Hurry Up to Harlem
for CareFusion Jazz Festival New York
Concerts at The Studio Museum, Schomburg Center
and Harlem Stage Gatehouse
NEW YORK, NY, June 2010 – You don’t have to take the A Train, but music lovers should hurry up to Harlem for the CareFusion Jazz Festival New York at The Studio Museum in Harlem (June 17), The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (June 20) and Harlem Stage Gatehouse (June 25 and 26).
Sponsored by CareFusion, a leading global medical device company, and produced by George Wein’s New Festival Productions, LLC, the festival takes over New York June 17 – 26 with 46 concerts at 21 venues across four boroughs. For more information, go to www.nycjazzfestival.com
What better way to kick off a festival that is sure to be out of this world than with the mystical magic of the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen. Scheduled to land at The Studio Museum in Harlem, 144 West 125th Street, on Thursday, June 17, at 7:00 pm, Allen and the hard-swinging Arkestra will take the audience on a colorful, eclectic journey that is filled with music infused with Sun Ra’s philosophy of space-age science fiction meets ancient Egyptian cosmo trappings. Did the former leader, who left this world in 1993, really believe he was from outer space? If he didn’t, he never let the public know it. Allen, who joined the band in 1958, continues the legacy of leading the top-notch jazz ensemble through a stellar musical program with a way-out presentation. So, don your most interesting hat and colorful outfit and travel the “spaceways” to catch the excitement of the one-of-a-kind group of cosmic friends.
It’s a Father’s Day Celebration with the Winard Harper Group at The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Blvd. at 135th Street, on Sunday, June 20, at 3:00 pm. Born in Baltimore in 1962, Harper had a natural affinity for drumming. He was encouraged to play the drums by his father, who noticed him beating on cans when he was a toddler. At the age of five, Winard was developing his skills and making guest appearances with his older brother Danny. When Winard heard a recording of Clifford Brown and Max Roach, he was irreversibly inspired to play jazz. Constantly in reverence of his predecessors while remaining innovative in his own right, Harper has become one of the most celebrated drummers in jazz. He is a virtuoso on the drum set as well as the balafon, the West African equivalent of the marimba. When not touring with his band, Harper has worked and recorded with Joe Lovano, Avery Sharpe, Steve Turre, Wycliffe Gordon, Frank Wess, Ray Bryant, Jimmy Heath and festival producer George Wein’s Newport All-Stars, among others.
Next, the CareFusion Jazz Festival New York moves over to the Harlem Stage Gatehouse, 150 Convent Avenue, for a two-day celebration highlighting the long, rich musical heritage of Cuba and New York. Habana Harlem™ presents Henry Butler and Osmany Paredes on Friday, June 25, at 7:30 pm and the Pedro Martinez Project on Saturday, June 26, at 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm.
A five-time W.C. Handy “Best Blues Instrumentalist – Piano” award nominee, Henry Butler knows no limitations. Although blinded by glaucoma since birth, Butler is also a world class photographer with his work displayed at exhibitions throughout the United States. Playing piano since the age of six, he is a master of musical diversity. A rich amalgam of jazz, Caribbean, classical, pop, R&B and blues influences, his music is as excitingly eclectic as that of his New Orleans birthplace. While his early albums were jazz trio recordings featuring top-notch instrumentalists including Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins on “Fivin’ Around” in 1986, and Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette on “The Village” two years later, Butler has increasingly turned to New Orleans music and the blues. His 1990 album, “Orleans Inspiration,” recorded with Leo Nocentelli of the Meters, was followed by “Blues And More” in 1992. Other Butler releases include “For All Seasons,” “Vu-du Menz,” “The Game Has Just Begun” and “Homeland.”
Osmany Paredes Gonzalez is a pianist, composer and arranger whose style blends jazz with his Afro-Cuban rhythmic heritage by using a technique derived from years of classical education. Born in Santa Clara, Cuba, he began his musical education at the age of five. Guillermo Paredes, percussionist with the Santa Clara Orquesta de Música Moderna, was his first teacher and primary influence. After performing with diverse orchestras throughout his homeland, Osmany went on to play at renowned festivals around the world, including appearances with Israel “Cachao” Lopez, Jerry Gonzalez, Celio Gonzalez and Carlos “Patato” Valdes, among others. Since his arrival in the United States in 2003, Paredes has continued to make his mark on the music scene, performing with his own band as well as with David Murray, Richard Bona, Giovanni Hidalgo, George Garzone, Howard Johnson, Dave Samuels, Jane Bunnett and others.
Dynamic percussionist Pedro Martinez began performing at the age of 11, where he played and sang in comparsa groups in school. Born and raised in Cuba, he had the unique opportunity to work with numerous Afro-Cuban groups, including Yoruba Andabo, Obba Ilu, Tata Guines, Changuito, Anga and many others. Martinez traveled throughout Costa Rica, France, Spain, and the Canary Islands, and came to the United States in July 1998 after performing with saxophonist Jane Bunnett at the Canadian Jazz Festival in Toronto. In September 2000, he won First Place in the Thelonious Monk Institute’s Afro/Latin Jazz Hand Drum competition at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. This honor led to several more high-profile projects, including work with Nelson Gonzalez, Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez, Robby Ameen, Paquito D’Rivera, Giovanni Hidalgo, Patato Valdes and Candido Camero, among many others. He also performed in the motion picture “Calle 54.”
Information and Tickets: Sun Ra Arkestra at The Studio Museum in Harlem ($15 Public/ $10 Members/Seniors/Students) – (212) 864-4500 / www.studiomuseum.org; Winard Harper Group at The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture ($15 in person/$20 Public/ $16 members) – (212) 491-2200 / www.nypl.org/locations/schomburg; Henry Butler and Osmany Paredes ($15) and Pedro Martinez ($15) at Harlem Stage Gatehouse – (212) 281-9240 / www.harlemstage.org.
CareFusion Jazz Festival New York media partners are The Village Voice and WBGO-FM/Jazz 88.3. The Buckingham Hotel, located at 101 West 57th Street in Manhattan, is the host hotel of the CareFusion Jazz Festival New York. For reservations, call (212) 246-1500, extension 3201; for more information, visit www.buckinghamhotel.com.
For the complete CareFusion Jazz Festival New York schedule and more information, log on to www.nycjazzfestival.com.
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