The Underworld Jazz Festival was launched in 2018 to amplify rich, colorful and nuanced Black art traditions. They use the word “underworld” because despite the revenue it generates, Black art remains marginal to mainstream society. They use the term “jazz”; less as genre and more as a way to think about approach to music, creativity and life.
In 2022, the Jazz festival was crowned as the “Black Arts” Festival to truly demonstrate our dedication to 360° of Black Creativity.
Underworld Jazz & Black Arts Festival exercises traditions such as the Mobilization of Congo Square [Pop Up Improvised Jazz] and the cultivation of collaborations between Cincinnati based, regional and International artists. Here Napoleon Maddox, UNDERWORLD Jazz Festival’s executive Director, explains the “Mobilization of Congo Square” project :
The UNDERWORLD Black Arts Jazz Festival is sponsored by the Common Good ALLIANCE, Arts Wave, BLINK, Black Spirits Legacy, Cincinnati Arts Association and Trinity Films Entertainment Group.
Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber (BRIC Jazz Festival Edition) Shelley Nicole – Vocals/Conduction ~ Bruce Mack – Vocals/Synthesizer/Conduction ~ Ms. Olithea – Vocals ~ Abby Dobson – Vocals ~ Lewis “Flip” Barnes – Trumpet ~ V. Jeffrey Smith – Soprano/Tenor Sax ~ Avram Fefer – Bari Sax ~ Dave “Smoota” Smith – Trombone ~ Leon “Misha” Gruenbaum – Electric Keys/Samchillian ~ Ben Tyree – Electric Guitar ~ Shawn Banks – Percussion ~ Chris Eddleton – Trap Drums ~ Jared Michael Nickerson – Electric “Bubble” Bass
Before and after BSAC’s set DJ Spinna will be throwing down on the ones and twos.
The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership is a not-for-profit local development corporation that serves as the primary champion for Downtown Brooklyn as a world-class business, cultural, educational, residential, and retail destination. Working together with the three Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) that it manages – the MetroTech BID, Fulton Mall Improvement Association, and Court-Livingston-Schermerhorn BID – the Partnership’s diverse activities include attracting new businesses and improving the environment for existing companies, facilitating the construction of public spaces and street scapes that promote an active and cohesive community, supporting and promoting Downtown Brooklyn’s cultural assets, and encouraging a sense of place and an engaged civic community. For more information, visit www.downtownbrooklyn.com.
At the corner of Flatbush and Lafayette, The Plaza at 300 Ashland is Downtown Brooklyn’s newest public space in the heart of the Brooklyn Cultural District. Managed, programmed and maintained by Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, the plaza hosts events as part of the Downtown Brooklyn Presents series, a calendar of programming including film screenings, concerts, theater performances, dance & fitness classes, readings, community gatherings, and more. These events are all free and open to the public, with the goal of serving the community, the Downtown Brooklyn neighborhood, and NYC’s cultural community at large.
Additional support for programming at the Plaza at 300 Ashland is provided by Two Trees Management Co. and Whole Foods Market.
On June 19, 2022, The Court Square Civic Association and local restaurant M. Wells will host a block party filled with activities for all ages, including live music curated by Steve Shelley and Ernie Brooks, food, drinks, crafts, a pop-up playground, kiddie pools, puppet acts, comedy, vinyl vendors and more. Crescent Street in Long Island City N.Y. will be open and car-free, allowing local residents and visitors space to hang outside, relax and enjoy the day with the community. This event is presented by Sarah M. Wells, the Court Square Civic Association, The QPD Dentist, Kuei Luck Early Childhood Center in LIC, Bridges Eyecare and Insta Vet. Music from 12-7pm by:
75 Dollar Bill Little Big Band (5:30pm)
Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber (4pm)
L Train Brass Band (3pm)
Smokey’s Round-Up featuring Smokey Hormel (Beck, Tom Waits) (2pm)
Tape Hiss featuring Ernie Brooks (Modern Lovers), Peter Zummo (Lounge Lizards, Arthur Russell) Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), Pete Galub + David Nagler. (1pm)
For public transportation via subway, take the 7, N, or W trains to Queensboro Plaza. You can also take the 7, E, G, or M to Court Square.
“Gregory Stephen Ionman Tate (1957-2021), was an amazing son, brother, father, grandfather, uncle, nephew, cousin – a family man in the deepest African sense. A proud Harlem resident, he was also an invaluable friend, a generous mentor to many, and a gentle giant of Black radical thought and creativity. Please join us for this major celebration of Greg’s life and works.” – The Tate Family
Burnt Sugar/Danz was founded in 2002 by writer/musician/conductor Greg Tate and dancer/choreographer/filmmaker Gabri Christa as a radical melding of Christa’s profound relationship to movement and Tate’s equally rigorous approach to music. The collaboration they formed was rooted in the work of Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber, the sprawling band of virtuosos that Tate founded and co-led – a multi-generational ensemble inspired by Butch Morris’ CONDUCTION system for improvising orchestras. Burnt Sugar/Danz, which made its debut at SummerStage in Central Park that same year, draws upon the cream of the crop in New York City’s music, choreographic, and dance-performance talent to create innovative, never-before-seen works, live, and in real time. Adopting Morris’ baton gestures and hand-sign vocabulary to dance, Burnt Sugar/Danz presents an alchemical blend of spontaneously composed music and choreography. This 20th-anniversary celebration, held in tribute to Tate, includes guest appearances by Harriet Tubman, the avant power trio known for its deep fusion of soul, rock, and jazz; the Resistance Revival Chorus, a collective of more than 60 women and non-binary singers; the Bardo Steppers, a deep-funk second-line procession of drums and horns led by bassist Melvin Gibbs; and DJ Reborn, a trailblazing international DJ, sound collage artist, and arts educator, also the resident DJ for Ms. Lauryn Hill’s world tour and the founder of DJs for Justice.
