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Project HumanityDo you desperately need to recapture the essence of a dream for tomorrow? Have you even forgotten what Hope represents? If so, Project Humanity is for you! We are a humanitarian organization focused on providing reasonable housing, agriculture education, clean water projects, HIV/AIDS education, and orphan care. We mobilize people from all walks of life and professional training to take their marketable skills and partner with us to make a difference in our projects! www.theprojecthumanity.net |
Healing of MagicHEALING OF MAGIC is a carefully designed, systematic approach to the therapeutic use of simple magic tricks in physical and psychosocial rehabilitation. It is a viable treatment modality that continues to gain wide-spread support from therapists and health care professionals around the world. www.magictherapy.com |
HolidelicEverett Bradley’sHOLIDELICNativi-tay
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Four Sides of 40Four Sides of 40 takes a hilarious look at the prime of your life!
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DiverCity - The Cure for Cultural ConfusionRace, Religion, Politics and Stereotypes all hang in the balance as three women comedians from distinctly different backgrounds give their hilarious take on diversity in the US Imagine stepping into the lives of three of the most outrageous comediennes to grace the stage capturing three worlds. Enter, SARA CONTRERAS of Showtime's (Latin Divas of Comedy), MESHELLE of Nickelodeon's (Search for the Funniest Mom in America 3, and STARZ Network’s: Martin Lawrence Presents: The First Amendment Stand Up) and SHERRY DAVEY of Comedy Central's: TOUGH CROWD w Colin Quinn and Premium Blend. Watch how America’s true DIVERCITY takes on a life of its own. Race, Relationships, Politics, Stereotypes all hang in the balance, as this Theatrical Comedy Experience launches with its sights set on celebrating what AMERICA hopes to be on its BEST BEHAVIOR. With Sara's love of all things Hispanic, Meshelle's undeniable African-American consciousness, and Sherry's British-Jewish-ness, you'll fall in love with the music, dance, characters, stand-up and improvisation wrapped in a red, white, and blue boldness that dares to question the beauty and necessity of DIVERCITY! For video click HERE divercitynow.us |
Saxton
The purpose of Saxton’s Cornet Band is to re-create the sounds, appearance, and conduct of brass bands during the antebellum and Civil War eras. The band’s guiding principles will be historical accuracy based on thorough research and understanding of period resources; musical excellence ensured by careful recruiting of personnel and thorough rehearsal; professionalism in its operations; and performance in a manner that is both entertaining and educational. The band will operate as a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation. Saxton’s Cornet Band recreates the sounds, appearance, and conduct of brass bands during the antebellum and Civil War eras. Their programs are full of energy and are very entertaining both musically and visually. The performance is a complete historically accurate concert experience from the mid-nineteenth century, complete with dramatic readings and period humor in addition to the excellent music. The modern day Saxton’s Cornet Band is named for one of the most popular and long-lived ensembles that performed in Kentucky for over sixty years from before the Civil War period into the early twentieth century. The original band’s founder was Henry Saxton of Lexington, Kentucky who organized the band and kept it performing in Lexington playing concerts, dances, parades and funerals. Reorganized in 1989, the Saxton’s Cornet Band of today strives to maintain the spirit and high standards set by the original ensemble. Saxton’s Cornet Band is a Kentucky and National treasure. They have performed for the inauguration of President George W. Bush and for the National Park Service at sites around the country including Gettysburg National Military Park. They have played aboard the steamboats Delta Queen and Belle of Louisville, and in historic performing arts centers from Keokuk, Iowa to Chillicothe, Ohio-and in bandstands as far a field as Glen Falls, NY and Sutton, MA. Saxton’s performs regularly at the Great American Brass Band Festival in Danville, KY and is visiting artist at the Conner Prairie Museum and at the Ohio Historical Society. Saxton’s has been featured on the silver screen as well, in the Turner films “Gettysburg” and “The Day Lincoln Was Shot.” Saxton’s Cornet Band has also toured internationally with concerts throughout Taiwan including a performance at The National Concert Hall in Taipei. saxtonscornetband.com |
Carl HurleyAmerica's Funniest ProfessorCarl's comedy is a regular feature on XM Satellite Radio's LAUGH USA Channel 151Carl Hurley, drawing from his roots in the tradition of such other American humorists as Andy Griffith and Garrison Keillor, delights audiences with his reflections on life as viewed by a native of Appalachia with a singular sense of the absurd. Part of a family of natural-born storytellers from the hills of Laurel County, Kentucky, Hurley combines his innate skills a yarn-spinner with the expressiveness of a great comic actor. With an impish giggle on his lips and a benign twinkle in his eye, Hurley spreads an infectious form of fun that is often outrageous yet always good-natured and clean. His unique comedy style, coupled with a background in public education, has earned him the title of "America's funniest professor."
