Delbert McClinton Fri. Jan 22, 2021 // 8:00 p.m. // Tickets: $130 With over 60 years of recording and touring to his credit, McClinton is a true musical zelig: he toured with The Beatles, backed Bo Diddley and Howlin’ Wolf, helped to inspire The Blues Brothers, and has performed everywhere from “SNL” to “Austin City Limits” along the way. His songs have been covered by Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Waylon Jennings, and Wynonna Judd - to name a few. Expect guests to stand and dance along at the performance. If you would like to sit, please consider the balcony or orchestra boxes. Similar Artists This Season: Paul Thorn, John Hiatt & The Jerry Douglas Band, Keb’ Mo’
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Bandleader and ringleader Michael Mwenso, was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa. At age 10, he and his mother moved to London when she married an Englishman. A year and a half later, she found herself a single mother, struggling to deal with the tragic death of her husband. Michael says his connection with music really started, “. . .out of loneliness, being an only child, and also losing my mother, because she couldn’t look after me the way she wanted.” For years he stayed with “this incredible man,” who had been his mother’s landlord when she lived in London before. He was a lover of African American music. Michael remembers, “I would absorb myself in his record collection from Bessie Smith to Ray Charles to Etta James to Louis Armstrong.” Having gotten to know some of the staff at legendary London jazz club Ronnie Scott’s during the 1970s, Michael’s mother allowed Michael to start, “. . . going to the club as a young child.” He saw the whole range of black music, including “the Mount Rushmore of jazz musicians Ray Charles, James Brown, Betty Carter, all these kind of people.” He looked older than he was and carrying his trombone, he’d sneak into sound checks for artists by saying he was “with the band.” The Shakes is one of the groups that came out of a community of young musicians created by Michael after coming to New York City to work with Jazz at Lincoln Center. The group even includes a tap dancer. Michela Marino is an “added rhythmic percussive instrument.” ‘Shake’, according to Michael, is a word used within the community “to define anything and everything. . . . like: The Shakes; what’s the shake (what happened)? It’s our own little language.” They have been together about seven years and all but one or two are “kind of immigrants.” The African diasper experience fermented into Jazz music at it height of popularity in Harlem 100 years ago. That sound then went back into the world and has influenced generations of musicians across the globe.
The Harlem 100: Celebrating the 100th
The Del mccoury band Sat. Jan 23, 2021 // 8:00 p.m. // Tickets: $100 One of the most distinguished traditional Bluegrass musicians of all time, two-time Grammy® award-winning artist Del McCoury epitomizes the genre. Hear hits such as “1952 Black Lightning,” “My Love Will Not Change,” “Nashville Cats,” “Smoking Gun,” “Sweet Appalachia,” and much more live! Similar Artists This Season: Rhonda Vincent, Balsam Range, Steel Betty
When jokingly referred to as the “bandleader and ringleader,” he laughingly replies, “Oh yes! No, definitely! I am very blessed that I am able to lead.” He speaks of the band members’ humility in allowing him to lead because they’re all incredible bandleaders/artists on their own. According to Michael, Harlem 100 is part of a presentation created to present the music of the Harlem Renaissance. “What it is and what is was; and how it influenced the world. It gives us the ability to . . . genuflect to our ancestors,” he explains. Michael goes on to speak of how much more important it is now, with the “racial division and strife “in the world to bring awareness to the entirety and greatness of the African-American, and what these people did, so we can use black music to help people heal.” People attending the performance can expect to experience a musical celebration that will, among other things, provide an understanding of the history, the culture, and excellence of Black people especially during the magical creative explosion called the Harlem Renaissance. A montage of pictures related to the Harlem Renaissance will be shown in the background during the performances. One hopes audience members will be ignited to read the writers, see the art, and hear more of the music of the artists presented. For Michael the current climate has proved very interesting. The group has done online concerts, “and such.” “People are reaching out saying, now is the time that we need the group…[they] can really see what we are doing.”
Interview with Michael Mwenso
By: Norma Donaldson -Jenkins
Thur. Jan 28, 2021 // 7:30 p.m. // Tickets: $50 // Students 1/2 price A Dufford Institute for Cultural Diversity Event in conjunction with Newberry Arts For All (NAFA)
Anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance Join us for the ultimate celebration of the music of the Harlem Renaissance. All-star musicians, including Mwenso and the Shakes, Briana Thomas, Michela Marino Lerman, and Vuyo Sotashe, join together to play the music of Fatz Waller, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and so many more.
Let Harlem 100 take you back in time with music from the icons who defined the era, all played by a classic 9-piece band! Similar Artists This Season: American Spiritual Ensemble, Peacherine Ragtime, Glenn Miller Orchestra
// 2020-2021 Season //
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