CRAIG HARRIS
TONGUES OF FIRE (in a harlem state of mind)
Friday, October 20–Saturday October 21, 2023, 7:30PM Harlem Stage Gatehouse Address: 150 Convent Avenue at West 135 Street, New York, NY 10031 Phone: 212.281.9240 ext. 19 | Website: www.harlemstage.org
@harlemstage 1
@myharlemstage
ABOUT THE EVENT Following the success of his Harlem Stage commissioned work Nocturnal Nubian Ball for Conscientious Ballers and Cultural Shot Callers in 2021, trombonist, composer, and sonic shaman Craig Harris presents TONGUES OF FIRE (in a harlem state of mind), a concert of music, poetry, and movement. Harris explores the evolution of the Harlem community from the mid-seventies to the present day, gathering an all-star intergenerational cast spanning three generations of Harlem-based artists including Henry Jeria, Calvin Jones, Damon DueWhite, Carla Cook, Sam McKelton, Du’Bois A’Keen, Milton Suggs, Sista Zock, Ngoma Hill, Kayden Hern, Luther Isler aka Anubis, and Naomi Extra. This program is supported, in part, by, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional support is provided by the Diana King Memorial Fund presented by the Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation.
PERSONNEL Craig Harris Composer/Trombone/ Didgeridoo Henry Jeria Keyboard Calvin Jones Bass Damon DueWhite Drums Carla Cook Vocals Sam McKelton Vocals Milton Suggs Vocals Du’Bois A’Keen Vocals Sista Zock Vocals/Poet Ngoma Hill Poet Luther Isler aka Anubis Poet Naomi Extra Poet Kayden Hern Poet
Cover photo of Craig Harris by Ozier Mohammed 2
ARTISTIC STATEMENT FROM CRAIG HARRIS On my mind, the people always on my mind The spirit, always on my mind Got Harlem on my mind The good times we laughed together The bad times, the storms we’ve weathered Now’s the time blues people on my mind It’s a nation within a nation A true Bluocracy Innovations, new creations Integrations of the music, and the rhymes Life rhythms in all times, the brilliance of our minds will stand the test of time On my mind the changes I see won’t be kind Displacement, changing color line, Black Harlem on my mind On my mind, the music we play On my mind, the dances we dance On my mind, the beauty of our minds On my mind , the prayers we pray On my mind, the things we say Our innovative minds
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BIOGRAPHIES
CRAIG HARRIS
FOUNDER/ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
When Craig Harris exploded onto the jazz scene in 1976, he brought the entire history of the jazz trombone with him. From the growling gutbucket intensity of early New Orleans music through the refined, articulate improvisation of the modern era set forth by J.J. Johnson, and into the confrontational expressionism of the ’60s avant-garde, Craig handled the total vernacular the way a skilled orator utilizes the spoken word.
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He has performed with a veritable Who’s Who of progressive jazz’ most important figures – including Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, Sam Rivers, Abdullah Ibrahim, Jaki Byard, Muhal Richard Abrams, David Murray, Henry Threadgill, Lester Bowie, The WORLD Saxophone Quartet, The Roots, RAKIM and the list goes on and on – his own projects displayed both a unique sense of concept and a total command of the sweeping expanse of musical expression. And it’s those two qualities that have dominated Craig’s past 15 years of activity, bringing him far beyond the confines of the jazz world and into the sphere of multimedia and performance art as composer, performer, conceptualist, curator and artistic director. Projects like, Souls Within the Veil, composed to commemorate the centennial of W. E. B. Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk. Brown Butterfly, commissioned by Harlem Stage, was a multi-media work based on the movement of Muhamed Ali with video, dance, and music. God’s Trombones, based on James Weldon Johnson’s classic collection of poems that refigure inspirational sermons by itinerant Negro preachers.
