The Columbia/Harlem Jazz Project:
A Community Collaboration
In December 2006, the New York State Music Fund announced a $300,000 grant to Columbia’s Center for Jazz Studies to create the Columbia/Harlem Jazz Project, an ongoing series of concerts celebrating jazz in Harlem. In presenting these concerts, the Center is working with uptown arts organizations, including Harlem Stage, the Harlem Arts Alliance, the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Community Works, and the New Heritage Theatre Group, to present leading artists in programs that explore and interpret jazz music through a variety of perspectives, to a community where the roots of jazz run deep. Artists such as Paula West, Sam Rivers, Bill Lowe, Olu Dara, and Eddie Palmieri have already performed, and the Project has much more in store for Harlem audiences.
New Collaboration with Harlem Stage
In September 2008, the
Columbia/Harlem Jazz Project and the important presenting
organization
Harlem Stage
initiated a partnership that will present far-reaching
program opportunities over the next few years. More than ever before,
jazz today has become a vital arena for
intercultural exchange. The music is becoming transformed in exciting
and
undreamed-of ways, while retaining its character as a world music
celebrated for its ideals of freedom and diversity of expression. This
collaboration with Harlem Stage emphatically reaffirms the place of
Harlem as a unique and vital nexus for the exchange of culture and
ideas, not only in the origins of jazz, but in the global exploration
of art, culture and social systems that marks our future. The events in
this series express this internationalist
vision, and will include humanities components that present a
deeper exploration of the context of the music.
Upcoming Events
Saturday, September 26, 2009
2012: The Hip Hop Experiment
Marc Cary and his Black Instruments Band
The Hip Hop Experiment explores Hip Hop as a multi-media, multi-sensory, and interactive experience, incorporating sensory and triggering technologies to enhance artist and audience participation. Pianist, composer and bandleader Marc Cary and creative director and master of ceremonies Shon "Chance" Miller, along with special guest Phonte (of Little Brother), Peven Everett, Jessica Care Moore and others, create a virtual experience, re-exploring the past and presenting a vision of the future.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
6 pm: Conversation with George E. Lewis (Columbia University)
9 pm: Performance
Harlem Stage Gatehouse
150 Convent Avenue at West 135th Street, New York City
Tickets: $15
For tickets, visit www.harlemstage.org, or call the Harlem Stage box office at 212-281-9240, ext. 19 or 20
Co-Presented by Uptown Nights at Harlem Stage and the Columbia/Harlem Jazz Project, with support from the Office of the President, Columbia University
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an
American Original
Robin
D.G. Kelley (University of Southern California) with composer and
pianist Randy Weston
Prize-winning historian Robin Kelley will discuss his most recent book, Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original (Simon and Schuster, 2009), the first book on the pianist and composer based on exclusive access to the Monk family papers and private recordings. In addition, Professor Kelley will explore Monk's music and legacy in words and sounds with pianist and composer Randy Weston.
Robin D. G. Kelley is Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. He is the author of the prize-winning books Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression (University of North Carolina Press, 1990); Race Rebels: Culture Politics and the Black Working Class (The Free Press, 1994); Yo’ Mama’s DisFunktional!: Fighting the Culture Wars in Urban America (Beacon Press, 1997), selected as one of the top ten books of 1998 by the Village Voice; Three Strikes: Miners, Musicians, Salesgirls, and the Fighting Spirit of Labor’s Last Century, written collaboratively with Dana Frank and Howard Zinn (Beacon 2001); and Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination (Beacon Press, 2002).
Randy Weston is one of the world's foremost pianists and composers. Weston's most frequently recorded compositions include "Saucer Eyes," "Pam's Waltz," "Little Niles," and perhaps his best-known, "Hi-Fly." In the early 1960s, he began lecturing and performing in Africa, and in 1967, he performed in 14 African countries on a State Department tour, eventually settling in Tangier, Morocco, where he opened the African Rhythms Club in 1969, and forged unique collaborations with Berber and Gnawan musicians. Weston has taught at Harvard University, received an honorary doctorate from Brooklyn College, and has received many honors, including Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters (1997); Black Music Star Award of the Arts Critics and Reviewers Association of Ghana (2000); National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master (2001).