www.carlhurley.com |
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Carnaval FantastiqueCarnaval Fantastique is a fun filled celebration that combines an international cast of amazing acrobatics, agility and strength of balance, hilarious comedy, beautiful dancers and dynamic laser special effects. Comedic antics become the thread that weaves in and out of the outstanding acrobatic and specialty performances. The comedian becomes the lighthearted juggler that segues into the power jugglers, or the old time comedy director that directs the Ribbon performers onto the stage. It is this combination of music, comedy and action that makes Carnaval Fantastique a one-of-a-kind musical production. Such elaborate acrobatic performances include unbelievable hand balance, awe inspiring contortion, beautiful ribbon performers flying above the stage, and the intense control of the cube performance. This is only the beginning of Carnaval Fantastique. Add gorgeous dancers featured throughout the show in colorful sparkled costumes, and laser lights sending laser beams throughout the theater choreographed to the rhythmical orchestrated music soundtrack. Carnaval Fantastique is a total combination of terrific entertainment for audiences of all ages. To watch the Carnaval Fantastique promotional video click HERE www.carnavalfantastique.com |
The Passing ZoneThe PASSING ZONE.... They're like The Flying Karamazov Brothers (but more hip), Penn & Teller (but cleaner), The Smothers Brothers (but younger), Cirque du Soleil (but American), Blue Man Group (but less blue), the Blue Collar Comedy Tour (but funny), and Carrottop (but less, well, Carrottoppy), all rolled into one!! THE PASSING ZONE, JON WEE AND OWEN MORSE, DELIVER A HIGH-ENERGY, GUT-BUSTING THEATRICAL EVENT THAT THRILLS AUDIENCES OF ALL AGES. IN THEIR NEW SHOW, "GRAVITY ATTACKS!", THEY ASK YOU TO JOIN THEIR FIGHT AGAINST THE UNIVERSE'S MOST EVIL FORCE - GRAVITY! TAKE A LOOK AT THE VIDEO ON THIS PAGE FOR A SNEAK PEEK AT THEIR COMEDIC AND JUGGLING VIRTUOSITY. Owen Morse and Jon Wee met in 1986 at a juggling convention and instantly knew they were destined to be a team. But they decided to graduate from college first. Which they both did. Rather than pursue careers in Economics and Psychology, they lit some torches, and started throwing stuff into the air. And things clicked. Two weeks after their first performance together they won the Silver Medal at the International Jugglers' Association Teams Competition. The next year they won the Gold. That recognition earned an invitation to appear at the renowned Comedy and Magic Club in Los Angeles, where on their first night they were approached by the "Tonight Show" talent scout and booked for their first national television appearance in September 1990. Johnny Carson enjoyed them so much they were asked back less than a year later. Their first feature film followed, The Addams Family Movie, where Jon and Owen doubled for Gomez (Raul Julia) and Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd) in the climactic Mamushka dagger-passing scene. More recently, they appeared in the award-winning comedy documentary, The Aristocrats. Jon and Owen are known as much for their comedy as their juggling skills. They were featured twice on the gala stage at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal and have opened for comedians Bill Cosby, George Carlin, Bob Newhart, Bob Hope, and Penn & Teller. Television appearances have included "Comic Strip Live," "An Evening at The Improv," "MADtv," Penn & Teller's "Sin City Spectacular," "Steve Harvey's Big Time," and regular returns to NBC's "Today." And they were commentators on ESPN for their coverage of the World Juggling Federation competitions. See video of The Passing Zone HERE For even more video visit the website below! www.passingzone.com |
Tony PaceWhat sets Tony apart from the rest is who he is and what he can do. He's been compared to Sammy Davis and so many others. Once you hear his voice, most say that they'd be happy just listening to him sing all night. His comedic timing and material has been hailed as hilarious by people like Craig Nier (Owner of Catch a Rising Star) Victoria Jackson, Cathy Ladman, Pat Cooper and so many more. To paraphrase Vin Di Bona (Executive Producer of Americas Funniest Videos). "I've never seen anyone with the ability to work an audience like Tony Pace. He's a master at audience involvement". www.tonypaceshow.com |
