Friday, August 13, 2021, 7PM Marcus Garvey Park Harlem Stage Gatehouse 150 Convent Avenue at West 135 Street, New York, NY 10031 Phone: 212.281.9240 ext. 19 | Website: www.harlemstage.org
@harlemstage
@myharlemstage
ABOUT THE EVENT Harlem Stage is thrilled to partner with NYC Parks, Jazzmobile, and Bryant Park to welcome New Yorkers back to live, in person programming. We are especially grateful to present tonight’s concert in the historical and renowned Marcus Garvey Park! The Nocturnal Nubian Ball for Conscientious Ballers and Cultural Shot Callers is for people who have always been associated with experimentation in all aspects of life. This mashup of intricate melodies, harmony, and rhythms features an ensemble of 12 mesmerizing, improvising musicians who will create an audio sanctuary for the thirsty ear. This version of the Ball will focus on the influence of Sun Ra, and pay tribute to the legendary Marshall Allen, a multi-instrumentalist who, at 97, is performing tonight! Tonight’s concert is the grand finale of Harlem Stage’s WaterWorks commissioned Afrofuturism series that launched in 2019 as a citywide, multi-venue celebration of Sun Ra’s legacy. Marshall Allen is an original member of the Sun Ra Arkestra, and has been the band’s leader since 1993 when Sun Ra returned to Saturn. The performance is presented under the musical direction of trombonist/composer Craig Harris, who is a former member of Sun Ra’s band and has embraced many of that visionary icon’s concepts and performance methodologies in his own Sonic Travels. Commissioned by Harlem Stage through its WaterWorks program and supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Ford Foundation, and The Leonard & Robert Weintraub Family Fund. Costumes by Wunmi. PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
FROM OUR PARTNERS “We appreciate our neighbors on Marcus Garvey Park for how they care for the park, and Craig Harris is a unique example of being a great neighbor. He has been performing at our amphitheater and practicing in the park for many years now, bringing musical delight to many. It is wonderful to have his music featured as part of this special series and to partner with such great Harlem legacy organizations as Harlem Stage and Jazzmobile, especially as we continue to welcome people back into outdoor shows at our parks.” Jana La Sorte Administrator of Historic Harlem Parks, NYC Parks “Trombonist, Craig Harris is a Jazzmobile artist who stands out for his incredible musical range which includes: avant-garde, free jazz, post-bob phrasing, ballads and his ability to get the audience dancing in the park! We are proud to be joining Harlem Stage on presenting this powerful new composition of the Nocturnal Nubian Ball enabling us to once again present Harris on the Jazzmobile SUMMERFEST stage. Thank you Harlem Stage and congratulations for commissioning this historic work!” Robin Bell-Stevens Director and Executive Producer of NYC Jazzmobile
BIOGRAPHIES
CRAIG HARRIS 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. He has performed with a veritable Who’s Who of progressive jazz’ 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, 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.
MARSHALL ALLEN Marshall Allen is an American avant-garde, free jazz musician best known for his work with Sun Ra. He has led the Sun Ra Arkestra since 1993. Allen is an alto saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, and arranger who started clarinet lessons at age 10. At 18, he
enlisted in the Army’s 92nd Infantry (renowned as the Buffalo Soldiers), playing clarinet and alto saxophone in the 17th Division Special Service Band. Stationed in Paris during WorldWar II, he played with pianist Art Simmons and saxophonist Don Byas, and he toured and recorded with James Moody during the late ‘40’s. Upon honorable discharge, Mr. Allen enrolled in the Paris Conservatory of Music, studying clarinet with Delacluse. Returning to the States in 1951, he settled in Chicago, where he led his own bands, playing in clubs and dancehalls, while writing his own music and arrangements, as he continues to do today at 97 years old.
BIOGRAPHIES
EDDIE ALLEN TRUMPETER
Trumpeter, composer, arranger, author, educator,... Eddie Allen is called upon to play everything from jazz to R & B/pop to latin to symphonic to Broadway and everything in between. He studied music, theory and arranging in Wisconsin before
moving to the east coast. He then attended the William Paterson University of New Jersey where he received a Bachelor of Music degree. Since his arrival on the New York scene he’s worked with such musical legends as; Art Blakey, Bette Midler, Joe Henderson, Aretha Franklin, Randy Weston, Ben Harper, Dizzy Gillespie, Robert Cray, Frank Foster, Billy Harper, John Mayer, Henry Threadgill, Gladys Knight, Bobby Watson, Gloria Gaynor, Jon Faddis, Benny Carter, Panama Francis, Steve Turre, T.S. Monk, Sekou Sundiata, Steve Jordan, Michelle Rosewoman, Ray Anderson and Kool & the Gang.