Tuesday, October 13, 2009, 7:30 pm
Dwyer Cultural Center
258 St. Nicholas Ave at 123rd Street
Free and open to the public
Presented by the Columbia/Harlem Jazz Project, with support from the Office of the President, Columbia University
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Uptown Nights at Harlem Stage
Cabaret Chocolat: An Autumn Night's Soiree
Tamar-Kali and her Psychochamber Ensemble
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Dialogue: 6:00 pm
Performance: 7:30 pm
Harlem Stage Gatehouse
150 Convent Avenue at West 135th Street, New York City
Tickets: $15
For tickets, visit www.harlemstage.org, or call the Harlem Stage box office at 212-281-9240, ext. 19 or 20
Co-Presented by Uptown Nights at Harlem Stage and the Columbia/Harlem Jazz Project, with support from the Office of the President, Columbia University
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Dana Leong: Milk and Jade
Multi-instrumentalist Dana Leong has worked, both as performer and composer, with Paquito D’Rivera, Dafnis Prieto, P. Diddy, Kanye West, Wynton Marsalis, Yoko Ono, Ryuichi Sakamoto and many more. His ensemble, Milk and Jade, is considered as one of the finest and most innovative urban music quartets in the United States.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Dialogue: 6:00 pm
Performance: 8:30 pm
Harlem Stage Gatehouse
150 Convent Avenue at West 135th Street, New York City
Tickets: $15
For tickets, visit www.harlemstage.org, or call the Harlem Stage box office at 212-281-9240, ext. 19 or 20
Co-Presented by Uptown Nights at Harlem Stage and the Columbia/Harlem Jazz Project, with support from the Office of the President, Columbia University
2008-09
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Yusef Komunyakaa/Billy Bang
Sacrifice: Meditation on the Vietnam Experience
A Concert and Conversation
An emotionally charged evening showcases the intermedia work of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa and the cutting-edge sounds of violinist Billy Bang's Aftermath Band.
In Komunyakaa's Nine Bridges Back, twelve collaborating artists create a collage of text, voices and instruments that address complex histories and personal experiences in the context of the war. With Yusef Komunyakaa (poet); Vince di Mura (composer/keyboards) with Annie Lee Moffett (vocals) and Tony Jackson (narrator); Alan Benditt (actor); Susie Ibarra (composer/percussionist) with Jennifer Choi (violin), Carol To Moy (singer) and Cathy Linh Che (translator); Tomas Doncker (composer/guitar/vocals) and Marvin Sewell (guitar); Noriko Kamo (piano); and Dawn Akemi Saito (director).
Billy Bang and his Aftermath Band perform compositions based on Bang's experience as a combat soldier in Vietnam. Bang's music evokes and confronts memories through a combination of Western and Asian elements, including the use of Vietnamese traditional instruments. The ensemble features musicians who experienced both the Vietnam and Korean Wars. With Billy Bang, violin; James Spaulding, alto saxophone, flute; Ted Daniel, trumpet; Henry P. Warner, clarinet, alto clarinet; Andrew Bemkey, piano; Ngô Thanh Nhành, dàn tranh; Muziki Roberson, piano; Hilliard Greene, bass; Newman Taylor Baker, drums.
Coming from seemingly disparate backgrounds — Komunyakaa raised in Louisiana, Bang reared in the Bronx — the two artists share a common experience as Vietnam veterans. A pre-concert discussion with the artists, moderated by Brent Hayes Edwards, Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, will explore their histories and motivations.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Conversation: 6:00 pm
Concert: 7:30 pm
Harlem Stage Gatehouse
150 Convent Avenue at West 135th Street, New York City
Tickets: $15
For tickets, visit www.harlemstage.org, or call the Harlem Stage box office at 212-281-9240, ext. 19/20
Co-Presented by Columbia/Harlem Jazz Project and Harlem Stage
A Concert and Conversation
Curated by Herbie Miller
With Cedric Brooks (saxophones), Ernest Ranglin (guitar), Wayne Batchelor (bass), Desmond Jones (drums), Cecil "Sonny" Bradshaw (trumpet and piano), Orville Hammond (piano), Larry McDonald (congas), and Douglas Ewart (reeds and percussion)
This once-in-a-lifetime evening highlights the ongoing relationship between Jamaican and American culture in a performance featuring the leading innovators of Jamaican jazz. The evening begins with a discussion between the musicians and producer and cultural historian Herbie Miller.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Conversation: 6:00 pm
Concert: 7:30 pm
Harlem Stage at Aaron Davis Hall/The City College of New York
West 135th Street at Convent Avenue, New York City
Tickets: $15
For tickets: www.harlemstage.org, or call the Harlem Stage box office at 212-281-9240, ext. 19/20
PURCHASE TICKETS
Co-Presented by Columbia/Harlem Jazz Project and Harlem Stage
Recent Events
October 23-25, 2008
The internationally renowned pianist and composer Geri Allen will be in residence at Columbia for three days in October, giving master classes, a talk at the Institute for Research in African-American Studies (IRAAS), and a concert of her work at Columbia's Miller Theatre.
Public events at Columbia featuring Ms. Allen include:
Master Class with Geri Allen
Friday, October 24, 2008. 4:00 pm
301 Philosophy Hall, Columbia University Morningside Campus
The IRAAS Conversations Lecture Series:
A Conversation with Geri Allen and Farah Jasmine Griffin
Friday, October 24, 2008. 7:30 pm
301 Philosophy Hall, Columbia University Morningside Campus
Free and open to the public
New Songs, New Life: The Geri Allen Project
Geri Allen, piano; Kassa Overall, drums; Calvin Jones, bass; Maurice Chestnut, tap dancer
Saturday, October 25. 2008, 7:30 pm
Miller Theatre, Columbia University
Broadway @ 116th Street, New York City
$20 General Admission, $10 Students and Seniors
Tickets may be purchased at the Miller Theatre box office, or by telephone at (212) 854-7799
More information on Geri Allen
Thursday, October 2, 2008, 7:30 pm
Harlem Stage Gatehouse
150 Convent Avenue @ West 135th Street
Pianist and composer Jason Moran celebrates the legacy of the great jazz composer and pianist Thelonious Monk, whose work has had enormous impact on Moran’s music. This special evening explores the creation and performance of Moran’s multi-media work In My Mind: Monk at Town Hall, 1959. Hosted by George E. Lewis, Case Professor of Music at Columbia University, Moran is joined by artist Glenn Ligon for an illuminating discussion of how the creation of In My Mind highlights Monk’s influence on them, and on artists of all genres. Moran will perform Monk’s music with a quintet including Logan Richardson (alto saxophone), Ralph Alessi (trumpet), Tarus Mateen (bass) and Nasheet Waits (drums), with video excerpts of Monk by video artist David Dempewolf.
