NEW YORK (www.jalc.org)
LISTING INFORMATION:
Producer: Jazz at Lincoln Center
Dates/Time: Monday through Wednesday October 25, 26 & 27, 2004; 8pm
Event: 3 Shades of Blues
Featuring: Taj Mahal, Randy Weston, Corey Harris, Abdou M'Boup, Mamadou Diabate, Ricky Skaggs, Wycliffe Gordon, Mark O'Connor, Holmes Brothers, Marie Knight, Joey DeFrancesco,
Houston Person and more!
Place: Jazz at Lincoln Center - Broadway at 60th Street
Tickets: $30, $50, $70, $85, $100, $115, $150, tickets available at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall box office on Broadway at 60th Street, (open Monday-Saturday 10am-8:30pm and Sunday 11am-8:30pm), or call CenterCharge at 212-721-6500, or visit www.jalc.org
3 Shades Of Blues - From Marrakech To Mississippi
October 25,26,27
Featuring Taj Mahal, Randy Weston, Corey Harris, Abdou M'Boup, Mamadou Diabate, Ricky Skaggs, Wycliffe Gordon, Mark O'Connor; Holmes Brothers, Marie Knight, Joey DeFrancesco, Houston Person and more!
September 16, 2004 (New York, NY) - On October 25, 26, & 27, 3 Shades of Blues is celebrated at Jazz at Lincoln Center's (JALC) Frederick P. Rose Hall (FPRH) at 8pm, featuring a different style of blues each evening. Roots, country and soul are spotlighted in the series. Tickets are available at the Frederick P. Rose Hall box office (open Monday-Saturday 10am-8:30pm and Sunday 11am-8:30pm) located at Broadway at 60th Street, by calling CenterCharge at 212-721-6500, or visit www.jalc.org.
The blues came to America by way of Africa and much of today's modern music is based on blues. On October 25,26 and 27, JALC honors this musical genre and its relationship to jazz by presenting 3 Shades of Blues. Come explore the complexity and sheer fun of this art form.
October 25: Roots - Blues ambassador Taj Mahal meets jazz innovator Randy Weston as they explore the music of North Africa that helped shape the sound of the blues. Contributing that night will be blues singer/guitarist Corey Harris, Sengalese percussionist/kora master Abdou M'Boup, and Malian griot and kora player Mamadou Diabate. Mr. Mahal expresses a brotherhood between jazz and blues, "The blues is the rhythm, flavor and the body of jazz. I can't think of a better place to express those feelings than Jazz at Lincoln Center.
October 26: Country - Ricky Skaggs a bluegrass singer/multi-instrumentalist, along with his band 'Kentucky Thunder,' are joined onstage by trombonist and LCJO alumnus, Wycliffe Gordon. 'To me bluegrass music is jazz. It's from the heart and played with much passion and emotion. I listened to (Django) Reinhardt and (Stephane) Grapelli when I was a teenager, and heard the similarities of each other. Bluegrass, acoustic jazz!' exclaims Mr. Skaggs. Also featured is fiddler extraordinaire Mark O'Connor and his Hot Swing Trio.
October 27: Soul - Get down with the soulful Holmes Brothers as they make magical music with gospel great Marie Knight. Listen to the history of America in music at this crossroads of gospel and the blues. Hammond B-3 master Joey DeFrancesco rides up and down the keyboard as his trio, including Paul Bollenback (guitar) and Byron Landham (drums), is joined by special guest Houston Person on saxophone.
Taj Mahal first visited Africa in 1979, and became convinced that his ancestors were Kouyates - the main clan of the Mande griots (musician caste). His father was a jazz pianist/composer/arranger of Jamaican descent, his mother was a teacher from South Carolina who sang gospel. Born in New York City as Henry St. Clair Fredericks, he later chose the name Taj Mahal for himself (an idea that come to him in a dream). His music blends various sources: blues, reggae, Cajun, gospel, South Pacific, African and Caribbean musical traditions. He's worked with and influenced some of the greatest musicians of our time including: Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Bob Dylan and Bob Marley. www.tajblues.com.
Randy Weston has contributed five decades of musical direction and genius. He remains one of the world's foremost pianists and composers today, a true innovator and visionary. Encompassing the vast rhythmic heritage of Africa, his global creations musically continue to inform and inspire. His greatest hit, "Hi-Fly," Weston (who is 6' 8") says, is a "tale of being my height and looking down at the ground.' Mr. Weston moved to Africa in the late 60s and settled in Morocco.
The 1977 Nigerian Festival, which drew artists from 60 cultures, had a profound effect on him, "We all realized that our music was different but the same, because if you take out the African elements of bossa nova, samba, jazz, blues, you have nothing. To me, it's Mother Africa's way of surviving in the new world," says Mr. Weston. Mr. Weston and the African Rhythms Orchestra featuring Regina Carter, performed at JALC in a January 2002 concert with Danilo Perez entitled As of Now.
Corey Harris hails from Denver, Colorado and was inspired by the blues of Lightnin' Hopkins. Mr. Harris moved to Cameroon in West Africa in 1991, where he fell in love with juju music. He later moved back to America, and found a home in Louisiana where he played on the streets and in coffeehouses in New Orleans. Of his 1995 release 'Between Night And Day', The New York Times raved, 'Harris brought time to a stop, invoking the ghosts of Robert Johnson, Lightnin' Hopkins and Howlin' Wolf.' He's been very busy ever since.