DU’BOIS A’KEEN
VOCALIST
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. A’Keen’s choreographic and film work has been featured in the NY 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.
BIOGRAPHIES 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 VOCALIST crystal clear high notes, then scat with sure-footed richness; Everything Carla Cook and she does it all with an acute sings swings. sense of rhythm and timing. As a result, says jazz critic There’s a reason for that: Cook John Murph of The Washington has been influenced by the Post. “She has sass that jazz vocal masters, but equally enlivens her impeccable diction, influenced by phenomenal instrumentalists, like Miles Davis, and tremendous soul that lets her swagger with gutbucket Wes Montgomery and The finesse, but it’s all buttressed Crusaders. The Detroit native with sparkling optimism also finds inspiration in R&B, and innocence.” 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”.
CARLA COOK
HELGA DAVIS VOCALIST
Helga Davis is a vocalist and performance artist and was principal actor in the 25thanniversary international revival of Robert Wilson and Philip Glass’s seminal opera Einstein on the Beach. She is artist in residence at National Sawdust and Joe’s Pub, host of the eponymous podcast HELGA on WQXR, winner of the 2019 Greenfield Prize in composition, 2019 Alpert Award finalist, and the 2018-21 visiting curator for the performing arts at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
BIOGRAPHIES Ndegeocello, Jonathan Butler, George Duke, Roberta Flack, Alex Bugnon, Vivian Reed, Jennifer Holliday, Joe, Joan Osborne, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Chuck Berry, Vernon Reid, Nona Hendrix, Johnny Clyde Copland, Shemekia Copeland, Johnnie Johnson, Sarah Dash, Mick Taylor, Axelle Red and David Linx.
DAMON DUEWHITE DRUMMER
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
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.
YAYOI IKAWA KEYBOARDIST
“Yayoi is a wonder, that comes along very rarely in each generation. A big intellect, with a big emotional spectrum, and totally unique sound... She can do anything she thinks or feels” –Gil Goldstein (arranger/ pianist) Born in Tokyo, Japan, but raised musically in New York, Yayoi is an experience in ingenuity and compassion. As a pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader, Yayoi has worked in many countries. Being exposed to diverse music scene in New York after moving from Japan, Yayoi quickly adopted herself in various styles of music such as Jazz, Gospel, R&B, Soul, Classical and World music.
In 2008, Yayoi started “The Bridge Project” to create musical dialogue between New York and Tokyo musicians in an experimental environment. In 2009, the project toured in Costa Rica through a sponsorship of U.S. Embassy. In 2018, Yayoi was invited to participate in Piano Kon Sa Ka Ekri, a piano festival in Martinique. In 2019, Yayoi’s bridge project featuring Hatian vocalist Emeline Michel was featured in Sakura Matsuri, a celebration of Japanese culture in Brooklyn Botanical Garden. While working towards her master degree at NYU, Yayoi’s orchestra work for film was premiered at Lincoln Center in 2007. Yayoi has worked with such legendary artists as Reggie Workman, Michael Carvin, Howard Johnson, Michal Urbaniak, Butch Morris, Craig Harris, Lenny Pickett, Frank Lacy, Lonnie Plaxico, Fostina Dixon, Salim Washington, Emeline Michel, James Germain, Daniel Bernard Roumain, The Meditations, Kaissa etc. Her musical activities can be seen on her website www.yayoiikawa.net
BIOGRAPHIES Eartha Kitt, Dave Koz, Les McCann, Greg Osby, Max Roach, Pharoah Sanders and James “Blood” Ulmer, Emeline Michel, Johannes Mössinger to name a few.
CALVIN JONES BASSIST
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,
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.
ADAM KLIPPLE KEYBOARDIST
Adam Klipple, who has been described as “a standout pianist who has gone to school on McCoy Tyner and Cecil Taylor and earned his degree,” plays piano, Hammond organ, sampler and a variety of vintage keyboards. His recordings and compositions can be found on SoundCloud. Adam first met The Sun Ra Arkestra while they were teaching in residence for a week at Dartmouth College. His ears were pried open and it directly led to his first professional experience as
keyboardist and composer for Sun Ra lead trumpeter Michael Ray’s Cosmic Krewe. Through Michael, Adam made long term associations with Craig Harris, Helga Davis and Joe Bowie’s Defunkt. In addition, Adam has been involved in stage and recording projects with Ghostface Killah, Lauryn Hill, Graham Haynes, Ron Affif, Vinny Valentino, and Jason Marshall. His credits also include performances with the Sun Ra Arkestra, Sekou Sundiata, Marc Ribot, John Medeski, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Carla Cook, Dave Fiuczynski, David Gilmore, Josh Roseman, Vincent Gardner, Peter Apfelbaum, Joel Harrison, Jay Rodriguez, Groove Collective, and Smokey Robinson. He is currently a member of the legendary Jazz Rock band Blood Sweat and Tears.
