Jay Hoggard and his Quartet will perform ballads, bop, and blues, and music that blends jazz and gospel roots with African Marimba rhythms on Saturday, November 19 at 8:00pm at Fieldston School Student-Faculty Lounge, 3901 Fieldston Road in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. Music for the concert, written by Hoggard, is on his newest two-disk CD, Harlem Hieroglyphs, and includes 11 tunes such as: Harlem Jazzbirds, Swingin’ and Swayin,’, Let Me Make It Clear, Piety and Redemption, Disposable Consumption, and My Love I’m Gonna Show You That I Love You. The Jay Hoggard Quartet includes Hoggard on vibraphone; James Weidman, piano, organ; Belden Bullock, bass; and Pheeroan AkLaff, drums, percussion. Advance tickets for the November 19 Harlem Hieroglyphs concert are $32 in advance at http://bronxartsensemble.org/events; $40 at the door; and $90 priority seating, which includes a $50 donation. For tickets and additional information: http://bronxartsensemble.org or 718-601-7399.
Noted jazz writer Owen McNally recently wrote about Harlem Hieroglyphs in his Jazz Corridor column for WNPR.org, “Hoggard has created a triumphant jazz album, a dramatic showcase for his diverse composing skills… Part of what fuels Hoggard’s soaring, imaginative flights are his passion for jazz in all its historic and cultural breadth and depth, and his fascination with the legacy of Harlem’s Golden Age…”
Hoggard, a master vibraphonist who has recorded 22 CDs as a leader and 50 as a collaborator, has performed throughout the U.S. at venues such as the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center, and in Africa, Europe, South America, the Caribbean, and Asia. He has played with Lionel Hampton, Tito Puente, Kenny Burrell, Billy Taylor, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Hilton Ruiz, Bobby Hutcherson, and other top-notch artists. Hoggard is an Adjunct Full Professor of Music at his alma mater Wesleyan University, where he has been the director of the Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra, and has taught and mentored hundreds of students for 26 years. He has conducted workshops around the world for students of all ages. “Musicians come up to me now and thank me for the help I gave them over the years when they were my students,” said Hoggard. The CD will be available for sale in the lobby after the concert.
Hoggard will present a 5:00 pm workshop at the Fieldston School prior to the concert. Participating students are from Bronx Arts Ensemble’s arts-in-education program in Bronx public schools that provides artist residencies, after-school programs, and auditorium programs in music, drama, dance, and visual arts. The workshop is free and the public is welcome to observe.
The Bronx Arts Ensemble is a professional ensemble with a year-round schedule, performing over 100 concerts of diverse musical traditions in chamber music and orchestral settings, including children’s musical shows and free concerts in Bronx parks. For a schedule of concerts and activities: http://bronxartsensemble.org.
