Imani Uzuri & Joseph C. Phillips, Jr. with Numinous Premiere New Compositions at Kaufman Music Center's Ecstatic Music Festival

The "stunning" (New York Magazine) vocalist and globally-inspired composer Imani Uzuri teams up with composer and Numinous ensemble founder Joseph C. Phillips, Jr. to perform new works commissioned for this year's Ecstatic Music Festival,presented by Kaufman Music Center at Merkin Concert Hall. Uzuri will premiere an original multi-voice and multi-instrument musical suite, Placeless, performed by Imani Uzuri, Numinous, and featuring very special guests including harpist Brandee A. Younger. The compositions explore the expansive themes of home and "place" inspired by the Psalms, the writings of Sufi mystic and poet Rumi and the folk hymnody African-American Spirituals.

"With a voice that would sound equally at home on an opera stage or a disco 12-inch," writes Carol Cooper of the Village Voice, "Imani Uzuri is a constant surprise...seamlessly combining jazz, classical, country and blues motifs into highly personalized compositions." Imani's new acclaimed album, The Gypsy Diaries, draws on her rural Southern roots as well as influences ranging from Sufi devotionals to Romany laments. "Uzuri never fails to mesmerize audiences with her narcotic blend of...ethereal sounds" (Time Out New York). Ms. Uzuri also recently performed in John Cage's "Apartment House 1776" at the Avant Music Festival and her "gorgeously chesty ruminations" were singled out by music critic Steve Smith for The New York Times.

Imani exclaims "I am thrilled to present my first orchestral composition Placeless for this year's Ecstatic Music Festival. Composing for and performing with an orchestra is a creative dream come true and I am very thankful to Kaufman Music Center for commissioning this new work! Collaborating with Joseph C. Phillips and Numinous has been enlightening and inspiring! I can't wait to share my musical offerings!"

Joseph C. Phillips's genre-defying "mixed music" draws inspiration from contemporary classical, jazz, world and popular music, and has been called "stylish and provocative (All Music Guide), "luminous...shimmering" (One Final Note) and praised for inspiring a "sense of wonder" (Audiophile Audition). Numinous will also premiere Changing Same, a six-movement composition by Phillips that musically reflects a liberating pursuit of individuality where contemporary classical music melds with Prince, Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, Chuck Brown, Barry White and Gamble and Huff to create an evocative, intimate and affirming musical and cultural "memory book." The composition will be recorded in the spring of 2013, with plans to be released on New Amsterdam Records. In addition, Numinous will perform a short new collaborative five-movement composition by Uzuri and Phillips inspired by universal themes of awe and humility.

Buy Tix: $25.00/$15.00 (Members): http://www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org/mch/event/ecstatic-music-festival-joe-phillips-imani-uzuri

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