Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Jazz for Curious Listeners 

Jazz on Film: Tenor Sax Legends

7:00 - 8:30pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300

Lester Young/Coleman Hawkins/Sonny Rollins/John Coltrane

We kick off this month's Jazz for Curious Listeners with the most influential tenor saxophonists of the 20th century, bar none. Coleman Hawkins is recognized as the father of the tenor sax, the first virtuoso on the instrument. Lester “Prez” Young was the yin to Hawkins' yang, and greatly influenced the developmental arc of solo improvisation in jazz. Sonny Rollins combined elements of the previous two pillars of jazz, with insights from Charlie Parker, Don Byas, and others, to create a style irresistible in its power and fluidity. And John Coltrane is perhaps the most influential jazz musician of the 20th century, following Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker.

Where else can you see the sweep of the jazz tradition on tenor saxophone in such a short time on film? Don't miss this class—it's free!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Jazz Is: Now!

Jonathan Batiste

7:00pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300

Join 20-something pianist Jonathan Batiste as he performs and leads a discussion on jazz culture and its relevance in today's society. The Juilliard Jazz grad is one of the most exciting and original artists on the jazz scene; you'll discover that his point of view is also. Be a part of the celebration in the midst of the discourse.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Harlem in the Himalayas

NJMH All Stars, directed by Loren Schoenberg

7:00pm
Location: Rubin Museum of Art
(150 West 17th Street)
$18 in advance | $20 at door |
For tickets: RMA Box Office or call 212-620-5000 ext. 344

If you haven't attended any of the Harlem in the Himalayas events, you've missed one of the best, intimate acoustic halls in New York City. But it's not too late: come check out our all-star band under the direction of executive director Loren Schoenberg. And if you have been with us for Harlem in the Himalayas, you know it's true, so come and stomp the blues!

Monday, February 7, 2011

Jazz for Curious Readers 

Will Friedwald

7:00 - 8:30pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300

Will Friedwald is a respected American author and music critic. He has written for such newspapers as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, the Village Voice, Newsday, The New York Observer, and The New York Sun, and for a variety of other magazines and music and film journals.

His books include Jazz Singing: America's Great Voices from Bessie Smith to Bebop and Beyond, Sinatra! The Song is You: A Singer's Art, Stardust Melodies: the Biography of Twelve of America's Most Popular Songs and Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: An Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons, among others.

His most recent book, A Biographical Guide to Pop and Jazz Singers (Pantheon), will be the topic of conversation this evening.

His Sinatra bio was awarded the 1996 ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for Excellence in Music Criticism. He is also the owner of perhaps the world's largest iTunes library with more than 170,000 tracks.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Jazz for Curious Listeners 

Jazz on Film: The 1940s—From Swing to Bebop

7:00 - 8:30pm
Location: Maysles Cinema
343 Lenox Avenue (between 127th & 128th Street), New York, NY 10027
DONATION SUGGESTED | For more information: 212-348-8300

The 1940s—the years in which the fate of the world hung in the balance of World War II—was the decade that the world of jazz transitioned from the big band era of Swing to the small group dynamism of bebop. Come see and hear the metamorphosis on film with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Tatum, Duke Ellington, Lester Young, Milt Jackson, Sarah Vaughan, Mary Lou Williams and others.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Jazz Is: Now!

Jonathan Batiste

7:00pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300

Why is Jazz relevant today? Because of the musical talent and mind of such talents as pianist Jonathan Batiste. Come hear him speak, think on his feet, and play wonderful examples with his hands, as he clearly demonstrates the contemporary value of jazz.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Harlem Speaks

Antonio Hart, Saxophonist

6:30 - 8:30pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300

Grammy-nominated alto saxophonist Antonio Hart has certainly come a long way since elementary school, when he chipped his very first reed by carrying it around in his sock. Born on Sept. 30, 1968, in Baltimore, Hart decided early on that he wanted to play alto sax, and he took lessons until music was cut at his high school. A friend got him an audition at the Baltimore School of Arts, and he was accepted. At first only classically trained, Hart did not become interested in jazz until right before college.

