Jazz in the Valley Returns to Poughkeepsie’s Waryas Park on Sunday, August 21, for a Centennial Celebration of Charles Mingus, Featuring Buster Williams, Craig Harris,
Regina Carter and Camille Thurman
plus Carla Cook, Michael King, Joaquin Pozo
and More!
POUGHKEEPSIE, NY, June 21, 2022 – Jazz in the Valley (JITV) returns to Poughkeepsie’s Waryas Park on Sunday, August 21, noon to 6:00 pm, with a celebration of the Legacy, History and the Future of Jazz. Presented by TRANSART & Cultural Services, Inc., and led by Guest Curator Craig Harris, the day-long festival celebrates the centennial of bassist/composer/bandleader Charles Mingus (1922-1979) with Harris, Buster Williams (pictured above), Regina Carter, Camille Thurman, Carla Cook, Michael King and Joaquin Pozo, who, in the spirit of Mingus, are taking the music forward.
Tickets are available now at www.jazzinthevalleyny.org.
For Greer Smith, festival founder, producer and recipient of the Jazz Journalist Association’s 2021 Jazz Hero Award, this 22nd annual festival is a continuation of its highly successful return to live audiences last year in the Valley after a virtual presentation of the festival during the worst of COVID-19. “We pick up where we left off last year, when we presented a triumphant homecoming back to the Valley,” Smith says. “The audience really appreciated hearing live jazz in real time, and the musicians enjoyed playing for enthusiastic fans. This year’s festival will no doubt swing with the same infectious spirit, especially as we celebrate the history, legacy and future of the great Charles Mingus!”
The award-winning trombonist/composer/arranger Craig Harris, who serves as the festival’s Guest Curator, is one of a legion of musicians who are influenced by Mingus and has been a major force in modern music for four decades. With nine releases as a leader, including his latest Managing the Mask, and 39 recordings as a sideman with an eclectic array of musicians including Sun Ra, Abdullah Ibrahim, Cecil Taylor and the hip-hop group, The Roots, Harris spans a wide spectrum of music, including R&B, straight-ahead jazz and the avant-garde. He is a member of Harlem Jazz Boxx, a mobile, jazz/gospel performance consortium, and he composed and performed the score for the critically acclaimed Oscar-nominated motion picture, Judas and the Black Messiah.
For Harris, Mingus remains a touchstone for his creativity. "Mingus has always inspired me as a musician-composer; the way he balances concept and content … [and the] sacred space he creates where improvisation and composition intersect, is a major influence on my own work,” Harris says.” Mingus also adds another factor to the balance of content and concept, which is consciousness. Mingus’ “Don’t Let It Happen Here,” “Meditation on Integration,” “Fables of Faubus,” plus others are works that deal with social issues and injustice. Using music to promote social justice is ingrained in every breath I take, so the triple C factor – Content, Concept and Consciousness – will be highly celebrated in our centennial salute of Charles Mingus. Joining me in this celebration are people who bring these same elements – Content, Concept and Consciousness – to their work.”
Active on the jazz scene for seven decades, the Grammy award-winning, NEA Jazz Master bassist/bandleader Buster Williams has been the standard-bearer of his instrument for generations of bassists. Born in Camden, NJ, Williams is one of the many great bassists from Philadelphia, from Jymie Merritt and Stanley Clarke to Charles Fambrough and Christian McBride. His listings as a sideman are legion and includes work with Art Blakey, Betty Carter, Carmen McRae, Jimmy Heath, Wynton Marsalis, McCoy Tyner, The Jazz Crusaders, Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard. Williams was a founding member of Herbie Hancock’s pioneering, ‘70s Afro-fusion Mwandishi ensemble, and he was a core member of the ‘80s Thelonious Monk repertory group, Sphere. Williams formed his own group, Something More in 1990, wrote “Christina,” an emerging jazz standard, and his 15 recordings as a leader include Pinnacle, Something More, and Buster Williams Live, Vol. 1. To riff on Ralph Ellison, Williams' buoyant basslines have been speaking for us on the lower frequencies and will continue to do so.
For over 30 years, the Detroit-born, Grammy nominated, jazz violinist/educator Regina Carter has been the most heralded musician on her instrument. The wide range of stars she’s worked with include pianists Danilo Perez and Kenny Barron, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and vocalists Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige. She’s recorded 11 albums as a leader, but it was Paganini After a Dream, which was inspired by her historic 2002 trip to Genoa, Italy, that vaulted her into the limelight when she became the first African-American and jazz musician to play the violin of the legendary classical virtuoso, Niccolo Paganini. A recipient of the MacArthur “Genius” Grant the Doris Duke Award and an NEA Jazz Master, Carter is the Artistic Director of NJPAC’s Geri Allen Jazz Camp and teaches at several schools including the Manhattan School of Music. Simply put, her string theory resonates in jazz, classical and world music. Expect to hear selections from Carter’s forthcoming CD, about Black neighborhoods that were destroyed by “urban renewal” programs when she takes the JITV stage.
