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August 23-24, 2014
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| August 7, 2014 – New York, NY – City Parks Foundation is proud to announce the 22nd edition of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival.Founded in memoriam of beloved jazz musician Charlie Parker, this festival annually attracts thousands of fans to two historic parks in Manhattan. The festival will kick off in Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem, blocks from the famous jazz clubs where Parker graced the stage, and move to Tompkins Square Park in the East Village on Sunday, just across the street from the late Parker’s apartment.In the words of Miles Davis, “You can tell the history of jazz in four words: Louis Armstrong. Charlie Parker.” Almost sixty years after his passing, Parker is celebrated and credited for his contribution to modern music through rhythmically and melodically complex solos and his creation of the bebop sound. The acts in this year’s festival will offer a wide range of performances reflective of Parker’s music and of the ever-changing genre of jazz. From Wallace Roney to Brianna Thomas, this year’s lineup will feature both jazz veterans and up-and-coming stars alike.
The 2014 festival also features two panel discussions, entitled “The Marriage of Latin Music & Jazz,” led by Joe Conzo Sr., Latin music historian & publicist of the late Tito Puente. The panels will explore the historical background and cultural significance of these two movements and pay specific homage to Parker’s influence. Come join us to celebrate Charlie Parker’s legacy – both to New York City and to the world of jazz. The complete Charlie Parker Jazz Festival schedule follows. For up-to-date scheduling and lineup for all SummerStage programming, follow SummerStage via the links below and visit www.SummerStage.org. Twitter: @SummerStage Charlie Parker Jazz Festival 2014 Schedule
Charlie Parker Jazz Festival 2014 Lineup Friday, August 22 The New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music (55 W. 13th St.) Saturday, August 23 Marcus Garvey Park, Harlem (Mount Morris Park West at West 122nd Street) Hailed as a “gentle virtuoso” by Jon Pareles of The New York Times, guitarist/vocalist Lionel Loueke follows up his acclaimed Blue Note releases Karibu and Mwaliko with the extraordinary Heritage. Co-produced by piano great and Blue Note label mate Robert Glasper, Heritage finds Loueke at the helm of a new lineup with a more electric sound. In addition, Loueke, long known for his nylon-string acoustic guitar, does not feature that instrument on Heritage. He transitions to steel-string acoustic and electric guitars A veteran of bands led by Terence Blanchard and Herbie Hancock, Loueke is bringing jazz into vibrant contact with the sounds of West Africa, in particular his native Benin. The title Heritage is a direct reference to his personal odyssey. “I have two heritages,” Loueke says. “One is from my ancestors from Africa, and that goes through my music, my body, my soul, every aspect of what I do. But also I have the heritage from the Occident, from the West, from Europe and the U.S. I speak English, I speak French, and I have that heritage too. I called this album Heritage because I’ve been blessed by all different parts of the world, and most of the songs reflect that.” 25-year old-Chilean saxophonist and composer Melissa Aldana had already caught the ears of the New York jazz scene before winning the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition last September – the first female instrumentalist and first South American to do so in the history of the competition. Now the entire world are discovering her. She picked up the saxophone by age 6, inspired by her father Marcos Aldana – himself a world class saxophonist – and he taught her how to transcribe the solos of great saxophonists – not least Charlie Parker. On stage she is joined by her “Crash Trio” featuring bassist Pablo Menares, also from Chile, & Cuban drummer Francisco Mela (dr) as she was on her forthcoming June 17 Concord Records album also entitled “Melissa Aldana & Crash Trio”. Pianist Kris Bowers is one of the newest and brightest lights on the jazz landscape. Schooled in jazz and classical music, raised amid the rap and hip-hop of the 1990s, inspired by the cinematic power of the great film composers of recent decades, Bowers’ sound – though rooted in traditional styles – is open to numerous external influences that keep the music fresh and vibrant for a new century. This rich and eclectic sensibility is evident from the very first notes of Heroes + Misfits, an ambitious debut album that positions Bowers at the forefront of a talented sextet and showcases a musical and compositional style that – while clearly rooted in the jazz tradition – is also reflective of an eclectic musical age. Bowers musical sensibilities were taking shape before he even saw the light of day. The story has it that his parents positioned headphones on his mother’s belly and piped soft jazz directly into his evolving consciousness in the months before he was born. And it was just the beginning. This