Araldi and Pappas - Together again, for the first time!

​                           Endearing Music - Enduring Friendship!

                 When they were in high school, Rich Araldi and Jim Pappas spent every moment they could find playing music. From the time they’d skip their classes to go “jam” in the band room, to heading home after school to spend hours honing their craft. When they weren’t playing music, they were listening to music, or talking about music!


The writing was on the wall to anyone that cared to notice that these boys were destined to be musicians.
On the back of Jim’s graduation picture to Rich it’s written:
“To one of the jazz masters of today...we’ll both make it together in jazz someday”.


Alas, that hasn’t happened, divergent paths have led them down different roads. But each has enjoyed a career in music, fulfilling their dream and bringing to fruition what they were working on all those years ago.


Both these musicians began playing professionally in their early teens, each playing in clubs long before they were of age to, and have seen their careers grow to where they have had the pleasure of performing for dignitaries up to the President of the United States, have performed on television, and have heard their music on the radio!


Jim Pappas (stage name Demetrios) has enjoyed great success from being music director at the most prestigious venue in Atlantic City (where the singers and musicians he's worked with is a veritable “who’s who”), to working with the legendary “Funk Brothers” of Motown fame on their movie (the award winning “Standing in the Shadows of Motown”) and tours, to his current position as music director for the legendary Smokey Robinson!


Rich Araldi’s accomplishments, while seemingly more modest, have been exactly the right fit. A life of service through music has seen Rich, after a stint as a touring musician, as a church music director over the past three decades, a music educator, and over the past thirty years serving the senior community through music at a robust pace. Rich’s non-profit organization “Sammy 16” provides music for those without the means to access it.


This September, after a hiatus of over forty years, Jim and Rich will be playing together once again, "for the first time!" Back in school Rich was exclusively a drummer, this time around he will be adding vibraphone to Jim’s piano. The duo will be picking through their favorite songs from years gone by, songs that have special meaning to them, sure to be some of your favorites too!

Below are a few performance videos!
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