CALVIN JONES BASS
Acoustic and electric bassist Calvin Jones was born in North Carolina. His recording resume numbers over 40 CD’s and he has toured and performed with Ray Anderson, Patti Austin, Don Braden, Cecil Brooks, Tom Brown, Alex Bugnon, Donald Byrd, Steve Coleman, Carla Cook, Ted Curson, Chico Freeman, Darrell Grant, Craig Harris, Jon Hendricks, Andrew Hill, Javon Jackson, Angela Johnson, Ronny Jordan, Eartha Kitt, Dave Koz, Les McCann, Greg Osby, Max Roach, Pharoah Sanders and James “Blood” Ulmer, Emeline Michel, Johannes Mössinger to name a few. Mr. Jones has performed on Broadway with Bring ‘N Da Noise, Bring ‘N Da Funk (including the first national tour), Aint Nothin’ But The Blues, All Shook Up and The Janice Joplin Show. Touring and performing has taken Mr. Jones to some 40 countries and 45 of the 50 U.S. states.
DAMON DUEWHITE BASS
Damon DueWhite (drums, percussion) a native of Twin Oaks, Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia suburb, learned to play the drums at the age of six from his father. At the age of fourteen, he was playing in local bands in the Philadelphia and the New York Tri-State area. Prior to embarking on his first tour with the vocalist Roberta Flack in 1982, DueWhite, attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. DueWhite has performed and/or recorded with Hugh Masekela, Oliver Lake, Regina Carter, Philip Harper, Rachelle Ferrell, Miriam Makeba, Harry Belafonte, Vanessa Rubin, Carla Cook, Craig Harris, Meshell Ndegeocello, Jonathan Butler, George Duke, Roberta Flack, Alex Bugnon, Vivian Reed, Jennifer Holliday, Joe, Joan Osborne, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Chuck Berry, 5
BIOGRAPHIES Vernon Reid, Nona Hendrix, Johnny Clyde Copland, Shemekia Copeland, Johnnie Johnson, Sarah Dash, Mick Taylor, Axelle Red and David Linx. He also performed in the first U.S. tour of the Tony Award winning Broadway musical Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk and also the national tour of the Tony Award-nominated blues revue It Ain’t Nothin’ but the Blues. His other work on Broadway includes the Tony Award winning musical The Color Purple and Holler If Ya Hear Me based on the music of Tupac Shakur, and the Tony nominated production of Motown: The Musical. His most recent work on Broadway was with the Tony Award winning show Hello Dolly.
CARLA COOK
VOCALS
Everything Carla Cook sings swings. There’s a reason for that: Cook has been influenced by the jazz vocal masters, but equally influenced by phenomenal instrumentalists, like Miles Davis, Wes Montgomery and The Crusaders. The Detroit native also finds inspiration in R&B, Motown, pop, gospel and country. In fact, she has put her unique phrasing on everything from Marvin Gaye’s Inner City Blues to Bobbie Gentry’s Ode to Billie Joe to Neil Young’s Heart of Gold. As a result, Cook has an improvisational style that’s steeped in the swing tradition yet eclectic, and brimming with fresh interpretations. “Although I’ve been influenced by all the masters, I’ve been maturing into my own sound, “says Cook. “Today, I sound exactly like me.” That sound is a warm contralto with a remarkably wide range of colors; known for her interpretive gifts, Cook can sing in a hefty, bluesy timbre, reach crystal clear high notes, then scat with sure-footed richness; and she does it all with an acute sense of rhythm and timing. As a result, says jazz critic John Murph of The Washington Post. “She has sass that enlivens her impeccable diction, and tremendous soul that lets her swagger with gutbucket finesse, but it’s all buttressed with sparkling optimism and innocence.” 6
SAM MCKELTON
VOCALS
Sam McKelton is singer, actor, writer, composer and arranger, producer, and educator who has had a long history in the arts performing on some of the biggest stages around the world, including the Olympia in Paris, the Hollywood Bowl, the Royal Danish Opera, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Washington, D.C.’s the Kennedy Center and in the Capitol Rotunda, at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland, and many others. In 1997, he met his writing and business partner, Christopher Jackson, and they established Honorific Entertainment©, an entertainment properties development firm based in New York City where he creates, writes and produces works for stage and commercial media. Their latest project, PORTER, written and developed for television, is an American saga that tells the untold stories of the lives of the mystical Pullman porters and their role in the making of post-civil war America.