BIOGRAPHIES
SAM MCKELTON
VOCALIST
Sam McKelton, singer, actor, writer, composer and arranger, producer and educator, 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, in the original Broadway production of Disney’s Tony Award winning musical The Lion King, where the two became fast friends. Together 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. For three years Mr. McKelton traveled the world with superstar Harry Belafonte with whom he was featured in the 1997 PBS Special, Harry Belafonte and Friends, and starred in an off-Broadway revival of the Broadway and London hit musical Five Guys Named Mo’. He created the title character in Sekou Sundiatta and Craig Harris’s theater work, Udu and originated the role of Jaramougi Oginga Odinga in Trent Johnson’s opera, Kenyatta at Trilogy: An Opera Company in New Jersey.
the Roots, Prince, Miles Davis, Jason Miles, The Mingus Big Band, Miley Cyrus, Mike Snow and with iconic music producers Andrew Wyatt, and Gary Katz among many.
JAY RODRIGUEZ REED PLAYER
Grammy nominated music veteran reed player Jay Rodriguez has been an important artist in the NYC tapestry. His pantheon of important musical contributions has been a part of the NYC music scene as a composer, arranger and soloist for the past 30 years.
Currently, he is part of iconic guitarist Marc Ribot’s projects, Living Color famed drummer Will Calhoun, Nona Hendryx, Craig Harris’ Brown Butterfly and his own solo works including his solo release Your Sound recorded live at Dizzy’s ClubCoca Cola @JALC. Many of Jay’s achievements can be found in the “Encyclopedia of Jazz” by Leonard Feather/ Ira Gitler
“Jay’s distinctive sound ranges from Lester Young to Ornette Coleman. His explosive musical style is rhythmically innovative He has brought his mastery and yet in the tradition.” —Ira Gitler musical experiences to many genres and generations. “He could be breathy and insinuating on a ballad, brawny and He co-founded NYC’s Groove extroverted in an up-tempo...” Collective. He has worked with Celia Cruz, Ray Barretto, Eddie —Jon Pareles, The New York Times Palmieri, the Gil Evans Band, Chucho Valdez, Roy Hargrove, Bernie Worrell, Medeski , Martin and Wood, The Wu-Tang Clan, David Murray, David Krakaur,
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 nearly 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.
Board of Directors Patricia Cruz Hugh Dancy and Claire Danes Trevor Gale Jenette Kahn Daniel J. Osheyack LaChanze Sapp-Gooding Tamara Tunie
Courtney F. Lee-Mitchell, President Jamie Cannon, Vice President Michael Young, Secretary Mark Thomas, Treasurer Neal Baer Stefany Bergson Angela Glover Blackwell Jamie Cannon
Administration Staff CONSULTANTS Aon/Albert G. Ruben Company (NY)/ Claudia Kaufman, Insurance BriGuel, Digital Video Services Itelagen, IT Consultant Lazarus & Harris, LLP Lutz & Carr/Chris Bellando, Accountants Madison Consulting Group, Matt Laurence Manchester Benefits, Greg Martin Marc Millman Photography, Photography Jess Medenbach, Digital Video Services PR Canvas Public Relations & Marketing, Public Relations Robyn L. Stein, RL Stein Group, Development Consultant Scott Lazarus/Emily Lawson, Legal Charles Whelan, The Whelan Group Incorporated
Patricia Cruz, Artistic Director, CEO MANAGEMENT Eric Oberstein, Managing Director Gemma Magsino, Management Intern DEVELOPMENT Shanté Skyers, Development Manager Julia Marrero, Development Associate Bernard Blaise, Development Intern MARKETING Deirdre May, Senior Director of Digital Content and Marketing Andre Padayhag, Marketing Manager and Graphic Designer PRODUCTION Amanda K. Ringger, Director of Production OPERATIONS Rodney Bissessar, Director of Operations Lamont Askins, Operations Assistant Acey Anderson Sr., Maintenance ADMINISTRATION & FINANCE Ncheng LLC, Accountants/Advisors Michelle Blankenship, Principal Aaron Lam, Supervising Senior Accountant
HARLEM STAGE USHERS Nobar Deleon, Keyry Duran, Arlyne Rodriguez