05/10/2014
The Hell'’s Kitchen Cultural Center, Inc. & Abby London-Crawford
Present two evenings of theater and music on Friday, June 6th; and Saturday, June 7, 2014,
The Church for All Nations, 417 West 57th Street, (9th & 10th Avenue), NYC:
Friday, June 6, 2014
“Elevated Moon,” with JD Parran and artist Amir Bey, at 7:30 PM;
admission: $15, $10 students/seniors.
Saturday, June 7, 2014
In Performance Music Workshop, a Multi-Generational Jazz Orchestra at 8 PM;
admission: $15, $12 students/seniors.
The Hell's Kitchen Cultural Center, Inc. and Abby London-Crawford are proud to present "Elevated Moon," the collaboration between the multi-instrumentalist JD Parran with sculptor, astrologer, and set/costume designer Amir Bey on Friday, June 6, 2014 at the Church for All Nations, 417 West 57th Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues, in Manhattan.
Parran will perform original solo works for flutes and melodious percussion while immersed in Bey’s mixed-media installation that will include costumes and tapestries. Taking inspiration from the movements of the planets, while recognizing the elevated position the moon will occupy on this night, the evening will be an improvisation around the question: Does the Moon determine our choices during its cycles, or are we choosing which of the Lunar channels we sail through?
In this environment, costumed as the Moon itself, Mr. Parran will employ an array of instruments such as bass flute, a group of bamboo flutes ranging from high to low, and percussion instruments such as mbiras, marimbula, chimes, bells and shakers. There will be poetry by Mr. Bey and he will introduce the Astrologo, a percussive instrument.
Astrologos are sculptures whose forms incorporate relationships between the Sun, Earth, and Lunar phases. For this performance, he has created mobiles and "Axes," made of galvanized sheet metal, that are highly resonant when played. The Astrologos will be part of the installation as well.
This will be an enlarged and newly designed version of "Elevated Moon," previously presented at Brooklyn's Stone House, to accommodate the larger space and acoustics of the church's sanctuary. One different aspect will be the last segment of the performance: Mars will become elevated, that is, the highest celestial body in the sky during the concert, and the performance will use the fiery planet's energies.
The following evening, on Saturday, June 7, 2014, at 8 PM, the Church for All Nations will be awash with the sounds of the exciting In Performance Music Workshop Ensemble, a multi-generational jazz orchestra, from the only private music school open year round to offer its students and the community in Brooklyn a jazz ensemble, along with instruction in classical and rock music.
The IPMW school program and ensemble is directed by saxophonist Sean King, co-led with assistant-director, guitarist, Angelo Branford. IPMW's students truly learn by doing; challenging their multi-generational musicians to perform and create great music together. As Mr. King has stated, “our students come away with more than the ability to play and read music, but an understanding of its nature.” The IPMW ensemble has been performing since 2008 in local venues in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Long Island.
Last year, on one of the dates of the 7th Annual "Rhythm in the Kitchen" Music Festival produced by the Hell’s Kitchen Cultural Center, Inc., IPMW dazzled the audience with its jazz maturity, with middle and high school students playing, alongside accomplished adult professional instrumentalists, the compositions of Hell's Kitchen resident artists, JD Parran and "Jabbo" Ware.
This year we look forward to hearing even more with the collaboration of guest artist trumpeter, Eddie Allen, lending his support to the IPMW ensemble with the compositions of Duke Ellington, Stevie Wonder, Count Basie, Sun Ra, Miles Davis, Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Warren Smith, and Hell's Kitchen composer, Neal Kirkwood.