He studied jazz and education at the Berklee College of Music, and upon graduation promptly teamed up with classmate Roy Hargrove to tour and record for three years. During that time, Hart also earned a Master's degree in music composition and performance from Queens College, studying with musical exemplars Jimmy Heath and Donald Byrd. He is now a distinguished professor at the same school, and teaches as well as tours internationally.

In 1991, he made his debut on RCA/Novus, For the First Time. Since then, Hart has made three other albums for RCA/Novus -- Don't You Know I Care (tribute to Dizzy Gillespie, 1992); For Cannonball And Woody (1993); and It's All Good (1994). He switched to Impulse! for 1997's Here I Stand. He has also appeared on recordings with Nat Adderley, Slide Hampton, the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars and numerous others.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Jazz for Curious Listeners 

Jazz on Film: Art Blakey

7:00 - 8:30pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300

Art Blakey, one of the most explosive, fiery drummers in jazz history, also led one of the most famous and important ensembles: the Jazz Messengers. His propulsive drive will be on full display on film, the best way to experience this master in multi-sensory form.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Jazz at the Players

Bobby Sanabria

7:00pm
Location: The Players
(16 Gramercy Park S. | get directions)
$20 | Reservations: reservations@theplayersnyc.org or 212-475-6116

Bobby Sanabria - drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, recording artist, producer, filmmaker, conductor, educator, multi-cultural warrior and multiple Grammy nominee – has performed with a veritable Who's Who in the world of jazz and Latin music, as well as with his own critically acclaimed ensembles. His diverse recording and performing experience includes work with such legendary figures as Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Paquito D'Rivera, Charles McPherson, Mongo Santamaría, Ray Barretto, Marco Rizo, Arturo Sandoval, Roswell Rudd, Chico O'Farrill, Candido, Yomo Toro, Francisco Aguabella, Larry Harlow, Henry Threadgill, and the Godfather of Afro-Cuban Jazz, Mario Bauzá.

If you visit Sanabria's website, you'll hear an audio excerpt from his latest recording, Kenya Revisited Live, in which he says: "This is not nostalgia. This is the music of yesterday, today and tomorrow. And, as the great Art Blakey said, 'Anyplace that jazz is played is a sacred place.' So thank you for coming to church tonight!"

Catch the spirit tonight at Jazz at the Players!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Harlem in the Himalayas

John Escreet Project

7:00pm
Location: Rubin Museum of Art
(150 West 17th Street)
$18 in advance | $20 at door |
For tickets: RMA Box Office or call 212-620-5000 ext. 344

Since moving to New York in 2006, John Escreet has emerged as one of the most original pianists on the music scene.

He leads his own group, The John Escreet Project, described by the New York Times as "a superb band," and which features some of the most exciting and forward-thinking improvising talents on the New York jazz scene -- David Binney (alto saxophone), Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet), Matt Brewer (double bass) and Nasheet Waits (drums).

According to The Jazz Breakfast (UK): "Escreet is as original a pianist as he is composer - he has the composer's structural awareness, and a degree of classical training behind him, one suspects from his arched hands and harmonically complex, fast, cliche-less solos, but he also has the percussive nature of jazz piano in his heart..."

Saturday, January 19, 2011

Saturday Panels

A Day With NEA Jazz Master Joe Wilder

12:00 - 4:00pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300

Joe Wilder is one of the most beloved friends of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, and is universally loved and respected in the jazz community. On January 11, 2011, Mr. Wilder—a genial giant of this musical idiom—joined with other legends of jazz as one of the NEA Jazz Masters in attendance at the awards ceremony and concert for the class of 2011 at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Today join us at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem where we will honor Joe with music, discussion and memories that he will share in person.

