Visitor Information
Harlem is the cradle of jazz culture, and home to the National Jazz Museum in Harlem and its diverse resources. We offer weekly evening public events featuring a unique blend of thoughtfully curated talks, recordings and live music.
We also encourage you to explore our intimate Visitors Center during the day. Your visit includes an optional short introduction to the current exhibit by our museum’s host. You can browse our digital exhibit of Ralph Ellison’s Record Collection. We encourage you to listen to the rare live recording sessions from the 1930s and 1940s that comprise our renowned SAVORY COLLECTION, and which are only available at the museum. And finally, you can relax in our lovely reading room and peruse the many books on jazz and Harlem, choose a jazz film from our DVD collection, or listen to one of our 1,000 classic jazz CDs.
ADMISSION: Free (Donation Suggested)
VISITORS CENTER HOURS
Monday – Friday: 10:00am – 4:00pm
Saturday: 11:00am – 4:00pm
BORN IN HARLEM PRESENTATIONS
Monday – Friday: 1:00 – 2:00pm
$10.00 per person, 5 person minimum
Learn more here!
INTERESTED IN A GUIDED GROUP VISIT?
June 30, 2015Yosvany Terry
Born in Cuba, musician-composer-educator Yosvany Terry incorporates American jazz traditions with his own Afro-Cuban roots to produce performances and compositions that flow from the rhythmic and hard-driving avant-garde to sweet-sounding…
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June 23, 2015New York’s Afro-Latin Beat: Puerto Rico, Panama and Beyond
$10.00 Suggested Admission Want to hear the hippest jazz in New York? Follow a Cuban musician. Or one from Puerto Rico, or Panama, or Venezuela. Maybe one born and raised in…
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June 16, 2015New York’s Afro-Latin Beat: Yoruba in New York City
$10.00 Suggested Admission Want to hear the hippest jazz in New York? Follow a Cuban musician. Or one from Puerto Rico, or Panama, or Venezuela. Maybe one born and raised in…
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June 9, 2015New York’s Afro-Latin Beat: Arturo O’Farrill’s Expanding Pueblo
Host: Arturo O’Farrill $10.00 Suggested Admission Want to hear the hippest jazz in New York? Follow a Cuban musician. Or one from Puerto Rico, or Panama, or Venezuela. Maybe one born…
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June 2, 2015New York’s Afro-Latin Beat: Old and New Rhumba
Host: Larry Blumenfeld, author/critic Wall Street Journal $10.00 Suggested Admission Want to hear the hippest jazz in New York? Follow a Cuban musician. Or one from Puerto Rico, or Panama, or…
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May 26, 2015Reggie Workman
A true giant of jazz and a paragon of education, bassist/composer/bandleader Reggie Workman gave NJMH one it’s most memorable interviews in 2006; now it’s time to catch up on his…
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May 12, 2015Symphony in Riffs: Benny Carter
Host: Ed Berger Special guest: Mrs. Hilma Carter Benny Carter has such a prolific career, from breaking the color line for Hollywood composers, to being one of the most imitated…
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May 19, 2015The Young Lions of Harlem: Jazz from Manhattan School of Music
Patrick Bartley and the MSM All Stars Jazz has always welcomed young talent, and in this era, the presence of young musicians who are serious in their dedication is something…
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May 7, 2015Dan Morgenstern
Internationally respected as a preeminent jazz scholar, Dan Morgenstern recently celebrated his 85th birthday. The former Director of The Institute of Jazz Studies came to America from Europe in 1947,…
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May 5, 2015Harlem Renaissance: Blues Culture, Jazz and the Written Word, Part Two
Suggested Admission $10.00 Author/historian Greg Thomas continues his provocative look into the worlds of Alain Locke, Jean Toomer, Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, four of the most innovative and…
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April 30, 2015International Jazz Day
Curated by Jon Batiste NJMH continues its annual tradition of celebrating International Jazz Day with a concert comprising many disparate strands of the music that will converge for the very…
view event April 21, 2015Harlem Renaissance: Blues Culture, Jazz and the Written Word, Part One
Join author/historian Greg Thomas for a provocative look into the worlds of Alain Locke, Jean Toomer, Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, four of the most innovative and original literary…
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April 14, 2015NJMH Highlights: The Night We Met Mr. Jones
Host: Loren Schoenberg Suggested Admission: $10.00 Over the past 10 years, NJMH has documented several hundred of its sessions, and tonight we start a new series of sharing highlights of…
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April 9, 2015Something to Live For: The Strayhorn Centennial, Part Two
Host: Pianist/Vocalist, Eric Comstock Suggested Admission: $10.00 2015 is the centennial of one of jazz’s greatest composers – Billy Strayhorn. NJMH will celebrate his life and music in a series of…
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March 25, 2015Listening Session with Jeff “Tain” Watts
Host: Jeff “Tain” Watts Suggested Admission: $10.00 One of the best things about the NJMH’s intimate space is the ability for audience members to experience music in a way that…
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March 18, 2015Solomon Hicks Plays the Blues
Suggested Admission: $10.00 Teen guitar sensation Solomon first came to NJMH’s attention last year when we were asked to nominate a young Harlem musician for a highly regarded guitar workshop…
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March 10, 2015A Night at the Cotton Club
