ARTURO O’FARRILL AND THE AFRO LATIN JAZZ ORCHESTRA
An Apollo Theater commission
Featuring Rudresh Mahanthappa, Randy Weston, Café, Freddy “Huevito” Lobatón,
With Special Guests DJ Logic and Chilo
The Evening Will Also Serve as the National CD Release Event
For Arturo O’Farrill’s Latest Album The Offense of the Drum
Saturday, May 10th at 8pm
Intimate APOLLO MUSIC CAFÉ Shows Honoring Small’s Paradise
Featuring Lakecia Benjamin & the Motema All Stars and Water Seed
Friday, May 9th and Saturday, May 10th at 10pm
Week of Performances at Showman’s Jazz Club
Featuring Nathan Lucas, Kimberly Thompson, Jazmyn, Fred McFarlane and Claudia Hayden
May 8th – May 10th
WHAT: The Apollo Theater celebrates the fourth annual Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival, May 4-10, 2014, with a series of performances and special events featuring some of the finest talent in contemporary Jazz. Organized by the Apollo Theater, Harlem Stage, and Jazzmobile in collaboration with Columbia University, the Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival honors the rich legacy of jazz in the uptown community and the neighborhood’s continued role as a laboratory for new jazz talent. Over the past four years, the festival has become a staple of the New York City and Harlem cultural calendar and showcases a range of today’s top artists and emerging musicians with concerts and events at venues across Harlem. The Apollo celebrates Harlem Jazz Shrines programs include:
Mainstage Show: Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
Saturday, May 10, 2014, 8 p.m.
The Apollo Theater will commission and present Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra in the world premiere of Arturo O’Farrill’s “Afro Latin Jazz Suite” a recasting of his father Chico O’Farrill’s masterpiece “The Afro Cuban Jazz Suite.” Building on the continuing role that the Apollo Theater plays in the development of Latin Jazz, Arturo’s “Afro Latin Jazz Suite” will be a re-imagination of his father’s historic work and will borrow musical textures from Colombia, Peru, Venezuela as well as Cuba, Puerto Rico and other Pan American and international sources. The 80th anniversary of the Apollo Theater coincides with the 65th anniversary of the “Afro Cuban Jazz Suite,” the centerpiece of the Afro Cuban Jazz repertoire, composed by Chico O’Farrill, featuring Machito and his Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra, Charlie Parker, Flip Phillips, and Buddy Rich.
O’Farrill will appear with the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and an array of renowned special guests including Rudresh Mahanthappa, Randy Weston, DJ Logic, Chilo, Café, and Freddy “Huevito” Lobatón. The evening will also serve as the national CD release celebration for O’Farrill’s new recording, The Offense of the Drum (Motéma Music: May 6, 2014), and in honor of Randy Weston, O’Farrill will present Weston’s “African Sunrise Suite,” as well as two compositions from his new album, “They Came” and “The Offense of the Drum: The Oppressor & The Liberator”.
Apollo School Day Live Presents Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band
Friday, May 9, 2014 at 11:30 a.m.
Apollo School Day Live celebrates the annual Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival with a big band performance especially for school groups. This performance explores the distinct rhythms and cultural connections of Afro Latin Jazz. Take a fantastical musical voyage through the roots and rhythms of Afro Latin Jazz with the Multi-GRAMMY® Nominated Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band.
Apollo Music Café: Lakecia Benjamin & the Motéma All Stars, curated by Motéma All Stars
Friday, May 9, 2014, Doors at 9 p.m., Performance at 10 p.m.
Lakecia Benjamin and the Motéma All-Stars pay tribute to the iconic venue with a night of jazz, funk, and soul. With her deep jazz roots, she has become an in demand player, arranger, and section leader, landing stints with, among others, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Macy Gray, The Roots, and Anita Baker.
The Apollo presents a special weekend of performances as part of its popular Music Café Series, now in its fourth season. Apollo Music Café celebrates the Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival by honoring Small’s Paradise and the club’s rich jazz, funk and R&B legacy. Small’s Paradise, located at 2294½ Seventh Avenue near 135th Street, was one of the most successful and best-known nightclubs in the history of Harlem, and the most prestigious club owned by an African American.
