Home » Music Articles » Apollo/Harlem Stage/Jazzmobile Present NY's Newest Festival: Harlem Jazz Shrines
Apollo/Harlem Stage/Jazzmobile Present NY's Newest Festival: Harlem Jazz Shrines
The Apollo Theater, Harlem Stage and Jazzmobile Join Forces to Present First Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival May 9 - 15, 2011
NEW YORK, NY, January 14, 2011 /Music PR News/ -- Three esteemed Harlem cultural organizations EUR" the Apollo Theater, Harlem Stage and Jazzmobile EUR" have joined forces to present the first Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival May 9EUR"15, 2011. Celebrating the unique legacy of jazz in the uptown community, the Festival will bring both established and emerging artists to some of the famed venues where jazz flourished in Harlem: Lenox Lounge, ShowmanEUR s Caf , the Apollo Theater, Alhambra Ballroom, and MintonEUR s Playhouse. Other festival events will take place at Harlem Stage Gatehouse, Columbia University and a variety of locations throughout the Harlem area.
Highlights of the Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival include:
EUR Wycliffe GordonEUR s Jazz à la Carte EUR" The ApolloEUR s variety shows of the 1930EUR s make a comeback under the direction of Wycliffe Gordon with the Temple University Big Band, featuring vocalists Carla Cook and Nikki Yanofsky, tap savant Savion Glover, sax wunderkind Grace Kelly, Director/Choreographer Ken Roberson, and trombone prodigy Corey Wilcox, among others.
EUR Fats Waller Dance Party: SmallEUR s Paradise Tribute with Jason Moran & Meshell Ndegeocello EUR" Harlem Stage presents two nights of WallerEUR s music taken to new heights in a social mixing dance party featuring 2010 MacArthur Genius pianist Jason Moran & dynamic singer/bassist Meshell Ndegeocello.
EUR Late Night Jam Sessions & Conversations with Legends at MintonEUR s Playhouse EUR" Jazzmobile re-creates MintonEUR s legendary EURcutting contestsEUR with emerging jazz talents and an all-star house band curated by T.S. Monk with Robert OEUR Meally leading provocative discussions.
EUR Geri Allen Quartet Jam Session EUR" During the 1940EUR s and EUR50EUR s, the Harlem jazz scene was famous for its after-hours EURjam sessions.EUR Jazz pianist and producer Geri Allen "jams" with her quartet and special guests at the Apollo Music Cafe.
EUR Blazing Tongues: The Singers & Writers of Lenox Lounge EUR" Harlem Stage, in partnership with Columbia UniversityEUR s Center for Jazz Studies and Institute for Research in African American Studies, curates two evenings of music and literature.
EUR Battle of the Big Bands EUR" Jazzmobile produces two nights of big bands featuring the Jimmy Heath Big Band and the Harlem Renaissance Orchestra at the Alhambra Ballroom.
The Apollo Theater, Harlem Stage and Jazzmobile have partnered specifically to create a resurgence of jazz opportunities in Harlem with this week-long festival. Jazz will be presented in all its various forms and diverse formats including jazz dance, concert, club, cabaret and dance events. Conceived as an annual offering, Harlem Jazz Shrines will enable the partners to create a dynamic range of programming, highlighting the role that local Harlem venues have played in the development of jazz.
The three partners are also collaborating with Columbia University and its Center for Jazz Studies and Institute for Research in African American Studies to bring humanities programming that will further highlight the cultural significance of the Festival.
High-quality artistic performances and other events will all be offered at the affordable price of $10. Events are designed to draw a diverse audience of neighborhood residents, New Yorkers, and tourists with a mix of programming appealing to both jazz novices and aficionados. To generate attendance to multiple events and venues, Festival programming is arranged so that people have the option of attending several events each day. On Friday and Saturday nights, the Festival will provide a shuttle bus to transport audience members to area venues.