Host: Loren Schoenberg Suggested Admission: $10.00 The Cotton Club played a major role during the 1920’s and 30’s, employing the best African-American artists of the era, while at the same…
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March 5, 2015Mari Kimura
Suggested Admission: $10.00 Technology and improvisation have been mutual partners in jazz’s evolution ever since Louis Armstrong’s 1920’s recordings codified his impromptu solos and spread them around the globe, changing…
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February 24, 2015Listening Session with Michael Steinman
Host: Michael Steinman, host of the JAZZLIVES blog Suggested Admission: $10.00 One of the best things about the NJMH’s intimate space is the ability for audience members to experience music…
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March 3, 2015Harlem Heroes from JALC Hall of Fame
Host: Seton Hawkins Suggested Admission: $10.00 Mary Lou Williams was a Harlem icon for decades, where her Hamilton Heights apartment became a musical salon where Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell and…
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February 17, 2015The Young Lions of Harlem: Jazz from City College
THE CUNY Jazz Allstars, led by Dennis Brandner Suggested Admission: $10.00 Jazz has always welcomed young talent, and in this era, the presence of young musicians who are serious in…
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February 10, 2015James Baldwin: Harlem’s Own
Host: Professor Robert G. O’Meally Suggested Admission: $10.00 Writing can swing just like the best jazz, with great themes developed with a rhythm that rocks and rolls and surprises….
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February 3, 2015Something to Live For: The Strayhorn Centennial, Part One
Host: David Hajdu, author of Lush Life Suggested Admission: $10.00 1915 is the centennial of one of jazz’s greatest composers – Billy Strayhorn. NJMH will celebrate his life and music…
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January 27, 2015EVENT CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER: Listening Session with Ted Nash
Host: Ted Nash One of the best things about the NJMH’s intimate space is the ability for audience members to experience music in a way that just can’t happen in…
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January 20, 2015Joe Temperley Plays Ellington
With special guest, Russell Malone Admission: $20 NJMH kicks off a new series of chamber jazz concerts with a bang – Baritone saxophonist/bass clarinetist Joe Temperley belongs to that rarified…
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January 13, 2015Jazz on Film: The Inimitable Clark Terry
Host: Loren Schoenberg The subject of the recently released and widely acclaimed documentary, Keep On Keepin’ On, about a jazz legend’s relationship with a blind, talented student, trumpeter/educator/bandleader Clark Terry…
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January 6, 2015James Reese Europe & the Harlem Hellfighters – Jazz’s Forgotten Heroes
Host: Bobby Sanabria James Reese Europe is one of the most vital of all figures in the first two decades of 20th-century music. By founding the Clef Club and its…
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October 3, 2014Anja Lechner & Francois Couturier
German cellist Anja Lechner and French pianist Francois Couturier unveil their new duo and celebrate the release of their ECM CD, Moderato Cantabile, a striking, unusual album produced by Manfred Eicher.
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December 11, 2014The Year in Jazz: A Critics’ Panel
The National Jazz Museum in Harlem hosts a special event in Harlem Speaks series, which features interviews with icons of the jazz world. Five leading music critics converge to discuss The Year in Jazz in this critics roundtable, hosted and moderated by Nate Chinen, the music critic from The New York Times.
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December 16, 2014‘Monk’s Mood’
The piano is an inanimate object and a member of the percussion family. Very few pianists have been able to sculpt a completely new sound when playing it, and chief among those who have is Thelonious Monk.
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December 9, 2014Satch Plays W.C. Handy
In the 1920′s, Louis Armstrong recorded the music that set the style for jazz for the 20th century. That didn’t stop him from creating masterpieces for the rest of his career, which lasted for another four decades.
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December 2, 2014‘Kind of Blue’
This seminal 1959 recording captured trumpeter/conceptualist Miles Davis’ sextet with three young stars who would soon help set the direction for the next decade: saxophonists John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley, as well as the pianist Bill Evans.
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November 25, 2014The Wide, Wide, Wonderful World of The Apollo
Too much has been made of what distinguishes jazz from its close musical cousins in all genres of music, and this evening we’ll look for the close musical relationship between all sorts of Apollo Music.
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November 18, 2014A Milestone in Music History
James Brown decided to record his show live at the Apollo in 1962, and made music and show business history in the process.
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November 11, 2014Comedy Night
Moms Mabley, Pigmeat Markham and Redd Foxx all recorded classic albums with routines that drove the Apollo audiences into frenzies.
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November 4, 2014The Big Bands at the Apollo
The recordings bands made in the sterile confines of the studio were one thing – the way they opened up at the Apollo was quite something else! Join us for rare sounds of Ellington, Basie, Gillespie, Earl Hines, Fletcher Henderson and others as you’ve never heard them before.
