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

2011-01-14

NEW YORK, NY, January 14, 2011 (Press-News.org) Three esteemed Harlem cultural organizations âEUR" the Apollo Theater, Harlem Stage and Jazzmobile âEUR" have joined forces to present the first Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival May 9âEUR"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, ShowmanâEUR s CafÃ , the Apollo Theater, Alhambra Ballroom, and MintonâEUR 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:

âEUR Wycliffe GordonâEUR s Jazz Ã la Carte âEUR" The ApolloâEUR s variety shows of the 1930âEUR 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.

âEUR Fats Waller Dance Party: SmallâEUR s Paradise Tribute with Jason Moran & Meshell Ndegeocello âEUR" Harlem Stage presents two nights of WallerâEUR s music taken to new heights in a social mixing dance party featuring 2010 MacArthur Genius pianist Jason Moran & dynamic singer/bassist Meshell Ndegeocello.

âEUR Late Night Jam Sessions & Conversations with Legends at MintonâEUR s Playhouse âEUR" Jazzmobile re-creates MintonâEUR s legendary âEURœcutting contestsâEUR with emerging jazz talents and an all-star house band curated by T.S. Monk with Robert OâEUR Meally leading provocative discussions.

âEUR Geri Allen Quartet Jam Session âEUR" During the 1940âEUR s and âEUR˜50âEUR s, the Harlem jazz scene was famous for its after-hours âEURœjam sessions.âEUR Jazz pianist and producer Geri Allen "jams" with her quartet and special guests at the Apollo Music Cafe.

âEUR Blazing Tongues: The Singers & Writers of Lenox Lounge âEUR" Harlem Stage, in partnership with Columbia UniversityâEUR s Center for Jazz Studies and Institute for Research in African American Studies, curates two evenings of music and literature.

âEUR Battle of the Big Bands âEUR" 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.

âEURœFor 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,âEUR said Mikki Shepard, Executive Producer of the Apollo Theater. âEURœThroughout 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 âEURœCannonballâEUR 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 HarlemâEUR s heritage, and to be a part of Harlem Jazz Shrines alongside Jazzmobile and Harlem Stage.âEUR

Pat Cruz, Executive Director of Harlem Stage added, âEURœHarlem became an internationally renowned community primarily as a result of the incredible flowering of music and art that occurred between the 1920s through the âEUR˜50s. 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.âEUR

âEURœWith 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,âEUR stated Robin Bell-Stevens, President & CEO of Jazzmobile. âEURœOur 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 MintonâEUR s Play House. Although we are saddened that Dr. Taylor canâEUR t enjoy this great intergenerational festival, we are proud that this program continues to build on his legacy.âEUR

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 organizationsâEUR websites at http://www.apollotheater.org, http://www.jazzmobile.org and http://www.harlemstage.org. For updates and additional information, log on to http://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 âEUR" 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 GordonâEUR s Jazz Ã la Carte was commissioned with support from Meet the ComposerâEUR s National CommissionerâEUR 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 HarlemâEUR s, New York CityâEUR s, and AmericaâEUR 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, DâEUR Angelo, Lauryn Hill, and countless others began their road to stardom on the ApolloâEUR 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 nationâEUR 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., AmericaâEUR 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 âEUR" âEURœAmericaâEUR s classical music.âEUR 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 9âEUR"15, 2011

Monday, May 9

âEUR Kickoff Event at MintonâEUR s Playhouse, 6pm-8pm.

âEUR Late Night Jam Session at MintonâEUR s Playhouse, 9pm-closing. Jazzmobile re-creates MintonâEUR s legendary âEUR˜cutting contestsâEUR with emerging jazz talents and an all-star house band. T.S. Monk curates.

Tuesday, May 10

âEUR 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 UniversityâEUR 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 HarlemâEUR s most historic jazz venues, Lenox Lounge.

âEUR ShowmanâEUR 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

âEUR Amateur Night, 7:30pm-9:30pm. The Apollo TheaterâEUR s signature program will feature young, emerging jazz artists on the ApolloâEUR s world famous stage.

âEUR 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 UniversityâEUR s CJS and IRAAS.