EURFor much of the 20th Century, Harlem was synonymous with jazz. Few other communities fostered jazz as a popular art form for both musicians and audiences as Harlem did,EUR said Mikki Shepard, Executive Producer of the Apollo Theater. EURThroughout its history, the Apollo has been a champion of jazz and of jazz musicians. From the historic night in 1934 when Ella Fitzgerald first won Amateur Night, to performances by Benny Carter, Nat EURCannonballEUR Adderley, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Billie Holiday and Cab Calloway, the list of jazz greats who played the Apollo goes on and on. We are proud to celebrate HarlemEUR s heritage, and to be a part of Harlem Jazz Shrines alongside Jazzmobile and Harlem Stage.EUR
Pat Cruz, Executive Director of Harlem Stage added, EURHarlem became an internationally renowned community primarily as a result of the incredible flowering of music and art that occurred between the 1920s through the EUR50s. Contemporary musicians continue to be inspired by that rich legacy. Extending this legacy into the future with young, dynamic artists is a core and critical part of our mission. Harlem Stage is proud to partner with the Apollo and Jazzmobile in the Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival.EUR
EURWith a 46-year history of presenting both emerging artists and the giants of Jazz on the Jazzmobile float, Jazzmobile is pleased to be partnering with the Apollo Theater and Harlem Stage as co-presenters of this premiere Festival,EUR stated Robin Bell-Stevens, President & CEO of Jazzmobile. EUROur pioneering education programs came from our founder, the legendary Dr. Billy Taylor, one of the master Jazz artists who performed in many of the shrines being highlighted during the Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival, most notably MintonEUR s Play House. Although we are saddened that Dr. Taylor canEUR t enjoy this great intergenerational festival, we are proud that this program continues to build on his legacy.EUR
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 organizationsEUR websites at www.apollotheater.org, www.jazzmobile.org and www.harlemstage.org. For updates and additional information, log on to www.harlemjazzshrines.org.
Harlem Jazz Shrines is made possible by generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts and The New York Community Trust EUR" Elizabeth Meyer Lorentz Fund. This program is also supported, in part, by public funds from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Council Member Inez E. Dickens, and Speaker Christine Quinn.
Wycliffe GordonEUR s Jazz à la Carte was commissioned with support from Meet the ComposerEUR s National CommissionerEUR s Network.
The Fats Waller Dance Party has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius.
About the Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater is one of HarlemEUR s, New York CityEUR s, and AmericaEUR s most iconic and enduring cultural institutions. Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, the Apollo Theater has played a major role in cultivating artists and in the emergence of innovative musical genres including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Sammy Davis, Jr., James Brown, Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, DEUR Angelo, Lauryn Hill, and countless others began their road to stardom on the ApolloEUR s stage. Based on its cultural significance and architecture, the Apollo Theater received state and city landmark designation in 1983 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This winter, the non-profit Theater will introduce new programming building on its rich legacy and supporting presentations of forward looking, contemporary music, dance, theater and performance art events.
About Harlem Stage
Since 1979, Harlem Stage has been one of the nationEUR s leading arts organizations devoted to the creation and development of new works by performing artists of color. Harlem Stage supports artists and organizations around the corner and across the globe. And it provides children and adults with engaging and interactive education programs. Harlem Stage is a performing arts center that celebrates and perpetuates the unique and diverse artistic legacy of Harlem and the indelible impression it has made on American culture. It provides opportunity, commissioning and support for diverse artists, makes performances accessible to all audiences, and introduces children to the rich diversity, excitement and inspiration of the performing arts.
About Jazzmobile
Jazzmobile, Inc., AmericaEUR s oldest not-for- profit arts organization created just for jazz, was founded in 1964 by NEA Jazz Master Dr. Billy Taylor and Daphne Arnstein. Its mission is to present, preserve, promote, and propagate Jazz EUR" EURAmericaEUR s classical music.EUR This mission is implemented through quality jazz education and performance programs: workshops, master classes, lecture demonstrations, arts enrichment programs, as well as out-of-doors mobile Jazz performances and those in clubs and major concert halls here and abroad. Jazzmobile serves approximately 100,000 people in New York City and its outlying areas each year.
