Rick DellaRatta And Jazz For Peace Kick Off Their Summer/Spring Series With 2 Landmark Concerts In Africa!

NEW YORK (Top40 Charts/ Rick DellaRatta Official Website) - On the weekend of May 23, 2009, New York-based and internationally acclaimed jazz pianist, vocalist and composer Rick DellaRatta, will perform two landmark concerts in Rwanda, a country in the heart of Africa that over 14 years ago was ravaged by a war that claimed close to a million lives.

DellaRatta and his group Jazz for Peace will be feature some of the top Jazz musicians from New York. The band will consist of Rick DellaRatta on Piano/Vocals, Victor Jones on drums, Ryan Berg on Bass and Curtis Watts on Percussion. These players will all be performing for the first time in Africa.

"I am very honored to be invited by the Government of Rwanda to perform in Kigali," said Rick DellaRatta. "I understand this is the first time an international jazz band has ever headlined in Rwanda on the same bill with top local musicians."

The concert at which DellaRatta and Jazz for Peace will perform is part of a larger Peace Week that the government has launched for the first time in Kigali. In 1994, some 800,000 people were murdered in Rwanda in a genocide that shocked the entire world. Since then, Rwanda has made tremendous efforts to rebuild its nation and people and today is the pride of Africa for its stability, governance record and highest number of women in parliament.

The message of Rwanda's Amahoro - Peace Week is zero tolerance for violence against women and children. DellaRatta and Jazz for Peace will perform two concerts as part of their extensive world tour promoting Jazz for Peace.

Rick DellaRatta is now considered by many to be one of the finest singer/pianists performing today.� His is one of only a handful of jazz artists who can make a successful musical presentation to a large audience without abandoning the true art form of jazz. Through his life long endeavor to help people reach their highest potential through the understanding of jazz as well as spreading peace worldwide through his "Jazz for Peace World Tour", Rick DellaRatta is considered to be an innovator and a visionary.