New York City native Camille Thurman is the subject of one of the most intense jazz debates in years: Is she a tenor saxophonist who sings, or is she a vocalist who plays tenor sax? Either way, she is one of the inventive and engaging musicians on the scene; whether she’s leading her own ensemble or performing with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. A graduate of the world-renowned Fiorello H. La Guardia High School of Music and Art and the Performing Arts, and Binghamton University, and finalist in the 2013 Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition, Thurman-Green – who also plays flute – boasts a wide roster of side person dates including Dianne Reeves, Kenny Barron, Terri Lyne Carrington, Nicholas Payton, Janelle Monáe, Alicia Keys, Lalah Hathaway, Jill Scott and Erykah Badu. Thurman-Green recorded four albums: Origins, Waters of March, Waiting for the Sunrise and Inside the Moment. Whether her tenor sax is ringing with Lester Young’s bell-tones or Sarah Vaughan’s divine vocals, Thurman-Green’s artistry is all-encompassing.
Like Carter, vocalist Carla Cook hails from Detroit, and is featured on Carter’s new recording. A student of the vocalese virtuoso Eddie Jefferson, Cook – a winner of the AFIM Indie Award for Best Jazz Vocal – is at home with any invention and dimension of the jazz idiom, as well as the blues, soul and gospel genres and styles. Her resume includes work with Carter, Cyrus Chestnut, Jimmy Heath, Fred Wesley, Steve Wilson and Craig Harris, and she teaches jazz vocals at Juilliard. She recorded three releases, It’s All About Love (which earned her a nomination for a Grammy award in 1999 in the category of Best Jazz Vocal Performance), Dem Bones and Simply Natural for the MAXJAZZ label. A vivacious performer, it doesn’t matter when she’s onstage, Carla Cook is always a showstopper.
Pianist and Chicago native Michael King is from the same city that gave us Ramsey Lewis, Ahmad Jamal, Muhal Richard Abrams, and many other keyboard greats. But this Oberlin graduate is poised one day to add his name to that star-studded, Windy City roll call. King’s sideman credits include work with Bobby Watson, Kevin Eubanks, Dave Liebman, Gary Bartz, Billy Hart, Rufus Reid and Antonio Hart, and he currently tours with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Robin Eubanks, Marquis Hill, Theo Croker, Melissa Aldana and Marcus Printup. With all of that rich experience behind him, and a world of musical possibilities in front of him, it is a good bet that you’ll remember when Michael King took to the Jazz in the Valley stage.
Although he only lived a short time when he came to New York City from Cuba in the forties, percussionist Chano Pozo almost single handedly reintroduced African hand drumming in the United States when he teamed up with Dizzy Gillespie and married Afro-Cuban percussion to bebop, paving the way for the creation of modern Latin jazz. Now, decades later, Chano’s nephew, Joaquin Pozo is carrying his uncle’s syncopated torch. Born in Havana, Pozo started playing percussion at the age of eight, became a professional at 15, toured the world, and came to the United States in 2017. When you see him onstage, you’ll know why he earned the nickname “el pulpo", or the octopus: Close your eyes, and you’ll hear eight drummers.
TRANSART & Cultural Services, Inc. is a Kingston, NY-based non-profit arts organization dedicated to promoting awareness of the art, history and popular culture of people of African ancestry. The festival’s origins go back to an afternoon of music in the year 2000, when TRANSART received funding from the New York State Council on the Arts to commission Ahmad Jamal to write an original composition for the organization. Jamal composed “Picture Perfect,” inspired by the scenic beauty of the Hudson Valley, which he played in concert. In addition to the music, JITV also features films and other programs designed to increase dialogue dealing with jazz music, the musicians and the audience. The festival also produces a jazz program hosted by Sharif Abdus Salaam on WKNY, 107.9 FM and 1490 AM, www.radiokingston.org Wednesdays at 7pm.
Jazz in the Valley is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and is also made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support from the New York State Legislature. Support also comes from funding through Dutchess Tourism, Inc. administered by Arts Mid-Hudson. Additional support and resources are provided by the City of Poughkeepsie.
