community in many ways serves as an extended family. Guilford ABC graduates have gone on to attend colleges and universities such as Barnard, Boston University, Bryant, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Denison, Duke, Fairfield University, Fordham, Georgetown, Marist, Muhlenberg, NYU, Northwestern, Ohio State, Ohio Wesleyan, Paine, Quinnipiac, Rutgers, Smith, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Empire State, Trinity, University of Central Florida, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh, University of Redlands, University of Virginia, Vassar, Wellesley, and Wesleyan.