HARLEM JAZZ SHRINES FESTIVAL SCHEDULE*
MAY 9EUR"15, 2011
Monday, May 9
EUR Kickoff Event at MintonEUR s Playhouse, 6pm-8pm.
EUR Late Night Jam Session at MintonEUR s Playhouse, 9pm-closing. Jazzmobile re-creates MintonEUR s legendary EURcutting contestsEUR with emerging jazz talents and an all-star house band. T.S. Monk curates.
Tuesday, May 10
EUR Blazing Tongues: The Singers & Writers of Lenox Lounge, featuring the music and words of Billie Holiday and Zora Neale Hurston as performed by Queen Esther and writer TBD, 7pm-9pm. Harlem Stage, in partnership with Columbia UniversityEUR s Center for Jazz Studies (CJS) and Institute for Research in African American Studies (IRAAS), will curate an evening with vocalists and writers in one of HarlemEUR s most historic jazz venues, Lenox Lounge.
EUR ShowmanEUR s Late Night Jazz, 8pm until close. A week-long set of late-night jazz performances produced in partnership with the Apollo. Performing artists to be announced.
Wednesday, May 11
EUR Amateur Night, 7:30pm-9:30pm. The Apollo TheaterEUR s signature program will feature young, emerging jazz artists on the ApolloEUR s world famous stage.
EUR Blazing Tongues: The Singers & Writers of Lenox Lounge featuring the music and words of Dinah Washington and James Baldwin with Marcelle Davies-Lashely and Carl Hancock Rux, 7pm-9pm, presented by Harlem Stage in partnership with Columbia UniversityEUR s CJS and IRAAS.
EUR ShowmanEUR s Jam Sessions, 8pm until close. Presented by the Apollo Theater.
Thursday, May 12
EUR ShowmanEUR s Jam Sessions, 8pm until close. Presented by the Apollo Theater.
EUR MintonEUR s: Inspired Innovation, 7pm-11pm. Jazzmobile will present a dinner, conversation and performance led by Stanley Crouch and Robert OEUR Meally.
Friday, May 13
EUR Battle of the Big Bands, 7pm-12am. Jazzmobile presents the first of two nights of big bands, Jimmy HeathEUR s Big Band will perform at the Alhambra Ballroom.
EUR The Apollo Jazz Show: Wycliffe GordonEUR s Jazz à la Carte, 8pm at the Apollo. Famed artist and composer, Wycliffe Gordon presents a show featuring the music of the Temple University Big Band, with vocalists Carla Cook and Nikki Yanofsky; tap dancer Savion Glover; saxophonist Grace Kelly; and trombonist Corey Wilcox, Director/Choreographer Ken Roberson among others.
EUR ShowmanEUR s Jam Sessions, 8pm until close. Presented by the Apollo Theater.
EUR The Fats Waller Dance Party: SmallEUR s Paradise Tribute with Jason Moran & Meshell Ndegeocello, 9pm and 11pm. Aside from its nightly sets, the legendary club Smalls was famous for its after-hours jams and rent parties. Among the many artists Smalls hosted, Fats Waller regularly got the joint jumpinEUR . This tribute jumps forward from that legacy, at the stride piano tradition for which Waller was a seminal figure, and how it resonates in contemporary music. Multiple Grammy nominee Meshell Ndegeocello and MacArthur Genius Award-winner Jason Moran, along with a full band and DJ, re-imagine WallerEUR s historic music into a contemporary dance event at the Harlem Stage Gatehouse - two sets at 9:00 pm and 11:00 pm.
EUR Late Night Jam Session, doors open at 9pm, show starts at 10pm. Geri Allen Quartet Jam Session EUR" During the 1940EUR s and 50EUR s, the Harlem jazz scene was notorious for its after-hours EURjam sessions.EUR Jazz pianist and producer Geri Allen "jams" with her quartet and special guests at the Apollo Music Cafe.