As a musician, he's a versatile trumpeter sporting a beautiful tone and playing that's full of character and an invaluable ability to tell a story with his horn—a trait he says was fueled by one of his "original inspirations," Benny Carter. Wilder was raised in Philadelphia, where his father led a band, making his debut on a local radio show spotlighting talented black children. His first professional job was with Les Hite in 1941, where he met Dizzy Gillespie in the trumpet section. He joined Lionel Hampton the following year and became co-bandmaster for a Marine band during World War II. Rejoining Hampton after the war, Wilder moved on to the Jimmie Lunceford, Lucky Millander, Sam Donahue, and Herbie Fields bands while also playing in the pit orchestras for Broadway musicals (including three years with Guys and Dolls). He played with Count Basie for the first six months of 1954 and was a member of the music staff of ABC-TV from 1957 to 1973, taking time out to tour Russia with Benny Goodman and substitute with the New York Philharmonic. Upon leaving ABC in 1973, Wilder worked as a freelance studio musician. As a leader, Wilder recorded an album for Savoy in 1956 and two for Columbia in 1959; he also appeared in memorably sly form on Benny Carter's A Gentleman and His Music (Concord) in 1985 and resurfaced in the 1990s with a pair of albums on the Evening Star label.

His strong solo trumpet work is also found on the famous Sound of Jazz film. Come spend an afternoon with an undisputed jazz master.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Jazz for Curious Listeners 

Jazz on Film: Miles Davis

7:00 - 8:30pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300

Miles Davis on film playing trumpet with the Gil Evans Orchestra as John Coltrane waits in the wings is one of the iconic moments caught on film in the 20th century. Come view this footage, and other examples of Davis, one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, on film, and share once again in the magic of Miles's sound and musical spirit.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Jazz Is: Now!

Jonathan Batiste

7:00pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300

Jazz is not a bygone relic of a gloried past, it's alive and well right now. Jazz does have a storied past, filled with musical giants who walked the earth, yet there are vibrant young musicians such as Jonathan Batiste who are the legends in the making. Come witness the evolution, lend him your ear, and engage him in discussion about the current state of jazz and future prospects for what Dr. Billy Taylor called "America's classical music."

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Harlem Speaks

Otis Brown III, drummer

6:30 - 8:30pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300

Tonight the New Jersey native Otis Brown III will bring his joyful style to Harlem Speaks in a discussion about his life and career as a jazz drummer.

Since his birth in Hackensack, NJ, Otis has traveled a path that has led to him being one of the most in demand, and well respected musicians today. Expressing an early interest in music, Otis began his musical studies at age 7; by age 12 he was playing lead alto saxophone in the school bands while playing the drums in the Baptist church.

After moving to Newark, N.J., he continued performing double duty in his school bands playing snare drum in marching band, and alto saxophone in the jazz and concert ensembles, all of which were directed by his father Otis Brown Jr. He decided to pursue his musical education in college at Delaware State University, where he met legendary trumpeter Donald Byrd, an encounter that changed his life. He spent countless hours under the wings of Dr. Byrd, who later suggested that Otis continue his studies in New York, the jazz capital. He was awarded a scholarship to attend the prestigious New School University.

Since his arrival in New York Otis has performed and toured with musicians the caliber of Herbie Hancock, Christian McBride, Eric Lewis, Ron Blake, Roy Hargrove, Frank Lacy, Jeremy Pelt, Don Braden, Marc Ribot, Adam Rodgers, Pete Malinverni, Tim Hagans, Conrad Herwig, John Hicks, Oliver Lake, Aaron Goldberg, Bob Mintzer, George Garzone, and many others.

He currently can be seen touring with the Thelonious Monk Institute's Jazz in America initiative, in various of Joe Lovano's ensembles, the Laurent Coq trio, the Franck Amsallem trio and quartet, the Steve Wilson quartet, the Oliver Lake Big Band, the Bob Stewart tuba project and several other musical configurations.

Monday, February 28, 2011

The Apollo Legacy: JAZZ!

National Jazz Museum All Stars

7:00 - 8:30pm
Location: Museum of the City of New York
(120 Fifth Avenue)
$5 | For more information: 212-534-1672

Join us for a musical tribute to the legacy of Jazz at the Apollo with the National Jazz Museum All Stars! In discussions with guests of Harlem Speaks and other jazz museum public programs, time after time the Apollo Theatre is mentioned as almost a shrine for memories of the big bands that graced the stage in finery, swinging the roof off, as part of the famed variety shows of yesteryear. And there's also the long list of vocalists—among them Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Gloria Lynne -- as winners of the famed Amateur Night competition at the Apollo. Join us for this new performance series.