Catch A Rising StarCatch A Rising Star Comedy Clubs have been a tradition since 1972 when it opened its first club in New York City. Catch has an impressive roster of alumni: among them, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Rosie O'Donnell, Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Maher, Richard Belzer, Ray Romano, Jon Lovitz, Chris Rock, Bob Saget and Robert Wuhl. Our commitment to tomorrow's comedy stars has remained the same over our history, and continues today - Let us turn your space into one of the best nights of comedy your season has ever had! www.catcharisingstar.com |
Michael HarrisonMichael Harrison is an extraordinarily talented ventriloquist, puppeteer and comedian. He has worked along side numerous acts from The Muppets to Boyz to Men. He has also headlined for some of the world's most luxurious cruise lines including Princess, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean and Holland America. His many talents allow him to create performances for all type of audiences; adults, kids and family. His family show is so finely tuned that Disney, the world's largest entertainment company, booked him for 8 consecutive years and over 1500 performances as the headline act for Disney Cruise Line. Michael wrote and starred in the award winning television show, “Kids in the Firehall”. The show aired on the Family Channel in Canada and on Nickelodeon in the US. It was awarded the prestigious Bronze Apple from the National Educational Media Network, the Award of Excellence in Children’s Television by the Parents Choice Foundation and the Award of Merit from The Alliance for Children and Television. This year Michael took his talents to a new level when he appeared on the hugely successful television show, “America’s Got Talent”. He was the only ventriloquist chosen to compete this year for the grand prize of 1 million dollars and the opportunity to perform his show in Las Vegas. He finished in the top 50 as a semi-finalist and received glowing reviews from the celebrity judges, David Hasselhoff, Sharon Osborne and Piers Morgan. They auditioned a record 25,000 acts for this year’s show, which averaged over 12 million viewers for NBC. "There are a very few entertainers who can truly make you laugh until it hurts and Michael Harrison is one of them". To see video of Michael's time on America's Got Talent click HERE www.michaelharrisonventriloquist.com |
If you’ve ever wondered what life would be like if a type-A, high strung, alpha male wound up raising three daughters, then look no further than a night of informative comedy with Eric McMahon.
Veteran comic Patty Rosborough was the co-host of Comedy Central’s “Short Attention Span Theatre” with Jon Stewart. As a top New York City comic, you can follow her breathless, frenetic, and shamelessly uninhibited performances through every major club in New York. She has stacked up a list of stand-up television credits ranging from Comedy Central, A&E, Showtime and VH1.
Al Ducharme, the newlywed of the group makes his home in NYC with his wife and their no kids. While their married friends are getting kids to school and picking them up from soccer practice Al and his wife are busy myspacing people, drinking martinis and contemplating whether or not they are ready to adopt a Chihuahua (hey, a dog is a BIG responsibility!).
Groupo Folklorico
GEODESIC MANAGEMENT
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JAZZ AVIARY “You have to listen harder to the natural world so you can separate out the primal song from the songs of our civilization and from our static.” (Bill McKibbon) The above quotes started LA based actor and jazz vocalist Susan Krebs on a journey which resulted in a multimedia concert called Jazz Aviary. Susan explains: “I hope to express the “wonder and awe that nature arouses”, specifically that birds arouse: through wide-ranging Music; beautiful Visual Projections; Poetry & Spoken Word; fascinating ornithological Facts; and by listening to the birds themselves from field recordings of Birdsong.”
