On May 17th, 2013 the Jazz Foundation will once again present its annual “A Great Night in Harlem” gala concert to benefit the Jazz Musicians Emergency Fund at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. This is an important event that raises money to assist jazz and blues musicians who find themselves needing assistance in their senior years. This year, the 12th annual “A Great Night in Harlem” event seeks to to raise $2 million with a stellar lineup of jazz, blues, R&B and rock legends set to perform, and the legendary producer/musician Quincy Jones will also make a special appearance to pay homage to his mentor,  trumpeter Clark Terry, and to introduce a memorial musical tribute to Claude Nobs, founder of the Montreux Jazz Festival.
“A Great Night in Harlem” concert tickets are priced at $75, $150, $300, $500, and $1500 which includes the VIP cocktail party, orchestra seating and dinner.

Press Release:

NEW YORK, NY: Renewing their partnership for the third year, the Apollo Theater, Harlem Stage and Jazzmobile, Inc., in collaboration with Columbia University, will join forces to present the Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival from May 6-11, 2013. The three cultural organizations will present a series of concerts and events to celebrate the rich legacy of jazz in the uptown community while bringing both established and emerging artists to famed Harlem venues. This year, the festival will pay tribute to The Alhambra Ballroom, the Apollo Theater, The Baby Grand, Minton’s Playhouse, Clark Monroe’s Uptown House, Showman’s Jazz Club, the Sugar Cane Club and the Cotton Club. In addition to concerts at jazz shrines throughout Harlem, festival events will take place at Harlem Stage Gatehouse, Cowin Auditorium at Teacher’s College and Ginny’s Supper Club.

Designed to draw a diverse audience of neighborhood residents, New Yorkers and tourists, events are free or $10 and up. Concerts are scheduled to allow people the option of attending several events each day, continuing the tradition of non-stop jazz throughout Harlem.

Highlights of the 2013 Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival include:

Geri Allen & Friends Celebrate the Great Jazz Women of the Apollo – Under the musical direction of jazz pianist and composer Geri Allen, this concert production pays homage to the great women singers and instrumentalists who have performed at the Apollo. Staged by celebrated actress, and director/film maker, S. Epatha Merkerson and through the words and historical narrative of acclaimed author Farah Jasmin Griffin with a musical backdrop by Deejay Val Jeanty, the performance celebrates the legacy of Nina Simone, Betty Carter, Nancy Wilson, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and others. The performance will feature vocalist Dianne Reeves, Geri Allen’s The Timeline Tap Quartet, vocalist Lizz Wright, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, saxophonist Tia Fuller, comedian Karen Malina White, guitarist Marvin Sewell, tap dancer extraordinaire Dormeshia, and the vocal ensemble Afro Blue

Marc Cary’s Celebrates Abbey Lincoln with “Moseka House: The House That Abbey Built” – This two-night celebration of American jazz vocalist Abbey Lincoln by Harlem Stage favorite Marc Cary, who was Lincoln’s pianist and arranger, will be unforgettable. On night one Cary interprets Lincoln’s compositions in solo and with his Focus Trio; on the second night, Cary on piano accompanies vocalists Keith Ailer, Maggie Brown, Pyeng Threadgill, and Imani Uzuri as the performers pay homage to “Moseka House, the house that Abbey built, ” they’ll also celebrate Clark Monroe’s Uptown House, which played host to such greats as Billie Holiday and Max Roach.

Minton’s Playhouse: Legends on the Bandstand – Jazzmobile pulls out all the stops to re-create the mood and legacy of the legendary Minton’s Playhouse, this year at Ginny’s Supper Club downstairs in Marcus Samuelsson’s Red Rooster Harlem. Bringing the famed club on 118th Street back to life with a three-night celebration of Legends sharing the stage with New Titans of Jazz, the concerts shed new light on an old tradition of featuring the best of established and emerging artists. Hear how jazz swings across the generations when the bandstand lights up with the groups of Jimmy Heath and Antonio Hart, Paul West and Rashaan Carter and Junior Mance and Christian Sands. The popular Minton’s Monday Night Jam Session is back as well as a Conversation with Jimmy Heath and Stanley Crouch.

Tribute to the Baby Grand – The Apollo Music Café pays tribute to the Baby Grand Café. Located at 319 West 125th Street between St. Nicholas and 8th Avenue, Bill Potter’s Baby Grand Café served up some of the hottest stars of Jazz, as well as a 6- Course Sunday dinner. Ruth Brown, Jimmy Scott, Dakota Staton, Jimmy Smith, Etta James, Horace Silver, Charlie Mingus and other greats made the Baby Grand a go-to- late-night hot spot. This tribute concert features vocalist Lezlie Harrison, known for her burnished, soulful alto and distinctive blend of jazz, classic 70’s soul and original tunes.

ERIMAJ and Fabian Almazan – In keeping with the history of the Sugar Cane Club, which was the proving ground for many artists of yesteryear, this cutting-edge double bill features two exceptional rising young stars – drummer extraordinaire Jamire Williams, who is charting new territory with his ensemble ERIMAJ, hot off their critically-praised debut release, Conflict of a Man; and Cuban musician Fabian Almazan, considered one of the most thrilling young jazz pianists on the scene, who debuts at Harlem Stage with a string project.

The Alhambra Ballroom Revived – What would a jazz festival be without a big band? Jazzmobile is putting together A Night of Swinging with the Cab Calloway Orchestra at the beautiful Alhambra Ballroom. Dancing shoes are a plus, but the evening is not just for dancers. Bring a partner or find a mate to trip the light fantastic or take a seat and enjoy the show as the audience shares the floor with professional dancers. Food will be served, making it a perfect night to get lost in the “hi-dee-hi-dee-hi- dee-ho.”

Columbia University again collaborates with the three partners to bring humanities programming that will further highlight the cultural significance of Harlem and the Jazz Shrines Festival. The University’s programming includes Harlem Jazz Shrines Dialogues Cotton Club in Black & White and Ann Petry: The Street – Harlem in the 1940’s.

“We’re thrilled to once again partner with Harlem Stage and Jazzmobile to celebrate the incredible legacy of Jazz in Harlem, by looking back at the neighborhood’s unparalleled musical heritage and showcasing the artistic vitality of Harlem today, ” says Mikki Shepard, Executive Producer for the Apollo Theater. “This year, our focus during the festival will be to celebrate the incredible iconic women of jazz who have graced the Apollo stage through the years, from Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Sarah Vaughan to Betty Carter, Nancy Wilson, Dinah Washington, Nina Simone and others. Geri Allen and friends will pay tribute to these great ladies of jazz, and the Apollo’s signature shows, Amateur Night and Apollo Music Café, will be tied to the festival as well.”

