Harlem Speaks, Jazz For Curious Listeners, Saturday Panels and More Set for National Jazz Museum, Nov 2012

This November, The National Jazz Museum in Harlem continues to offer a wide range of top quality free programming and affordable concerts from jazz's most celebrated musicians, educators and historians.

First and foremost, join the museum for and/or support its benefit concert on November 8th – see details below.

Harlem Speaks, the museum's flagship public program of oral histories, offers in depth conversation with two master saxophonist/composer/educators, Bill Kirchner and Ted Nash.

This month's Jazz For Curious Listeners focuses on HBO's acclaimed series Treme. As the musuem has in past years, the sessions will be hosted by noted journalist Larry Blumenfeld, who has spent extended time in New Orleans and written about it at length in the Wall Street Journal.

Saturday Panels will feature an afternoon of New Orleans jazz and talk – this will be a joyous way to spend a weekend afternoon.

Jazz at The Players returns with another elegant, chamber jazz concert; saxophone giant Wayne Escoffery is bringing an all-star quartet to play in the intimate, acoustically perfect setting of this Gramercy Park club.

And Jonathan Batiste, just back from a successful two week engagement in Doha, Qatar, returns with his sell-out series Jazz Is:NOW!. If you haven't been to one of these sessions yet, run, don't walk!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Jazz for Curious Listeners
Tuning into Treme
Bands on the Run
7:00 – 8:30pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
With Larry Blumenfeld, The Wall Street Journal

In Sidney Bechet's memoir, "Treat It Gentle," the late, great clarinetist's real grandfather is supplanted by Omar, a fictional figure based on a folk tale, all the better to convey stirring truths about the true origins of New Orleans jazz. Real and imagined intermingLe Pointedly in New Orleans, in all walks of life. Set in New Orleans, David Simon's fictional HBO series "Treme," now in its third season, picked up three months after the floods that resulted from the levee failures after Hurricane Katrina. Culture, which in New Orleans means a tight braid of music, cuisine, dance, visual art, and street life, is the primary focus of the series, as indeed it was and is the defining element of the city's recovery and renewed identity.

These 90-minute conversations, led by writer Larry Blumenfeld, who has written extensively about New Orleans since the flood, will use the third season of the HBO series to frame a wide-ranging consideration of jazz culture in New Orleans and its role in continued recovery. Excerpts from the show will be screened, and special guests-musicians, participants in the series, and scholars-will join in the discussion.

Bands on the Run: Season 3 opened with a riveting scene of musicians getting arrested at a memorial procession in the street, based on an actual 2007 incident. We'll look at the historic tension between the city and its indigenous culture, how it has recently bubbled up in clubs, on Facebook, and in city council chambers, and how it affects the cultural life of New Orleans residents and the careers of musicians.

Larry Blumenfeld writes about music and culture for The Wall Street Journal, Village Voice and many other publications, is editor-at-large of Jazziz magazine, and blogs at: http://blogs.artinfo.com/blunotes. He is a former Katrina Media Fellow with the Open Society Institute, researching cultural recovery in New Orleans, and the winner of the 2012 Jazz Journalists Association Helen Dance-Robert Palmer Award for Writing.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Christian McBride & Jonathan Batiste Together in Concert
A Benefit Concert for The National Jazz Museum in Harlem
6:30pm Reception, 7:30pm Concert
Location: El Teatro at El Museo del Barrio (1230 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street)
$100 for Orchestra Seating for the Concert Only
$150 for Preferred Seating and Admission to a Pre-Concert Reception with the Artists
$250 for Prime Seating, Admission to the Pre-Concert Reception with the Artists and a one-year NJMH Membership
$40 Student Tickets (with Student ID) for Balcony Seats
For more information: 212-348-8300 | http://jazzmuseuminharlem.org/evite/
Please come and support the hundreds of events that the NJMH provides free of charge every year.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Jazz for Curious Listeners
Tuning into Treme
Treme at 200
Guest Davis Rogan
7:00 – 8:30pm
Location: Maysles Cinema
(343 Lenox Ave.)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
With Larry Blumenfeld, The Wall Street Journal