MILTON SUGGS
VOCALS
Milton Suggs’ voice and approach to music are a reflection not only of his direct lineage, but of the many great voices in Black American Music and culture from the past century and beyond. A Chicago native, Suggs is firmly rooted in the blues and sports a rich baritone with the breadth and power reminiscent of Joe Williams. He is able to emote with the soulful intensity of singers like Donny Hathaway, and achieve a velvet palette suggestive of Nat King Cole. Milton possesses a unique ability to evoke emotion with a masterful sense of phrasing and dynamics. Repeatedly voted as a top 10 rising star male vocalist in Downbeat Magazine’s annual critc’s poll, the recognition of Milton’s talents have continued to grow throughout his years as a fixture in Jazz working with artists and bands such as the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Orrin Evans, Wycliffe Gordon, Ulysses 7
BIOGRAPHIES Owens, and Marquis Hill among others. Milton has also been consistent with his own efforts as a recording artist, producing four albums to date and continually developing new projects with new ensembles. A gifted composer, arranger, and lyricist, Milton’s music is both honest and inventive, drawing inspiration from a number of influences while also forging a singular identity. As a visionary artist, Suggs seeks to pave new roads within the vast traditions that were laid before him for it is the spirit, struggles, triumphs, and stories from the many generations that preceded him that make up the foundation upon which his own artistry stands.
DU’BOIS A’KEEN
VOCALS
Du’Bois A’Keen is a proud father and husband: an accomplished choreographer, producer, published author and filmmaker: a true renaissance spirit. He is the co-founder and creative director of A’KEEN BRAND; a modern creative agency and production company. As a Georgia native and now NYC based artist and businessman. A’Keen started his professional career primarily working as a dancer, singer and choreographer. As a dancer/ singer he has performed with Daniel Schynder, Karen Slack, Criag Harris, Alex Ketley, Carl Flink, Jawole Zollar and other notable artists and companies. His touring and performing career allowed him the opportunity to take some of the world’s most renowned stages, Lincoln center, the Apollo, the Kennedy Center, The Ford Theater and others. Eventually, he began to pivot and expand his work as Branding & Marketing Strategist/Consultant for companies like UBW Contemporary Dance Company, Vitae London, Nike and LadyLike Fashion and Beauty Brand; Later, transitioning him into the roles of Choreographer, Producer and Director for Film and Television.
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A’Keen’s choreographic and film work has been featured in The New York Times, Dance Magazine, and Opera Wire. He is an IFP Screen Forward Lab Fellow for the 2017 cohort. In 2018 he Co- produced, directed and performed for the award winning film anthology series CAMPFIRE POETRY MOVEMENT SERIES. He made his Operatic Debut, also in 2018, as the Choreographer and Guest Artist of Charlie Parker’s YardBird with the Arizona Opera. He is a 2018 NYTV Featured Artist, 2019 choreographer and producer for FOX NETWORK’s DANCE SQUAD and 2020 guest Choreographer for OPERA on TAP.
SISTA ZOCK (ZAKIYYAH MODESTE) VOCALS/POET
Harlem, NY resident and Mount Vernon, NY native Sista Zock, is a Renaissance Woman in the truest form. Her practice is rooted in Social Justice. Her Afro Futuristic genrebending sound pulls from artists like Nina Simone, Coltrane, and Billy Holiday and projects toward the future with original rhythmic poetry. Her song, You Should Know That, is being used on the Academy Awarding Winning Spike Lee’s Netflix series She’s Gotta Have It Season 2 as the official trailer and featured on Spotify’s She’s Gotta Have It playlist. Her first project, Zock Solid, Where the Stem Meets the Root, features Abiodun of The Last Poets. She is a writer, actress, dancer, and vocalist. She has worked alongside and shared the stage or screen with Omari Hardwick, Loretta Divine, Foetry, Bilal, Macy Gray, , Ben Verene, Gregory Porter, Erykah Badu, Amir Baraka, Doug E. Fresh, Stephen Baldwin and many others. Zock has musically collaborated with Abiodun of The Last Poets, Dennis Davis, and Chip Crawford and appears on Lakecia Benjamin’s albums. She is currently working on her sophomore project to be released in 2024. Sista Zock...” has the ability to inspire individuals from all different backgrounds” -The Mount Vernon Enquirer.