âEUR ShowmanâEUR s Jam Sessions, 8pm until close. Presented by the Apollo Theater.

Thursday, May 12

âEUR ShowmanâEUR s Jam Sessions, 8pm until close. Presented by the Apollo Theater.

âEUR MintonâEUR s: Inspired Innovation, 7pm-11pm. Jazzmobile will present a dinner, conversation and performance led by Stanley Crouch and Robert OâEUR Meally.

Friday, May 13

âEUR Battle of the Big Bands, 7pm-12am. Jazzmobile presents the first of two nights of big bands, Jimmy HeathâEUR s Big Band will perform at the Alhambra Ballroom.

âEUR The Apollo Jazz Show: Wycliffe GordonâEUR s Jazz Ã 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.

âEUR ShowmanâEUR s Jam Sessions, 8pm until close. Presented by the Apollo Theater.

âEUR The Fats Waller Dance Party: SmallâEUR 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 jumpinâEUR . 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 WallerâEUR s historic music into a contemporary dance event at the Harlem Stage Gatehouse - two sets at 9:00 pm and 11:00 pm.

âEUR Late Night Jam Session, doors open at 9pm, show starts at 10pm. Geri Allen Quartet Jam Session âEUR" During the 1940âEUR s and 50âEUR s, the Harlem jazz scene was notorious for its after-hours âEURœjam sessions.âEUR Jazz pianist and producer Geri Allen "jams" with her quartet and special guests at the Apollo Music Cafe.

âEUR ShowmanâEUR s Jam Sessions 8pm until close. Presented by the Apollo Theater.

âEUR Friday Night at MintonâEUR s -- Late Night Jam Session, 10pm-4am, presented by Jazzmobile.

âEUR Geri Allen Quartet Jam Session âEUR" During the 1940âEUR s and 50âEUR s, the Harlem jazz scene was famous for its after-hours âEURœjam sessions.âEUR 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

âEUR Columbia University Humanities Panels, 1-3pm at the Miller Theater. First Panel âEUR" Curated exhibition about jazz shrines, with panel discussion moderated by
Kellie Jones with panelists Bob OâEUR Meally and Diedre Harris-Kelly. Second Panel will be led by Josef Sorett, from ColumbiaâEUR s Center for Religion and Culture, and will focus on the impact of Gospel and Jazz. Panelists include Farah Griffin and John Szwed.

âEUR The Apollo Jazz Show: Wycliffe GordonâEUR s Jazz Ã la Carte, two shows: 5pm and 8pm.

âEUR Swinging at the Alhambra Ballroom, 7pm-12am. The Harlem Renaissance Orchestra will lead a swing dance competition.

âEUR ShowmanâEUR s Jam Sessions presented by the Apollo. 8pm until close.

âEUR The Fats Waller Dance Party: SmallâEUR s Paradise Tribute with Jason Moran & Meshell Ndegeocello at the Harlem Stage Gatehouse - two sets at 9:00 pm and 11:00 pm.

âEUR Geri Allen Quartet Jam Session âEUR" During the 1940âEUR s and 50âEUR s, the Harlem jazz scene was famous for its after-hours âEURœjam sessions.âEUR 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

âEUR Re-creation of Count BasieâEUR s Lounge, 3pm-5pm. A Jazzmobile performance/humanities event.

âEUR 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
http://www.alhambraballroom.net

Apollo Theater
253 W 125th Street
New York, NY 10027
(212) 531-5305
http://www.apollotheater.org

Harlem Stage Gatehouse
150 Convent Avenue at West 135th Street
New York, NY 10031
(212) 281-9240 Ext. 19 or 20
http://www.harlemstage.org

Lenox Lounge
288 Lenox Avenue
Malcolm X Boulevard
124th & 125th
New York, NY
(212) 427-0253
http://www.lenoxlounge.com

Miller Theatre
2960 Broadway (at 116th Street)
(212) 854-7799
http://www.millertheatre.com

MintonâEUR s Playhouse
206 West 118th Street
New York, NY 10026
(212) 864-8346

ShowmanâEUR s CafÃ
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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Apollo/Harlem Stage/Jazzmobile Present NY's Newest Festival: Harlem Jazz Shrines

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