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October 28, 2014Spanish Tinge – The Reign in Spain, The Caribbean, and Way South of the Border
Explores the jazz connection with Spain, particularly the Andalusian region with its diverse population of people, reflecting Moorish, Castilian, Sephardic, and Romani backgrounds, the early role of “Latin” elements in jazz, the development of distinctive Latin sounds in South America and the Caribbean, the mandolin’s origins in the Mediterranean, its relationship to a group of instruments in North Africa, Southern Europe, and the Near East, and its distinctive role in the music that developed with Spanish influence in the Americas.
view event October 21, 2014The French Connection and Jazz Without Borders
Explores, among other things, the unique place in the world of jazz occupied by France, which, from the earliest days of jazz, has been home or host not only to jazz innovators and experimentalists like Sidney Bechet, who was in Paris during the 1920’s and permanently relocated to France in the 1950’s, and Django Reinhardt, who added a new dimension to jazz, but also to mandolin maker experimentalists like Lucien Gelas, who was designing and making some of the most innovative instruments in the 1920’s, for which he received a Gold Medal at the Bordeaux Exhibition and a Gold Medal at the Brussels Exhibition in 1910 for his double top instruments, one of which, made in 1928, will be on display during the program.
view event October 14, 2014Near East Sweet – “A Thing” Meant Best When East Met West
This segment will discuss and musically explore the distinctive sounds of the Near East as interpreted by Duke Ellington, Victor Feldman, John Coltrane, Horace Silver, and others, and as they might have been performed if done using lute-like instruments common to parts of the region, such as the oud.
view event October 7, 2014Got The World on Eight Strings – Jazz as Diplomacy and Musicians as Refugees and Ambassadors
Explores the cross border musical legacy begun during the early part of the twentieth century and typified by trailblazing American musicians and composers like James Reese Europe and Sydney Bechet who found great acceptance in Europe, and immigrants to the U.S. like the accomplished Russian mandolinist Dave Apollon who arrived in the United States in the 1920’s.
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September 30, 2014Bebo’s Greatest Student: Chucho Valdés
This session looks at the career of Chucho Valdés, who became a towering pianistic figure in postrevolutionary Cuba — one of the world’s great pianists, with the discography to prove it.
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September 26, 2014John Escreet & The Sirius Quartet
Over the course of his career, John Escreet has earned a reputation as one of the most active and diverse composers working in jazz and improvised music. His prolific output…
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September 23, 2014Bebo Con Poco Coco
We’re going to play some of Bebo’s smoking-est numbers from the period when he was a leader in Cuban music.
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September 16, 2014Bebo Valdés – Giant of Cuban Music: Opening Night Reception
Through archival, modern, and field recordings, we’ll look at Cuban musical culture in the early twentieth century.
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September 9, 2014Jazz on Film: Old Man Bebo
On the opening night of the exhibit, we’ll listen to recordings from different moments of Bebo Valdés’s career to get a snapshot of who he was.
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August 26, 2014Who is Lester Young?
Celebrated as a main progenitor of the “cool” sensibility, saxophonist Lester Young introduced a new sound and a new attitude towards jazz. Through his early work with Count Basie and…
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August 19, 2014Who is Gil Evans?
Gil Evans changed the way jazz sounded through his original concept and orchestrations and his work with Miles Davis and others. Host: Ryan Truesdale.
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August 5, 2014Who is King Oliver?
Louis Armstrong always said that for inspiration, all he had to do was to close his eyes and see/hear King Oliver in his mind. We’ll take an in-depth look at…
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August 8, 2014Amir ElSaffar
The innovative Amir ElSaffar Quintet, featuring John Escreet on piano, Francois Moutin on bass, Dan Weiss on drums, Ole Mathisen on tenor saxophone, and ElSaffar on trumpet, re-imagines the Iraqi…
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August 7, 2014Remembering Ralph Ellison with Sidney Offit
On August 7th, acclaimed writer Sidney Offit will be interviewed by Paul Devlin and share his memories of his friendship with Ralph Ellison over four decades, as well as offer his perspective…
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August 12, 2014Who is Mary Lou Williams?
Pianist/arranger Mary Lou Williams wrote music that always looked forward – from her early work for Andy Kirk and Benny Goodman in the 30′s, for Ellington in the 40′s, and…
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August 2, 2014Drop Me Off in Harlem A Perform & Create Day
The National Jazz Museum in Harlem All-Stars bring the sounds of Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and the rhythm of iconic tap dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson to Meet The Artist Saturdays….
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August 1, 2014Manuel Valera
2013 Grammy Nominated Cuban composer and jazz pianist Manuel Valera releases his new solo album. Based in New York City, 2013 Grammy nominated artist, pianist and composer Manuel Valera was…
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July 29, 2014Who is Benny Goodman?
We celebrate Benny Goodman’s 105th birthday anniversary with a session devoted exclusively to his greatest band – the 1937 crew that included Harry James Lionel Hampton, Teddy Wilson and Gene Krupa.
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July 22, 2014Who is Sarah Vaughan?
There has never been the more influential or greatly loved jazz singer than Sarah Vaughan.
view event July 15, 2014Who is Louis Armstrong?
