CAP UCLA's Season Continues With Two Nights Of Cross-Genre Music At The Nimoy

UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA) continues its 2023-2024 season in January with two nights of cross-genre musical programs at The Nimoy including Sammy Miller and The Congregation on Friday, January 19 followed by a collaboration between Senegalese kora player Ablaye Cissoko and French accordionist-composer Cyrille Brotto on Saturday, January 20.

Juilliard-trained and Grammy-nominated drummer Sammy Miller leads the six-piece group The Congregation on Friday, January 19 at 8 pm for an evening of joyful jazz performed with infectious theatricality. Freely mixing vocal and instrumental tracks, often sharing the lead melody between the two, this New York City-based collective is made up of adventurous and charismatic superstar musicians who are conservatory-trained but who have not lost their childlike wonder and awe for playing music. Artists include band leader Sammy Miller (drums and vocals), Ben Flocks (tenor sax), Molly Miller (guitar), Alphonso Horne (trumpet), Corbin Jones (bass and tuba) and David Linard (piano). Since the band's inception in 2014, The Congregation has played nonstop all over the world to critical acclaim including Lincoln Center, The White House and the Newport Jazz Festival. 

On Saturday, January 20 at 8 pm Senegalese kora player Ablaye Cissoko shares The Nimoy stage in striking collaboration with French diatonic accordions player Cyrille Brotto. Together the two artists create an exotic, yet strikingly modern sound that melds the deep traditions of their very different musical cultures and showcases their unique artistry. Cissoko is one of his generation's foremost kora players — a traditional stringed instrument used extensively in West Africa that combines the features of the lute and harp. An avid cross-cultural collaborator, he incorporates Mandinka griot traditions with contemporary musical creation, performing with artists across genres, including world music, jazz, classical and baroque. Brotto is an accomplished diatonique accordionist and multi-instrumentalist, with a distinguished performing and educational profile across Europe. 

The CAP UCLA 2023 winter programs continue on Saturday, January 27 with Terri Lyne Carrington: New Standards and Thursday, February 1 with Samora Pinderhughes and Friends: The Healing Project.

Tickets are available now at cap.ucla.edu, by phone 310-825-2101 or at the UCLA Central Ticket Office. 

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