The Jazz Voyager
Remaining on the continent the next sojourn takes The Jazz Voyager to Ethiopia and the African Jazz Village. An intimate venue in Addis Ababa, one can enjoy great musicians, including the timeless Father of Ethiopian Jazz, Dr. Mulatu Astateke.
Located on the spacious, verdant compound of the Ghion Hotel, popularly known as ‘The Garden Palace Hotel of East Africa’, which dates back to 1950s, one will be surrounded by tranquil trees and gardens filled with indigenous flora and bird life.
This week the adventure continues as this Jazz Voyager is going to hold down a performance by the Ethio Jazz Band starting at 9:30pm. And maybe I will be fortunate enough to catch a set with the doctor himself. The address is 2Q75+HVM, Addis Ababa Harar City. For more information they can be reached at +251 91 189 7438.
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NOEL FRIEDLINE & MARIA HOWELL
MOTOWN REIMAGINED!
27 #1 hits, over 60 top 10 hits. Motown had so many hits that one could put together five separate shows of their music and still have plenty of songs left over. The exemplary songwriting of Smokey Robinson, Holland/Dozier/Holland, as well as Berry Gordy himself, along with the interpretation by such legends as Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Diana Ross and the Supremes and many more has left us with a repertoire that is prime for reinterpretation. Join Noel & Maria as they reinterpret and reimagine the music that defined the 60’s, the Motown Sound! Mere words can only capture the refrain of MARIA HOWELL’s awesome talent. She is the ballad of beauty and elegance. The melodies flowing from the petite vocalist are truly amazing. While casting a spellbinding smile, she mesmerizes her captive audience with incredible harmonies and rhythms. Best known for her role as the choir soloist in the 1985 Oscar-nominated film The Color Purple, Maria Howell is the perfect combination of artistry and entertainment. AS AN ACTOR, she has appeared in hit TV shows such as Lifetime’s, “Army Wives”, and Marc Cherry’s, “Devious Maids”. Eric Kripke and J.J. Abrams’ apocalyptic, “Revolution”, and “Aquarius”, starring X-Files’ David Duchuvny, both on NBC, and “Criminal Minds”, alongside Joe Mantegna. Theatrical credits include, “The Blind Side”, “Addicted”, starring Sharon Leal and Boris Kodjoe, “Hunger Games: Catching Fire”, as Seeder, and “Christmas Wedding Baby”, by Award-Winning Writer/Director Kiara C. Jones.
She also stars in Writer/Director, Shea Sizemore’s “The Next Day.” In addition, she recurs in Bounce TV’s, “Saints & Sinners” as Lt. Hawkins, and as Ms. Sumner is the Oscar nominated film, “Hidden Figures”. A SONG STYLIST in her own right, Maria has shared the musical stage with such legendary artists as Nancy Wilson, George Benson, Ray Charles and Earl Klugh, and Ronnie Laws. After a very successful 6 year stint in Asia, Maria relocated back to the U.S. and performed at Sambuca Jazz Café for 9 consecutive years. She and pianist Bill Wilson (son of legendary jazz pianist Teddy Wilson), held the distinction of being the longest running act at the Atlanta, GA location. As of 2017, Maria hosts her live Hollywood music series called #DUETS, featuring “songs to soothe your soul.” Maria is not only a song stylist and actor, but a very devoted supporter of her charity of choice, Students Without Mothers, where she has served as a board member for over 8 years.
As the leader of the Noel Freidline Quintet for the last 26 years, Freidline has recorded 8 CDs, performed at jazz festivals as diverse as the Jacksonville (FL) Jazz Festival to the Bethlehem (PA) Musikfest to the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, served as artistic director for the Columbia Museum of Art jazz concert series, Jazz on Main, launched a new jazz concert series in Jacksonville, FL called Jazz with Noel Freidline and Friends, held down a three-year house band position at the Bellagio in Las Vegas and performed for actress Julia Roberts’ surprise 35th birthday party.
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MONTY ALEXANDER
Monty Alexander O.J.: “Honoring Harry Belafonte” with Luke Sellick & Jason Brown
From Kingston, Jamaica, his hometown, Grammy nominated pianist Monty Alexander is an American classic, touring the world relentlessly with various projects, delighting a global audience drawn to his vibrant personality and soulful message. A perennial favorite at Jazz festivals and venues worldwide and at the Montreux Jazz Festival where he has appeared 23 times since 1976, his spirited conception is one informed by the timeless verities: endless melody-making, effervescent grooves, sophisticated voicings, a romantic spirit, and a consistent predisposition, as Alexander accurately states, “to build up the heat and kick up a storm.” In the course of any given performance, Alexander applies those aesthetics to a repertoire spanning a broad range of jazz and Jamaican musical expressions—the American songbook and the blues, gospel and bebop, calypso and reggae. Documented on more than 75 recordings and cited as the fifth greatest jazz pianist ever in The Fifty Greatest Jazz Piano Players of All Time (Hal Leonard Publishing), the Jamaican government designated Alexander Commander in the Order of Distinction in 2000 and in 2018 The University of The West Indies bestowed him with an honorary doctorate degree (DLitt) in recognition of his accomplishments. For this engagement, Monty, along with bassist Luke Selick and drummer Jason Brown, commemorates his long friendship with Harry Belafonte, Jr. in stories and song.
Showtimes: 7:00pm | 8:30pm | 9:30pm | 10:30pm
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NICOLE HENRY
Expect to be transported and thoroughly entertained…Ms. Henry will tell real stories through peerless interpretations of songs from her latest chart-topping album, “Time to Love Again,” as well as music from her vast catalogue and repertoire.
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The Jazz Voyager
The Jazz Voyager is departing Europe for the Dark Continent as his next stop and Ghana is the destination. The venue is Marabi Club that is located in the Maboneng Precinct at 54 Siemert Road, New Doornfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa.
In the 1920s and Thirties, the rise of the Doornfontein slumyards, created in the wake of one of the world’s richest gold rushes, gave rise to an urban culture known as “marabi”. As the foundation of this new culture, the music was energetic and improvisational. It was a lifestyle prompted by the need to escape the hardships of the working week, defined by illegal shebeens, where the fierce talk of politics was accompanied by the equally disruptive soundtrack of jazz.
Tucked in the basement of Hallmark House, the Marabi Club evokes this history through the many careful details of the club’s interior. With an excellent menu and bar with jauntily dressed waitrons offering friendly and slick service, add live jazz and your visit to this landmark will leave you captivated by the atmosphere.
This week the adventure continues as this Jazz Voyager is stepping into this Joburg venue without knowing who will be performing. Nothing like a surprise. For those who need to know, their phone number is +27 (0)10 591 2879.
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