Patricia Cruz, Executive Director of Harlem Stage, added, “The Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival provides an essential forum for us to claim and uphold the great musical traditions that were born and nurtured in Harlem and continue to thrive through the talent of both emerging and established artists. It enables the community and visitors to celebrate this dynamic art form and the institutions that have supported this music. In keeping with what we do, providing a showcase to rising or under- known artists, we’re happy to focus on the lesser known shrines, Clark Monroe’s Uptown House and the Sugar Cane Club. The Harlem Stage Gatehouse is a proud partner in this festival.”

“Following the mission and mentoring of our founder, the legendary Dr. Billy Taylor, Jazzmobile has presented legends and new titans of jazz throughout Harlem for 48 years. In our partnership with Harlem Stage and the Apollo, we once again enjoy the unique and special challenge of reimagining and remembering some of Harlem’s famed jazz shrines, ” said Robin Bell-Stevens, President & CEO of Jazzmobile. “Our venues are usually the fabulous City Parks and streets of Harlem, but during the festival, we take bold leaps to create the mood and memory of the jazz shrines inside the confines of four walls. Celebrating the legacy of The Alhambra Ballroom and Minton’s Playhouse will provide an exciting look at yesterday with a dynamic twist of today.”

Tickets for many of the Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival events are available now. For tickets and more information on the Festival and its partners, visit the Harlem Jazz Shrines’ website at www.harlemjazzshrines.org and/or the organizations’ websites at www.apollotheater.org, www.harlemstage.org and www.jazzmobile.org.

The National Jazz Museum in Harlem’s Jazz Is: Now! program is also on this month. You never know who you’ll run in to, Lenny Kravitz recently dropped by and jammed with  Jonathan Batiste & The Stay Human Band during NJMH’s Jazz Is:Now! event. Watch the video below:

National Jazz Museum in Harlem December 2012 Schedule
 
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
 
Jazz for Curious Listeners
The Savory Collection: An Update
Basie/Ellington+: The Big Bands
7:00 – 8:30pm    
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
 
The sounds of the big bands is an essential element in the story of America. Join us for music you have never heard before from Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Bob Crosby, Tommy Dorsey and others.
In 2010, the National Jazz Museum in Harlem made headlines across the country with the acquisition of the legendary Savory Collection, an extraordinary archive of live musical recordings from the Swing Era.  Recorded between 1935 and 1941 by audio engineer and jazz enthusiast William Savory, the Savory Collection features never-before-heard live recordings of jazz legends at the height of their careers, including Billie Holiday, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Louis Armstrong.  The Savory Collection expands the Museum’s archives of jazz artifacts, ephemera and recordings, which include its extensive Duke Ellington and Ralph Ellison collections.  The Jazz Museum makes these holdings available to the general public through its jazz library, exhibitions, live performances, audio research stations, artist talks, workshops, and youth education programs.
 
With support from the Grammy Foundation, the New York Community Trust and other funders, the Jazz Museum has completed the first phase of a project to preserve these important recordings by transferring them to CD or DVD format.  The digitization process has been completed to high standards, assuring that these recordings are no longer at risk but will be accessible in perpetuity.  As we move forward, the next phases of this project will focus on working to restore these recordings to even higher audio standards; completing the discography to ensure the thoroughness and accuracy of the documentation for each recording; and making the recordings broadly available to the jazz scholars and aficionados who are eager to hear them – and to study, analyze and contextualize what they reveal about the jazz artists, music and culture of a historic era.
 
Thursday, December 6, 2012
 
Harlem Speaks
Richard Wyands, Pianist
6:30 – 8:30pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
 
Richard Wyands made his first recordings in 1946, and three years later recorded with Charles Mingus. Over the intervening six decades he has remained at the top of his game, playing with elegance with many of the greatest musicians in the world. Wyands started working in local clubs when he was 16, graduated from San Francisco State College, and gained experience playing in the San Francisco Bay area. Wyands, who was a sideman on a few early dates for Fantasy, spent time accompanying Ella Fitzgerald (1956) and Carmen McRae. He moved to New York in 1958, where he played with Roy Haynes, Charles Mingus (1959), Gigi Gryce’s quintet, Oliver Nelson, Etta Jones, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, and Gene Ammons, among others.Wyands was associated with Kenny Burrell, with whom he toured extensively during 1964-1977, and has played with many other top musicians, including Freddie Hubbard, Zoot Sims, Frank Foster, the Illinois Jacquet Big Band, Benny Carter, Ernie Andrews, and Milt Hinton, among others. Richard Wyands has also headed his own trios, but has only had a handful of sessions as a leader thus far, including a 1978 date for Storyville and sessions for DIW (1992) and Criss Cross (1995). Join us for a rare night hearing from a jazz veteran whose story will fascinate you.
 
 
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
 
Jazz for Curious Listeners
The Savory Collection: An Update
Jam Sessions with Lester Young and Friends
7:00 – 8:30pm   
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
 
Among the treasures of the Savory Collection are studio jam sessions that include Lester Young, Benny Goodman, Eddie Condon, Bobby Hackett, Charlie Shavers, Bunny Berigan, Chu Berry and many others. You can hear them during this rare opportunity to sample music unheard for several decades.
 
In 2010, the National Jazz Museum in Harlem made headlines across the country with the acquisition of the legendary Savory Collection, an extraordinary archive of live musical recordings from the Swing Era.  Recorded between 1935 and 1941 by audio engineer and jazz enthusiast William Savory, the Savory Collection features never-before-heard live recordings of jazz legends at the height of their careers, including Billie Holiday, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Louis Armstrong.  The Savory Collection expands the Museum’s archives of jazz artifacts, ephemera and recordings, which include its extensive Duke Ellington and Ralph Ellison collections.  The Jazz Museum makes these holdings available to the general public through its jazz library, exhibitions, live performances, audio research stations, artist talks, workshops, and youth education programs.
 
With support from the Grammy Foundation, the New York Community Trust and other funders, the Jazz Museum has completed the first phase of a project to preserve these important recordings by transferring them to CD or DVD format.  The digitization process has been completed to high standards, assuring that these recordings are no longer at risk but will be accessible in perpetuity.  As we move forward, the next phases of this project will focus on working to restore these recordings to even higher audio standards; completing the discography to ensure the thoroughness and accuracy of the documentation for each recording; and making the recordings broadly available to the jazz scholars and aficionados who are eager to hear them – and to study, analyze and contextualize what they reveal about the jazz artists, music and culture of a historic era.
 
