Carolyn McClair Public Relations

CELEBRATE THE GENIUS OF JOÃO GILBERTO

AT CAREFUSION JAZZ FESTIVAL NEW YORK

ON JUNE 22, 8:00 PM, AT CARNEGIE HALL

CareFusion Jazz Festival Takes Over New York June 17 – 26

Following CareFusion Jazz Festival New York,

João Gilberto Makes Only Two Other Stops in the U.S. –

Boston on June 25 and Chicago on June 29

NEW YORK, NY, April 20, 2010 – Experience The Genius of João Gilberto at the CareFusion Jazz Festival New York on Tuesday, June 22, at 8:00 pm at Carnegie Hall when the renowned singer/guitarist/composer returns to New York for the first time since he celebrated the 50^th anniversary of Bossa Nova in 2008.  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 47 concerts at 22 venues.

Making only two additional United States appearances, João Gilberto will perform in Boston at Symphony Hall on Friday, June 25, at 8:00 pm, presented by New Festival Productions in association with HT Productions. He wraps up at Symphony Center in Chicago on Tuesday, June 29, at 8:00 pm in a concert presented by New Festival Productions in partnership with Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

When João Gilberto walks on stage with just his guitar and his mysterious voice, all hearts and minds are totally captivated.  Known as the Father of Bossa Nova, Gilberto exudes magic with every word and chord and when you hear his voice just once, you will likely remember it forever. “He could read a newspaper and sound good,” trumpeter Miles Davis once said about João.

João Gilberto do Prado Pereira de Oliveira was born June 10, 1931 in Juazeiro in Brazil’s state of Bahia. His father, a prosperous merchant, insisted that each of his seven children obtain a good education; but from an early age, João was interested in only one thing – music. When he was 14, a family friend gave him a guitar and a year later, João was arranging music for and leading a boys’ musical group that performed regularly at social functions.

The music João heard during his childhood in the ’40s included hits by Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey and Jeanette MacDonald as well as tunes by Geraldo Pereira, Herivelto Martins, Dalva de Oliveira, Orlando Silva and Dorival Caymmi. At 18, João left his hometown and headed to Salvador to try his hand as a radio singer. Radio didn’t work out, but his singing earned him the lead spot with the vocal group Garotos da Lua, who sang daily on Radio Tupi in Rio de Janeiro. The job lasted only a year, and while going through a long lean period, he remained friends and lived with his former bandmates.

While living with his sister in Diamantina, João discovered that by singing quietly and without vibrato, he was able to control his vocals in relation to the guitar, thereby creating his own tempo. He later returned to his hometown and it is said that he began practicing along the banks of the São Francisco River, where the swaying steps of the laundresses inspired him to compose “Bim-Bom,” the first Bossa Nova song.

In late 1956, João returned to Rio where he spent the next year making contacts and demonstrating his new beat with “Bim-Bom” and another song he composed, “Hô-Ba-La-Lá.”  He also renewed friendships with old colleagues including composer Antonio Carlos “Tom” Jobim. When João played the two songs, Jobim immediately recognized the possibilities inherent in the beat and pulled out a song he previously had written with Vinícius de Morae. The song was “Chega de Saudade,” which is acknowledged as the song that launched both the Bossa Nova movement and João Gilberto’s career.  In 1958, Odeon recorded Gilberto’s music; after a rocky beginning, the tunes gained acceptance and a star was born.

Many hit-filled albums, the collaboration of a lifetime with Charlie Byrd and Stan Getz, almost two decades of living and working in the United States and the return to Brazil led to some of the world’s most beautiful music. In addition to building a huge fan base of Bossa Nova lovers, João Gilberto became the inspiration for superstars including Gal Costa, Djavan, Moraes Moreira and João Bosco as well as several generations of composers and performers around the globe.

CareFusion Jazz Festival New York presents four other concerts at Carnegie Hall: Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette on Thursday, June 17; An Evening with Chris Botti on Saturday, June 19; Herbie Hancock, Seven Decades: The Birthday Celebration featuring Herbie Hancock with special guests Terence Blanchard, Ron Carter, Bill Cosby, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, Joe Lovano, Wallace Roney and Wayne Shorter on Thursday, June 24; and Cesaria Evora with special guest Lura on Friday, June 25. All concerts are at 8:00 pm.

Tickets for The Genius of João Gilberto ($35 – $95) and other CareFusion Jazz Festival New York concerts scheduled at Carnegie Hall are available at www.carnegiehall.org or at CarnegieCharge at (212) 247-7800.  For tickets ($40 – $75) and information about Gilberto’s Boston concert, visit www.bostonsymphonyhall.org or call (888) 266-1200 (outside Massachusetts) and (617) 266-1200 (in Massachusetts).  Visit www.cso.org or call (312) 294-3000 for tickets ($30 – $100) and information about the Chicago concert.

For the complete CareFusion Jazz Festival New York schedule and more information, log on to www.nycjazzfestival.com.

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Cobi Narita Sponsors Concert to Benefit Parkinson’s Unity Walk

Sunday, April 18, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.

at Saint Peter’s Church, New York City

NEW YORK, NY – Join producer and jazz aficionada Cobi Narita on Sunday, April 18, at 7:30 pm at Saint Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington Avenue at 54^th Street in New York City, for a concert to benefit the Parkinson’s Unity Walk.  The 16^th annual Walk takes place on Saturday, April 24, from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm at Central Park and Narita will be there in her wheelchair heading up Team CobiJazz.

The concert will feature Bobby Sanabria & Quarteto Aché, Terell Stafford Quintet, Doc Vollmer’s Harlem Blues and Jazz Band as well as vocalists Tina Fabrique, Carline Ray and Jeree Wade, accompanied by the Frank Owens Trio. Produced by Narita, the concert will be hosted by the Rev. Dale R. Lind, Jazz Pastor Emeritus of Saint Peter’s Church, and Narita’s husband, Paul J. Ash, President of Sam Ash Music Stores.

