EMPOWERING ARTISTS. BUILDING COMMUNITIES. BETTER TOGETHER.

Burnt Sugar creates new work for Apollo Theater's 75th anniversary
The Apollo Theater is widely recognized for its prominent role in previewing American culture to the public and has served as a valuable performance venue for quality theatrical productions such as George C. Wolfe’s Harlem Song and Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam. The Salon Series is an innovative series featuring new works by emerging and established artists and is the landmark theater’s on-going venture into alternative programming. The artists and new works to be presented are selected by the Apollo’s Vice President of Programming, Laura Greer.  
More info at Apollo Theater

As part of their 75th Anniversary's events Burnt Sugar has been commissioned to create a new piece of music and re-orchestration of several medley's taken from James Brown's 3 'Live At The Apollo' albums.

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The family and friends of George Russell will be celebrating the life and legacy of the legendary composer, theoretician and innovator whose profound influence on artists of all musical disciplines spanned more than half a century. The memorial will take place on Saturday May 8 at 4PM at All Souls Church on 80th Street and Lexington Avenue in New York City. Doors will open to the public at 3:30.

Russell is a pivotal figure in the evolution of modern jazz. As the music's only major theorist and one of its most profound composers, he is a trailblazer whose ideas have inspired and literally transformed some of the greatest musicians of our time.

For more information please visit georgerussell.com

Founded in 1964 by concert soprano Dorothy Maynor, the prestigious Harlem School of the Arts narrowly missed shutting its doors for good early last month, but thanks to a last-minute influx of $1 million in grants from the Herb Alpert Foundation, the Starr Foundation and more, the school recently re-opened with five new board members and a commitment to more focused and active fundraising. With such high-profile New Yorkers as Mary J. Blige leading the charge, it’s clear that the power of the arts really can make a difference in mobilizing whole communities. 

More at the NY Times' City Room blog

P-Funk alums Bernie Worrell and Blackbyrd McKnight join forces with Melvin Gibbs and J.T. Lewis to release their debut album as SociaLybrium — a whole ’nother breed of funk-rock supergroup.

For You • For Us • For All
in stores January 19

Recorded during a week-long burst of creative jamming in an intimate Brooklyn studio with minimal overdubs, For You • For Us • For All documents a communal trip into the unknown where four high-caliber musicians can play together on equal footing, but also where the listener is encouraged to join the fray. The result is a raw, wide-open statement that invites comparisons to post-psychedelic funk acts like Chairmen of the Board, Fantastic Four or McKinley Jackson and the Politicians (whose 1972 Hot Wax classic “Free Your Mind” gets updated here). Call it freestyle Afro-fusion, electric church music or gutbucket street funk—however you slice it, SociaLybrium can get down in any style, at any given moment.
 

Featuring Bernie Worrell, Blackbyrd McKnight, Melvin Gibbs and J.T. Lewis. 10pm Friday October 23 at Sullivan Hall (214 Sullivan St. between Bleecker and W. 3st.). Set starts at 9:30pm (opening for Bonerama).
 
Tickets $20 adv, $25 door. Limited number of CMJ badges accepted.

Featuring On Ka’a Davis (electric guitar, acoustic nylon string guitar, electric violin, voice), Nick Gianni (baritone sax), “Electric” Meg Montgomery (electric trumpet), Magama Skosana (keyboard & electric bass) and David “Riddim-Athon” Pleasant (drums), plus special guests.

SPECIAL MIDNIGHT SHOW
Friday October 23 at The Stone 
16 Avenue C (at 2nd St.)
Tickets $10 at the door

Celebrating the release of Seeds Of Djuke (LiveWired Music) and Djoukoujou! (Tzadik)

Need we say more?

Making their debut in Brooklyn!

How often does a bona fide member of the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame and the co-founder of one of the most influential groups of all time (Parliament-Funkadelic) strut his chops in Brooklyn? The answer is hardly ever, but for two nights only, you can catch Bernie Worrell in all his synth-fueled splendor for the NYC debut of his latest supergroup SociaLybrium. Featuring fellow P-Funk alum Blackbyrd McKnight on guitar, Brooklyn bassist Melvin Gibbs (Rollins Band, Elevated Entity) on low end and J.T. Lewis (Lou Reed, Elevated Entity) on drums, this is one daunting foursome of jam-funk heavies, all of them ready to rock the future.

New album coming January 2010 on LiveWired Music!