EUR ShowmanEUR s Jam Sessions 8pm until close. Presented by the Apollo Theater.
EUR Friday Night at MintonEUR s -- Late Night Jam Session, 10pm-4am, presented by Jazzmobile.
EUR Geri Allen Quartet Jam Session EUR" During the 1940EUR s and 50EUR s, the Harlem jazz scene was famous for its after-hours EURjam sessions.EUR Jazz pianist and producer Geri Allen "jams" with her quartet and special guests at the Apollo Music Cafe. Doors open at 9pm, show starts at 10pm.
Saturday, May 14
EUR Columbia University Humanities Panels, 1-3pm at the Miller Theater. First Panel EUR" Curated exhibition about jazz shrines, with panel discussion moderated by
Kellie Jones with panelists Bob OEUR Meally and Diedre Harris-Kelly. Second Panel will be led by Josef Sorett, from ColumbiaEUR s Center for Religion and Culture, and will focus on the impact of Gospel and Jazz. Panelists include Farah Griffin and John Szwed.
EUR The Apollo Jazz Show: Wycliffe GordonEUR s Jazz à la Carte, two shows: 5pm and 8pm.
EUR Swinging at the Alhambra Ballroom, 7pm-12am. The Harlem Renaissance Orchestra will lead a swing dance competition.
EUR ShowmanEUR s Jam Sessions presented by the Apollo. 8pm until close.
EUR The Fats Waller Dance Party: SmallEUR s Paradise Tribute with Jason Moran & Meshell Ndegeocello at the Harlem Stage Gatehouse - two sets at 9:00 pm and 11:00 pm.
EUR Geri Allen Quartet Jam Session EUR" During the 1940EUR s and 50EUR s, the Harlem jazz scene was famous for its after-hours EURjam sessions.EUR Jazz pianist and producer Geri Allen "jams" with her quartet and special guests at the Apollo Music Cafe. Doors open at 9pm, show starts at 10pm.
Sunday, May 15
EUR Re-creation of Count BasieEUR s Lounge, 3pm-5pm. A Jazzmobile performance/humanities event.
EUR Habana/Harlem: Park Palace and the Afro-Cuban Legacy featuring the Spanish Harlem Orchestra two sets at 5pm and 7pm at the Harlem Stage Gatehouse. Produced by Neyda Martinez and Onel Mulet, this party pays tribute to the influence of Afro-Cuban music as it made its way to New York and defined an era. At 3:00pm, a film on the era will be shown, followed by a conversation with scholar Chris Washburne.
*Schedule and Artists Subject to Change
VENUES
Alhambra Ballroom
2116 Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard
New York, New York 10027
(212) 222-6940 or 6941
www.alhambraballroom.net
Apollo Theater
253 W 125th Street
New York, NY 10027
(212) 531-5305
www.apollotheater.org
Harlem Stage Gatehouse
150 Convent Avenue at West 135th Street
New York, NY 10031
(212) 281-9240 Ext. 19 or 20
www.harlemstage.org
Lenox Lounge
288 Lenox Avenue
Malcolm X Boulevard
124th & 125th
New York, NY
(212) 427-0253
www.lenoxlounge.com
Miller Theatre
2960 Broadway (at 116th Street)
(212) 854-7799
www.millertheatre.com
MintonEUR s Playhouse
206 West 118th Street
New York, NY 10026
(212) 864-8346
ShowmanEUR s Caf
375 W 125th Street
New York, NY 10027
(212) 864-8941
Contact for Jazz Shrines:
Carolyn McClair / Carolyn McClair PR
(917) 686-0854 / Info@CarolynMcClairPR.com
Contact for Apollo Theater:
Nina Flowers
(212) 531-5334/nina.flowers@apollotheater.org
Contact for Harlem Stage:
John Michael Kennedy / Goodman Media International
(212) 576-2700 x 243 / jmkennedy@goodmanmedia.com
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