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Rene Marie
I was born into a family of 9 in a very small town in Virginia. Music played a pivotal role in my life from the very beginning. It was at home that I learned the value of telling the story behind the music and how powerfully that story can move the listener and impact one's life. I had one year of formal piano lessons when I was nine years old and another year when I was 13. It was during those lessons that I learned to read music. The rest of my musical ability seemed to come to me naturally. For a brief time, as a teenager, I sang in a band at musical functions in my neighborhood. In this band was a pianist, a sixteen-year-old boy who would later become my husband. I composed and sang my first piece in the band when I was 15. At the age of 18 my boyfriend and I joined a very strict religious group, got married and stopped performing in public - for good, it seemed. Four years later, I was a mother of two sons and found myself inculcating in them a love for music the same way my father had with me – by example. Many mornings I awakened them with Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man". Other times, we would 'dance' the story of Maurice Ravel's "Bolero". At night, I would compose lullabies for them, making up verses until they fell asleep. In January 1996 I was 41 and working full-time at a bank when my oldest son convinced me to start singing again. After a big family discussion, it was decided that I should call a family friend and ask to sing with his quintet. He readily agreed and I started out singing one day a week in a smoky bar of a Ramada Inn for tips only. It would be several months before I actually earned any money. However, by January 1997, my husband was displeased with the amount of time I was spending with music and told me to stop singing. I had promised him when I first started that if he ever wanted me to stop, I would. So, I did. I stopped singing for 3 months and they were a miserable 3 months. After months without singing in public, I begged, wheedled and cajoled my husband into "allowing" me to sing again. I promised him I would do whatever it took to "please" him, as long as I could sing. He capitulated and I resumed singing with a ferocity I didn't know I had. So much so that, on the last day of 1997, when this time he issued the ultimatum that I either stop singing or he would force me to leave our home, rather than stop singing, I chose to leave after 23 years of marriage. 18 months later, I had divorced my husband, produced my first CD, quit my job at the bank and signed onto the MaxJazz label. Between 2000 and 2004, I recorded four CDs on the MaxJazz label, Vertigo was selected as the best international jazz CD of 2002 by The Academie du Jazz (Paris, France) beating out Joni Mitchell and Cassandra Wilson, my next album Live at the Jazz Standard was on the top 20 of the Billboard jazz charts. In 2005, I decided not to re-sign with MaxJazz, but to make my own way, call my own shots. In 2006, I decided not to re-sign with my booking agent, but to slow things down and work on a one-woman show. In 2007, I released "Experiment In Truth" The one woman show came to fruition in November 2009 called SLUT Energy Theory and has been getting great reviews in the Denver press where it premiered. I have never forgotten the early lessons learned about the power of music. Today, I try to imbue that feeling of emotion into every song I write – every song I sing – every time. I am very happy to be singing today.
www.renemarie.com |
Orquesta Aragon
This pillar of Cuban music got its start when double bass man Orestes Aragon Cantero debuted his charanga group in Cinefuegos. With violins, piano, flute, percussion, and vocal, the basic sound that has served the band ever since was already in place. But the name would evolve Ritmica de 39, to Ritmica Aragon, and finally, by the end of 1940, Orquesta Aragon. A socialist before socialism was cool, Cantero rejected stardom, and the group he created became a monument to musical collectivism, with equal pay for all, and a sound that is all about unity and ensemble work. Cantero once said, "I want to found a musical family. I'm not looking for virtuoso players but musicians with human qualities." He got both, and his band worked the lively seaside scene in Cinefuegos year after year. Cantero succumbed to a serious lung infection in 1948. Forced to retire, he turned leadership over to Rafael Lay who had played violin in the band since the age of 13. Just 20, Lay soon brought the band to play its first Havana gigs. This was a bold move for a band from the provinces, but Aragon's timing was good. In 1953, cha-cha overtook the mambo as the hot genre, and Aragon won a recording contract with RCA Victor and began making hit records. 1954 brought a new force to the band in the form of flautist and gifted composer Richard Egües. Among his many hits was El Bodeguero (The Grocer) picked up by Nat King Cole. Aragon's cha-cha sound went international, and the band toured the United States, Panama and Venezuela, until the dawn of Cuba's revolution, and subsequent isolation, in 1959. The 1980s brought troubles for the band. Rafael Lay died in a car accident in 1982, and then a number of veterans, including Richard Egües and bass man Orestes Varona, retired. Following the musical explosions that went on in Cuba during the 1990s, the band regrouped under the leadership of Rafeal Lay Junior, returning to its roots, and to the recording studio to create rich new albums: Quien Sabe Sabe in 1997, La Charanga Eterna in 1999, and En Route in 2001. En Route received a Grammy nomination in the Tropical Music department, marking a new high water mark in a band history that just won't quit. Capable of appealing to a good three generations of Cuban music fans, Orquesta Aragon is now an institution, likely to outlive us all. |