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
 
Jazz Is: Now! * note new location
Hosted by Jonathan Batiste and the STAY HUMAN band
7:00 – 8:30pm
Location: Metropolitan Community United Methodist Church,
NE Corner of 126th Street and Madison Avenue, enter on 126th
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300                                                                                
Jazz Is: Now has evolved into a tremendously successful and totally original program headed by NJMH Associate Artistic Director Jonathan Batiste. Audience members participate throughout the evening, playing/singing/dancing/organizing the music (yes!), and having their endorphin levels raised at the same time. If this sounds too good to be true, then make sure you join us for this rousing celebration of the joy of music.
 
 
Thursday, December 13, 2012
 
Harlem Speaks
Jean-Michel Pilc, Pianist
6:30 – 8:30pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300

Born in 1960 in Paris, and now an American citizen, self-taught Jean-Michel Pilc has performed with numerous giants in the music field such as: Roy Haynes, Michael Brecker, Dave Liebman, Jean Toussaint, Rick Margitza, Martial Solal, Michel Portal, Daniel Humair, Marcus Miller, Kenny Garrett, Lenny White, Chris Potter, John Abercrombie, Mingus Dynasty & Big Band, Lew Soloff and Richard Bona. He has also worked with Harry Belafonte, as his musical director and pianist. Jean-Michel Pilc moved to New York City in 1995. There, he formed a trio with François Moutin (bass) and Ari Hoenig (drums). They recorded a one-week engagement at the legendary jazz club Sweet Basil and, in 2000, released two CDs: Jean-Michel Pilc Trio – Together – Live at Sweet Basil, NYC – Vol. 1 & 2 (A- Records). In 2004, Jean- Michel released his first solo album, Follow Me (Dreyfus). Jean-Michel Pilc then went back to trio format to record Live at Iridium, NYC, in 2004, New Dreams in 2006,and True Story in 2009, all three for Dreyfus Jazz. Since 2006, Pilc has  been a NYU Steinhardt faculty member. There, he is giving private lessons (piano and other instruments), ensemble classes and improvisation workshops. He was also co-director of NYU Summer Jazz Improv Workshop in 2010. Jean-Michel is also teaching for the New School in NYC, as well as privately. Pilc is also currently working on a pedagogical book and on educational videos about jazz, improvisation and piano playing. Join us for a special evening of conversation with a unique artist.
 
 
Saturday, December 15, 2012
 
Saturday Panels
Savory Jam – Contemporary reactions to the glories of the Savory Collection
12:00 – 4:00pm   
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300                                                                                
 
A rare chance to hear musicians listen to, comment on, and play creative new music based on the treasures of the Savory Collection.
 
In 2010, the National Jazz Museum in Harlem made headlines across the country with the acquisition of the legendary Savory Collection, an extraordinary archive of live musical recordings from the Swing Era.  Recorded between 1935 and 1941 by audio engineer and jazz enthusiast William Savory, the Savory Collection features never-before-heard live recordings of jazz legends at the height of their careers, including Billie Holiday, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Louis Armstrong.  The Savory Collection expands the Museum’s archives of jazz artifacts, ephemera and recordings, which include its extensive Duke Ellington and Ralph Ellison collections.  The Jazz Museum makes these holdings available to the general public through its jazz library, exhibitions, live performances, audio research stations, artist talks, workshops, and youth education programs.
 
With support from the Grammy Foundation, the New York Community Trust and other funders, the Jazz Museum has completed the first phase of a project to preserve these important recordings by transferring them to CD or DVD format.  The digitization process has been completed to high standards, assuring that these recordings are no longer at risk but will be accessible in perpetuity.  As we move forward, the next phases of this project will focus on working to restore these recordings to even higher audio standards; completing the discography to ensure the thoroughness and accuracy of the documentation for each recording; and making the recordings broadly available to the jazz scholars and aficionados who are eager to hear them – and to study, analyze and contextualize what they reveal about the jazz artists, music and culture of a historic era.
 
 
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
 
Jazz for Curious Listeners
The Savory Collection: An Update
Odds and Ends: Louis Jordan+
7:00 – 8:30pm   
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
 
Some of the items in the Savory Collection don’t fall into easy categories – like the very first broadcasts of the little known Louis Jordan band broadcasting from Harlem, or out takes of Dinah Shore, or an all night jam session with the pianist Joe Sullivan. You’ll hear them tonight!

Related articles

• The National Jazz Museum in Harlem – November events

What’s astounding about the jazz – Black American Music – BAM scene in NYC is that everyone can swing – really swing.  The average musician with a horn under his/her arm can outdo the next one, and will certainly be outdone by the other.  It’s a highly competitive, cutthroat business around here, complete with daily challenges to find a way to set oneself apart from the rest.

I recently came across one of the most unique, gifted saxophone players I’ve ever encountered.  After a fantastic Lakecia Benjamin show at Ginny’s, we strolled into the Lenox Lounge to find saxophonist Eric Wyatt obliterating the room with his incredibly astute band.  This wasn’t just another attempt to mimic Coltrane or Bird or Rollins.  This was raw, real be bop that had me raising my hands in an act of worship.  Eric brings a level of wisdom, integrity, sophistication and a sound that will pull your heart right out of its cavity.  He’s an intuitive, intellectual composer who does more than channel the greats who came before him.  He has a way of honoring the ancestors and at the same time inserting his own flow and flavor in the mix.  His sound is lyrical.  Full.  Fluid.  Bold.  Emotional.  Swag.

Eric Wyatt was raised with this music.  His father Charles Wyatt, a jazz mainstay from back in the 50s, played and interacted with all the greats, Sonny Rollins being one of them.  Sonny is Eric’s godfather and has truly instilled in him just the right amount of tutelage to have helped him develop his chops and discover his own signature sound.  What an honor to evolve to such a level – it’s in his DNA.

When you see him live with his band, the Eric Wyatt Quartet:  Eric on sax, Benito Gonzalez, piano, Tyler Mitchell, bass and ShinnosukeTakahashi on drums, it’s an exhilarating trip.  Add trumpeter Theo Croker when he plays with the quintet.  These cats are tight as hell – their communication and instinct with one another is notable.  You see joy on the faces of each musician when they play.  It’s a high level experience from all angles.  You must experience them.  They often play at the Lenox Lounge on Monday nights.  Otherwise you can catch them at any of the major venues around New York – Smalls, The Vanguard, Dizzy’s.

Eric recently did a project with trombonist Clifton Anderson entitled And So We Carry On.  He also did an interesting tour with writer Kris Saknussemm called Reverend America.  This saxophone master really diversifies his repertoire and remains focused on staying current.  His evolution has put him at the top of his game right now.  You should experience this wonderful talent before he heads to China or anywhere else in the world, where he will be for months at a time.  And if you catch him at the Lenox Lounge, buy his two CDs.  He’s playing there on November 19th, 23rd & 26th.  It’s some of the best, most compelling music I’ve ever heard.

