Harlem Stage Presents IMANI UZURI'S MOSAIC Sacred Music Extravaganza

Featuring a multicultural mélange of contemporary women artists, Imani Uzuri's MOSAIC redefines and expands what we call sacred music. This performance invokes exemplary musical talent from across the globe with an array of healing music from Ragas to Rock. MOSAIC is every bit as revolutionary as it is spiritual.

Featuring Special Guests DJ Rekha, vocalists Morley, Haale, Soni Morena, Ata Papa, M. Nahadr, Arooj Aftab and pianist Courtney Bryan, accompanied by the Mosaic Sacred Orchestra.

Mosaic Sacred Orchestra:

Marika Hughes - cello

Tarrah Reynolds - violin

Christian Ver Halen - acoustic guitar

Neel Murgai - sitar, daf and percussion

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Imani Uzuri

"Put your hand where it hurts and this sound may heal you...there is no way you can hear such music and not be transformed." -Greg Tate (excerpt from liner notes for Her Holy Water:A Black Girl's Rock Opera)

Recently featured in the New York Times, innovative vocalist/composer/performer Imani Uzuri is an eclectic artist who creates, performs and collaborates across various genres including concerts, recordings, experimental theater, performance art and sound installations. 

Provocative and dynamic, Uzuri is often compared to artists like Grace Jones and Nina Simone as one who defies category. She has performed at numerous international venues/festivals from Morocco to Moscow, from Lincoln Center to The United Nations including a recent special solo performance at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). 

Her nomadic world travels and her interest in sacred music, world culture, and experimentation are reflected in her various projects including collaborations with artists as diverse as Herbie Hancock, Wangechi Mutu, King Britt, Sanford Biggers, Vijay Iyer and John Legend. She is featured in a cameo on Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek's (Reflection Eternal) anthem "Ballad of the Black Gold" which they performed Live on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with the Roots. Other television credits include David Letterman and she was recently featured in her own BET Black History Month campaign spot walking down 125th singing in front of the legendary Apollo. Uzuri's critically acclaimed solo debut album Her Holy Water: A Black Girl's Rock Opera was heralded as "one of the best of the decade" by BoldAsLove.us. Her forthcoming new album The Gypsy Diaries, which features vocals, violin, cello, acoustic guitar, sitar and daf, is a lyrical and spiritual soundscape.

www.imaniuzuri.com

"The temple of God is within...I was in the temple of God...in a Holy place because of the music." ~Alice Coltrane

BEHIND THE SCENES:

Imani is an artist of color who is pushing the boundaries of art, exploring new territory and creating work of depth that adds to the engagement and interaction between artists and audiences. She was given a Fund for New Work grant a few years ago for her rock opera Her Holy Water. Although she has graced our stages several times with other artists, this marks her first time performing her own show at Harlem Stage.