Abdou M'Boup is from Senegal and is a Griot. He's recorded with the Tom Tom Club and is heard on the Talking Heads' 'Naked' CD. He has trained in the memorization of the complex rhythms and oral history of his people since he was a child. He has also recorded with jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty and recorded and toured with pianist Jean-Michel Pilc.
Mamadou Diabate was born in 1975 in Kita, a Malian city known as a center for the arts and culture of the Manding people of West Africa. His father played the kora, a 21-string harp and so he followed in his father's footsteps. In 1996, a touring group offered him a chance to travel to the United States. Since, he has performed at the United Nations, Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC.
Ricky Skaggs hails from Eastern Kentucky. He was an accomplished singer and mandolin player by the time he was a teenager. In the late 70s, Mr. Skaggs went from bluegrass to country, where he had a nice run of hits on the Billboard charts. Renowned guitarist, Chet Atkins, credited him with 'single-handedly' saving country music. Mr. Skaggs now has his own record label and has returned to his original love, bluegrass. He has become one of bluegrass' most talented and dynamic performers.
Wycliffe Gordon, a Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra alumnus, puts it this way, 'It's my main concern that when I'm playing music, regardless of style, it's to uplift and glorify God, from where my talents come.' That should give you an idea of the intensity and devotion of this trombonist extraordinaire. Mr. Gordon attended Florida A & M University in Tallahassee, Florida, where he met Wynton Marsalis while attending a class Mr. Marsalis was teaching. Impressed with Mr. Gordon's playing, Mr. Marsalis asked him to perform with him. In June of 1989, Mr. Gordon officially joined Mr. Marsalis' touring and recording group, performing with Mr. Marsalis' Septet for five years. He was commissioned by JALC to compose a score for the 1925 silent film Body and Soul that premiered in 2000.
Mark O'Connor is a violinist/composer/fiddler that The New York Times calls 'one of the most spectacular journeys in American music.' His journey began with the influences of violin masters Texas fiddler Benny Thomasson and French jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli. In 2001, Mr. O'Connor released 'Hot Swing!' - a tribute to his great friend and mentor, the legendary French Jazz Master - Mr. Grappelli. He's appeared at The White House, the Presidential Inauguration Celebration and the ceremonies of Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Games. Mr. O'Connor played three sold-out shows at Jazz at Lincoln Center in 2002.
The Holmes Brothers have been around for a while, bringing us to the crossroads of gospel and blues. The New York Times says the Holmes Brothers' sound is 'deeply soulful, uplifting and timeless.' Since they joined forces and started performing together in 1979, they've recorded with Van Morrison, Peter Gabriel, Odetta, Phoebe Snow, Jungle Brothers and Joan Osborne. They've even played for President Clinton. Sherman and Wendall Holmes were born and raised in Christchurch, Virginia. Their schoolteacher parents nurtured their interest in music. From concert halls to roadhouse bars, The Holmes Brothers raise roofs and spirits.
Marie Knight was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1925. She became a fine gospel singer, attracting attention while singing in the choir at Oakwood Avenue Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. Ms. Knight recorded for Brunswick Records in the mid-1950s. She performed duets with Sister Rosett Tharpe in the early 60's and recorded intermittently on her own in the 70's and 80's, touring Europe. In 2003, she recorded a track for the CD Shout Sister Shout - A Tribute to Sister Rosetta.
Joey DeFrancesco stands to inherit the Hammond B-3 crown from Jimmy Smith, The King. Hailing from South Philly, jazz organ capital of the world, he based his style in the classic soul-jazz tradition pioneered by Jimmy Smith in the late 1950's. Joey's father had an organ trio and taught him to play beginning at age six. By the time he was 10, he was playing paid gigs on weekends. At 16, he made the finals of the 1st Annual Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition. Mr. DeFrancesco was in Miles Davis' band and has more than 14 albums to his credit, mostly with trios.
Houston Person wears the Boss Tenor crown, worn so long by Gene Ammons. Mr. Person is busy working his own gigs; booking his tours, finding new clubs, having phone numbers for every major concert promoter on every continent. He even produces his own albums. His first big break came while working as a sideman with organist Johnny Hammond and his group, co-led by Etta Jones. His early gigs happened while serving in the Army overseas in Germany, where he played with Eddie Harris, Cedar Walton and others.
* Jazz at Lincoln Center is a not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to jazz. With the world-renowned Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, and a comprehensive array of guest artists, Jazz at Lincoln Center advances a unique vision for the continued development of the art of jazz by producing a year-round schedule of performance, education, and broadcast events for audiences of all ages. These productions include concerts, national and international tours, residencies, weekly national radio and television programs, recordings, publications, an annual high school jazz band competition and festival, a band director academy, a jazz appreciation curriculum for children, advanced training through the Julliard Institute for Jazz Studies, music publishing, children's concerts, lectures, adult education courses, film programs, and student and educator workshops. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis, President & CEO Hughlyn F. Fierce, Executive Director Derek E. Gordon, Chairman of the Board Lisa Schiff and Jazz at Lincoln Center Board and staff, Jazz at Lincoln Center will produce hundreds of events during its 2004-05 season. This is the inaugural season in JALC's new home - Frederick P. Rose Hall - the first-ever performance, education, and broadcast facility devoted to jazz.
Bank of America is the proud presenting sponsor of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Sponsors for the 2004/2005 season also include Altria Group, The Coca-Cola Company, Samsung Electronics America Inc., and Time Warner Inc.
For more information please visit www.jalc.org