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Oran EtkinThrough a decade of work in the many musical worlds that harmoniously coexist in New York, Oran Etkin has cultivated a singular voice that brings together elements of modern jazz with traditional African and Israeli music. Kelenia, his debut recording on Motéma Music, features his working group of Malian, Israeli and American musicians, along with guest appearances by vocalist Abdoulaye Diabate and Grammy Award-winning artists Lionel Loueke, and John Benitez on a collection of eleven tracks that pay true testament to the essence of "kelenia," which is the Bambara word for love between people who are different from each other. Since first forming Kelenia in 2003, Oran and the band's other original members - Balla Kouyate (balafon) and Makane Kouyate (calabash and vocals) - have developed an almost telepathic connection that transcends nationality and genre to create music that is free and spontaneous enough to go into uncharted territories, and at the same time speak honestly from the heart. It is particularly apt that their recording debut was released on Motéma Music. "Oran is in many ways a quintessential Motéma artist... a virtuosic player with multiple influences, who is savvy as a band leader, courageous with his compositions and inspiring in his dedication to bringing a new vision to the art form," says label owner Jana Herzen. "The infectious brew of jazz, Klezmer and traditional Malian music that Oran cooks up with Kelenia, is illuminating, uplifting, and incidentally, a whole lot of fun!" Although many jazz musicians incorporate world elements into their music, Oran's approach has a special power born of his triple-threat fluency in the musical languages of West Africa, Jewish music and jazz. Etkin is highly respected amongst the best practitioners of all three genres due to his musical journeys to his native Israel, his time spent in Mali, and his years on the highly demanding modern jazz scene of New York City. Given the rarity of musicians who share this depth of fluency in jazz and world music, it is no surprise that Oran and Lionel Loueke were drawn to each other early on in their professional careers. "Lionel and I began playing soon after we moved to New York," Oran recalls. "It's always fun to play with him, building off each other's melodies and sounds and letting the music lead us to a different place each time." Oran grew up playing jazz, mentored at a young age by the likes of George Garzone, Yusef Lateef and Dave Liebman. He has been working with various West African musicians in the US and Africa for over ten years and learned their music the traditional way-by listening and playing it with the masters. For his formal training, Oran also studied classical clarinet and composition, an experience that inspired him to add a string section to one track, the sinuous "New Dweling". "I have always loved playing clarinet with strings", explains Etkin "On this album, I decided to take that sound one step further, adding strings to Kelenia. All that sound of wood vibrating in the room-the violin, cello, bass, and also the balafon, calabash and bass-clarinet created such a warm and rich sound together." From the spirited opener "Yekeke," which sparkles with Balla Kouyate's balafon and is buoyed by Daibate's soaring vocals, through the impassioned rhythmic title track and the cleverly Klezmer-tinged interpretation of Ellington's "It Don't Mean a Thing," Kelenia is an adventurous exploration into a uniquely kaleidoscopic musical landscape. Having developed a high level of virtuosity on an instrument that for years has been absent in the modern jazz world, Oran stands out amongst a small handful of musicians who are putting the clarinet and bass-clarinet back into the forefront of modern improvised music. “He’s a great clarinet player”, Ben Ratliff of the New York Times recently remarked on WBGO radio. “He’s got a beautiful sound… and he’s an excellent improviser” Although Kelenia represents Oran's debut CD as a leader, he has recorded with artists as diverse as Wyclef Jean and Frank London. He has performed at venues throughout the US, Europe, Africa and the Middle East including Joe's Pub, Blue Note, the United Nations (for of Kofi Anan, Al Gore and presidents of several nations), Central Park SummerStage, Miami's American Airlines Arena and Montreal's Festival International Musique Haitienne. In his travels to Mali, Oran had the opportunity to play for the Chief of all Griots and sit in with some of the region's most respected musicians, including Toumani Diabate, Habib Koite and the Super Rail Band. An avid advocate of the power of music education, Oran sits on the faculty of the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and has developed a new method for teaching music to 2-6 year olds that has so far shown exciting results with over 400 young students. "Ebullient swing rhythm" - The New York Times "A hypnotic balance between straight-ahead jazz and world music" - The Boston Globe "A woodwind maestro" - PRI's "Afropop worldwide"
www.oranetkin.com |
The Wild MagnoliasThe Wild Magnolias Mardi Gras Indians featuring: Big Chief Roddy Lewis The Wild Magnolias' own brand of Mardi Gras Indian Jazz Funk sound is credited with directly influencing the (by) New Orleans' Dr. John, Aaron Neville & the Neville Brothers and the Meters. Additionally influencing artists as diverse as Joe Sample, Widespread Panic, Robbie Robertson, Daniel Lanois, Bruce Hornsby and James Brown. To see live performance video's click HERE www.wildmagnolias.net |
Stone Parade
Since their inception in 2003, STONE PARADE has toured extensively around Australia, supporting major artists such as Maroon 5, Hoobastank and 3 Doors Down.