In Sidney Bechet's memoir, "Treat It Gentle," the late, great clarinetist's real grandfather is supplanted by Omar, a fictional figure based on a folk tale, all the better to convey stirring truths about the true origins of New Orleans jazz. Real and imagined intermingLe Pointedly in New Orleans, in all walks of life. Set in New Orleans, David Simon's fictional HBO series "Treme," now in its third season, picked up three months after the floods that resulted from the levee failures after Hurricane Katrina. Culture, which in New Orleans means a tight braid of music, cuisine, dance, visual art, and street life, is the primary focus of the series, as indeed it was and is the defining element of the city's recovery and renewed identity.

These 90-minute conversations, led by writer Larry Blumenfeld, who has written extensively about New Orleans since the flood, will use the third season of the HBO series to frame a wide-ranging consideration of jazz culture in New Orleans and its role in continued recovery. Excerpts from the show will be screened, and special guests-musicians, participants in the series, and scholars-will join in the discussion.

Tremé at 200: October marked the bicentennial of Tremé, the New Orleans neighborhood from which Simon's series derives its name and among this country's oldest African American urban communities. Guest Davis Rogan (the basis for Treme's Davis McAlary, and a Tremé resident) will help consider both legacy and current events in Tremé.
Larry Blumenfeld writes about music and culture for The Wall Street Journal, Village Voice and many other publications, is editor-at-large of Jazziz magazine, and blogs at: http://blogs.artinfo.com/blunotes/ He is a former Katrina Media Fellow with the Open Society Institute, researching cultural recovery in New Orleans, and the winner of the 2012 Jazz Journalists Association Helen Dance-Robert Palmer Award for Writing.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Jazz at The Players
7:00pm
Location: The Players
(16 Gramercy Park South)
$20 | For more information: 212-475-6116
Wayne Escoffery - Tenor and Soprano Saxophones
Danny Grissett - Piano
Ugonna Okegwo - Bass
Mike Clark – Drums

Since moving to New York City in 2000, Grammy Award winning tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery has become one of the Jazz world's most talented rising stars and in-demand sidemen. At only 37 he has recorded seven CDs as a leader and been on numerous recordings as a sideman. Wayne began his professional New York career touring and recording with The Eric Reed Septet. In 2001 he became a steady member of the Mingus Big Band/Orchestra/Dynasty, The Lonnie Plaxico Group, and Abdulah Ibrahim's Akaya. Then in 2004 Grammy award winning producer, arranger and trumpeter Don Sickler asked Wayne to be a part of Ben Riley's Monk legacy Septet (an innovative piano-less group dedicated to carrying on the legacy of jazz great Thelonious Monk).

At this time Wayne was also touring with Jazz At Lincoln Center's Music of the Masters consisting of two groups of musicians hand picked by Wynton Marsalis.

In 2006 Wayne secured one of the most coveted gigs in jazz: a frontline position in Tom Harrell's working quintet. In addition to being a part of some of the last true "apprenticeship" opportunities of our era, he has delivered six studio dates as a leader. His first CD for Savant called Veneration (released in March of 2007) was recorded live at Smoke Jazz Club in NYC and features Joe Locke on vibes, Hans Glawichnig on bass, and Lewis Nash on drums. His most recent recording "The Only Son of One" on Sunnyside Records is Escoffery's first recording of all original music and features his new two keyboard quintet with pianist Orrin Evans, MiLes Davis veteran keyboardist Adam Holzman, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Jason Brown.

Despite his musical talent Wayne (born on February 23rd 1975 in London, England) grew up in a relatively non-musical household. In 1983, he and his mother moved to the United States eventually settling in New Haven, Connecticut in 1986. Wayne always enjoyed singing whatever music he heard but it wasn't until his relocation to New Haven that his formal music education began. At age eleven Wayne joined The New Haven Trinity Boys Choir, an internationally known Boys Choir that toured and recorded annually. At this time he also began taking private saxophone lessons and playing the tenor saxophone in school bands.