The National Jazz Museum in Harlem

 Tuesday, November 13, 2012
 
Jazz for Curious Listeners
Tuning into Treme
Treme at 200
Guest Davis Rogan
7:00 – 8:30pm   
Location: Maysles Cinema
(343 Lenox Ave.)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
With Larry Blumenfeld, The Wall Street Journal

In Sidney Bechet’s memoir, “Treat It Gentle,” the late, great clarinetist’s real grandfather is supplanted by Omar, a fictional figure based on a folk tale, all the better to convey stirring truths about the true origins of New Orleans jazz. Real and imagined intermingle pointedly in New Orleans, in all walks of life. Set in New Orleans, David Simon’s fictional HBO series “Treme,” now in its third season, picked up three months after the floods that resulted from the levee failures after Hurricane Katrina. Culture, which in New Orleans means a tight braid of music, cuisine, dance, visual art, and street life, is the primary focus of the series, as indeed it was and is the defining element of the city’s recovery and renewed identity. 
These 90-minute conversations, led by writer Larry Blumenfeld, who has written extensively about New Orleans since the flood, will use the third season of the HBO series to frame a wide-ranging consideration of jazz culture in New Orleans and its role in continued recovery.  Excerpts from the show will be screened, and special guests—musicians, participants in the series, and scholars—will join in the discussion.
Tremé at 200: October marked the bicentennial of Tremé, the New Orleans neighborhood from which Simon’s series derives its name and among this country’s oldest African American urban communities. Guest Davis Rogan (the basis for Treme’s Davis McAlary, and a Tremé resident) will help consider both legacy and current events in Tremé.
Larry Blumenfeld writes about music and culture for The Wall Street Journal, Village Voice and many other publications, is editor-at-large of Jazziz magazine, and blogs at: http://blogs.artinfo.com/blunotes/ He is a former Katrina Media Fellow with the Open Society Institute, researching cultural recovery in New Orleans, and the winner of the 2012 Jazz Journalists Association Helen Dance-Robert Palmer Award for Writing.
 
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Jazz at The Players
7:00pm
Location: The Players
(16 Gramercy Park South)
$20 | For more information: 212-475-6116
Wayne Escoffery – Tenor and Soprano Saxophones
Danny Grissett – Piano
Ugonna Okegwo – Bass
Mike Clark – Drums
 
Since moving to New York City in 2000, Grammy Award winning tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery has become one of the Jazz world’s most talented rising stars and in-demand sidemen. At only 37 he has recorded seven CDs as a leader and been on numerous recordings as a sideman. Wayne began his professional New York career touring and recording with The Eric Reed Septet. In 2001 he became a steady member of the Mingus Big Band/Orchestra/Dynasty, The Lonnie Plaxico Group, and Abdulah Ibrahim’s Akaya. Then in 2004 Grammy award winning producer, arranger and trumpeter Don Sickler asked Wayne to be a part of Ben Riley’s Monk legacy Septet (an innovative piano-less group dedicated to carrying on the legacy of jazz great Thelonious Monk).

At this time Wayne was also touring with Jazz At Lincoln Center’s Music of the Masters consisting of two groups of musicians hand picked by Wynton Marsalis.
In 2006 Wayne secured one of the most coveted gigs in jazz: a frontline position in Tom Harrell’s working quintet. In addition to being a part of some of the last true “apprenticeship” opportunities of our era, he has delivered six studio dates as a leader.  His first CD for Savant called Veneration (released in March of 2007) was recorded live at Smoke Jazz Club in NYC and features Joe Locke on vibes, Hans Glawichnig on bass, and Lewis Nash on drums. His most recent recording “The Only Son of One” on Sunnyside Records is Escoffery’s first recording of all original music and features his new two keyboard quintet with pianist Orrin Evans, Miles Davis veteran keyboardist Adam Holzman, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Jason Brown.

Despite his musical talent Wayne (born on February 23rd 1975 in London, England) grew up in a relatively non-musical household. In 1983, he and his mother moved to the United States eventually settling in New Haven, Connecticut in 1986. Wayne always enjoyed singing whatever music he heard but it wasn’t until his relocation to New Haven that his formal music education began. At age eleven Wayne joined The New Haven Trinity Boys Choir, an internationally known Boys Choir that toured and recorded annually. At this time he also began taking private saxophone lessons and playing the tenor saxophone in school bands.

(Jackie) McLean gave Wayne a full scholarship to attend The Hartt School, where he graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Performance, and became known as one of McLean’s prize pupils. McLean gave Wayne a full scholarship to attend The Hartt School, where he graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Performance, and became known as one of McLean’s prize pupils. While at Hartt, Wayne played with such jazz greats as Curtis Fuller, Eddie Henderson. By the time he was sixteen he left the Choir and began a more intensive study of the saxophone, attending The Jazz Mobile in New York City, The Neighborhood Music School and The Educational Center for the Arts, both in New Haven. During his senior year in high School, he attended the Artist’s Collective in Hartford, Ct. It was there that he met Jackie McLean, the world-renowned alto saxophonist and founder of both The Artist’s Collective and the jazz program at The Hartt School.

In May 1999, Wayne graduated with a Masters degree from The New England Conservatory moving to NYC in 2000. Since then, he has performed with countless internationally respected musicians and has become known for his beautiful sound, impressive technique and versatility. J. Robert Bragonier of All About Jazz Magazine writes, “This is a talented youngster capable of long, flowing lines, noteworthy creativity, and a broad range of expressiveness.” When commenting on Jackie McLean’s influence on Escoffery, he writes …”the latter’s influence is apparent in his knowledge of jazz history, lean, angular harmonies, and muscular tone.” As well as performing with his new quintet, Wayne Escoffery currently performs locally and tours internationally with Ben Riley’s Quartet, The Mingus Big Band/Orchestra/Dynasty, Ron Carter’s Great Big Band vocalist Carolyn Leonhart, and The Tom Harrell Quintet where he also acts as co-producer having co-produced Harrell’s last four releases: Prana Dance, Roman Nights, The Time of the Sun and No. 5. The vast array of contributions Wayne has made to the Jazz world in such a short time leads seasoned industry professionals like Niel Tesser to write “Pay special attention to tenor man Wayne Escoffery, whose rapid development – from album to album (and seemingly solo to solo) – has given us a jazz hero for the coming decade.”
 
 
Thursday, November 15, 2012
 
Harlem Speaks
Ted Nash, Saxophonist
6:30 – 8:30pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
 
Grammy-nominated artist Ted Nash enjoys an extraordinary career as a performer, conductor, composer, arranger, and educator.  Born in Los Angeles, multi-instrumentalist Nash’s interest in music started at an early age. He was exposed to music and encouraged by his father, trombonist Dick Nash, and uncle, reedman Ted Nash – both well-known studio and jazz musicians. Nash blossomed early, a “young lion” before the term became marketing vernacular.  One of Nash’s most important associations is with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, as well as the adventurous Jazz Composers Collective.  Nash’s recordings have appeared on many national “best-of” lists including The New Yorker, The New York Times, Village Voice, The Boston Globe, and New York Newsday.  
 
