SUBA TRIO

Omar Sosa ~ Piano | Seckou Keita ~ Kora | Gustavo Ovalles ~ Percussion

Seven-time Grammy-nominated pianist Omar Sosa joins kora maestro Seckou Keita and percussionist Gustavo Ovalles for an all-star collaboration.
The Atlantic Ocean separates Senegal and Cuba, the respective birthplaces of kora maestro Seckou Keita and piano virtuoso Omar Sosa, a distance diminished by their shared ancestral connection to Africa. In the summer of 2012, Omar and Seckou were invited to perform together in London by their mutual friend, the drummer Marque Gilmore. “Seckou arrived just before the gig, took out his kora and started playing,” Omar remembers, “and I clicked with him like we had been playing together all our lives.”
Seckou loved Omar for his “high level of musical spirituality.” Omar saw in Seckou a rare ability to blend, collaborate, but never lose his identity. Both men started their careers as drummers, so the melodies grooved. For this collaboration they’re joined by master percussionist Gustavo Ovalles, after their critically acclaimed Tiny Desk performance together.

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CYRUS CHESTNUT

Ellington 125 | Duke Ellington Sacred Concert

Cyrus Chestnut is a jazz pianist, composer and producer. In 2006, Josh Tyrangiel, music critic for Time, wrote: “What makes Chestnut the best jazz pianist of his generation is a willingness to abandon notes and play space.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Chestnut worked with Wynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Donald Harrison, and other bandleaders. He joined the band of jazz vocalist Betty Carter in the early 1990s and appeared on her 1992 album It’s Not About the Melody. That same year, he recorded his first albums as a bandleader, The Nutman Speaks and Nut. Chesnut has continued to work and record as a bandleader into the 21st century.

In 2006, Telarc released Genuine Chestnut, his first album for the label. On it he is accompanied by his regular trio of Michael Hawkins, bass and Neal Smith, drums. Additional artists on this session include Russell Malone, guitar and Steven Kroon, percussion. It includes jazz interpretations of some well-known pop numbers of the past half-century, including “If”, the early 1970s soft-rock ballad by Bread. “This song has been with me ever since the sixth grade,” Chestnut recalled, “I had to play it for my English teacher’s wedding. I’ve played it in many and various contexts. I actually played it in a Top 40 band when I was just out of school. A lot of time has passed, but then recently I just started thinking about it again.” Chestnut’s own “Mason–Dixon Line” is one of the album’s high points, a joyful bebop number.

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TYRONE JACKSON

The name Tyrone Jackson is the quintessential jazz piano player. His boundless creativity coupled with harmonic mastery, utilizes the piano as a blank canvas.  Jackson is nationally recognized and has traveled the world as a solo artist and sideman.

As a composer, Jackson has composed original music for Pulitizer Prize winning author Natasha Tretheway’s book of poems “Native Guard” turned theatrical play, Pearl Clege’s play, “Tell Me My Dream”, “Ethel” and this year’s Alliance Theater production of “Nick’s Flamingo Grill.” Jackson has recorded 4 Albums—“Dedicated”, “Another Voyage”, “Melody In Nede”, and new release “From The Mind Of.”

Lavahi is a scholar-artist on a mission to better society from the inside out. Through her music, scholarship, and performance, LAVAHI is building a platform to nourish the heart and mind, empathize our human experiences, and vibe together. As a daughter of jazz, the culture heavily informs her ideology and influences her sound. Acrobatic scatting, compelling chords, and the art of improvisation evoke that classic traditional aesthetic and set her contemporary sound apart from the norm of mainstream neo-soul, hip hop, and R&B. And with her satisfying blend of analog and digital sounds, LAVAHI shows that the lineage of Black sound is not linear but ever folding and stretching.

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LEESA RICHARDS QUARTET & JEAN CAZE QUARTET

As a part of Miami’s vibrant music scene, singer/songwriter Leesa Richards grew up in music-rich Detroit and started showing an inclination towards the arts at a very early age. “My parents listened to a lot of jazz and I would record myself over and over singing along to Nancy Wilson records,” she says. But when she saw Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, she knew she wanted to be a dancer. She graduated from University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a degree in dance and began her career on stage performing with a variety of dance companies.

She began honing her vocal chops with soul greats Gerald Austin and Peabo Bryson and contemporary soul maverick Dionne Farris. Her first world tour was as a dancer with legendary singer Whitney Houston after which she combined her love for music and dance to earn the role of Mary Magdalene in the national tour of the Broadway musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, earning critical acclaim which led to featured performances throughout the US and Europe.

Renowned jazz trumpeter Jean Caze, stands as a prominent figure in today’s jazz scene. His magnetic performances have graced stages alongside icons such as Herbie Hancock, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Al Jarreau, Roy Hargrove, Arturo Sandoval, and George Duke, among others. Currently serving as the featured soloist for Michael Bublé worldwide, Jean’s musical journey traces back to his roots in Queens, NY, where his passion ignited at the age of nine. By his senior year, he showcased his talent on national television with “Chicago” on NBC.

Jean’s dedication to his craft earned him scholarships, accolades, and widespread recognition, culminating in a Bachelor’s degree from Manhattan School of Music and a Master’s from Florida International University. Noteworthy achievements include securing second place in the 2007 Thelonius Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition and claiming victory in both the 2004 National Trumpet Jazz Competition and the 2006 International Trumpet Guild Jazz Competition.

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NNENNA FREELON

Vocalist, composer, producer, arranger and 7 time Grammy nominee Nnenna Freelon brings her talent to the Hayti Heritage Center on the campus of North Carolina Central University.

She is joined by her ensemble including bassist John Brown, the NCCU Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Robert Trowers, and the NCCU Vocal Jazz Ensemble directed by Dr. Lenora Helms Hammonds.

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