Conversations About Jazz & Other Distractions

Conversations About Jazz Welcomes René Marie & VINX on March 11

On Thursday, March 11 at 7:30 pm (EST) Hammonds House Digital invites you to join us for Conversations About Jazz & Other Distractions with host Carl Anthony. His special guests will be world-renowned songwriters and vocalists René Marie and VINX. They will talk about their careers and sample some of their music. This free virtual program will stream on Hammonds House Museum’s Facebook and YouTube channels. Our tip jar will be open if you’d like to make a donation to support our programming. For more information about this and upcoming virtual events visit hammondshouse.org.

In a span of two decades, 11 recordings and countless stage performances, vocalist René Marie has cemented her reputation not only as a singer but also as a composer, arranger, theatrical performer,and teacher. Guided by powerful life lessons and rooted in jazz traditions laid down by Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, and other leading ladies, she borrows elements of folk, R&B and even classical and country to create a captivating hybrid style. René’s latest CD, Sound of Red, released by Motéma Music in 2017, is her first album of all-original material. Featuring clever songcraft and sensual vocal delivery, the CD has wowed critics and followers and won over new fans. Her work continues to be an exploration of bright and dark corners of the human experience, and an affirmation of the power of the human spirit. For more info: renemarie.com.

VINX is one of the most gifted improvisational vocalists performing today. With songs that range from jazz to funk, bossa nova to blues and back again, each audience takes a world tour with VINX as their private guide. Soaring vocals, intricate layered melodies and grooves, and his primal hand drum holding it all together, mark his signature style. Although he is often joined by a range of stunning musicians, his fine-tuned composition skills, mastery of vocal looping and razor-sharp instincts infuse his solo performances with the lushness of a full symphony orchestra. VINX has recorded and toured with some of the music industry’s greatest icons: Stevie Wonder, Sting, Herbie Hancock, Sheryl Crow, Branford Marsalis, Taj Mahal, Ricki Lee Jones, Darius Rucker, Cassandra Wilson, and Cher. His songwriting credits range from Tom Jones and Will Downing to The Lion King and Sprite™.  Dreamsicle Arts & Entertainment Group is home to his production company, studios, and acclaimed workshop series. For more info: vinx.com.

Hammonds House Museum is generously supported by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, Fulton County Arts and Culture, the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, The National Performance Network, AT&T and WarnerMedia. 

Hammonds House Museum’s mission is to celebrate and share the cultural diversity and important legacy of artists of African descent. The museum is the former residence of the late Dr. Otis Thrash Hammonds, a prominent Atlanta physician and a passionate arts patron. A 501(c)3 organization which opened in 1988, Hammonds House Museum boasts a permanent collection of more than 450 works including art by Romare Bearden, Robert S. Duncanson, Benny Andrews, Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, Hale Woodruff, Amalia Amaki, Radcliffe Bailey and Kojo Griffin. In addition to featuring art from their collection, the museum offers new exhibitions, artist talks, workshops, concerts, poetry readings, arts education programs, and other cultural events throughout the year.  

Located in a beautiful Victorian home in Atlanta’s historic West End, Hammonds House Museum is a cultural treasure and a unique venue. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they continue to observe CDC guidelines, but look forward to welcoming in-person visitors soon!  For more information about upcoming virtual events, and to see how you can support their mission and programming, visit their website: hammondshouse.org.

MEDIA: For more information, contact Karen Hatchett at Hatchett PR, karen@hatchettpr.com

More Posts: ,,,,,,,

Conversations About Jazz & Other Distractions

Conversations About Jazz 

Spotlights The Producers on December 10

Hammonds House Digital invites you to join us for Conversations about Jazz & Other Distractions hosted by former jazz radio host and founder of Notorious Jazz, Carl Anthony. On Thursday, December 10 at 7:30 pm (EST), Carl’s special guests will be some of the industry’s top Producers: Leatrice Ellzy Wright, Executive Director of Hammonds House Museum; Sunny Sumter, Executive Producer of the DC Jazz Festival; and Laura Greer, Senior Producer for The Apollo Theater.  This is the last Conversations About Jazz for the year. The program is free and will stream live on Hammonds House  Museum’s Facebook and YouTube.

Leatrice Ellzy Wright is a curator, producer, thinker, and fan of disruption. She is the Executive Director of Hammonds House Museum where she curates and produces art exhibitions, as well as cultural and music programming. Her unique skill set has been developed over 29 years of migrating through non-profit management and development, broadcast, media relations, arts presenting and technology. Her arts management and administration experience developed through work at Woodruff Arts Center and the National Black Arts Festival (NBAF). She produced for NBAF from 2002-2005. In 2005 she was hired to manage the organization’s artistic programming and later became the organization’s 5th Artistic Director. More info HERE.

Sunny Sumter is the Executive Director of the DC Jazz Festival, a nonprofit service organization established in 2004 to present jazz-related cultural and educational programs in the nation’s capital. Its signature programs are the annual DC JazzFest held each June, the year-round DC Jazz Festival Education Program; and the Charles Fishman Embassy Series. Prior to her tenure at the DC Jazz Festival, Sumter held management/director positions with the Aspen Institute, National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. Sumter earned her bachelor’s degree in music business from Howard University where she minored in jazz voice. More info HERE.

Laura Greer is the Senior Producer for The Apollo Theater where she has served for more than a decade overseeing the performing arts, education, and community programs of the historic theater. Prior to her current position, Greer was the Associate Producer at the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta, Georgia (1999-2005) where she was responsible for the artistic and production oversight of the annual festival. She has also served as the Director of Programming at 651 Arts at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Majestic Theater, specializing in works grounded in the African Diaspora and held various leadership positions at Aaron Davis Hall at City College of New York (1985-1998).

Hammonds House Museum is generously supported by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, Fulton County Arts and Culture, the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, The National Performance Network, AT&T and WarnerMedia.

Hammonds House Museum’s mission is to celebrate and share the cultural diversity and important legacy of artists of African descent. The museum is the former residence of the late Dr. Otis Thrash Hammonds, a prominent Atlanta physician and a passionate arts patron. A 501(c)3 organization which opened in 1988, Hammonds House Museum boasts a permanent collection of more than 450 works including art by Romare Bearden, Robert S. Duncanson, Benny Andrews, Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, Hale Woodruff, Amalia Amaki, Radcliffe Bailey and Kojo Griffin. In addition to featuring art from their collection, the museum offers new exhibitions, artist talks, workshops, concerts, poetry readings, arts education programs, and other cultural events throughout the year.

Located in a beautiful Victorian home in Atlanta’s historic West End, Hammonds House Museum is a cultural treasure and a unique venue. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they continue to observe CDC guidelines, but look forward to welcoming in-person visitors soon!  For more information about upcoming virtual events, and to see how you can support their mission and programming, visit their website: hammondshouse.org.

MEDIA: Contact Karen Hatchett at Hatchett PR, karen@hatchettpr.com


More Posts: ,,,,,