Saturday, November 17, 2012
 
Saturday Panels
Hearing Treme – A New Orleans Jam
12:00 – 4:00pm   
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300                                                                

Come join us for an afternoon filled will music and reminiscence about the treasure that is New Orleans. Look for details in our weekly updates and on our website.
 
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
 
Jazz for Curious Listeners
Tuning into Treme
In The Tradition?
7:00 – 8:30pm   
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
With Larry Blumenfeld, The Wall Street Journal

In Sidney Bechet’s memoir, “Treat It Gentle,” the late, great clarinetist’s real grandfather is supplanted by Omar, a fictional figure based on a folk tale, all the better to convey stirring truths about the true origins of New Orleans jazz. Real and imagined intermingle pointedly in New Orleans, in all walks of life. Set in New Orleans, David Simon’s fictional HBO series “Treme,” now in its third season, picked up three months after the floods that resulted from the levee failures after Hurricane Katrina. Culture, which in New Orleans means a tight braid of music, cuisine, dance, visual art, and street life, is the primary focus of the series, as indeed it was and is the defining element of the city’s recovery and renewed identity.
These 90-minute conversations, led by writer Larry Blumenfeld, who has written extensively about New Orleans since the flood, will use the third season of the HBO series to frame a wide-ranging consideration of jazz culture in New Orleans and its role in continued recovery.  Excerpts from the show will be screened, and special guests—musicians, participants in the series, and scholars—will join in the discussion.

In The Tradition? New Orleans is a city in which traditional and modern jazz do not easily intermingle. This tension is explored in the storylines of a few Treme characters, most notably trumpeter Delmond Lambreaux and trombonist Antoine Batiste.

Larry Blumenfeld writes about music and culture for The Wall Street Journal, Village Voice and many other publications, is editor-at-large of Jazziz magazine, and blogs at: http://blogs.artinfo.com/blunotes/ He is a former Katrina Media Fellow with the Open Society Institute, researching cultural recovery in New Orleans, and the winner of the 2012 Jazz Journalists Association Helen Dance-Robert Palmer Award for Writing.
 
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
 
Jazz for Curious Listeners
Tuning into Treme
Do You Know What It Means?
7:00 – 8:30pm   
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
With Larry Blumenfeld, The Wall Street Journal

In Sidney Bechet’s memoir, “Treat It Gentle,” the late, great clarinetist’s real grandfather is supplanted by Omar, a fictional figure based on a folk tale, all the better to convey stirring truths about the true origins of New Orleans jazz. Real and imagined intermingle pointedly in New Orleans, in all walks of life. Set in New Orleans, David Simon’s fictional HBO series “Treme,” now in its third season, picked up three months after the floods that resulted from the levee failures after Hurricane Katrina. Culture, which in New Orleans means a tight braid of music, cuisine, dance, visual art, and street life, is the primary focus of the series, as indeed it was and is the defining element of the city’s recovery and renewed identity.
These 90-minute conversations, led by writer Larry Blumenfeld, who has written extensively about New Orleans since the flood, will use the third season of the HBO series to frame a wide-ranging consideration of jazz culture in New Orleans and its role in continued recovery.  Excerpts from the show will be screened, and special guests—musicians, participants in the series, and scholars—will join in the discussion.

Do You Know What It Means? What will New Orleans sound like, look like, and stand for in the future? What has it meant in the past? We’ll look at how the characters envision a “new” New Orleans in the HBO series and how that identity is playing out in real life.
Larry Blumenfeld writes about music and culture for The Wall Street Journal, Village Voice and many other publications, is editor-at-large of Jazziz magazine, and blogs at: http://blogs.artinfo.com/blunotes/ He is a former Katrina Media Fellow with the Open Society Institute, researching cultural recovery in New Orleans, and the winner of the 2012 Jazz Journalists Association Helen Dance-Robert Palmer Award for Writing.
 
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
 
Jazz Is: Now! * note new location
Hosted by Jonathan Batiste and the STAY HUMAN band
7:00 – 8:30pm
Location: Metropolitan Community United Methodist Church,
NE Corner of 126^th Street and Madison Avenue, enter on 126th
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300                                                                                
Jazz Is: Now has evolved into a tremendously successful and totally original program headed by NJMH Associate Artistic Director Jonathan Batiste. Audience members participate throughout the evening, playing/singing/dancing/organizing the music (yes!), and having their endorphin levels raised at the same time. If this sounds too good to be true, then make sure you join us for this rousing celebration of the joy of music.
 
Thursday, November 29, 2012
 
Harlem Speaks
Bill Kirchner, Saxophonist
6:30 – 8:30pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
 
Bill Kirchner is an award-winning saxophonist, composer-arranger, bandleader, record and radio producer, jazz historian, and educator. His jazz ensemble, the Bill Kirchner Nonet, has appeared at major festivals, concerts, and nightclubs since 1980. His latest CDs (on A-Records) are Trance Dance with the Nonet and Some Enchanted Evening, a collection of duets with pianists Michael Abene, Marc Copland, and Harold Danko. The Nonet also has recorded two albums for Sea Breeze Records:What It Is To Be Frank and Infant Eyes. For over a decade, Kirchner has been closely involved with jazz Recordings—as a producer and liner-notes annotator—for Blue Note, BMG, Challenge, Columbia, Denon/Savoy, Fantasy, GRP, Mosaic, the Smithsonian Collection of Recordings, Verve, and Warner Bros. He received a 1995 NAIRD Indie award for “Best Liner Notes” for the Smithsonian’s Big Band Renaissance: The Evolution of the Jazz Orchestra and a 1996 Grammy for “Best Album Notes” for Miles Davis and Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings. He teaches advanced jazz composition, jazz history, and score analysis at the New School University in New York City. He also teaches graduate courses at New Jersey City University and a Duke Ellington course at Manhattan School of Music.

