MARCH 2024

Our Calendar

LAtest List Of MARCH 2024 Events

19 MAR TUE

08:00 PM

Jon Batiste

Upper Manhattan

Beacon Theatre,2124 B'way, New York, NY 10023

http://www.beacontheatre.com

212-496-7070

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19 MAR TUE

07:30 PM

WaHi Jam

Upper Manhattan

Kismat Bar,603 Fort Washington Ave, New York, NY 10040

https://www.facebook.com/KismatBar/

516-447-2411

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19 MAR TUE

08:00 PM

Keyed Up! ft. The Penny Jo Sessions w/Tyreek McDole

Upper Manhattan

Penny Jo's,3898 B'way, New York, NY 10032

https://www.facebook.com/pennyjosuptown/

646-609-2216

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Featured Artists

NIOKA WORKMAN

ADVENT OF THE FIERY SISTAHOOD! By Raul da Gama

THE GREAT ANTHROPOLOGIST

Margaret Mead may have unwittingly pre-empted the advent of sisterhood when she examined a human skeleton and observed a femur that had been broken and then healed. She theorized that some- one in that early community had bound the wound, carried the person to safety, and taken time to stay with the injured, tend- ing to the person through recovery.

Was that person a woman? Did the pre- historic rest-and-recovery stopover of that early caravansary help turn the human mind to a prehistoric muse — and the for- mation of a caring Sistahood? Indeed, the pictograms in Somaliland and Clovis in those remarkable, immutable cave-muse- ums tell intriguing stories.

A narrative even more thrilling and ornamental is alive today in the Fiery Sistahood begotten of jazz griot Nioka Workman and her art. For she is the first Fiery Sista with an uncommon eye for the real, the unreal, and the ephemeral of humanity’s sisters. As she posits, from the place in which her art springs, “There is sunshine in every corner of the beauty of life, and the woman is at its center.”

Nioka uses a cello, bowing as an artist with a brush, painting phrases made of notes that leap and twirl and pirouette in magical ellipses to tell her modern-day sto- ries of sisterhood. It is such a memorable thrill to behold Nioka’s music with the mind’s eye, in the inner ear, as she whips out such ribbons of melody, harmony and rhythm — playing pizzicato or con arco, elongating notes in her sonic universe with gleaming finger vibrato.

But who knew the cello — this diaboli- cally hard-to-play instrument — would carry Nioka to the rarefied realm of the music? Certainly, her inspirational mum, Elaine, and dad knew. “There was a cello somewhere in the room of my dad’s base- ment,” she says with a sunlight-bright laugh. Dad is, of course, the iconic contra- bassist Reggie Workman whose bass adorns music today, just as it did the music of legendary musicians from John Coltrane to Freddie Hubbard and many more. “I told him I would like to try that instrument, and he and my mum gave me their bless- ings,” she recalls.

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MARIA SCHNEIDER

A PERSONAL SOUND By Ken Dryden

A 2019 NEA Jazz Master and seven-time Grammy winner, Maria Schneider has built an international audience by composing for her all-star orchestra. Maria knew that she wanted to focus on composing very early. She had several important mentors, beginning with classical composer Dominick Argento at the University of Minnesota. Maria recalls, “He was an amazing orchestration teacher, and my music is largely about the orchestration.” At the University of Miami, Whit Sidener and Gary Lindsay gave her many opportunities; the late Rayburn Wright was her writing teacher at Eastman School of Music. Maria says, “He was a phenomenal educator and musician. The level was very professional.”

Maria’s NEA grant to study composition with Bob Brookmeyer proved to be a turning point, though it wasn’t without challenges, especially because of his gruff, extremely opinionated personality. Maria explains, “Bob got me to realize that jazz has been largely relegated to song form, themes and variations. He wrote a lot of things that were more through-composed and opened my mind to many possibilities for every aspect of the music, and that I didn’t have to limit myself to imagining what’s okay to do because it’s jazz, and that I could do anything. To not think in terms of jazz history but of music, it helped me find my voice.”