TICKET INFORMATION
Discounted early bird tickets are $45 through August 1. Afterward, general admission is $55, and $65 at the gate. The cost for students with valid ID is $20 at the gate. Tickets can be purchased online through the festival’s website (jazzinthevalleyny.org). For group ticket sales, directions and more information about Jazz in the Valley, contact TRANSART at [email protected], (845) 384-6350, or log on to www.jazzinthevalleyny.org.
# # #
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Carolyn McClair | (212) 721-3341 | [email protected]
For Greer Smith, festival founder, producer and recipient of the Jazz Journalist Association’s 2021 Jazz Hero Award, this 22nd annual festival is a continuation of its highly successful return to live audiences last year in the Valley after a virtual presentation of the festival during the worst of COVID-19. “We pick up where we left off last year, when we presented a triumphant homecoming back to the Valley,” Smith says. “The audience really appreciated hearing live jazz in real time, and the musicians enjoyed playing for enthusiastic fans. This year’s festival will no doubt swing with the same infectious spirit, especially as we celebrate the history, legacy and future of the great Charles Mingus!”
The award-winning trombonist/composer/arranger Craig Harris, who serves as the festival’s Guest Curator, is one of a legion of musicians who are influenced by Mingus and has been a major force in modern music for four decades. With nine releases as a leader, including his latest Managing the Mask, and 39 recordings as a sideman with an eclectic array of musicians including Sun Ra, Abdullah Ibrahim, Cecil Taylor and the hip-hop group, The Roots, Harris spans a wide spectrum of music, including R&B, straight-ahead jazz and the avant-garde. He is a member of Harlem Jazz Boxx, a mobile, jazz/gospel performance consortium, and he composed and performed the score for the critically acclaimed Oscar-nominated motion picture, Judas and the Black Messiah.
For Harris, Mingus remains a touchstone for his creativity. "Mingus has always inspired me as a musician-composer; the way he balances concept and content … [and the] sacred space he creates where improvisation and composition intersect, is a major influence on my own work,” Harris says.” Mingus also adds another factor to the balance of content and concept, which is consciousness. Mingus’ “Don’t Let It Happen Here,” “Meditation on Integration,” “Fables of Faubus,” plus others are works that deal with social issues and injustice. Using music to promote social justice is ingrained in every breath I take, so the triple C factor – Content, Concept and Consciousness – will be highly celebrated in our centennial salute of Charles Mingus. Joining me in this celebration are people who bring these same elements – Content, Concept and Consciousness – to their work.”
Active on the jazz scene for seven decades, the Grammy award-winning, NEA Jazz Master bassist/bandleader Buster Williams has been the standard-bearer of his instrument for generations of bassists. Born in Camden, NJ, Williams is one of the many great bassists from Philadelphia, from Jymie Merritt and Stanley Clarke to Charles Fambrough and Christian McBride. His listings as a sideman are legion and includes work with Art Blakey, Betty Carter, Carmen McRae, Jimmy Heath, Wynton Marsalis, McCoy Tyner, The Jazz Crusaders, Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard. Williams was a founding member of Herbie Hancock’s pioneering, ‘70s Afro-fusion Mwandishi ensemble, and he was a core member of the ‘80s Thelonious Monk repertory group, Sphere. Williams formed his own group, Something More in 1990, wrote “Christina,” an emerging jazz standard, and his 15 recordings as a leader include Pinnacle, Something More, and Buster Williams Live, Vol. 1. To riff on Ralph Ellison, Williams' buoyant basslines have been speaking for us on the lower frequencies and will continue to do so.
For over 30 years, the Detroit-born, Grammy nominated, jazz violinist/educator Regina Carter has been the most heralded musician on her instrument. The wide range of stars she’s worked with include pianists Danilo Perez and Kenny Barron, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and vocalists Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige. She’s recorded 11 albums as a leader, but it was Paganini After a Dream, which was inspired by her historic 2002 trip to Genoa, Italy, that vaulted her into the limelight when she became the first African-American and jazz musician to play the violin of the legendary classical virtuoso, Niccolo Paganini. A recipient of the MacArthur “Genius” Grant the Doris Duke Award and an NEA Jazz Master, Carter is the Artistic Director of NJPAC’s Geri Allen Jazz Camp and teaches at several schools including the Manhattan School of Music. Simply put, her string theory resonates in jazz, classical and world music. Expect to hear selections from Carter’s forthcoming CD, about Black neighborhoods that were destroyed by “urban renewal” programs when she takes the JITV stage.
