Welcome to Philadelphia Jazz Project
Who Got The Jazz #4
Apr 21, 2014
Philadelphia Jazz Project and Philadelphia’s leading hiphop presenting vehicle, Veteran Freshman and its chief, Yusuf Muhammad join forces to present a series of live hip-hop/jazz music events at World Cafe Live continuing on Tuesday, April 29th.
World Cafe Live
3025 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 222-1400
It's April, Jazz Appreciation Month [we call in Philly JAM] and we have something exciting for you. Don't sleep on this one and miss out on a special night. The Who Got The Jazz series, inspired by the classic “Jazz” by A Tribe Called Quest, Who Got The Jazz, brings together live jazz and hip-hop performers collaborating together and paying homage to a jazz legend.
This month's featured jazz artist is Gil Scot-Heron (1949 –2011); poet, musician, and author, who rose to national attention in the 1970's and 80s with his powerful political poetry that spoke to a large, diverse and extremely loyal fan base. With his partner/collaborator, musician Brian Jackson, Scot-Heron would record a number of exceptional albums and influence a generation of young people who would create politically charged Hiphop music in the 1990s. With a special connection to Philadelphia, Gil Scot-Heron graduated from nearby Lincoln University and many Philadelphians remember him or knew him well.
As intense as he was as a poet, he also an innovative song writer. Not trained as a musician, Gil Scot-Heron fused Jazz, with Gospel, Soul, R&B, Blues and his personal/political/spiritual messages. He and others of his generation, like Leon Thomas, Norman Connors, Andy Bey, Gary Bartz, Doug Carn would write and perform tunes that challenged what a Jazz song could be and moved beyond the love songs that permeated the tradition, extending the Jazz canon.
The special guests for April’s show are Hiphop and R&B artists, Seff Al-Friqi, Suzann Christine, Rico Anderson and Koby Murphy. They will be joined by the awesome, Who Got The Jazz house band, which features musical director, Nimrod Speaks on bass, keyboardist Luke Carlos O’Reilly and Khary Shaheed on drums. Sitting in to pay special tribute to Gil Scot-Heron, is the legendary percussionist, Robert Kenyatta.
Who Got The Jazz will be hosted by Sonny The Host. There will be raffles, prizes and more. Click here for tickets and more information.