(Jackie) McLean gave Wayne a full scholarship to attend The Hartt School, where he graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor's degree in Jazz Performance, and became known as one of McLean's prize pupils. McLean gave Wayne a full scholarship to attend The Hartt School, where he graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor's degree in Jazz Performance, and became known as one of McLean's prize pupils. While at Hartt, Wayne played with such jazz greats as Curtis Fuller, Eddie Henderson. By the time he was sixteen he left the Choir and began a more intensive study of the saxophone, attending The Jazz Mobile in New York City, The Neighborhood Music School and The Educational Center for the Arts, both in New Haven. During his senior year in high School, he attended the Artist's Collective in Hartford, Ct. It was there that he met Jackie McLean, the world-renowned alto saxophonist and founder of both The Artist's Collective and the jazz program at The Hartt School.

In May 1999, Wayne graduated with a Masters degree from The New England Conservatory moving to NYC in 2000. Since then, he has performed with countless internationally respected musicians and has become known for his beautiful sound, impressive technique and versatility. J. Robert Bragonier of All About Jazz Magazine writes, "This is a talented youngster capable of long, flowing lines, noteworthy creativity, and a broad range of expressiveness." When commenting on Jackie McLean's influence on Escoffery, he writes ..."the latter's influence is apparent in his knowledge of jazz history, lean, angular harmonies, and muscular tone." As well as performing with his new quintet, Wayne Escoffery currently performs locally and tours internationally with Ben Riley's Quartet, The Mingus Big Band/Orchestra/Dynasty, Ron Carter's Great Big Band vocalist Carolyn Leonhart, and The Tom Harrell Quintet where he also acts as co-producer having co-produced Harrell's last four releases: Prana Dance, Roman Nights, The Time of the Sun and No. 5. The vast array of contributions Wayne has made to the Jazz world in such a short time leads seasoned industry professionals like Niel Tesser to write "Pay special attention to tenor man Wayne Escoffery, whose rapid development - from album to album (and seemingly solo to solo) - has given us a jazz hero for the coming decade."

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Harlem Speaks
Ted Nash, Saxophonist
6:30 – 8:30pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300

Grammy-nominated artist Ted Nash enjoys an extraordinary career as a performer, conductor, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Los Angeles, multi-instrumentalist Nash's interest in music started at an early age. He was exposed to music and encouraged by his father, trombonist Dick Nash, and uncle, reedman Ted Nash - both well-known studio and jazz musicians. Nash blossomed early, a "young lion" before the term became marketing vernacular. One of Nash's most important associations is with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, as well as the adventurous Jazz Composers Collective. Nash's recordings have appeared on many national "best-of" lists including The New Yorker, The New York Times, Village Voice, The Boston Globe, and New York Newsday.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Saturday Panels
Hearing Treme – A New Orleans Jam
12:00 – 4:00pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300

Come join us for an afternoon filled will music and reminiscence about the treasure that is New Orleans. Look for details in our weekly updates and on our website.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Jazz for Curious Listeners
Tuning into Treme
In The Tradition?
7:00 – 8:30pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
With Larry Blumenfeld, The Wall Street Journal

In Sidney Bechet's memoir, "Treat It Gentle," the late, great clarinetist's real grandfather is supplanted by Omar, a fictional figure based on a folk tale, all the better to convey stirring truths about the true origins of New Orleans jazz. Real and imagined intermingLe Pointedly in New Orleans, in all walks of life. Set in New Orleans, David Simon's fictional HBO series "Treme," now in its third season, picked up three months after the floods that resulted from the levee failures after Hurricane Katrina. Culture, which in New Orleans means a tight braid of music, cuisine, dance, visual art, and street life, is the primary focus of the series, as indeed it was and is the defining element of the city's recovery and renewed identity.

These 90-minute conversations, led by writer Larry Blumenfeld, who has written extensively about New Orleans since the flood, will use the third season of the HBO series to frame a wide-ranging consideration of jazz culture in New Orleans and its role in continued recovery. Excerpts from the show will be screened, and special guests-musicians, participants in the series, and scholars-will join in the discussion.

In The Tradition? New Orleans is a city in which traditional and modern jazz do not easily intermingle. This tension is explored in the storylines of a few Treme characters, most notably trumpeter Delmond Lambreaux and trombonist Antoine Batiste.