www.stoneparade.com |
Nick MotilThis singer-songwriter is destined for success; Sharing the spotlight with artists Jason Mraz, Chantal Kreviazuk, The Verve Pipe, Keller Williams, Everclear, The Calling, Duncan Sheik and others; Three albums in three years and hundreds of shows later, Nick Motil is just getting warmed up. Nick Motil creates songs you can relate to. His songs take you to a place you've never been, but feel like you've lived there all your life. His live performances capture you, draw you in, and make you sing along... even if you're unsure of the words. The humor Nick Motil displays on stage breaks the ice to an evening-long conversation in which the stage becomes a living room. Kick off your shoes and enjoy. After all, "everything's better barefoot." www.nickmotil.com |
Jay and SaraOne of the up and coming cabaret acts to hit the U.S. "Jay and Sara" will delight and captivate audiences with their two headlining shows: www.jaynsara.com |
Kendra ShankKendra Shank's crystal-pure tone, powerful musicianship and elastic phrasing have won her rave critical notices and fans internationally. Hailed by The New York Times as a "superbly skilled vocalist" and an artist of "effervescence, depth," and "integrity" (Nate Chinen), she headlines at top venues across the U.S. and abroad, captivating audiences with her genuine warmth and musicality. Shank combines jazz originals, standards, world music, French songs, folk/pop tunes, and open improvisation in an adventurous, genre-bending style that inspired Gary Giddins to call her "one of New York's most original performers." (Jazz Times) Originally a folk/pop singer-guitarist based in Seattle, Kendra Shank comes to performance naturally. Born in California to a playwright father and actress mother, Kendra was acting in plays at age 5, picked up the guitar at 13, and at 19 began her music career playing in Parisian subways and sidewalk cafés. After several years on the west coast folk music circuit, a Billie Holiday recording inspired her to pursue jazz. In 1989 Shank began studying with jazz vocalist Jay Clayton in Seattle, while keeping dual residency in Paris, France where she gigged in jazz clubs. Her jazz career blossomed quickly and in 1991 she was hired by Bob Dorough as vocalist-guitarist-percussionist for his west coast tour. She soon caught the attention of jazz legend Shirley Horn, who invited Kendra to perform as her guest at the Village Vanguard in New York and co-produced Shank's critically-acclaimed debut compact disc Afterglow (Mapleshade, 1994), featuring pianist Larry Willis and saxophonist Gary Bartz. Ms. Shank relocated to New York in 1997 and recorded two albums for Jazz Focus Records: Wish (1998), which Time magazine's Terry Teachout called "delectable" and advised "get in on the ground floor, this lady is going up," and Reflections (2000), which made the Boston Globe's Top Ten list: "This vocalist makes lyrics believable, invents like an instrumentalist, and has an ear second to none for little-known and unknown tunes," wrote the Globe's Bob Blumenthal. Reflections debuted The Kendra Shank Quartet, her current working band, featuring pianist Frank Kimbrough, bassist Dean Johnson, and drummer Tony Moreno. This ensemble, in which Shank focuses on improvisational group interplay, is also featured on her ground-breaking 2007 release, A Spirit Free: Abbey Lincoln Songbook (Challenge Records), which received numerous Best of the Year citations and charted on jazz radio. Journalist Lawrence Brazier marveled that the group displays "...a practically telepathic integration...these four people appear to have emerged from the same womb" (Jazz Now). The quartet's decade-long collaboration reaches new depths of creative expression on Shank's upcoming release Mosaic (April 14, 2009, Challenge Records), where they are joined by multi-reedist Billy Drewes and guitarist Ben Monder. This album unifies Shank's rich and varied musical journey from folk singer-guitarist to jazz improviser to boundary-less performing artist. In addition to her recordings as a leader, Shank was guest guitarist on Abbey Lincoln's CD Over The Years (Verve), sang vocalise lines on Peter Leitch's Blues On the Corner CD (Reservoir), and has been a vocal guest with Jay Clayton, Bud Shank, Rhiannon, and Randy Halberstadt. Hailed by Downbeat magazine as a top female vocalist (1999, 2006, 2007), she has been featured on National Public Radio's JazzSet and Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland, and has taught clinics at the University of North Carolina-Asheville, The New School (New York City), Brooklyn/Queens Conservatory of Music (New York City), and the Jazz in Marciac Festival (France). Appearances include Blue Note, Birdland, Iridium, Jazz Standard, JVC Jazz Festival, Blues Alley, Scullers, Regatta Bar, Jazz Bakery, Jazz Alley, The Green Mill, The Dakota, Jazz in Marciac Festival, Jazz à Vienne Festival, Edmonton Jazz Festival, Calgary Jazz Festival, and countless others.