classically trained crooner is a soul singer for the ages and a writer for our times. Starting at four years old, Chris Turner was a member of the Kairos Youth Choir, at nine with the San Francisco Opera Company, the Young Musicians Program at the University of California (YMP), the School of the Arts (SOTA) in San Francisco and was the featured vocalist for the SF Jazz High School All-Stars. In the GRAMMY High School Jazz Ensemble, he performed with many GRAMMY artists. Chris graduated from the New School University for Jazz and Contemporary Music. Chris has toured worldwide with Esperanza Spalding and Bilal and he recently opened for Gregory Porter at Town Hall in NYC. He performed on BET “106 & Park” as a MusicMatters “Artist To Watch” and premiered his first single, “Liquid Love”. Chris currently has a digital mix tape called “LOVElife Is A Challenge” and is featured on new recordings by Eric Harland, Kris Bowers, and Harvey Mason Sr. Sunday, August 24 Cindy Blackman Santana is a virtuoso drummer whose artistry spans the realms of jazz and rock. As a bandleader and as a musician, Cindy is a sound innovator with a passion for pushing creative boundaries and exploring movement and change. She is as known for the nuances and colors she brings to her beats and fills as she is for the sheer power of her soulful playing. Cindy has been creating magnificent musical time and space since the beginning of her career as a busking street performer in New York City in the ’80s through the present day, touring the globe and making albums at the top of her game— both with her own bands as well as artists like Pharoah Sanders, Cassandra Wilson, Bill Laswell, Joss Stone, Joe Henderson, Buckethead, Don Pullen, Hugh Masakela, Lenny Kravitz and Angela Bofill. Most recently, Cindy has been sitting in with Santana. While substituting for Dennis Chambers at a Santana show in early 2010, Cindy and Carlos sparked a relationship, on and off the stage, that led to their Marriage in 2010. In addition to her work with Another Lifetime, Cindy & Carlos plan to collaborate on projects that will no doubt reflect their shared passion for improvisation, and belief in the transcendent nature of music. Born in Oakland, CA, as a music-hungry youngster, Craig Handy experimented on guitar, trombone, and piano before settling on his first true love, the saxophone. His distinctive sound and authentic instrumental prowess were immediately noticed by artists of stature. Handy moved to New York in 1986 and began several associations with formidable artists including Herbie Hancock, Dee Dee Bridgewater, master drummers Art Blakey and Roy Haynes, South African melodist Abdullah Ibrahim, and the Mingus Dynasty Band. For the past several years, Handy has recorded or toured consistently with guitarist John Scofield, trumpeter Charles Tolliver, the John Hicks Legacy Band, and most notably The Cookers – a collective of stalwart leaders renowned for playing that simmers or surges to a boiling point – with brethren Billy Harper, George Cables, Eddie Henderson, Billy Hart, Cecil McBee, and David Weiss. In 2014, Handy returns as an original bandleader and party-starter for his new touring and recording project. Titled Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith, Handy draws from his fondness for the music of New Orleans, smack attached to the groove-filled re-imaginings of originals and standards by the late, great organist Jimmy Smith. The release includes cameos by Dee Dee Bridgewater and Wynton Marsalis while filling a rotating drum chair with Jason Marsalis, Herlin Riley, Ali Jackson, and Steve Williams. But the band at the core of the recording springs out of Handy’s current residence in Weehawken, NJ, and shines a light on organist Kyle Koehler, guitarist Matt Chertkoff, and sousaphonist Clark Gayton. According to Will Friedwald at The Wall Street Journal, vocalist Brianna Thomas “… may well be the best young straight-ahead jazz singer of her generation.” Thomas was born and raised in Peoria, IL where she first cut her teeth as a performer. Initially taught and influenced by her Father, drummer and vocalist Charlie Thomas, Brianna comes from a rich background of diverse musical influences. Brianna moved to NYC in 2007 to attend college at The New School University and has since established herself as a talented vocalist on the scene today. Since graduating in 2011 she has performed with jazz greats Wycliffe Gordon, Wynton Marsalis, Russell Malone, The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra and longtime hero Dianne Reeves. Thomas has also performed Nationally and Internationally ranging from the “Women In Jazz Festival” at Jazz At Lincoln Center to the prestigious Montreaux, Umbria, Bern and Sochi Jazz Festivals. Brianna recently released her debut album “You Must Believe In Love” Feb 17th 2014 on Sound On Purpose Records. The best illustration of Ms Thomas is given by the words of legendary trombonist and Jazz Messenger Curtis Fuller : “a marvelous new artist who has all it takes to reach the top of the jazz profession and music in general.” Wednesday, August 27 |
Live in Shanghai new release by The Laurent Medelgi Quartet