Larry Blumenfeld writes about music and culture for The Wall Street Journal, Village Voice and many other publications, is editor-at-large of Jazziz magazine, and blogs at: http://blogs.artinfo.com/blunotes/ He is a former Katrina Media Fellow with the Open Society Institute, researching cultural recovery in New Orleans, and the winner of the 2012 Jazz Journalists Association Helen Dance-Robert Palmer Award for Writing.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Jazz for Curious Listeners
Tuning into Treme
Do You Know What It Means?
7:00 – 8:30pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
With Larry Blumenfeld, The Wall Street Journal

In Sidney Bechet's memoir, "Treat It Gentle," the late, great clarinetist's real grandfather is supplanted by Omar, a fictional figure based on a folk tale, all the better to convey stirring truths about the true origins of New Orleans jazz. Real and imagined intermingLe Pointedly in New Orleans, in all walks of life. Set in New Orleans, David Simon's fictional HBO series "Treme," now in its third season, picked up three months after the floods that resulted from the levee failures after Hurricane Katrina. Culture, which in New Orleans means a tight braid of music, cuisine, dance, visual art, and street life, is the primary focus of the series, as indeed it was and is the defining element of the city's recovery and renewed identity.

These 90-minute conversations, led by writer Larry Blumenfeld, who has written extensively about New Orleans since the flood, will use the third season of the HBO series to frame a wide-ranging consideration of jazz culture in New Orleans and its role in continued recovery. Excerpts from the show will be screened, and special guests-musicians, participants in the series, and scholars-will join in the discussion.

Do You Know What It Means? What will New Orleans sound like, look like, and stand for in the future? What has it meant in the past? We'll look at how the characters envision a "new" New Orleans in the HBO series and how that identity is playing out in real life.

Larry Blumenfeld writes about music and culture for The Wall Street Journal, Village Voice and many other publications, is editor-at-large of Jazziz magazine, and blogs at: http://blogs.artinfo.com/blunotes. He is a former Katrina Media Fellow with the Open Society Institute, researching cultural recovery in New Orleans, and the winner of the 2012 Jazz Journalists Association Helen Dance-Robert Palmer Award for Writing.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Jazz Is: Now! * note new location
Hosted by Jonathan Batiste and the STAY HUMAN band
7:00 – 8:30pm
Location: Metropolitan Community United Methodist Church,
NE Corner of 126th Street and Madison Avenue, enter on 126th
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300

Jazz Is: Now has evolved into a tremendously successful and totally original program headed by NJMH Associate Artistic Director Jonathan Batiste. Audience members participate throughout the evening, playing/singing/dancing/organizing the music (yes!), and having their endorphin levels raised at the same time. If this sounds too good to be true, then make sure you join us for this rousing celebration of the joy of music.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Harlem Speaks
Bill Kirchner, Saxophonist
6:30 – 8:30pm
Location: NJMH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300

Bill Kirchner is an award-winning saxophonist, composer-arranger, bandleader, record and radio producer, jazz historian, and educator. His jazz ensemble, the Bill Kirchner Nonet, has appeared at major festivals, concerts, and nightclubs since 1980. His latest CDs (on A-Records) are Trance Dance with the Nonet and Some Enchanted Evening, a collection of duets with pianists Michael Abene, Marc Copland, and Harold Danko. The Nonet also has recorded two albums for Sea Breeze Records:What It Is To Be Frank and Infant Eyes. For over a decade, Kirchner has been closely involved with jazz Recordings-as a producer and liner-notes annotator-for Blue Note, BMG, Challenge, Columbia, Denon/Savoy, Fantasy, GRP, Mosaic, the Smithsonian Collection of Recordings, Verve, and Warner Bros. He received a 1995 NAIRD.

Indie award for "Best Liner Notes" for the Smithsonian's Big Band Renaissance: The Evolution of the Jazz Orchestra and a 1996 Grammy for "Best Album Notes" for MiLes Davis and Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings. He teaches advanced jazz composition, jazz history, and score analysis at the New School University in New York City. He also teaches graduate courses at New Jersey City University and a Duke Ellington course at Manhattan School of Music.