To see video's of Kendra in concert click HERE www.kendrashank.com |
Rufus ReidRufus Reid, one of today's premiere bassists on the international jazz scene, and one of the most popular touring jazz artist around. Rufus participated in the BMI Jazz Composer's Workshop for five years which has empowered him to move more deeply into the composing arena. He won the Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Award for his composition, "Skies Over Emilia." His composition, "Whims of the Blue Bird" is the result of this award's commission. This has led to further commissions. He is writing for string orchestra, jazz ensembles large and small, and double bass ensemble pieces. The JOHN SIMON GUGGENHEIM MEMORIAL FOUNDATION named Rufus a Guggenheim Fellow in June of 2008. This award is in the category of Composition. The fellows were appointed on the basis of distinguished achievement and exceptional promise for future accomplishment. ''They're people who have already made significant contributions to the field and are at a point where they are about to do something very fine,'' the president of the foundation stated. This year's winners range in age from their late 20's to their late 70's. Rufus Reid received a 2006 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts to enable him to continue composing, and he received The ASCAP/IAJE Commission for Established Jazz Composers, which was premiered at the 2007 IAJE Conference in New York City.
The 2006 Sackler Commission Prize was awarded to Rufus which allowed him to fulfill a dream he has had to compose a work dedicated to the artist, Elizabeth Catlett. Her life and work inspired in Rufus a desire to honor her and introduce her to people who might not know about her. This four movement work, inspired by four of her sculptures, for Jazz Big Band will be premiered at The University of Connecticut at Storrs and at Stamford in March, 2007. 2010 marks Ellizabeth Catletts 95th birthday. This amazing project featuring multimedia with a full big band will tour performing arts centers, museums and colleges throughout the country.
QUIET PRIDE
New for the 2010/2011 touring season Quiet Pride is a collaboration between Rufus Reid and legendary American sculptor Elizabeth Catlett. Winning the Sackler Award for composition for Quiet Pride, Reid has written a suite of music based on four Elizabeth Catlett sculptures. Written for big band in conjunction with multimedia this is not only a performance but an educational opportunity with panels & lectures available by Reid and members of the Catlett family on such diverse subjects as music, art, Civil Rights and Women's Studies.
For a Video presentation of this project please click HERE
www.rufusreid.com |
Lynne ArrialeLynne Arriale has captured the imaginations of jazz and mainstream music lovers with her outstanding CD and DVD recordings and performances. She has been critically acclaimed as having a ‘singular voice’ as a pianist, leader, composer, arranger and for “putting the heart back into jazz” (London Times). Arriale’s consistently excellent recordings have topped every notable jazz chart. With back to back #1 Jazz Week radio hits, a #17 debut on Billboard’s Jazz Chart, the top ten “Best Of” lists for The New Yorker, United Press International and The German Record Critics Association, Arriale has earned her place among elite international jazz artists. Further evidence of her status includes her being featured on the PBS nationally televised program, Profile of a Recording Artist, and on multiple NPR programs including Weekend Edition, Jazz Set, and Piano Jazz with Marion McPartland. In August ’08, and in a departure from her ten previous trio recordings, Arriale presented an extraordinary new lineup of iconic musicians who joined her on her new CD/DVD, “Nuance,” The Bennett Studio Sessions. In addition to Arriale as leader/composer/arranger, the remarkable band features jazz legend George Mraz on bass; Anthony Pinciotti on drums, whose work with James Moody and John Abercrombie has received high critical praise; and the great All-Star, Randy Brecker on trumpet / flugelhorn. The project was recorded at the multi-Grammy and Emmy Award winning BENNETT STUDIOS, and will include video documentation of behind the scenes footage of the CD recording, a bonus DVD program of a live, private, “in-studio” audience concert, and up close and personal interviews with each artist. With the release scheduled for April ’09, this stellar group will be on tour internationally in support of this CD/DVD release. This Motéma Music release will feature Arriale’s compelling new originals, as well as her innovative reinventions of pop classics, jazz and world music selections. Arriale’s current release, LIVE (Motéma), recorded by BR-TV at Germany’s oldest and most prestigious jazz event, The Burghausen Jazz Festival, won the 2007 German Record Critics Award for best jazz CD/DVD recording. She has toured Japan with the legendary “100 Golden Fingers”group, a