Howdy Friendly Press Folks,
To get more information about and directions to all participating SummerStage NYC Parks, please visit http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/
– John Seroff
SummerStage.org
GreenHousePublicity.com
Friday, August 24
at 7:00pm in Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan
The 20th Anniversary Charlie Parker Jazz Festival featuring
Bird with Strings with Miguel Atwood-Ferguson & special guests
Produced by Revive Music
File Under: Jazz
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the beloved late summer jazz favorite, The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival. In honor of this anniversary, SummerStage will present an additional evening of performances. This exceptional night will feature the world premiere of specially commissioned pieces by Revive Music Group in collaboration with Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, celebrating the vibrant work of Charlie Parker’s 1950’s record, Charlie Parker with Strings.
Artist Website: http://revivalist.okayplayer.com
Launched in 2006, Revive Music (aka Revive da Live) is a boutique, live music agency that specializes in producing genre-bending, creative-concept live music shows that tour worldwide with the purpose of educating and inspiring audiences about artistic and authentic forms of music.
Bird with Strings is a concept curated by the musicians at Revive Music Group and composer/arranger, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson in celebration of the classic Charlie Parker album, Charlie Parker with Strings. Re-imagined in a modern context by combining the art of sampling, remixing and inventive compositions and arrangements for a full string section with ensemble, Bird with Strings is a series of pieces dedicated to a modern approach to the music, life and legacy of Charlie Parker.
Saturday, August 25
at 3:00pm in Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan
The 20th Anniversary Charlie Parker Jazz Festival featuring
Roy Haynes
Rene Maries’ Experiment in Truth
Derrick Hodge
Jamire Williams and ERIMAJ
Featuring Edwin Torres and La Tasha N. Nevada Diggs
File Under: Jazz
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the beloved late summer jazz favorite, The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival. Come celebrate with a day’s worth of jazz legends and rising stars.
Roy Haynes is the pulse of legendary jazz. For over fifty years, Haynes has influenced and innovated, shaping some of the greatest recordings in jazz while his joyous drumming with the legends of the genre altered the very fabric and direction of jazz improvisation. Haynes’ unrelenting “hard swing” sound has graced a who’s-who list of jazz icons like Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Dizzy Gillespie. His newest project the Fountain of Youth Band, assembles Jaleel Shaw, Martin Bejerano and David Wong with Haynes at the forefront, proving that he is influencing the next generation of jazz artists just as he has those of the past.
Artist Website: http://www.renemarie.com
Rene Marie, the award winning singer whose style incorporates elements of jazz, soul, blues and gospel has quickly become a heroine to many. Since the release of her recording debut Renaissance, this Colorado based heroine has evolved into one of the greatest and most sensuous vocalists of our time. Rene Marie shows her skill as she sings in three languages on her latest album, Voice of My Beautiful Country, winning a spot on NPR’s Best Jazz Albums of 2011 list. With a passionate, powerful voice, Rene Marie has drawn a legion of fans and music critics who find themselves not only entertained, but encouraged and deeply impacted by her performances.
Bassist Derrick Hodge represents something inventive and refreshing, fronting the wave of a unique generation of renaissance musicians working across all genres without borders. Hodge has spent his youthful career transcending musical trends. He composes and performs throughout various genres of hip-hop, gospel, R&B, funk, singer/songwriter and jazz, performing and/or recording with Grammy nominated and awarded artists such as Maxwell, Common, Kanye West, Sade and more. Hodge also boasts success as a writer in various musical genres ranging from jazz and orchestral chamber music to pop and R&B. His debut recording, Live Today is a melting pot of sound and emotions and a showcase of his widely respected versatility and melodic sensitivity. Produced by Jill Newman Productions
Jamire Williams is a thriving, world renowned musician, producer and composer on the New York City music scene. With an extensive background and education routed in jazz and the performing arts, Williams heads his band, ERIMAJ, a progressive, jazz influenced but genre defying group of musicians. The New York Times has referred to Williams’ drumming as “fluid narrative improvising, as well as beats like fragmented hip-hop,” exemplifying his true talent. Recently voted in Downbeat Magazine’s”Critic’s Poll Rising Star – Drum” category, Williams and ERIMAJ are definitely ones to keep your eye on.
In celebration of the 20th anniversary, we will be presenting 5 spoken word artists / poets between musical sets who will help celebrate the legacy of Charlie Parker and further illuminate jazz in a diverse way. Saturday’s artists include: Edwin Torres and LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs.
Sunday, August 26
at 3:00pm in Tompkins Square Park, Manhattan
The 20th Anniversary Charlie Parker Jazz Festival featuring
Gregory Porter
Patience Higgins’ Sugar Hill Quartet
Andy Milne and Dapp Theory
Sullivan Fortner
Featuring Jon Sands, Sheila Maldonado and Nikhil Melnechuk
File Under: Jazz
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the beloved late summer jazz favorite, The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival. Come celebrate with a day’s worth of jazz legends and rising stars.
Artist Website: http://www.gregoryporter.com
With a voice that can caress or confront, embrace or exhort, Grammy nominee Gregory Porter exhibits an incredible degree of vocal mastery. His distinct style ranges from jazz, funk, R&B, blues and gospel, all soulful while still maintaining the elegance he learned from his earlier influences. Playing on major stages around the globe as well as on famous television shows, The New York Times has said, “Gregory Porter has most of what you would want in a male jazz singer, and maybe a thing or two you didn’t know you wanted.”
Patience Higgins is true to his name. He waited nearly 25 years to release a recording of his own Live in Harlem, which is not to suggest he has been idle. The New York-based multi-instrumentalist has been the quintessential journeyman, working with R&B legends Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and jazz institutions like the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and Count Bassie Orchestra, to name a few. The Sugar Hill Quartet is one of the great jazz bands of modern Harlem. Led by Patience Higgins, a tenor somewhere between Coleman Hawkins and Sonny Rollins, Mr. Higgins is also well known for his work on Broadway, including The Wiz, Ain’t Misbehavin, Chicago, and many others.
Artist Website:www.dapptheory.com
Dapp Theory is at the meeting point of lyrical jazz piano, funkified polyrhythmic exploration and spoken word poeticism. Leader, pianist and composer Andy Milne is one of the most important and respected voices in jazz today. His band, Dapp Theory has been on the scene since 1998 helping re-draw and extend the boundaries of jazz. Jazz Times Magazine describes their latest CD, Layers of Chance as “remarkable chemistry . . . so impeccable, it’s practically a musical Unified Field Theory”.
