Harlem School of the Arts and Jazzmobile Join Forces for their 50th Anniversaries

Harlem School of the Arts (HSA) and Jazzmobile will join forces to present an inaugural event on Monday, May 4, 2015 at 10:00am: "TURN UP ...This is Jazz!," a dynamic jazz music lecture demonstration and performance for invited kindergarten and middle school classes from around New York City. These schools are served by Jazzmobile and HSA's arts education programs which combined reach over 3,500 school children each year.

"TURN UP ....This is Jazz!" presentation will feature musicians, students and faculty from the Harlem School of the Arts as well as Jazzmobile professional artists. This year's special concert guided by HSA Jazz and Contemporary Studies Chair D.D. Jackson features the youngest Hammond artist in their 80 year history Matthew Whitaker joined by other talented members of the HSA Advanced Jazz Combo, and HSA alumnus and former Jazzmobile Emerging Jazz Artist Solomon Hicks! Visiting School Classes will enjoy the music in an interactive exploration of the role of improvisation, group communication, the individual instruments, and some of the history of this unique American art form we call Jazz!"

Artists/Performers:
Curator/Host: D.D. Jackson

The Band:
Matthew Whitaker & Friends, with:
Matthew Whitaker, Piano/Organ
Gabrielle Garo, Flute/Alto Sax
Dominique Gervais, Drums
"King" Solomon Hicks, Guitar

Both institutions are celebrating their 50th Anniversary. Jazzmobile continues its 50th anniversary celebration May 4-9 at the Fifth Annual Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival, a week-long, multi-venue partnership with the Apollo Theater, Harlem Stage and Jazzmobile, in collaboration with Columbia University. The festival revives the spirits and sounds of Harlem's historic jazz venues with swinging live performances, jam sessions, informative panel discussions, dance parties and more.

"This inaugural partnership with Jazzmobile and Harlem School of the Arts we hope will spark other iconic Harlem institutions to collaborate. These partnerships not only benefit the community, but the children we serve by creating rich educational experiences for our children to achieve their dreams." Yvette L. Campbell, President & CEO, Harlem School of the Arts

For Press Inquiries:
Byron McCray
bmccray(AT)hsanyc.org | 212.926.4100 ext 335
Thysha M. Shabazz, Shabazz Communications
thysha(AT)shabazzcommunications.com | 757.450.3655

"We are very pleased to be joining with Harlem School of the Arts by having them as a program collaborator during the Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival. It is especially meaningful during our 50th Anniversary. Dr. Billy Taylor, our co-founder was the pioneer in jazz education as an art form both for the young performer and students interested in learning about the music. I know Billy would be proud and we see this as the beginning, as we plan future collaborative programs with HSA!" - Robin Bell Stevens, Director, Jazzmobile

Harlem School of the Arts' Advanced Jazz Combo will also be featured at the legendary Jazz Club, Minton's on May 10, 2015 for their Jazz Brunch Series.

Harlem School of the Arts will officially kick off its 50th Anniversary year at its Fall 2015 Benefit being held Monday, October 5, 2015 at The Plaza this year, co-chaired by Janice Savin Williams & Christopher J. Williams and Emily & Stephen Usher. Past honorees have included Herb Alpert, The Ford Foundation, and Gina Torres & Laurence J. Fishburne III.

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About Jazzmobile
Jazzmobile, Inc., America's oldest not-for-profit arts organization created with a mission just for jazz, is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. Founded in 1964 by NEA Jazz Master Dr. Billy Taylor and Daphne Arnstein, Jazzmobile's mission is to present, preserve, promote, and propagate Jazz - "America's classical music." Jazzmobile pioneered the concept of Jazz lecture-demonstrations and mobile Jazz performances that are presented across New York City, and continues to serve as a model for other Jazz music presentation-focused organizations around the country. Jazzmobile reaches approximately 50,000 people in New York City each year, consisting of multi-ethnic audiences of all ages and socio-economic levels, including the disabled. Jazzmobile has presented jazz legends and masters including: Duke Ellington, Wynton Marsalis, Gerri Allen, Wycliffe Gordon; and emerging performers: Christian Sands, Charenee Wade, and Solomon Hicks. These artists are from a very long impressive list of "Jazzmobile Artists." To reach the largest possible audience, all of Jazzmobile's programming is presented at no or low cost to participants. Other outreach includes instructional workshops and panels and symposia that provide a historical framework for Jazz and its significance to American culture. For more information, visit http://www.jazzmobile.org.

About Harlem School of the Arts
For 50 years, the Harlem School of the Arts has transformed the lives of tens of thousands of young people through world-class training in the arts. HSA's mission empowers young people mainly from under-served communities in Harlem to find and develop the artist and citizen within themselves. HSA's environment teaches discipline, stimulates creativity, builds self-confidence and adds a dimension of beauty to the lives of each student. HSA annually serves nearly 4,000 children through on-site instruction and its vital partnerships with NYC schools. HSA stands apart among the premier arts institutions in New York City, as the sole provider of quality arts education in 4 distinct disciplines - music, dance, theatre, and visual arts. HSA boasts an impressive alumni base of Tony-award winning actors, celebrated operatic voices and jazz musicians, visual artists, dancers, and inspired citizens who cite HSA as the platform from which they launched careers in law, business and other professional fields. For more information about Harlem School of the Arts, visit http://www.hsanyc.org.

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