Lin-Manuel Miranda Performs with Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, 5/11-12

Lin-Manuel Miranda, actor and Tony Award-winning creator and composer-lyricist of Broadway's In the Heights, joins Arturo O'Farrill's GRAMMY® Award-winning ensemble, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, for its 10th Anniversary season celebration, "Música Nueva 5: Big Band Poetry Jam & Beyond."

"I am excited to be a part of such an historic event," says Miranda. "This will truly be one of the greatest celebrations the Nuyorican Poetry movement has seen and I'm proud to share the stage with such a talented group. I respect all of these artists immensely and am thrilled to not only participate, but to see all of them come together for one event."

The program will celebrate the Nuyorican Poetry movement and the Latino community, and the artists will mix the classic sound of mambo, boogaloo, and salsa with hip-hop, acid jazz, and alternative improvisation. The performances will honor the work of the Nuyorican Poets Café, home to the genesis of the Latino spoken word movement and a multi-cultural venue for artists traditionally under-represented in mainstream media and culture. Additional guests for the evening include poet and curator Angel R. Rodríguez, Sr. as well as spoken word artists Sandra María Esteves, Tato Laviera, Odilia Rivera Santos, Caridad "La Bruja" De La Luz, Circa '95 (Patty Dukes & RephStar), and Christopher "Chilo" Cajigas. The arrangers for the two-night engagement include O'Farrill, Todd Bashore, Adam Kromelow, Jason Lindner, Adam O'Farrill, and Jay Rodríguez. DJ Logic will also perform.

Nuyorican poetry as amovement of expression took root inthe1970’s a dynamic time of shifting cultural politics and identity which gave rise to the Young Lords, Last Poets,and the Nuyorican Poets Café giving voice to Latino demands for social change. With roots reaching back to the African griots, and spoken newspapers ofPlena, a younger generation of Hip Hop artists represents a powerful continuumin the efforts of artists to bear witness and use their art as a vehicle for activism.

In the words of Arturo O’Farrill "The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra takes particular pride incelebrating the Nuyorican Poetry movement," explains O'Farrill."Theseelder and younger poets are the voice of our conscience, a reminder that the culturalconversation in our city and in our nation is still incomplete. It will also bean historic event. Nothing like this has ever been done with an Afro Latin Jazzbig band and Latino spoken word. This will be an evening in the spirit of Gil Scott-Heronbut with an Afro Latin entry point. Don't miss this one!"

Lin-Manuel Miranda is the Tony-winning composer-lyricist of Broadway's In the Heights. In the Heights received four 2008 Tony Awards (including Best Orchestrations, Best Choreography, and Best Musical), with Lin-Manuel receiving a Tony Award for Best Score, as well as a nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. Off-Broadway, In the Heights received 9 Drama Desk Nominations (including Best Music, Best Lyrics) and an award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance. In the Heights also won the Lucille Lortel Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical.

Additionally, Lin-Manuel received an Obie Award for Outstanding Music and Lyrics for the show. In the Heights also took home a 2009 Grammy® Award for its Original Broadway Cast Album. In the Heights was also recognized as a Finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in Drama. As an actor, Lin-Manuel received a 2007 Theater World Award for Outstanding Debut Performance, and the 2007 Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Male Performance courtesy of Actors' Equity Foundation. He also received the ASCAP Foundation's Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award and is a National Arts Club Medal of Honor recipient. In May of 2009, Lin-Manuel received the degree of Doctor of Human letters, honoris causa, from Yeshiva University, the youngest recipient of such an honor in the University's 123-year history.

For more information on the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance and Orchestra,
please visit: afrolatinjazz.org

Photo Credit: Corey Hayes