Brookmeyer helped Maria in other ways, introducing her to Mel Lewis, which led to her writing for his band. “Bob introduced me to a lot of groups he was working with in Europe— the WDR Cologne Radio Big Band and the Danish Radio Orchestra. That helped me get signed by a German label (Enja) that was probably impressed that I was working in Europe.”

One of Maria’s biggest challenges is finding time to compose, as she is in demand as a guest conductor for other groups, which is how she makes money. Maria exclaims, “I want to be writing for my own band! My band is my source of inspiration, the musicians that I love to work with. It’s my workshop where I develop my sound.” She paid $30,000 from her savings to make her first record, Evanescence, in 1992. “It was the best investment I ever made. It put my name on the map. The band’s recordings are what generate interest in hiring me as a guest conductor.”

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MARY STALLINGS

MARY STALLINGS HAS BEEN ONE OF THE FINEST VOCALISTS YOU OUGHT TO KNOW ~ Joyce Jones

Mary Stallings already had a foundation in gospel music when her uncle, tenor saxophonist Orlando Stallings, introduced her to jazz. San Francisco’s local musicians and more popular international musicians, including Louis Jordan, the Montgomery brothers (Wes, Monk, and Buddy) and Ben Webster, were part of Mary’s jazz community at the time; many of them invited Mary to sit in and sing with their bands. She was also introduced to the minor key standards and started working with drummer Eddie Alley and his brother Vernon, the bassist with Lionel Hampton’s band. Mary’s mother would chaperone her to night club gigs because Mary was only 15. Mary also attended jam sessions, an important proving ground for all who wanted to perfect their craft and cultivate their own signature sound.

Mary met Dizzy Gillespie during a jam session at the Blackhawk Club one Sunday afternoon. Dizzy had the habit of stopping by to check out the newer musicians, Mary remembers, “He took a liking to me right away…that was a lifetime friendship.” Later, Mary had a chance to work with Dizzy.

Meeting Sonny Stitt, who also came by the Blackhawk Club and heard Mary, was another valuable encounter. At the time, Mary was listening to Dinah Washington’s music because, “She could holler. She can sang.” Sonny took Mary aside and gave her a lesson on how to breathe to preserve her voice as she aged. This lesson served Mary very well and is evident during Mary’s current live performances.

When musicians would give Mary recordings with the suggestion that she sound like them, Mary knew her uncle would object to this as a form of imitation. Mary developed her own style “just by listening, recognizing the greatness of other singers.” She would focus on diction and “being a storyteller, because that’s what you are first. Because all the ones who came before (her) all had great voices and were individual.”

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BERTHA HOPE

ALVIN & FRIENDS / MAR 3, 10, 17, 24 & 31

Having recently turned 87, pianist Bertha Hope is going strong more than six decades after her 1961 premiere recording with Elmo Hope, her first husband. Following his death in 1967, Bertha put her career on hold until the 1990s, when she recorded several CDs with her second husband, bassist Walter Booker, while also showcasing her considerable talent as a composer and arranger. Bertha led the all women’s quintet Jazzberry Jam!, which extensively toured overseas. Bertha currently leads a quintet around the city, and she plans to release a long overdue CD of Elmo’s music with the band later this year. At Alvin & Friends’ brunch every Sunday in March, Bertha leads a trio with bassist Corentin Le Hir and vocalists Pucci Amanda Jhones and Barbara King alternating onstage. KD

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NIKARA WARREN

ALIANZA / MAR 13; JAZZ MUSEUM/ MAR 15; BAR BAYEUX / MAR 20

Vibraphonist Nikara Warren had the benefit of both nature and nurture in her musical upbringing. The granddaughter of legendary pianist Kenny Barron, she grew up listening to him play at her home in Brooklyn throughout her childhood. She says, “My musical education happened first in my ears before the music theory I learned in my brain.” Having this unique musical vantage point led Nikara to develop a versatile, post-modern style that manifests in her vibraphone playing and her compositions. Nikara creates emotionally expressive sound collages. Nikara plays at Alianza Dominicana Cultural Center on March 13, the National Jazz Museum in Harlem on March 16, and Bar Bayeux on March 20. JZ

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