Apollo Family Showtime Presents Bobby Sanabria & Ascensión
Saturday, May 10, 2014, 1 p.m.
Bobby Sanabria & Ascensión explore the rich, cultural, and spiritual roots of jazz and Latin jazz. The ensemble performs an incredible diversity of musical styles and rhythms found throughout Latin America such as joropo from Venezuela, the Bomba from Puerto Rico, cumbia from Colombia, tango from Argentina, as well as liturgical music from Yoruba, Bantú Ki-Kongo, and Abacua traditions from West Africa
Apollo Music Café: Water Seed
Saturday, May 10, 2014, Doors at 9 p.m., Performance at 10 p.m.
Water Seed, brought up on the roots and traditions of the musical city of New Orleans and one of New York’s best kept secrets, pays tribute to Small’s Paradise—one of the most successful and best-known nightclubs in the history of Harlem.
The Apollo presents a special weekend of performances as part of its popular Music Café Series, now in its fourth season. Apollo Music Café celebrates the Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival by honoring Small’s Paradise and the club’s rich jazz, funk and R&B legacy.
Small’s Paradise, located at 2294½ Seventh Avenue near 135th Street, was one of the most successful and best-known nightclubs in the history of Harlem, and the most prestigious club owned by an African American.
Harlem Jazz Shrines at Showman’s Jazz Club
May 8, sets at 8:30p.m., 10p.m., and 11:30p.m.
Friday, May 9 and Saturday May 10 sets at 9p.m. and 11p.m.
The Apollo Theater will collaborate with Showman’s Jazz Club to present a week of special performances during the Harlem Jazz Shrines festival. A cultural landmark and one of Harlem’s premiere jazz clubs, Showman’s, with its Hammond B-3 organ, has been a neighborhood fixture since 1942, and has a history of showcasing legendary artists including Pearl Bailey, Eartha Kitt, Jimmy Rogers, Sarah Vaughan, Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, Grady Tate and other luminaries. Artists to perform include Nathan Lucas, Kimberly Thompson, Jazmyn, Fred McFarlane and Claudia Hayden. For the full Harlem Jazz Shrines Schedule, please visit Harlemjazzshrines.com
WHERE: The Apollo Theater: 253 West 125th Street, New York, NY
Showman’s Jazz Club: 375 West 125th Street, New York, NY
TICKETS: Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra– Tickets are $10, $35, $45 and are available at The Apollo Theater Box Office: (212) 531-5305, 253 West 125th Street and Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com
Apollo School Day Live Presents Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band– Visit apolloeducation.org for more information.
Apollo Music Café: Lakecia Benjamin & the Motéma All Stars, curated by Motéma All Stars – All tickets for this show are $10 and are available at The Apollo Theater Box Office: (212) 531-5305, 253 West 125th Street and Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com
Apollo Family Showtime Presents Bobby Sanabria & Ascensión – All tickets for this show are $10 and are available at The Apollo Theater Box Office: (212) 531-5305, 253 West 125th Street and Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com
Apollo Music Café: Water Seed – All tickets for this show are $10 and are available at The Apollo Theater Box Office: (212) 531-5305, 253 West 125th Street and Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com
Harlem Jazz Shrines at Showman’s Jazz Club – No Cover Charge. Limited seating. Standing room available, minimum per set applies. Two drink minimum per person, per set. Visit www.apollotheater.org for tickets and more information.
The Apollo is a national treasure that has had significant impact on the development of American culture and its popularity around the world. Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, the Apollo Theater has played a major role in cultivating artists and in the emergence of innovative musical genres including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Sammy Davis, Jr., James Brown, Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, and countless others began their road to stardom on the Apollo’s stage. The Apollo Theater’s new artistic vision builds on this legacy. New Apollo programming has music as its core, driving large scale and more intimate music, dance, and theater presentations. The Apollo will continue to present historically relevant programs, as well as more forward-looking, contemporary work. Based on its cultural significance and architecture, the Apollo Theater received state and city landmark designation in 1983 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
For more information, visit www.apollotheater.org