It has been wonderful to see how the interest in the genius that was Louis Armstrong has been steadily increasing in the years since his passing.
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July 8, 2014Who is Count Basie?
Ever since he first came to Kansas City in the 1930′s, Count Basie’s name has been synonymous with swing.
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June 24, 2014Who is Billie Holiday?
There were many jazz singers in the 1930’s and 40’s, but none have been remotely as alluring and influential as Lady Day, as she was known.
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June 17, 2014Who is Bill “Bojangles” Robinson?
Bill Robinson, born shortly after slavery was abolished, lived to see his image and his unique way of tapping his feet become internationally loved and influential.
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June 10, 2014Who is Ella Fitzgerald?
Very few 20th century artists are still known today by one word – in this case “Ella”.
view event June 3, 2014Who is Duke Ellington?
The composer of some of the world’s favorite melodies; a great pianist; a prime inspiration to the civil rights movement; a colorful, dynamic character; a very private yet very public man.
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May 27, 2014The Hall of Fame: Singer Betty Carter with Special Guests, Michael Mwenso and Charenee Wade
Join us for a series of fascinating evenings looking into some of the most legendary jazz artists being inducted into Jazz At Lincoln Center’s Hall of Fame next month. Singer…
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May 22, 2014Softly, With Feeling: Joe Wilder and the Breaking of Barriers in American Music, by Edward Berger
Sadly, trumpeter Joe Wilder passed away last week at the age of 92. He was a long-time member of our museum family as an educator, panelist, interviewee and friend. Fortunately,…
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May 20, 2014The Hall of Fame: Guitarist Wes Montgomery
Join us for a series of fascinating evenings looking into some of the most legendary jazz artists being inducted into Jazz At Lincoln Center’s Hall of Fame next month. Guitarist…
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May 13, 2014An Evening of Jazz on Film – the 2014 JALC Hall of Fame Inductees Elvin Jones, Betty Carter, Wes Montgomery, Fletcher Henderson
This year, bandleader/arranger Fletcher Henderson, drummer Elvin Jones, guitarist Wes Montgomery and singer Betty Carter have been elected to Jazz At Lincoln Center’s Hall of Fame. Join us for an…
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May 6, 2014The Hall of Fame: Discussing Drummer Elvin Jones with Author Pulitzer Prize winning author Paul Harding,
Join us for a series of fascinating evenings looking into some of the most legendary jazz artists being inducted into Jazz At Lincoln Center’s Hall of Fame next month. Few…
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August 28, 2008Eddie Bert, Trombonist
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September 11, 2008Cedar Walton, Pianist
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September 25, 2008Chico Hamilton, Drummer
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October 16, 2008Rhonda Hamilton, Jazz Broadcaster, WBGO
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November 13, 2008Hank O’Neal, Author/Producer
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November 20, 2008Justin DiCioccio, Drummer/educator
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December 11, 2008Andrew Cyrille, Drummer/Educator
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December 18, 2008Larry Willis, Pianist
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January 8, 2009Pat Martino, Guitarist
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January 22, 2009Dave Leibman, Saxophonist
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February 12, 2009Benny Golson, Saxophonist
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February 26, 2009Wendy Oxenhorn, Jazz Foundation of America
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March 12, 2009Toshiko Akiyoshi, Pianist
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March 26, 2009Phoebe Jacobs, Jazz Advocate
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April 16, 2009Randy Weston, Pianist
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April 23, 2009Charles Tolliver, Trumpeter
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May 14, 2009Lloyd Williams, President/CEO, Great Harlem Chamber Of Commerce
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June 4, 2009Jon Hendricks, Vocalist (Part I)
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June 5, 2009Etienne Charles, Trumpet
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July 9, 2009Jon Hendricks, Vocalist (Part II)
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2014 Benefit Concert with Dee Dee Bridgewater
Please join us for a special evening benefiting NJMIH with Dee Dee Bridgewater and special guests
view event August 27, 2009Eddie Gomez, Bassist
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September 10, 2009Clem DeRosa, Drummer/Educator
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September 24, 2009Jason Moran, Pianist
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October 8, 2009Sandra Reeves-Phillips, Vocalist
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November 5, 2009Sathima Bea Benjamin, Vocalist
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November 19, 2009Al Vollmer, Founder of Harlem Blues and Jazz Band
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December 17, 2009Ray Santos, Saxophonist/Composer
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January 14, 2010Connie Crothers, Pianist
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January 28, 2010Jack Kleinsinger, Impressario
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February 11, 2010Lew Soloff, Trumpeter
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March 11, 2010Kenny Barron, Pianist
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March 25, 2010Dick Griffin, Trombonist
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April 30, 2014International Jazz Day Celebration with host Michael Mwenso
In honor of International Jazz Day, the National Jazz Museum in Harlem (NJMH) will illuminate the truly global roots of jazz with an international jam session. Hosted by vocalist and man-about-town, Michael Mwenso, and curated by NJMH artistic director-at-large, Jonathan Batiste, this evening will epitomize the universal language that is jazz.