New York City native Camille Thurman is the subject of one of the most intense jazz debates in years: Is she a tenor saxophonist who sings, or is she a vocalist who plays tenor sax? Either way, she is one of the inventive and engaging musicians on the scene; whether she’s leading her own ensemble or performing with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. A graduate of the world-renowned Fiorello H. La Guardia High School of Music and Art and the Performing Arts, and Binghamton University, and finalist in the 2013 Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition, Thurman-Green – who also plays flute – boasts a wide roster of side person dates including Dianne Reeves, Kenny Barron, Terri Lyne Carrington, Nicholas Payton, Janelle Monáe, Alicia Keys, Lalah Hathaway, Jill Scott and Erykah Badu. Thurman-Green recorded four albums: Origins, Waters of March, Waiting for the Sunrise and Inside the Moment. Whether her tenor sax is ringing with Lester Young’s bell-tones or Sarah Vaughan’s divine vocals, Thurman-Green’s artistry is all-encompassing.
Like Carter, vocalist Carla Cook hails from Detroit, and is featured on Carter’s new recording. A student of the vocalese virtuoso Eddie Jefferson, Cook – a winner of the AFIM Indie Award for Best Jazz Vocal – is at home with any invention and dimension of the jazz idiom, as well as the blues, soul and gospel genres and styles. Her resume includes work with Carter, Cyrus Chestnut, Jimmy Heath, Fred Wesley, Steve Wilson and Craig Harris, and she teaches jazz vocals at Juilliard. She recorded three releases, It’s All About Love (which earned her a nomination for a Grammy award in 1999 in the category of Best Jazz Vocal Performance), Dem Bones and Simply Natural for the MAXJAZZ label. A vivacious performer, it doesn’t matter when she’s onstage, Carla Cook is always a showstopper.
Pianist and Chicago native Michael King is from the same city that gave us Ramsey Lewis, Ahmad Jamal, Muhal Richard Abrams, and many other keyboard greats. But this Oberlin graduate is poised one day to add his name to that star-studded, Windy City roll call. King’s sideman credits include work with Bobby Watson, Kevin Eubanks, Dave Liebman, Gary Bartz, Billy Hart, Rufus Reid and Antonio Hart, and he currently tours with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Robin Eubanks, Marquis Hill, Theo Croker, Melissa Aldana and Marcus Printup. With all of that rich experience behind him, and a world of musical possibilities in front of him, it is a good bet that you’ll remember when Michael King took to the Jazz in the Valley stage.
Although he only lived a short time when he came to New York City from Cuba in the forties, percussionist Chano Pozo almost single handedly reintroduced African hand drumming in the United States when he teamed up with Dizzy Gillespie and married Afro-Cuban percussion to bebop, paving the way for the creation of modern Latin jazz. Now, decades later, Chano’s nephew, Joaquin Pozo is carrying his uncle’s syncopated torch. Born in Havana, Pozo started playing percussion at the age of eight, became a professional at 15, toured the world, and came to the United States in 2017. When you see him onstage, you’ll know why he earned the nickname “el pulpo", or the octopus: Close your eyes, and you’ll hear eight drummers.
TRANSART & Cultural Services, Inc. is a Kingston, NY-based non-profit arts organization dedicated to promoting awareness of the art, history and popular culture of people of African ancestry. The festival’s origins go back to an afternoon of music in the year 2000, when TRANSART received funding from the New York State Council on the Arts to commission Ahmad Jamal to write an original composition for the organization. Jamal composed “Picture Perfect,” inspired by the scenic beauty of the Hudson Valley, which he played in concert. In addition to the music, JITV also features films and other programs designed to increase dialogue dealing with jazz music, the musicians and the audience. The festival also produces a jazz program hosted by Sharif Abdus Salaam on WKNY, 107.9 FM and 1490 AM, www.radiokingston.org Wednesdays at 7pm.
Jazz in the Valley is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and is also made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support from the New York State Legislature. Support also comes from funding through Dutchess Tourism, Inc. administered by Arts Mid-Hudson. Additional support and resources are provided by the City of Poughkeepsie.
TICKET INFORMATION
Discounted early bird tickets are $45 through August 1. Afterward, general admission is $55, and $65 at the gate. The cost for students with valid ID is $20 at the gate. Tickets can be purchased online through the festival’s website (jazzinthevalleyny.org). For group ticket sales, directions and more information about Jazz in the Valley, contact TRANSART at [email protected], (845) 384-6350, or log on to www.jazzinthevalleyny.org.
# # #
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Carolyn McClair | (212) 721-3341 | [email protected]
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