Programming will kick offat 6:00PMwith DJ REBORN and a Bardo Steppers processional.
Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage is one of New York’s most beloved, broadly accessible, free outdoor performing arts festivals. SummerStage presents free concerts in parks throughout the five boroughs. With performances in genres that represent the cultural fabric of New York City ranging from jazz, hip hop, Latin, global, indie and contemporary dance, SummerStage fills a vital niche in New York City’s summer arts festival landscape. Since its inception nearly 40 years ago, more than six million people from New York City and around the world have enjoyed SummerStage.
Gregory Stephen Ionman Tate (1957-2021) was a giant of Black radical thought and creativity, and a conductor of incandescent, community-driven music. Tate’s sudden passing in December 2021 was a blow to his many loved ones, friends, collaborators, and admirers around the globe.
Tate’s body of writing as an influential critic would be enough to enshrine him as a cultural icon, but he is equally important to a generation of musicians as both the co-founder of the Black Rock Coalition, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the complete creative freedom of Black artists; and the creator of Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber, a sprawling, omnivorous, and outrageously accomplished improv collective. Under his co-leadership, BSAC has issued more than 20 releases in its two-decade-plus history, featuring a cavalcade of virtuoso musicians.
For this homecoming concert, curated and presented with The Tate Family at one of his favorite venues, more than thirty BSAC members will perform in celebration and tribute to one of the most essential voices in the history of 21st Century Avant Groidd music and thought.
Liza Jessie Peterson – MC, Freedome Bradley – MC, Pastor Kaji Dousa – MC
Vernon Reid – Conduction, Lisala Beatty – Vocals, Shelley Nicole – Vocals & Conduction, Bruce Mack – Vocals/Synthesizer & Conduction, Karma Mayet – Vocals, Abby Dobson – Vocals, Sequoyah Murray – Vocals, Shariff Simmons – Vocals, Simi Stone – Violin, Satch Hoyt – Flute & Percussion, Lewis “Flip” Barnes – Trumpet, JS Williams – Trumpet, Avram Fefer – Soprano Sax, V. Jeffrey Smith – Tenor Sax, “Moist” Paula Henderson – Bari Sax, Dave “Smoota” Smith – Trombone, Leon Gruenbaum – Keyboards & Samchillian, Ben Tyree – Electric Guitar, Andre Lassalle – Electric Guitar, Jason DiMatteo – Acoustic Bass, Shawn Banks – Congas, LaFrae Sci – Trap Drums & Electronics, Marque Gilmore tha’ Inna•Most – Trap Drums & Electronics, Jared Michael Nickerson – Electric Bass & Conduction
Bill Toles – BSAC Media Design, LaRonda Davis – BSAC Stage Crew, Ginny Suss – BSAC Stage Crew.
Poster art – Amy Gail. Created with photos by Nisha Sondhe, Laura Williams, Daryl Tillman, Ginny Suss, Simone Cassas, & Sachyn Mital.
Lincoln Center’s Summer For the City Festival (May 14th – August 14th) Health & Safety Notice (April 2022)
“At this time, face coverings and proof of COVID-19 vaccination will not be required; however, face coverings are welcome and we encourage everyone to complete their primary vaccination series and get boosted before attending.
These protocols are subject to change in accordance with any updates to city and state guidelines, rules and regulations, and other health and safety recommendations from our medical and public health advisors.
Guests of all ages are welcome to attend.
Please stay home if you do not feel well. If you have come in contact recently with someone who has tested positive or you have recently tested positive, please refer to the latest CDC guidelines for isolation, quarantine and masking recommendations.
Lead Support for Summer for the City Community Programming is provided by Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)
Presenting support for Summer for the City is provided by SK Group
Major support for Summer for the City is provided by the Mellon Foundation, the LuEsther Mertz Charitable Trust, and First Republic Bank
Additional support is provided by Chanel, the Ford Foundation, the Shubert Foundation, Amazon, the Scully Peretsman Foundation, and Lincoln Center’s 21/22 Donors and Members
Endowment support is provided by the Blavatnik Family Foundation Fund for Dance, The Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Foundation, Oak Foundation, PepsiCo Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund
NewYork-Presbyterian is the Official Hospital of Lincoln Center
Burnt Sugar is honored to be making our Carnegie Hall debut as a part of the inaugural Afrofuturism Festival.
This performance will be the culmination of a one-of-a-kind workshop for six rising musicians who will be featured alongside our ever-changing band that prides itself on “never playing anything the same way once.”
Sunday, April 3, 2022 7:30 PM Zankel Hall @ Carnegie Hall NYC Seventh Avenue between 56th and 57th streets
Shelley Nicole, Vocals, Percussion and Conduction Lisala Beatty, Vocals Sequoyah Murray, Vocals Bruce Mack, Vocals and Synthesizer Julia Kent, Cello JS Williams, Trumpet Lewis “Flip” Barnes, Trumpet V. Jeffrey Smith, Saxophones Avram Fefer, Saxophones Dave “Smoota” Smith, Trombone Leon Gruenbaum, Piano and Samchillian Ben Tyree, Electric Guitar Keith Witty, Bass LaFrae Sci, Trap Drums, Electronics and Conduction Marque Gilmore tha’ Inna•Most, Trap Drums, Electronics and Conduction Jared Michael Nickerson, Electric Bass and Conduction + Special Guest
Workshop Participants
Lauren Hayes, Harp Miss Olithea, Vocals Julian Terrell Otis, Vocals Jose F. Solares, Saxophones Oliver Tuttle, Trombone