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April 29, 2014Maitreya Padukone, tabla
For our last Jazz For Curious Listeners discussion and live music series we are happy to have tabla virtuoso Maitreya Padukone.
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April 24, 2014Tim Porter, Jazz Mandolin Odyssey with Guitar and Bass
Tim Porter on mandolin, accompanied by virtuoso guitarist, Joe Selly, and internationally acclaimed bassist Santi Debriano, return to NJMH to perform and continue the musical dialogue highlighting the long history and continuing influence of mandolin in Blues, Jazz, and Latin music.
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April 22, 2014Amir El Saffar, trumpet
Iraqi-American trumpeter, santur player, vocalist, and composer Amir ElSaffar has distinguished himself with a mastery of disparate musical styles and a singular approach to combining aspects of Middle Eastern music with American jazz, extending the boundaries of each tradition and we are honored to have him talk and play music for us this evening.
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April 15, 2014Oran Etkin, clarinet and saxophone
Through years of experience in a myriad of musical cultures, Oran Etkin has developed a unique sound on the clarinet, bass-clarinet and saxophone that draws on ancient traditions from Africa, Israel, New Orleans and beyond, yet resonates with the driving energy of the current New York jazz scene. This makes him the perfect addition to our month-long discussion on cross cultural collaboration and world music “infiltration” into jazz.
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April 8, 2014Kavita Shah, vocalist
A native New Yorker of Indian origin fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and French, Ms. Shah incorporates elements of Indian, Brazilian, and Malian music into her jazz-based repertoire and we are thrilled to have her join us as we continue the cross cultural jazz discussion for International Jazz Month.
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April 16, 2014Listening Party Wednesdays: How Jazz Can Change Your Life: Curated by Jon Batiste with host Michael Mwenso
At these sessions, curated by NJMH Artistic Director At Large Jonathan Batiste, vocalist and elegant man about town Michael Mwenso will moderate a joyous listening party that you do not want to miss as the NJMH becomes THE happening spot in Harlem.
view event April 2, 2014Listening Party Wednesdays: How Jazz Can Change Your Life: Curated by Jon Batiste with host Michael Mwenso
At these sessions, curated by NJMH Artistic Director At Large Jonathan Batiste, vocalist and elegant man about town Michael Mwenso will moderate a joyous listening party that you do not want to miss as the NJMH becomes THE happening spot in Harlem.
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April 1, 2014Melissa Aldana with guest Pablo Menares
To kick off our month of live music and discussion highlighting incredible international jazz artists making waves in the New York jazz scene there is no better fit than the young Chilean tenor star Melissa Aldana.
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April 23, 2014Yeahwon Shin
South Korean singer Yeahwon Shin celebrates the release of her ECM debut CD, “Lua ya” a gentle album of songs and lullabies, with Aaron Parks on piano and Rob Curto on accordion.
view event April 8, 2010Joe Temperley, Saxophonist
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April 22, 2010Darcy James Argue, Bandleader
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May 6, 2010Wayne Escoffery, Saxophonist
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May 20, 2010Dave Samuels, Vibraphonist
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June 3, 2010Craig Harris, Trombonist/Composer
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June 17, 2010Paquito D’Rivera, Composer/Saxophonist/Clarinetist
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July 8, 2010Frank Stewart, Photographer
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July 29, 2010Michael Cuscuna, Record Producer
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August 5, 2010Joe Lovano, Saxophonist
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August 26, 2010Steve Coleman, Saxophonist
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September 16, 2010Lou Donaldson, Saxophonist
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September 30, 2010Steve Wilson, Saxophonist
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October 14, 2010Bruce Lundvall, Producer
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October 28, 2010Aaron Goldberg, Pianist
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November 4, 2010Eric Person, Saxophonist
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November 11, 2010Dave Valentin, Flutist
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December 2, 2010Mike Ledonne, Pianist
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December 16, 2010Greg Osby, Saxophonist
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January 13, 2011Steven Bernstein, Trumpeter
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January 27, 2011Tommy LiPuma, Producer
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February 10, 2011Antonio Hart, Saxophonist
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March 3, 2011Farrah Jasmine Griffin, Author
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March 24, 2011Renee Rosnes, Pianist
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April 7, 2011James Spaulding, Flutist/Saxophonist
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May 5, 2011Gene Bertoncini, Guitarist
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May 19, 2011Bennie Wallace, Saxophonist
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June 9, 2011Michael Carvin, Drummer
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June 23, 2011Sonny Fortune, Saxophonist
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July 28, 2011Lew Tabackin, Tenor Sax and Flute
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August 18, 2011Vincent Gardner, Trombonist
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September 15, 2011Jane Ira Bloom, Soprano Saxophonist
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September 29, 2011Jimmy Heath, Saxophonist, Composer and Arranger
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October 6, 2011George Cables, Pianist
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October 20, 2011Jason Miles, Keyboardist and Producer
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November 17, 2011Maurice Peress, Conductor
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December 1, 2011Hal Galper, Pianist
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December 15, 2011Steve Turre, Trombonist
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January 12, 2012Wycliffe Gordon, Trombonist
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February 9, 2012Jaleel Shaw, Saxophonist