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BIOGRAPHIES NGOMA HILL POET
A former member of Amiri Baraka’s “The Spirit House Movers and Players” and the contemporary freedom song duo Serious Bizness, Ngoma weaves poetry and song that raises contradictions and searches for a solution to a just and peaceful world. Ngoma was the Prop Slam Winner of the 1997 National Poetry Slam Competition in Middletown,CT and his been published in African Voices Magazine, Long Shot Anthology, The Underwood Review, Signifyin’ Harlem Review, Bum Rush the Page/Def Poetry Jam Anthology, Poems on the Road to Peace Volume 1, 2, and 3 (Yale Press) and Let Loose On the World by Amiri Baraka at 75. He was featured in the P.B.S spoken word documentary The Apropoets with Allen Ginsburg Ngoma was selected as the Beat Poet Laureate of New York for 2017 by The National Beat Poetry Poetry Foundation. His latest book is I Didn’t Come Here to Tap Dance (A Poetic Memoir).
LUTHER ISLER AKA ANUBIS POET
The Artist Anubis is a spoken word artist, published author, cultural curator, and community cultivator. Anubis is the founder and executive director of Harlem Bomb Shelter, Harlem’s premier performancepoetry and literary arts organization providing education and empowerment through expression and entertainment with open mics, showcases, workshops, mentorship, teen poetry slams, and more for over 11 years. Anubis produced and directed an original poetry play Off-Broadway and published his first poetry anthology entitled, My People Burn and Other Visions. Anubis has joined the historic Harlem Writers Guild and continues to use spoken word, as a curator and as an artist, to speak life into the world.
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NAOMI EXTRA POET
Naomi Extra is a poet, writer, cartoonist, and scholar. She received her PhD in American Studies from Rutgers University, Newark. In both her creative and scholarly work, she explore the themes of agency and pleasure in the lives of black women and girls. Her current research focuses on black feminist engagement with sex-positivity through the work of three under-explored writers of the 1970s and 80s. Her public facing work has appeared in place like Boston Review, Zora, Glamour, Lit Hub, The Lily, The New Yorker, and elsewhere. She is the recipient of numerous fellowships from institutions like the Mellon Foundation, Cave Canem Foundation, American Council of Learned Societies, and the African American Intellectual History Society. Her chapbook, Ratchet Supreme, was selected by poet Tiana Clark as the winner of the 2019 BOAAT Chapbook Prize. Currently, she is a Lecturer of Jazz and Poetry at Rutgers University, Newark where Sheteach jazz poetry through the lens of race, class, gender and sexuality. She is also the founder of the Black Women in Jazz Oral History project, a projected that seeks to contribute to the development of a new wave of jazz poetry and scholarship that centers black women. When not writing or in the classroom, she performs across New York City as one half of the Get Free Collective, a band formed by herself and acclaimed drummer, Jerome Jennings.
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BIOGRAPHIES KAYDEN HERN POET
Kayden Jason Hern was born November 03, 2013, in Orlando, FL. He is currently an A/B Honor student at Kipp Star Harlem College Prep Elementary School. Kayden has multiple interests which include writing poetry, drawing, sports, Science, and a passionate love of music, which began at an early age. He has assisted his uncle who produced music for many renowned artists with featured beats. He is also a green belt student at The New Breed Life Arts Dojo in Harlem with Lamarr Kushinda Thornton. Even at his early age of seven, he has developed an extraordinarily strong work ethic. He has worked both at Big Mike’s Ice Cream Parlor and with Raven the Cake Man, where he swept floors, made labels, and assisted with making cakes. He wanted to get a job so he could “contribute his $10 share a month to help his grandmother pay rent.”
