Charlie Parker Jazz Festival: Randy Weston African Rhythms Sextet / Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles / The Artistry of Jazzmeia Horn / Charles Turner III / Master Class: Samuel Coleman

Randy Weston received a 2011 Guggenheim Fellowship for Music Composition that enabled him to compose An African Nubian Suite, a major new work for jazz orchestra. The piece is based on his lifelong research on and interest in the culture, heritage and music of Africa. Weston notes: “An African Nubian Suite is a testament to the profound effect my African heritage has had on my life. I hope it will also be my message to others to help them know and feel proud of this heritage, that when I play the work, our common heritage will touch and inspire my audience. It is a labor of love to the culture, the people and the music that has so inspired and informed my life.” In 2014, Randy Weston received a Doris Duke Artist Award.  This will allow him to compose a new work, Seven African Queens, and travel to Morocco to document the traditional music of the Gnawa.

Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles

You might know Cory Henry as an in-demand, multi-instrumentalist and producer who’s worked with an array of musical legends across genres, including Yolanda Adams, Sara Bareilles, P. Diddy, Kirk Franklin, Kenny Garrett, Robert Glasper, Derrick Hodge, Shaun Kingston, Donald Lawrence, Michael McDonald, Boyz II Men, NAS, Bruce Springsteen, The Roots and as a member of the Grammy Award-winning collective Snarky Puppy. But, The Revival, (GroundUP Music/Universal Music Classics), Henry’s latest release and touring project, is truly his story: a live album and DVD showcasing Henry’s deep musical roots, both in the church and outside of it. Filmed and recorded in Brooklyn at the Greater Temple of Praise, The Revival showcases Henry’s musical roots in gospel, jazz and soul. As the Kansas City Star writes, “His performances combine the celebratory aspects of neon-lit Saturday nights with reverent praise-filled Sunday mornings.” Working off his instrument of choice — the Hammond B-3 organ — the musician is joined by drummer James Williams and his godfather, Bishop Jeffrey White, who delivers a stunning vocal take on “Old Rugged Cross.” Whereas The Revival is a tribute to his first love, the Hammond organ, and a showcase for his exceptional talents on the instrument, his upcoming album with The Funk Apostles will feature a full band sound – forged by nearly 100 shows over the last year. It is a synthesis of Henry’s many influences – Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Prince, Herbie Hancock, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, James Brown. Henry will be taking a classic sound into the here and now. As Henry says, “my way, my take.”

Jazzmeia Horn

Winner of the 2015 Thelonius Monk International Vocal Jazz Competition and 2013 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, Jazzmeia Horn has a name that speaks for itself capturing her very essence. Hailing from the great Dallas, Texas Jazzmeia has already earned a reputation in New York as a “Rising Star.” With the ambition to pursue a solo career, Jazzmeia graced the New York scene in 2009 and earned her degree at The New School for Jazz and contemporary Music. It wasn’t much later when she began to perform as a sideman with musicians Winard Harper, Junior Mance, Billy Harper, Lincoln Center Alumni Vincent Gardner, Delfeayo Marsalis, Mike LeDonne, Peter Bernstein, Johnny O’Neal, Vincent Herring, Kirk Lightsey, Frank Wess, and Ellis Marsalis. Her accolades include Downbeat Student Music Award Recipient 2008, 2009, and Best Vocal Jazz Soloist Winner 2010, The 2013 Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program at The Kennedy Center ­Washington D.C., The Rising Star Award for the 2012 Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Jazz Competition, Finalist for Mid-­Atlantic Jazz Vocal Competition 2014, and The 2015 ­16th Annual Central Brooklyn Jazz Consortium’s Young Lioness Award. Currently, Jazzmeia is a teaching artist in The NJPAC Wells Fargo ­Jazz for Teens Program and Jazz In The Schools Program in Newark, New Jersey. She appears in various clubs on the jazz scene nationally and internationally leading her dynamic group “The Artistry of Jazz Horn,” which includes­ pianist, bassist, drummer, saxophonist, poet, dancer and herself­ as vocalist.

Charles Turner III

The First Winner of the Annual Duke Ellington Vocal Competition in New York City, hosted by Mercedes Ellington, 27 year old Charles Turner has taken the jazz scene by storm. Charles relocated to New York in 2011, and has performed in venues such as Smoke Jazz and Supper Club, Birdland, Ginny’s Supper Club, Smalls, Mintons in Harlem, and Gin Fiz, where he performs every Thursday with Marc Cary and the Focus Trio. The Charles Turner Quartet has performed at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center for the Generations in Jazz festival for 2 consecutive years. Charles released his debut album Dreamers, produced by Grammy Award-winning drummer Ulysses Owens at Jazz at Lincoln Center in March 2014. In 2013, Charles was invited to participate in the prestigious Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead program, where he worked with Jason Moran, Craig Handy, Marc Cary, and performed at the Kennedy Center. He also won Best Jazz Vocalist awards at the Monterey Jazz Festival, and was a finalist at the esteemed Shure Montreux jazz festival Vocal Competition. Charles graduated from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA on a full scholarship. During his time there, he had the wonderful opportunity to study and perform with Grammy Award–winning drummer and educator Terri Lyne Carrington, Dave Samuels, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Joanne Brackeen.

Samuel Coleman 

Samuel Coleman is an Alvin Ailey School trained dancer and teacher, with a focus on lindy hop (swing) dancing. Coleman teaches in Harlem and Albany, and performs with the Big Apple Lindy Hoppers and the Rhythm Stompers. Coleman was a 2011 Frankie Manning Ambassador scholarship recipient.

Free

Marcus Garvey Park
18 Mount Morris Park West
New York, NY 10027

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