Narita, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease six years ago, chose Parkinson’s Unity Walk because 100 percent of all donations goes to research through the seven major U.S. Parkinson’s disease organizations.  Her goal is to raise $10,000, which will be her birthday present to Parkinson’s research and a fitting tribute to Parkinson’s Awareness Month (April).

To donate on line, log on to http://www.unitywalk.org/events/participant.php?memID=3764&eventID=1. Donations also may be sent directly to Parkinson’s Unity Walk, PO Box 275, Kingston, NJ 08528; include a note on Memo Line: or Team CobiJazz.  Once a check is received, it will be entered on Cobi’s Participant Page, for Team CobiJazz.  To join the Walk, register on line at www.unitywalk.org and sign up to Team CobiJazz.

Representing the Afro-Cuban sound will be Bobby Sanabria & Quarteto Aché with Bobby Sanabria, drums, vocals, percussion; Peter Brainin, tenor & soprano sax, flute, vocals, percussion; Enrique Haneine, piano, vocals, percussion; and Alex Hernandez, acoustic bass, vocals, percussion. Performing with the Terell Stafford, trumpet, will be Jeb Patton, piano; David Wong, bass; and two surprise special guests.  The Final Group will be Doc Vollmer’s Harlem Blues and Jazz Band, with Joey Morant, trumpet; Art Baron, trombone; Fred Staton, tenor saxophone; Max Lucas, tenor saxophone; Bertha Hope, piano; Michael Max Fleming, bass; Buddy Henry, drums; and Ruth Brisbane, vocals.  Joining Frank Owens are Lisle Atkinson on bass and Greg Bufford on drums.

Tax-deductible donations beginning at $25 and up will give music fans entrance to the dynamic event.  Seating sections  include:

• $500 or more: Platinum Circle
• $100 or more: Gold Circle
• $50 – 99: Silver Circle
• $25 – 49: Bronze Circle

All concert expenses will be paid for by Paul Ash, allowing his wife to donate every dollar to Parkinson’s Unity Walk, which will distribute the funds to Parkinson’s organizations for continuing research.

The Parkinson’s Unity Walk, founded in 1994 by Margot Zobel, is an annual event where the entire Parkinson’s community gathers with the goal of not only raising awareness of the condition, but of raising donations for research. The Parkinson’s Unity Walk has made a significant impact on the Parkinson’s disease community since its inception, raising more than $7 million for Parkinson’s research by uniting the community under a common goal of winning the war against Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s Unity Walk raised $1.5 million in 2009. Support for the Walk has grown considerably each year – from 200 participants at the first Walk in 1994, to more than 10,000 last year. The event unites the strength and spirit of the seven major U.S. Parkinson’s disease organizations:

• American Parkinson Disease Association
• National Parkinson Foundation
• Parkinson’s Action Network
• Parkinson’s Disease Foundation
• The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research
• The Parkinson Alliance
• The Parkinson’s Institute and Clinical Center

With 100 percent of donations given to research, the Walk provides the public with an opportunity to help the Parkinson’s community and change the lives of millions of people suffering from the disease.

For more information, visit www.unitywalk.org.

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SEEING JAZZ with GEORGE WEIN features HISTORIC PHOTOS and CONCERT by RANDY WESTON

THURSDAY, MARCH 11 ~ 7:30 PM

LEONARD NIMOY THALIA at SYMPHONY SPACE

NEW YORK, February 24, 2010 – Take a musical journey at SEEING JAZZ with NEA Jazz Master George Wein as he shows images from his extensive historic photo album and shares anecdotes about his life in jazz on Thursday, March 11, at 7:30 pm at Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95^th Street, in Manhattan. Following the photo exhibition, the world-renowned jazz impresario welcomes piano giant and fellow NEA Jazz Master Randy Weston for a short conversation about his music and a stellar performance.

Randy Weston, born in Brooklyn in 1926, didn’t have to travel far to hear the early jazz giants that were to influence him. He cites Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Art Tatum and Duke Ellington as his piano heroes, but he says it was Monk who had the greatest impact.  Weston’s first recording as a leader was released in 1954 and throughout the decade he played around New York with Cecil Payne and Kenny Dorham.  Weston has always made connections between African and American music. His dedication is due in large part to his father, who told his son that he was, “an African born in America.” In the late 60’s, Weston went to Africa, where he settled in Morocco and traveled throughout the continent tasting the musical fruits of other nations.  After contributing six decades of musical direction and genius, Randy Weston remains one of the world’s foremost pianists and composers.

Jazz Impresario George Wein is considered to be as much a legend as his festivals. Through his company (now called New Festival Productions, LLC), he has spearheaded hundreds of music events annually since 1954 when he produced the first Newport Jazz Festival – an event that started the festival era. Five years later, Wein and folk icon Pete Seeger founded the Newport Folk Festival where the two music giants celebrated 50 years of folk with 15,000 fans in August 2009.   At 84, Wein has as much creative fuel as he did when he started the Newport festivals and advanced the concept of live music. He pioneered the idea of sponsor association with music events, beginning with The Schlitz Salute to Jazz and the Kool Jazz Festival. His company went on to produce titled events for JVC, Mellon Bank, Verizon, Essence, Ben & Jerry’s and others.  He continues that tradition with the CareFusion Jazz Festival New York (June 17 – 26) and CareFusion Newport Jazz Festival (August 6 -8).

Tickets to SEEING JAZZ are $25 in advance; $30 Day of Show; $20 for Members. For more information and tickets, call (212) 864-5400 or visit www.symphonyspace.org.

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