HENRY JERIA KEYBOARD
Henry Jeria is a keyboardist, pianist, producer, educator, and musical director living in New York City.
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Photo of EVIDENCE performing Upside Down by Rose Eichenbaum
OUR SUPPORTERS
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in Partnership with the City Council. Harlem Stage’s Programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. 13
CALENDAR
BUY TICKETS TO 4 OR MORE PERFORMANCES AND GET 40% OFF!
SEPTEMBER 14, 2023
Use discount code HS40 at checkout.
SEPTEMBER 22, 2023
Tickets must be purchased in a single transaction. Excludes tickets to April 27 Benefit Concert and June 3 Annual Gala.
ON & ON: JOSÉ JAMES SINGS BADU UPTOWN NIGHTS LATIN MUSIC SERIES PABLO MAYOR’S FOLKLORE URBANO ORCHESTRA OCTOBER 13 – 14, 2023
E-MOVES RONALD K. BROWN/ EVIDENCE
OCTOBER 20 – 21, 2023
CRAIG HARRIS TONGUES OF FIRE (in a harlem state of mind)
DECEMBER 1, 2023
UPTOWN NIGHTS LATIN MUSIC SERIES YASSER TEJEDA & DJ SABINE BLAIZIN (OYASOUND) DECEMBER 9, 2023
WATERWORKS EMERGING ARTISTS SHOWCASE FEATURING SHANTELLE OCTOBER 27, 2023 COURVOISIER JACKSON, UPTOWN NIGHTS HANNAH LEMMONS AKA LATIN MUSIC SERIES LEMMONS, BOBBY MORGAN, DAFNIS PRIETO MARY PRESCOTT & FEATURING LUCIANA SOUZA KALÍ RODRÍGUEZ-PEÑA CANTAR JANUARY 26, 2024
NOVEMBER 3, 2023
IN THE COURT OF THE CONQUEROR BY GEORGE EMILIO SANCHEZ IN COLLABORATION WITH VISUAL ARTIST PATTY ORTIZ NOVEMBER 10, 2023
UPTOWN NIGHTS LATIN MUSIC SERIES + CARNEGIE HALL CITYWIDE FLOR DE TOLOACHE
UPTOWN NIGHTS IAN ISIAH + KIMBERLY NICHOLE
FEBRUARY 23, 2024 UPTOWN NIGHTS AN EVENING OF CHAMBER MUSIC PRESENTED WITH SUGAR HILL SALON & CONCERT ARTISTS GUILD
*Note: All presentations subject to change as COVID-19 conditions evolve.