Moran on Monk is presented as part of the Harlem Stage Harlem Stride series, in collaboration with the Columbia/Harlem Jazz Project.
Celebrating New Harlem Jazz: Marc Cary, Lenora Zenzalai Helm, Eric Reed
Kicking off a new partnership to present exciting music and fresh ideas, Harlem Stage and Columbia’s Center for Jazz Studies combine to present three of Harlem’s most stellar performers, vocalist Lenora Zenzalai Helm, and pianists Marc Cary and Eric Reed, in expansive quartet, quintet, and septet formats, in tribute to a community where the roots of the music run deep. The evening witll be hosted by Harlem-based writer Quincy Troupe, the co-author of Miles: The Autobiography.
Thursday, September 18, 2008, 7:30 pm
Harlem Stage @ Aaron Davis Hall
West 135th Street and Convent Avenue, New York City
Adoration of the Melody: A Tribute to Ruby Braff
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008, 8 pm
St. Paul’s Chapel, Columbia University
117th St. @ Amsterdam Ave.
Four extraordinary musicians unite in tribute to the great jazz trumpeter Ruby Braff (1927-2003) for an evening exulting in melody, with a deep appreciation of Braff’s particular gifts. Featuring Warren Vaché (trumpet), Howard Alden (guitar), Bucky Pizzarelli (guitar), and Nicki Parrott (bass), with a pre-concert interview with Mr. Vaché and Mr. Alden by Professor Robert G. O’Meally, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University.
A presentation of the Columbia/Harlem Jazz Project, co-sponsored by the Center for Jazz Studies and Music at St. Paul’s, in tribute to Jerome Chazen, Advisory Board President, The Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University.
Saturday, November 10, 2007, 7:30 pm
Harlem Stage @ Aaron Davis Hall
West 135th Street and Convent Avenue, New York City
Sam Rivers Trio
Sam Rivers and the Rivbea Orchestra
With a pre-concert conversation between Sam Rivers and Brent Hayes
Edwards, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia
University
Sam Rivers’ visionary conception of complex composition and spontaneous creation, unmistakably manifest in the imaginative music of his trio and orchestra, remains revolutionary.
A presentation of the Columbia/Harlem Jazz Project, sponsored by the Center for Jazz Studies in association with Community Works and the New Heritage Theatre Group.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Studio Museum in Harlem
144 125th Street, NYC
Singer-trumpeter-guitarist Olu Dara is a master of the blues and a legend of the free-jazz movement. Beginning his career as a blues musician at the age of seven in his hometown of Natchez, Mississippi, Dara later made his name on New York’s free jazz scene, playing trumpet alongside David Murray and Henry Threadgill. The father of famed rapper Nas, Dara’s critically acclaimed albums weave soulful dance and blues grooves through intricate changes and humorous tales. Dara brings the avant-garde home to his rural roots, and draws West African and Caribbean music into the mix as well.
With a special guest appearance by the Harbor Latin Youth Ensemble
Ramon Rodriguez, Director
Friday, February 16, 2007
Teatro Heckscher
El Museo del Barrio
1230 Fifth Avenue @ 104th Street
Edddie Palmieri, a Harlem native, has long been considered one of the foremost Latin musicians of the last half-century. His ability to fuse the rhythms of his Hispanic, Puerto Rican heritage with the jazz influences of Thelonious Monk and McCoy Tyner, as well as R&B, pop, and rock, has had a revolutionary impact on the sound of Latin music.
The Harbor Latin Youth Ensemble is comprised of advanced students from the Harbor Conservatory for the Performing Arts, established in 1970 and now considered the leading school for Afro-Caribbean Latin music. The Ensemble is the subject of the PBS documentary “Mi Mambo”, which aired nationally in September 2006 during Hispanic Heritage month.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Miller Theater
Columbia University
Broadway @ 116th Street
Often compared with Billie Holiday and Nina Simone, Paula West shares with these vocalists a way of coaxing the blues out of any popular song. Ms. West’s fall set at the Algonquin Hotel earned rave reviews from the New York Times and was named the “Best Cabaret Show” of 2006 by TimeOut New York, which noted that “Her no-frills combination of a luscious sound, a relaxed jazz sense and an incisive understanding of lyrics has made her the only singer in years to earn serious respect in both the cabaret and jazz worlds.”
© 2008, Columbia University Center
for Jazz Studies.
Last Updated September 2, 2008.