The National Jazz Museum in Harlem

Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Jazz for Curious Listeners
Jazz Around The World
Asia
Guest: Sunny Jain
7:00 – 8:30pm   
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
 
As early as the 1920’s jazz was traveling the world, influencing and being influenced by musical traditions on every continent.  Join us as we explore each of these places individually, with a series of special guests who will play and talk about how their music is part of an international continuum.
Hailed as a leading voice in the South Asian-American jazz movement, innovative drummer, composer, and dhol player, Sunny Jain, will be joining the National Jazz Museum of Harlem this Tuesday, Oct 2nd, for a discussion and performance as part of this month’s Jazz Around the World series. Sunny has been voted a Rising Star Percussionist by Downbeat magazine’s critic’s poll for his unique sound that blends his Punjabi roots with influences from all around the world. Sunny’s work, inspired by India’s musical sensibilities as well as Brazilian and West African rhythms, has found common ground in the syncopated jazz canon making him a pioneer in the Indian jazz scene. Sunny was designated a Jazz Ambassador by the U.S. Department of State and The Kennedy Center in 2002 amongst a slew of other accolades and currently tours with his 9-piece bhangra funk band, Red Baraat.

Thursday, October 4, 2012
Harlem Speaks
Rome Neal, Singer/Playwright
6:30 – 8:30pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
 
Actor/Director/Producer/Jazz Vocalist Rome Neal is the Artistic Director of the Nuyorican Poets Café theatre program. Mr. Neal received an Obie Grant with Café founder Miguel Algarin for excellence in theatre. Over the years he has received five Audelco Awards for his direction of Pepe Carril’s “SHANGO de IMA” and Samuel Harp’s “Don’t Explain.” Mr. Neal also received two AUDELCOS for his acting: one for Lead Actor in Gabrielle N. Lane’s “SIGNS,” and one for Solo Performance in his critically acclaimed “MONK,” by Laurence Holder. Neal also received the National Black Theatre Festival’s coveted Lloyd Richards Director’s Award.
As a jazz vocalist, Rome has performed at Town Hall, The Metropolitan Room, The Museum Of The City Of New York, Jazzy Jazz Festival, Sister’s Place, The Central Brooklyn Jazz Festival, Saint Nick’s Pub, Lenox Lounge, 966Jazz, The Nuyroican Poets Cafe, The Jazz Spot, Creole’s, and as the lead vocalist for the Bill Lee Mo’ Betta Band. Mr. Neal has a CD entitled: “A Brighter Crooner” and his two DVDs, Rome Neal, “All in The Puddin’” and “Rome Neal’s Banana Puddin’ a Night to Remember”.
 
You might also have seen his daughter, Lia, as one of the celebrated members of this year’s Olympic Swimming team.
 
Friday, October 5, 2012
Harlem in the Himalayas                                                                         
Manuel Valera/The New Cuban Express
7:00pm
Location: Rubin Museum of Art
(150 West 17^th Street)
$20/Door $18/Advance | For more information: rmanyc.org
 
Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer, and arranger Manuel Valera is at the forefront of contemporary modern jazz. He represents the next generation of great performers and composers. His sound is fresh, inviting, and evocative, and his goal is to forge innovative sounds that bring a vitality and newness to the idioms of jazz and Latin jazz. He is constantly workshopping musical ideas to develop new composition and arranging techniques that bring together Cuban, Puerto Rican, Brazilian, and various jazz styles and forms.
 
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Jazz for Curious Listeners
Jazz Around The World
Africa
Guest: Yacouba Sissoko- Kora
7:00 – 8:30pm   
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
 
As early as the 1920’s jazz was traveling the world, influencing and being influenced by musical traditions on every continent.  Join us as we explore each of these places individually, with a series of special guests who will play and talk about how their music is part of an international continuum.
In demand as one of the best kora players in the world, Yacouba Sissoko, has been making waves not only as a master in the West African griot tradition but in the jazz world as well. Born and raised in Kita, Mali, Yacouba began learning the kora when he was 12 from his grandfather and went on to study at the Institut National des Arts du Mali in Bamako. Yacouba continues promoting his griot heritage as the leader of his own band, Siya, and as a member of the group Super Mande in addition to making a break into the jazz world with Regina Carter’s Reverse Thread Ensemble. The sound of the kora, a mix between a harp and blues guitar, combined with Yacouba’s emphasis on improvisation has illuminated the African threads that run through jazz music and the beautiful results of cross-cultural collaboration.
 
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Jazz at The Players
Passing the Torch: The NJMH Youth All Stars meet Ted Nash and Marcus Printup  7:00pm
Location: The Players
(16 Gramercy Park South)
$20 | For more information: 212-475-6116
Our chamber jazz series at the elegant Players Club launches its third season with a special debut. The NJMH Youth All Stars, led by upcoming alto saxophonist Ryan Park-Chan, will welcome two outstanding jazz composer/bandleaders, Ted Nash and Marcus Printup. These two are known for their own projects as well as having been with Wynton Marsalis’ Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra for over a decade. Jazz is sometimes called the sound of surprise: hearing generations meet under the umbrella of jazz is always a joyous thing, and this evening promises to produce some exceptional music.
 
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Jazz for Curious Listeners
Jazz Around The World: Israel
Guest: Anat Cohen
7:00 – 8:30pm   
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
 
As early as the 1920’s jazz was traveling the world, influencing and being influenced by musical traditions on every continent.  Join us as we explore each of these places individually, with a series of special guests who will play and talk about how their music is part of an international continuum.
Voted Clarinetist of the Year six years in a row by the Jazz Journalists Association and a regular at the top of Downbeats critics and reader’s polls, Israeli multi-reeds player Anat Cohen, is at the forefront of a truly global musical style. Anat is fluent in creolized New Orleans chanson, swing, African grooves, Brazilian choro and samba mixed with a tint of her Israeli heritage. A virtuoso at the clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor and soprano saxophones, Anat began her music education in her home of Tel Aviv and continued her education at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Anat has recorded several albums, toured with bands ranging from an Afro-Cuban ensemble to a klezmer group, and graced all of the best known jazz clubs around the world. She has won the praise of great jazz sages as well with Dan Morgenstern admiring her “gutsy, swinging style” and Gary Giddins remarking that her musicality “bristles with invention” and will bring all of this and more to the National Jazz Museum of Harlem on Tuesday, October 16^th.
 
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Jazz for Curious Listeners
Jazz Around The World: South America
Guest: Gian-Carla Tisera
7:00 – 8:30pm   
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
 
As early as the 1920’s jazz was traveling the world, influencing and being influenced by musical traditions on every continent.  Join us as we explore each of these places individually, with a series of special guests who will play and talk about how their music is part of an international continuum.
 
Born to a Bolivian mother and Italo-Argentinian father, opera and jazz virtuoso Gian-Carla Tisera has a voice that will knock you off your feet and simultaneously bring you to tears. As a conservatory-trained opera singer Gian-Carla has found jazz to be the most effective space to use what she has learned as a classical musician to express her South American heritage via Afro-Latin rhythms and vocal improvisation. She eloquently states that jazz is the reason she is able to fuse her Bolivian roots, socio-political commentary, and classical training. Gian-Carla is extremely knowledgeable of the South American jazz scene and will speak to the exchange going on between New York and South American jazz music. She is also intrigued by the indigenous elements present in the music of leading South American jazz artists. Join us Tuesday, October 23^rd, for this inspiring discussion and performance!
 
