Jabbertown Jazz Junction

Dawn has been singing in school and church choirs from a very young age. In her career years,  she ventured into a women’s barbershop chorus and quartet. She always avoided karaoke…except that one time 🤦‍♀️.  When she landed in Southport, Dawn started singing with a local sea shanty crew. Soon discovered by a guitar-playing neighbor, the two collaborated with a three-year run with “Up the Creek” duo. With the support of her Creek partner, she got the opportunity to launch “Jabbertown Jazz Junction”.  Now two+ years on, JJJ is in its third configuration and Dawn is thrilled to share a sound on stage that brings back memories, backed by a most experienced and talented band. Fortunately, in her professional life, she spent decades as an IT project manager which likely has enabled her to herd the cool cats in the band to bring our sound to you. Most importantly, without the extraordinary, loving support of her husband who is our energizer roadie, sound-master, promoter, and more, none of this would be possible. 

Charlyn Dougherty has very little talent for doing dishes. She credits this lack ability to her mother. “I begged my mother to take piano lessons when I was five years old and she said, Alright but the minute you stop practicing the lessons end!” Mom put such a fear in her heart that she learned piano by blackmail. One of mom’s not so subtle tricks was super effective. Every night after dinner she would ask, “Do you want to help clean up or practice piano?” So now Charlyn is pretty good with Bach and Chopin, not so much with Palmolive and Mr. Clean.”    She continued her evasion of hard labor through high school, working for three different churches playing services, weddings and funerals. “I was making three times as much as my friends in Rock bands and didn’t have to lug amps and speakers around.” A degree in Music Therapy from Montclair State College led to a thirty year career at Essex County Hospital in New Jersey. She now avoids dishes and lugging amps in Oak Island, NC with her husband/ roady Dennis, a dog and four feral cats that have adopted her. 

Gary Sclafani is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist whose interest in music began at a very early age. While watching The Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show he was so inspired and said, “I know what I want to do in life” and has never looked back. After one disastrous guitar lesson at age 6 (he couldn’t even get his arm over the guitar to reach the strings), little Gary decided it wasn’t for him. When he was 10 years old he began playing drums after finding a red sparkle drum set under The Christmas Tree and has played drums continuously ever since. Gary picked up the guitar again at 11 years old, and after dabbling a bit he began taking lessons and learned some cool jazz chords. He  grew in his love for music, and at age 13 began teaching lessons to kids in his neighborhood and has been teaching private music lessons to this day.  Studied Drums & Percussion at William Paterson College, NJ, and with Joe Morello (Dave Brubeck Quartet), Sonny Igoe (Benny Goodman Orchestra), Joey Cass (Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons); Guitarist with “Company 4”;  Drummer with “The Dynomiters” (Epic Records),  “Snapper” (United Artists Records).     Gary & his wife Linda enjoy writing music, recording, and performing together as a Duo. Current the drummer/percussionist for Jabbertown Jazz Junction.