Harlem Jazz Shrines
Harlem Jazz Shrines
Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival 2012
Monday, May 7 - Sunday, May 13
Celebrating Harlem’s Historic Jazz Venues: Apollo Theater, Club Harlem, Havana San Juan, Lenox Lounge, Minton’s Playhouse, Monroe’s Uptown, Park Palace, Showman’s Jazz Club and Small’s Paradise.
Debuting last May, this is The Apple’s latest entry into the annals of what makes New York the epicenter of the jazz world, globally. It’s a 7-day festival with a difference -celebrating the classic clubs and venues that made Harlem USA the jazz Mecca beginning in the 1920’s. While it’s a nostalgic look back at the greatness of the past, this festival’s pulse is the present, showcasing an array of today’s top and emerging talent and showing that what’s happening right now in Harlem really is where it’s at! For more information, check out www.harlemjazzshrines.org.
Wycliffe Gordon's Jazz á la Carte
Saturday, May 12, 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. | $10, Premium $25
Featuring Wycliffe Gordon, Creator/Music Director; Kenneth L. Roberson, Director/Choreographer, Maurice Hines, Host; and special guest, Savion Glover.
Also featuring Juilliard Jazz Orchestra; Theresa Thomason, vocalist; Aaron Diehl, piano; Philip Dizack, trumpet; Natalie Cressman, trombone, vocalist; and the Jazz á la Carte Hot Steppers.
In the 1930's Frank Schiffman and Leo Brecher opened the Apollo with "Jazz à la Carte," a variety show featuring Ralph Cooper, Benny Carter Big Band and "16 Gorgeous Hot Steppers." This classic Apollo entertainment makes a comeback under the guiding genius of composer, performer, arranger extraordinaire, Wycliffe Gordon and features a hit parade of top contemporary talent. Ken Roberson provides the evening's show-stopping choreography. Consummate song, dance and showman Maurice Hines is master of ceremonies. Presented by the Apollo Theater.
Showman's Late Night Jazz
Showman’s Jazz Club, 375 W. 125th Street(Btw. Morningside & St. Nicholas Avenues)
2 DRINK MINIMUM PER SET, PER PERSON
Over a famed bar, photos of a pantheon glow: Sarah Vaughan, Lionel Hampton, Pearl Bailey, Eartha Kitt, Duke Ellington. Showman’s was a hangout for Apollo entertainers sixty plus years ago, when it was literally right next door to the famed theater. In 1988 it moved to its present location, where this intimate room remains one of Harlem’s premier jazz clubs. A Hammond B-3 organ anchors the stage and will be a focal point for five nights that showcase some of the hottest small combos making the rounds today. Presented in collaboration with the Apollo Theater.
Danny Mixon
Tuesday, May 8, 8:30 p.m., 10 p.m., 11:30 p.m. | No cover
Hammond B-3 organist and pianist Danny Mixon played with Charles Mingus and was Betty Carter's accompanist for years. The New York Timescalls his style, “strongly rhythmic, studded with insistent riffs, sometimes sliding into unexpected gospel settings.”
Lonnie Youngblood & The Blood Brothers
Wednesday, May 9, 8:30 p.m., 10 p.m., 11:30 p.m. | No cover
Nicknamed the “Prince of Harlem,” Lonnie “Youngblood” plays with uncommon, jaw-dropping style, and his blend of emotion and technical savvy have made him one of the greatest saxophonists and vocal artists around.
Lou Volpe Trio
Thursday, May 10, 8:30 p.m., 10 p.m., 11:30 p.m. | No cover
Lou Volpe is a guitarist who, in the mold of George Benson and Pat Marino, has the groove down pat, but with the harmonic and melodic sensibilities to make his flights of virtuosity all his own.
Cynthia Holiday
Friday, May 11, 9 p.m., 11 p.m. | No cover
A soulful singer and songwriter, Cynthia Holiday swings, teases and reaches highs and lows, continuing the great tradition of jazz women who sing the Blues.
Sarah McLawler and Les Femmes Jazz
Saturday, May 12, 9 p.m., 11 p.m. | No cover
Sarah McLawler is one of the living legends of American jazz and player of the Hammond B-3 organ. She is the composer, conductor and performer of her current all women's jazz ensemble--Sarah McLawler and Les Femmes Jazz. Sarah has worked with many of the greats in the business, including Dinah Washington, George Benson and many, many more.
Apollo Music Cafe
Apollo Music Café features performances by groundbreaking artists in the intimate, lounge-like setting of the Theater’s third floor Soundstage. It is a favorite destination for music lovers of all kinds—from Harlem tastemakers to tourists to the downtown hipster set. These Friday and Saturday night sets are Harlem Jazz Shrines exclusives!
Kellylee Evans
Friday, May 11, 10 p.m. | $10
Vocalist Kellylee Evans, a multi-award winning vocalist, seamlessly fuses jazz and her own unique style of "soul pop." Nina, her new release, is a beautiful tribute to one of jazz's greatest vocalists and pianists, Nina Simone. Kellylee is joined by Mark MacLean, Drums, Francois Moutin, Acoustic Upright Bass, Marvin Sewell, Guitar.
Marc Cary's Cosmic Indigenous featuring Awa Sangho
Saturday, May 12, 10 p.m. | $10
Marc Cary’s group Cosmic Indigenouscaptures the elements and energies of cultural sounds infused with the essence of Africa, India, Native America and beyond. Pianist Marc Cary was hailed by Down Beatas one of the most, “multi-dimensional keyboard players on the scene today,” whose music reveals those multi-dimensions in sensual living color. Marc Cary’s continual search for his musical identity has brought him to all corners of the earth, quenching his thirst to bring forth indigenous music in all of its forms.
Cosmic Indigenous is —Marc Cary, Vocalist, keyboard, Awa Sangho - Vocalist , Sameer Gupta, Percussion, Daniel Moreno, Percussion, Igmar Thomas, Trumpet.
The Apollo's annual season is made possible by lead support from The Coca-Cola Company, JPMorgan Chase & Co., The Parsons Family Foundation, the Ronald O. Perelman Family Foundation, the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, Reginald Van Lee New Works Fund, the Ford Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Neuberger Berman Foundation, and individual support from members of the Apollo National Committee and Young Patrons.
Lead annual support is also provided by public funds from the City of New York Theater Subdistrict Council; with additional funding from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; and the New York State Council for the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.