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Harlem Speaks
An Evening for Marian McPartland
Guests: Vocalist Karrin Allyson, biographer Paul de Barros, pianist Jon Weber
6:30 – 8:30pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
 
Shall we play that one together?” How often have you heard Marian McPartland say that to the many illustrious guests who have appeared over the years on her National Public Radio show, Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz? McPartland’s familiar invitation is the title of the first-ever biography of McPartland, due from St. Martin’s Press Oct. 16, 2012. Author Paul de Barros, a longtime contributor to Down Beat magazine, was given unprecedented access to McPartland’s personal archive. He reads excerpts from Shall We Play That One Together? The Life and Art of Jazz Piano Legend Marian McPartland at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, October 25. After the reading, de Barros chats with pianist “Piano Jazz” guest host Jon Weber, who will play and talk about McPartland’s approach to composing and improvising. Vocalist Karrin Allyson caps the program with performances of two Marian’s tunes.
 
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Saturday Panels
An International Jam Session
12:00 – 4:00pm   
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300                                                                                
 
This is a very special occasion: musicians from around the world playing together for the first time, in which the music and the conversation that will result will be something to remember. Languages/cultures/musical styles will all merge in an afternoon of discovery and joy. This is something you don’t want to miss if you enjoy the true spontaneity at the root of jazz. Look for our weekly announcements/web site for updates as to who our guests will be.
 
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Jazz for Curious Listeners
Jazz Around The World: Scandinavia
Guest: Soren Moller
7:00 – 8:30pm   
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
 
As early as the 1920’s jazz was traveling the world, influencing and being influenced by musical traditions on every continent.  Join us as we explore each of these places individually, with a series of special guests who will play and talk about how their music is part of an international continuum.
 
Danish-born pianist and composer, Soren Moller, is at the vanguard of the Scandinavia jazz scene but his music has stretched far beyond that. Moller is a huge proponent of collaborating with musicians from other backgrounds and musical sensibilities and has played with artists from locales ranging from Mexico, Zimbabwe, New Orleans, and China to give his music a “global glow.” Concern his latest release, Christian X variations, that involves musicians from Puerto Rico to Brooklyn, Soren remarks “I feel my Danish roots while composing, but I like the idea of people from all over the world interpreting the music I have composed. It creates a special sound that you can’t really find anywhere else, since it’s no longer attached to any geographical context.” Together with trombonist Chris Washburn and saxophonist Ole Mathisen, Soren founded the NYNDK Jazz Collective an ensemble of established musicians from New York and Scandinavia. Soren is also a part of a duo with saxophone player Dick Oatts. Come out on Tuesday, Oct 30^th to hear Soren discuss the Scandinavia-New York jazz dialogue and his personal philosophy of global collaboration!

Related articles

• “Harlem in the City” Festival runs October 1 – 7
• 6th annual Harlem Arts Advocacy Week

Photo by Vaughn Browne

There’s something important going on at Harlem Stage Gatehouse on September 19^th – 22^nd:  Holding it Down:  the Veterans’ Dreams Project.  Brilliant pianist and Harlem resident Vijay Iyer is collaborating with producer and poet Mike Ladd to deliver a multi-media experience about stories from veterans of color who fought in the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Holding it Down: the Veterans’ Dream Project is the third in a trilogy of works by the two artists that took on a life of its own after 9/11.  Vijay and Mike had been working on a project in spring of 2001.   In What Language?  was originally a series of conversations/songs with people of color in airports.  By the time of its release in 2003, it became a response to what had become the War on Terror.  In 2006, the next installment, Still Life with Commentator spoke to the packaging of the wars, how they were presented to those of us safely removed from the realities faced by those who actually fought.  By 2009 Mike was interviewing people of color who had served in the wars.  The conversations addressed in the current piece often lead to sleep and dreaming; how these folks suffer PTSD and other symptoms resulting from fighting in the wars.  How does one process and live any kind of healthy life after having these experiences?  These vets come home having survived the ravages of war, and yet their struggle for survival just begins.

Holding it Down is going to be an extremely poignant, arresting peek into the unconscious minds of veterans – coming to terms with their experiences in dream state.  The three songs I have heard from the performance thus far are heart-wrenching yet beautiful in their way.  The music is heady – soulful beats, ironic gorgeous piano licks with electronic embellishment.  Combine the emotional sounds with the visual component and you will walk out of Harlem Stage Gatehouse with a new grasp on reality, understanding more deeply how dark and twisted war really is.   Joining Vijay and Mike will be poet Maurice Decaul, who served with the Marines in Iraq in 2003 and Air Force Staff Sergeant Lynn Hill.

Holding It Down: The Veterans’ Dreams Project plays from September 19^th through the 22^nd at Harlem Stage Gatehouse, 150 Convent Ave. at 135th St. 212.650.7100. www.harlemstage.org

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival the City Parks Foundation presents a full week of events that will include performances, poetry, workshops, lectures, theatrical presentations, the world premiere of a commissioned jazz work, and a regular two day festival.

Our girl Lakecia Benjamin will be at Ginny’s Supper Club on Monday August 20th.  I’ll be there to cover that event.

Also, our beloved Gregory Porter will play at Tompkins Square Park August 26th.

Festival Lineup

Friday, August 17

Jazz Legends: Charlie Parker Tribute

5:00 PM –7:00 PM

Whole Foods Market Upper West Side, (808 Columbus Ave. at 97th Street)

Presented in partnership with the Jazz Foundation of America

FREE, No Reservations Required

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Sunday, August 19

The New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music Presents:

Andy Milne’s Bandwidth

9:00 PM & 10:30 PM (2 sets)

Ginny’s Supper Club at Red Rooster, (310 Lenox Ave. between 125th & 126th Sts.)

FREE, No Reservations Required

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Monday, August 20

Revive Music Presents:

Lakecia Benjamin

9:00 PM & 10:30 PM (2 sets)

Ginny’s Supper Club at Red Rooster, (310 Lenox Ave. between 125th & 126th Sts.)

FREE, No Reservations Required

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Tuesday August 21

Charlie Parker on Swing Street: Musical Storytelling

6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Bill’s Place (148 West 133rd Street, between Lenox and 7th Avenues)

Presented in partnership with the Jazz Foundation of America

FREE, Reservations Required

RSVP to:CharlieParker20@Summerstage.org, Include date and name of event in subject line.