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February 16, 2012Don Sickler, Arranger
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March 15, 2012Matthew Shipp, Pianist
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March 29, 2012Ben Williams, Bassist
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April 12, 2012Ed Neumeister, Trombonist
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April 26, 2012Vince Giordano, Bandleader
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May 31, 2012Daniel Bernard Roumain, Violinist — Interviewed by Jonathan Batiste
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June 7, 2012Michael Mwenso, Vocalist
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July 26, 2012Helen Merrill, Vocalist
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August 16, 2012Nasheet Waits, Drummer
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August 21, 2012A Month With Christian McBride — Jazz In The Movies: The 70s
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June 20, 2013Jerry Dodgion, Saxophonist
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August 23, 2012Ralph Peterson Jr., Drummer
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September 27, 2012George Gee, Bandleader
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October 4, 2012Rome Neal, Singer/Playwright
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October 25, 2012An Evening for Marian McPartland
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November 15, 2012Ted Nash, Saxophonist
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November 29, 2012Bill Kirchner, Saxophonist
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December 6, 2012Richard Wyands, Pianist
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December 13, 2012Jean-Michel Pilc, Pianist
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March 14, 2013Jack Walrath, Trumpet Player
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April 25, 2013Awa Sangho: Malian Blues Singer
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August 13, 2013Voza Rivers, Arts Advocate/Producer
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September 26, 2013Kansas City Comes to Harlem: An Evening with Stanley Crouch and Charlie Parker
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March 20, 2014Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism: with author Thomas Brothers
Join us as NJMH Artistic Director Loren Schoenberg and the author Thomas Brothers discuss the definitive account of a man whose musical legacy remains uncontested today.
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March 25, 2014Ellison Out Loud: Stage Actors Read from his Masterpieces
It’s one thing to read great words on the page, and another to hear them spoken aloud. Please join us as we bring Ralph Ellison’s words off the page to life, brought to life by two of New York’s most talented actors.
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March 6, 2014Shadow and Act: The Friends of Ralph Ellison with Stanley Crouch and Robert G. O’Meally
Two of America’s most distinguished authors join us this evening for a reflection on their mutual friend, Ralph Ellison: Professor Robert G. O’Meally and author Stanley Crouch.
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March 4, 2014“Ralph Ellison: The Man and His Records” Exhibition Opening
Leading up to our April 30th International Jazz Day concert at MIST, Jazz For Curious Listeners is focusing on the global influence of jazz with NYC’s premiere jazz musicians from around the world.
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March 19, 2014Listening Party Wednesdays: How Jazz Can Change Your Life
In this special interactive performance series curated by Jon Batiste and hosted by Michael Mwenso we will demonstrate how jazz can improve the quality of our lives.
view event March 12, 2014Listening Party Wednesdays: How Jazz Can Change Your Life
In this special interactive performance series curated by Jon Batiste and hosted by Michael Mwenso we will demonstrate how jazz can improve the quality of our lives.
view event March 5, 2014Listening Party Wednesdays: How Jazz Can Change Your Life
In this special interactive performance series curated by Jon Batiste and hosted by Michael Mwenso we will demonstrate how jazz can improve the quality of our lives.
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March 18, 2014Trading Twelves: The Ralph Ellison-Albert Murray Continuum
Continuing this month’s celebration of the centenary of Ralph Ellison’s birth, long-time NJMH contributor Greg Thomas hosts a discussion, “The Ralph Ellison-Albert Murray Continuum,” centering on the cultural, intellectual and personal ties between Ellison and his friend and fellow writer Albert Murray.
view event March 11, 2014Visible Man: Ellison on Film with Paul Devlin
Paul Devlin will host a screening and discussion of Ralph Ellison’s most important appearance on film in which he discusses and reads from his work, along with filmed discussions of Ellison’s friends discussing his life and work, and film adaptations of his work.
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May 28, 2013Andrew Nemr and Yacouba Sissoko
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July 23, 2013Alfonso Cid and Itamar Borochov
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August 8, 2013Maritza Wellington Owens, CEO of Harvest Home; Brother Num, percussionist
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September 12, 2013Linda Oh, Kassa Overall and Jonathan Batiste
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February 5, 2014Jazz Talk: Learn to Sing Jazz in 60 Minutes!
Loren Schoenberg, executive director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, hosts a close-listening session of Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday followed by a group sing-along. Learn what constitutes jazz versus other musical genres, and then put theory into practice!
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September 6, 2013The Donny McCaslin Sax Quartet
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September 20, 2013Samuel Torres Group: Forced Displacement
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September 10, 2013Bird of a Nation: Charlie Parker and Clint Eastwood’s Biopic, Guests Jimmy Heath And Robert O’Meally
Clint Eastwood had the best of intentions when he created his Charlie Parker biopic Bird in 1988. Nonetheless, it perpetuated many of the myths that still dog Jazz and its…
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February 10, 2014The National Jazz Museum Presents: Spontaneous Combustion with Jonathan Batiste
The National Jazz Museum in Harlem (NJMH) presents the ‘Spontaneous Combustion’ series once again at Rockwood Music Hall hosted by NJMH Artist Director-At-Large, Jon Batiste. All proceeds from this event will go towards the NJMH’s urgent initiative to find a new home in Harlem.