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MARCH 1 – 2, 2024
ETERNAL SPIRIT: VIJAY IYER & FRIENDS CELEBRATE THE MUSIC OF ANDREW HILL MARCH 22 – 23, 2024
STEW HIGH SUBSTITUTE FOR THE DREAD LECTURER: BARAKA JONES IN DUB MARCH 29 – 30, 2024
WATERWORKS ESTABLISHED ARTIST COMMISSION AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE banyan seed APRIL 19 – 20, 2024
APRIL 27, 2024
PIANOS FOR DUKE REIMAGINED: FEATURING JASON MORAN, ABDULLAH IBRAHIM & FRIENDS BENEFIT CONCERT MAY 3 – 4, 2024
WATERWORKS ESTABLISHED ARTIST COMMISSION TAMAR-KALI BLACK DAMASK CARL HANCOCK RUX, LIBRETTO MAY 17 – 18, 2024
E-MOVES nora chipaumire ShebeenDUB
E-MOVES BILL T. JONES/ ARNIE ZANE COMPANY
JUNE 3, 2024
APRIL 26, 2024
JUNE 14 – 15, 2024
PIANOS FOR DUKE REIMAGINED: FEATURING JASON MORAN, ABDULLAH IBRAHIM & FRIENDS
HARLEM STAGE 40TH ANNIVERSARY GALA E-MOVES CAMILLE A. BROWN & GUESTS: BLACK JOY FEATURING WORKS BY CAMILLE A. BROWN, CHLOE DAVIS, JUEL D. LANE, MAYTE NATALIO, RICKEY TRIPP & MALEEK WASHINGTON
SCAN THIS CODE TO LEARN MORE & GET TICKETS. Lead support for Harlem Stage’s 40th Anniversary Season is provided by the Mellon Foundation. 15
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ABOUT HARLEM STAGE Harlem Stage is the performing arts center that bridges Harlem’s cultural legacy to contemporary artists of color and dares to provide the artistic freedom that gives birth to new ideas. For 40 years our singular mission has been to perpetuate and celebrate the unique and diverse artistic legacy of Harlem and the indelible impression it has made on American culture. We provide opportunity, commissioning, and support for artists of color, make performances easily accessible to all audiences, and introduce children to the rich diversity, excitement, and inspiration of the performing arts. We fulfill our mission through commissioning, incubating, and presenting innovative and vital work that responds to the historical and contemporary conditions that shape our lives and the communities we serve.
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Board of Directors Courtney F. Lee-Mitchell, President Jamie Cannon, Vice President Michael Young, Secretary Mark Thomas, Treasurer Angela Glover Blackwell Jenna Bond Jamila Ponton Bragg
JoAnn K. Chase LaChanze Patricia Cruz Hugh Dancy and Claire Danes Jenette Kahn Rebecca Robertson Tamara Tunie
Staff MANAGEMENT Eric Oberstein, Managing Director
OPERATIONS Rodney Bissessar, Director of Operations Lamont Askins, Operations Associate Acey Anderson Sr., Maintenance
DEVELOPMENT Shamar Hill, Director of Development Shanté Skyers, Associate Director of Development Julianna Friedman, Development Manager
FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION NCheng LLC, Accountants/Advisors Jake Lee, Partner Aaron Lam, Supervising Senior Accountant
PROGRAMMING Carl Hancock Rux, Associate Artistic Director/ Curator-in-Residence Sarah McCaffery, Programming Manager and Associate Curator Maurice Ivy, Programming Associate
CONSULTANTS Aon/Albert G. Ruben Company (NY)/ Claudia Kaufman, Insurance Arts Education Consultants: Sobha Kavanakudiyil, Sierra Ray & Wendy Rojas Blake Zidell & Associates, Public Relations Briguel, Digital Video Services DAS, IT Consultant Derrick Saint Pierre/Snugg Studios, Digital Video Services Intrepid Digital, SEO Services JCA, Inc.: Database Consulting Jess Medenbach, Digital Video Services LCM/247, Digital Video Services Lutz & Carr/Chris Bellando, Accountants Madison Consulting Group, Matthew Laurence Manchester Benefits, Greg Martin Marc Millman, Photography Robyn L. Stein, Rl Stein Group, Development Consultant Charles Whelan, The Whelan Group Incorporated
Patricia Cruz, Artistic Director & CEO
MARKETING Deirdre May, Senior Director of Digital Content and Marketing Andre Padayhag, Marketing Manager and Graphic Designer EDUCATION Jordan Carter, Education & Community Engagement Manager PRODUCTION Amanda K. Ringger, Director of Production Randi Rivera, Production Coordinator Clarence Taylor, Lighting Op Orlando Alvarado, Audio Engineer Gabriel Fequiere Jr., Video Op David Barrett, Julio Collado, Deck, Lighting, & Audio Crew
USHERS Nobar De leon, Toma Carthens, Andy Garcia, Robert Gibbins, Brenda Hernandez, Miriam Hernandez