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Tuesday, August 21

Charlie Parker in 2012: Bird (still) in Flight

Panelists: Jimmy Heath / Steve Coleman / Jaleel Shaw / Antonio Ciacca

Moderated by: Ashley Kahn

6:30 PM – 8:00 PM

Harlem School of the Arts, (645 Saint Nicholas Avenue at 141st Street)

FREE, Reservations Required

RSVP to:CharlieParker20@Summerstage.org, Include date and name of event in subject line.

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Wednesday, August 22

Charlie Parker with Strings:

A Conversation with Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and Ashley Kahn

6:30 PM – 8:00 PM

The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music’s Jazz Performance Space

(55 W. 13th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues, Fifth Floor)

FREE, Reservations Required

RSVP to:CharlieParker20@Summerstage.org, Include date and name of event in subject line.

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Thursday, August 23

Workshop:

WeBop: A Family Jazz party

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music’s Jazz Performance Space

(55 W. 13th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues, Fifth Floor)

FREE, Reservations Required

RSVP to:CharlieParker20@Summerstage.org, Include date and name of event in subject line.

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Thursday, August 23

Theatrical Presentation:

Daniel Carlton Presents “When Smalls Had it All”

6:30 PM – 8:00 PM

The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music’s Jazz Performance Space

(55 W. 13th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues, Fifth Floor)

FREE, Reservations Required

RSVP to:CharlieParker20@Summerstage.org, Include date and name of event in subject line.

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Friday, August 24

“Bird with Strings” with Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and Special Guests

Theatrical Presentation: Daniel Carlton Presents “On the Wings of Yardbird”

Produced by Revive Music

7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Marcus Garvey Park, MN

Harlem, Mount Morris Park West at West 122nd Street (Richard Rodgers Amphitheater)

Both works are commissioned by City Parks Foundation in celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival.

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Saturday, August 25

Roy Haynes / Rene Marie’s ‘Experiment In Truth’ / Derrick Hodge / ERIMAJ

Poets: Edwin Torres / LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs

3:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Marcus Garvey Park , MN

Harlem, Mount Morris Park West at West 122nd Street (Richard Rodgers Amphitheater)

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Sunday, August 26

Ernestine Anderson Quartet / Gregory Porter / Andy Milne & Dapp Theory/ Sullivan Fortner

Poets: Jon Sands / Sheila Maldonado / Nikhil Melnechuk

3:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Tompkins Square Park, MN

East 7th Street between Avenues A and B

________________

Click here for more information and details regarding performances and artists.

INto Harlem

This Saturday, July 28th, Jason Moran and Meshell Ndegeocello are joining Harlem Stage and putting on a “Fats Waller Dance Party” in a FREE outdoor jazz concert that will include a 5-piece band with a live dance installation by Maija Garcia/Organic Magnetics.  There will also be family activities, cuisine from local vendors and raffles including a chance to win a pair of tickets from American Airlines.

You are encouraged to bring a blanket to sit on, but be aware that no folding chairs, outside food and beverages, coolers, glass bottles, pets, beach umbrellas, bikes or alcohol allowed in the park.  Gates open and I Love Vinyl DJ sets start at 4PM, while the concert is scheduled to start at 5PM.

Opening acts:
Amma Whatt, KimberlyNichole & Urban Word NYC

DJs:
I Love Vinyl—Amir, Ge-ology, OP!, Scribe & Jon Oliver

Annunciation Park (Amsterdam and W. 135th Street)
Main Entrance at W. 134th and Amsterdam

Jason Moran and Meshell Ndegeocello perform their signature rendition of “The Joint is Jumpin’” live at the Lenox Lounge in the video below:

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• Cassandra Wilson Takes us to Another Country
• Red Rooster Rocks Classic Soul/ R & B Every Friday
• Harlem Fashion Row: Five years of championing black fashion designers

When I sat down at the Blue Note to see Cassandra Wilson play I knew it would be surreal.  She’s one of my heroes, so I was overwhelmed with needing to absorb into my cells every detail of the performance so that I could relive it at will.  It would have to carry me for quite a while.  The last time I saw her was in San Francisco sometime in the late 90s.

In celebration of the recent release of Cassandra’s new album Another Country, she did a multi-night run at the Blue Note.  I caught the second set of her Thursday show.

The show opened with the band playing harmonica master Gregoire Maret’s rendition of Stevie Wonder’s The Secret Life of Plants, a perfect precursor for the evening’s experience.  Cassandra came out and immediately went in with Saddle Up My Pony, followed by her tasty bossa nova flavored The Man I Love.  She then brought us cuts from the new album: No More Blues, Another Country, Red Guitar.  They did us all in with Meshell Ndegeocello’s The Chosen – Cassandra sings this song with absolute raw conviction where the silence in the room is as critical as the music and lyrics.  A fiery conversation between harmonica and drums appears midway through the song that both startles and inspires.  It was a show highlight for me.

A live music experience with Cassandra Wilson is hard to describe.  She always has the perfect balance of musicians who appear to telepathically anticipate and respond to each moment.  For this performance, her team included, along with Maret, Marvin Sewell and Brandon Wasserman, both in perfect synchronicity on guitar, Bradley Jones, bass; and John Davis on drums.  I’m so filled with the sound they achieve.  They understand Cassandra’s Delta blues flavored, deeply sensual velvet whispers, and her spontaneous changes.  When she scats, sound waves and color emerge and change with every emotion, bouncing around and into the soul.  Surely the angels sound their trumpets through her utterance.  There’s nothing like it…at all.

At the end of the show, Cassandra introduced us to fellow Ojah Music Group artist from Mississippi, Tawanna Shaunte’ who sang a beautiful song that is soon to be released on her own project.  Shades of Color is a challenging and inspiring call to open your mind and heart to the unending spectrum of all that the world offers.  I loved the song and look forward to more from her.  I’m certain I’ll be writing about her soon.

The new album In Another Country, much of which was recorded in Italy, was produced by Cassandra Wilson and Fabrizio Sotti for Ojah Music Group, LLC is truly something to behold, and has its own cast of stellar musicians.  After experiencing some things in her life, she lends her signature to her story and shares it with us.  There’s not a dull moment on this project.  Of particular importance to me, is Red Guitar – with the imagery in the lyrics, I can imagine her traveling through Italy while writing this.  The visual phrases take you to the Italian countryside with all its textures and colors, and she signs her name to it with her one of a kind musical statements.  The title track, with its deeply personal lyrics, reveals to us the universal nature of her style, her influences and her incredibly precise intuition.  Olomuroro is an African folk tale that features a choir of children.  Another particularly important track on the album shows us the depth of Cassandra’s ability.  Only she could honor O Sole Mio in the way she does.  But you’re going to have to experience that one for yourself.  Words don’t work.

See larger image Another Country (Audio CD) List Price: $17.98 USD New From: $7.72 In Stock Used from: $7.16 In Stock Release date June 26, 2012.