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January 31, 2014“Friday Night in Harlem” at The Apollo Theater ft. Jonathan Batiste
NJMH is thrilled to announce that Artistic Director At-Large, Jonathan Batiste, is the recipient of the Apollo Theater’s Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong Legacy Award. Jonathan will receive the award and perform as part of the Apollo Theater’s “Friday Night in Harlem” Super Bowl celebration and mega-concert featuring performances by Regina Belle, Cecil Bridgewater, Arturo O’Farrill and more!
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February 28, 2014Kavita Shah & Lionel Loueke
Kavita Shah, a visionary young singer who incorporates elements of Indian, Brazilian, and Malian music into her jazz-based repertoire, is joined by Benin-born jazz guitarist/vocalist (and producer of her upcoming album), Lionel Loueke.
view event February 25, 2014A Long Shadow on “Pres” Day
We use Pres or Prez, nicknames for Lester Young, in a symbolic sense for all of the great jazz innovators of the second half of the twentieth century who cast a long shadow influencing generations of subsequent musicians- including several contemporary mandolinists.
view event February 18, 2014Musings on Mardi Gras – Mandolin Skinny on Fat Tuesday
New Orleans, Mobile, and Rio are among the cities that celebrate this occasion which, like jazz, combines influences from around the world.
view event February 11, 2014What Love’s Got to Do With It
The mandolin, with its lute ancestry, renaissance instrument relatives, kinship with the human vocal range, and nineteenth century parlor music history, was perhaps more fitting than most instruments to express the many themes on the subject of romance.
view event February 4, 2014Migration Sketches – Hand Me Down My Mandolin
Join us for a musical reflection on Black History Month as we look at the mandolin during The Great Migration.
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January 16, 2014Body and Soul: Rhythm and the Body with Frederick Schjang and LaFrae Sci
In this installment of the Parallax Conversation series we will have fitness instructor and physical therapist Frederick Schjang in conversation with drummer LaFrae Sci on the connections between the body, rhythm, and music.
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January 28, 2014Rhythm and Dance with Michela Marino Lerman
Michela Marino Lerman, will join us for a discussion on the dynamic presence of dance in jazz and demonstrate her wonderful talent. Michela was a student of Buster Brown and Gregory Hines and has collaborated with Benny Golson, Roy Hargrove, Ravi Coltrane, and Marcus Strickland to name a few!
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January 21, 2014The Truth: Rhythm and Writing with Paul Harding
POSTPONED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER – Literary history is chock full of authors who, inspired by musical rhythms, have strove to integrate them into their writing.. This evening, NJMH is happy to welcome into its family of collaborators musician and author, Paul Harding.
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January 14, 2014A Cutting Session: Rhythm in Film with Emily Hubley
At the root of cinema is the art of editing; the assemblage of footage in time, which by definition creates its own rhythm. As part of our regular collaboration with the Maysles Institute and Cinema, we are proud to present filmmaker Emily Hubley, who has been making animated shorts since 1980.
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January 9, 2014Billy Drummond, Drummer
Critically acclaimed drummer Billy Drummond joins NJMH this month for our landmark oral history series, Harlem Speaks.
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February 6, 2014Broadway Boogie Woogie: Rhythm in the Visual Arts with Bob O’Meally
This evening we will investigate the influence that jazz had on such masters as Stuart Davis, Piet Mondrian and Romare Bearden with Professor Robert G. O’Meally, Columbia University’s Zora Neale Hurston Professor of English and Comparative Literature, and founder and director of the Center for Jazz Studies.
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January 17, 2014Douglas Detrick & the Anywhen Ensemble
Celebrating the release of their new album on Parma Recordings, “The Bright and Rushing World,” Douglas Detrick’s Anywhen Ensemble melds a dynamic chamber performance (composed for trumpet, sax, cello, bassoon, and drums) with jazz improvisation.
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December 17, 2013Creole Roots Plus
The many wonders of the Savory Collection will receive thrillingly new and varied interpretations in this imaginative evening of music with giants violinist and Matt Glaser and trumpeter Etienne Charles and more!
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December 13, 2013Alan Broadbent
Two-time Grammy Award-winning pianist Alan Broadbent, called “one of the greatest living jazz pianists” by the LA Times and “one of the most original improvisers in the world of jazz” by Charlie Haden, comes to the Rubin Museum for the first time, and on the heels of a rare five-star rating from DownBeat Magazine for his latest album, “Heart to Heart.”
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February 20, 2014Bill Savory and the Heroics of Sound, with Doug Pomeroy
Join us as fabled sound engineer Doug Pomeroy reveals some of the secrets of his trade and what the Savory Collection means to it. His passion for what he does promises to make this an unforgettable night!