bill Lynne shared with jazz legends Hank Jones, Tommy Flanagan, Kenny Barron, Cedar Walton, Ray Bryant, Junior Mance, Harold Mabern, Roger Kellaway and Monty Alexander. In 1993 she earned first place at Jacksonville’s prestigious Great American Piano Competition. Arriale continues to perform such internationally prestigious venues as The Spoleto Arts Festival, Ireland’s Cork Jazz Festival, The Montreux Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Pori Jazz Festival, the Burghausen and Stuttgart Jazz Festivals, The Montreal Jazz Festival, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, The Folly Theater, The Gilmore Festival, The Jacksonville Jazz Festival, The San Francisco Jazz Festival, the Monterey Jazz Festival and numerous other festivals, concerts and clubs throughout Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Romania, Norway, The Czech Republic, Ireland, the UK and Australia. Over the past few years, Arriale has performed with legendary saxophonist, Benny Golson as well as jazz luminaries Rufus Reid, Roy Hargrove, Buster Williams and Eddie Henderson. Upcoming dates in ‘09 include performances with Grammy winner, trumpet/flugelhorn player, Randy Brecker and jazz icon, bassist George Mraz. Deeply committed to jazz education, Lynne Arriale is currently Assistant Professor of Jazz Piano and Director of the Jazz Combo Program at The University of North Florida. She also conducts master classes, clinics and workshops internationally for professionals, students and communities at large. For video on Lynne visit HERE CONFIGURATIONS FOR LYNNE ARRIALE Lynne Arriale, solo piano
Lynne Arriale "Nuance" Quartet, featuring Randy Brecker, trumpet and flugelhorn; George Mraz, bass and Anthony Pinciotti, drums Lynne Arriale "Convergence" Trio or Quartet, featuring Bill McHenry, tenor sax, Omer Avital, bass and oud, and Anthony Pinciotti, drums Special featured guests in any format with Lynne Arriale (duo, trio or quartet): George Mraz, bass Rufus Reid, bass www.lynnearriale.com |
Rondi CharlestonRondi Charleston is sparking the imaginations and stealing the hearts of critics and audiences around the country. "That rare combination of native talent and keen perception has made Rondi Charleston a commanding vocal stylist and a spellbinding storyteller," writes Grammy Award-winning journalist Bob Blumenthal. "Hers is an immense gift... the jazz equivalent of a gin and tonic: tart, cool, clear and effervescent, with a deliciously subtle kick," declares JazzTimes.
To see Rondi in concert click HERE www.rondicharleston.com |
Painted On WaterPainted on Water performs a fusion of World Music with Jazz/Blues influences. The act features Sertab Erener whose musical career spans 15 years, was highlighted as a Eurovision 2003 winner, in collaboration with world renowned composer/guitarist/arranger/singer, Demir Demirkan. The title reflects the Turkish art form, "Ebru". The music is the re-discovery of Anatolian Classical Folk songs through modern instrumentation and arrangements. To see Painted on Waters EPK visit HERE |
A Moving SoundA Moving Sound has taken the world music community by storm, and now the critically acclaimed ensemble will be touring Performing Arts Centers and Festivals in 2010 & 2011
"A Moving Sound is one of the most original outfits working in the world music arena today, an inspired marriage of Taiwanese traditional sounds and Western pop experimentation that forges an important new musical dialogue." Shen Don, or as it translates in English, A Moving Sound, is a performance company based in Taipei, Taiwan. A Moving Sound has created a new musical expression that fuses Taiwanese, Chinese and neighboring Asian musical ideas in inspired and engaging modern song compositions. Songs are performed on Chinese instruments such as the vertically held and bowed erhu and the Chinese guitar known as zhong ruan, as well as Western instruments. Transcendent vocals and dance by lead singer Mia Hsieh, transport listeners to and beyond the Far East to where only the highest art can take us. The modern world has turned its’ eyes towards the Far East with China exploding rapidly in its’ economy and culture. Musically however, the world knows this region for either traditional music or music that, for the most part, copies western ideas. A Moving Sound has attracted international attention for opening a door to this unexplored territory with a music that is both ethnic and intensely passionate and creative. Audiences and critics are thrilled to see this new musical art based on melodies and instruments from the Far East. www.amovingsound.com |
From its first “flight” in 2004 at a small performance space in Venice, CA, through many incarnations including several engagements at LA’s premiere jazz concert halls, Giannelli Square, the Jazz Bakery, and, Vitello’s Jazz & Supper Club, Susan’s intent has been not only to entertain, but to awaken and re-connect people to the natural life around them - and the need to protect it.