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December 6, 2013Meg Okura & the Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble
“Chamber jazz has found its queen in Meg Okura,” boasted All About Jazz of Okura whose concert and new CD pay an acoustic tribute to synth-pop pioneer Ryuichi Sakamoto.
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December 5, 2013Harlem Swings!
Featuring new interpretations of music from The Savory Collection with Jimmy Heath, Ethan Iverson, Aaron Diehl, Dominick Farinacci and Peter Evans
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December 3, 2013Bill Savory the Innovator, with Susan Schmidt-Horning
Join author Susan Schmidt-Horning, the only historian ever granted extensive interviews with Bill Savory, for an evening dedicated the untold story behind this one-of-a-kind American genius.
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December 12, 2013The Year in Jazz: A Critics Roundtable
Five renowned music critics who write for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR Music, The New Yorker and The Village Voice discuss the highlights of this year in jazz.
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November 22, 2013Matt Marantz and Sam Harris Quartet
Saxophone player Matt Marantz, “a deeply sincere and meditative player,” (Downbeat) teams with pianist Sam Harris lead a quartet with Martin Nevin on bass and Lee Fish on drums.
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November 20, 2013Echoes of Harlem: Classic Jazz Treasures featuring Loren Schoenberg
Jazz saxophonist Loren Schoenberg, Artistic Director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, brings the rare, recently-discovered Savory Collection jazz recordings to life. Schoenberg, with an all-star Bay Area jazz band, riffs along with, the classic jazz treasures.
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November 21, 2013Dayna Stephens
Join us for an interview with internationally renowned saxophonist/ composer/educator Dayna Stephens!
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November 7, 2013Sunny Jain & Matt Moran
To take a new look at the New Orleans second-line tradition and its NYC incarnations, this evening features brass band heavy hitters Sunny Jain of Red Baraat and Matt Moran of Slavic Soul Party!
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November 14, 2013Larry Blumenfeld & Ben Jaffe
Join Larry Blumenfeld of the WSJ and Village Voice and Ben Jaffe of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band for a NOLA throw-down!
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November 26, 2013Tuning into Tremé
Part 4: The “New” New Orleans with special guest, Tremé producer Eric Overmyer
view event November 19, 2013Tuning into Tremé
Part 3: It Happens in the Street
view event November 12, 2013Tuning into Tremé
Part 2: What is New Orleans Tradition? With special guest, pianist Courtney Bryan
view event November 5, 2013Tuning into Tremé
Part 1: Glorious Noises and Noise Ordinances
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October 29, 2013The Evolution of the Jazz Mandolin
The last session in our series on the jazz mandolin will focus on the further development of mandolin jazz through Swing, Bebop, and the present with discussion on the contemporary mandolinists.
view event October 22, 2013The Evolution of the Jazz Mandolin
The mandolin music of the 1930’s, 40’s , 50’s, and 60’s was influenced in large part by six musicians: Dave Apollon, Bill Monroe, Yank Rachell, Howard Armstrong, Tiny Moore, and Jethro Burns. The fourth segment in our mandolin series takes a look at these masters and the spreading of mandolin to blues, bluegrass and swing.
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October 31, 2013David Amram, composer/multi-instrumentalist
We are honored to have as our guest multi-instrumentalist, composer and author David Amram, rightfully hailed as a Renaissance man of American Music for our Harlem Speaks interview series.
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October 16, 2013Unusual Instruments in the Savory Collection Featuring Scott Robinson
In this second of a series of concerts produced in collaboration with the National Endowment of the Arts, the NJMH celebrates The Savory Collection by presenting multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson as he reacts and creates to the never-before-heard sounds from 70+ years ago.
view eventNaren Budhakar, tabla & Sylvain Leroux, Guinean tambin flute and ngoni
In this installation of the Parallax Conversation Series we are excited to have two world music masters that have brought an unusual instrument to the forefront of their respective genres as well as jazz. Not only are Snehasish Mozumder and Sylvain Leroux virtuosos on the mandolin and tambin flute, respectively, but they have invented unique variations of the instruments.
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October 9, 2013ImproviNation: An Evening with OneBeat on Freestyling Across the Globe and Around the Block
An evening of live music and discussion on cross-cultural collaboration, cultural diplomacy and what the philosophy behind jazz can teach us about getting along.
view event October 1, 2013The Evolution of the Jazz Mandolin
Part 1: “Once Upon a Time” The first segment on the evolution of jazz mandolin will examine the 17th and 18th century origins of the mandolin in the Mediterranean to…
view event October 15, 2013The Evolution of the Jazz Mandolin
In the third segment of the jazz mandolin series, we discuss the explosion of mandolin playing and the development of mandolin groups in the teens and 1920′s.
view event October 8, 2013The Evolution of the Jazz Mandolin
Part two of the jazz mandolin sessions will discuss the simultaneous popularity of ragtime in America and choro in Brazil.
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October 4, 2013FFEAR
FFEAR (Forum for Electro-Acoustic Research) is an improvising quartet co-led by Chris Washburne and Ole Mathisen, and is Washburne’s most adventurous project to date.
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