NJMH’s Juneteenth Black Music and Dance Celebration is an outdoor celebration rooted in community, movement, and sounds from the Black Diaspora. Please join us at Richard Rogers Amphitheater at Marcus Garvey Park (6316 Mt. Morris Park W) from 4-7pm on Thursday, June 19th for this special, FREE live celebration of Black music and culture. Stay tuned for more details!
Featured Artists:
Experience Juneteenth like never before with Calvin Sexton and Friends — a dynamic fusion of Afrofuturism, hip hop, acid jazz, and soul. Expect live improvisation, powerful call-and-response, and danceable grooves celebrating Black freedom, resilience, and boundless creativity.
The J-MUSIC Ensemble, led by saxophonist Patric Bartley, is an NYC-based, jazz-rooted instrumental band that is devoted to bringing new perspectives to modern Japanese music. This strikingly sonorous quintet combines the elements of the electric guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums with horns to deliver a full and powerful, yet dynamic, sound. This band is presented in partnership with the Japan Society with support from the US-Japan Foundation.
With her voice and spirit Tammy McCann truly captures this gospel legend. This big band concert is a fresh and soulful re-imagining of Jackson’s music that captures the synergy of her unique sound and pairs it with the sonic power of big band jazz.
This Juneteenth Black Music and Dance Celebration is curated by The National Jazz Museum in Harlem and Sekou McMiller, NJMH’s Curator of Special Projects.
This celebration is made possible by the United States-Japan Foundation, the NYC City Council Coalition of Theaters of Color, NYC Parks and Historic Harlem Parks, the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Harlem Community Development Corporation (HCDC), the New York State Council on the Arts, and the Jarvis & Constance Doctorow Family Foundation.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Calvin Sexton is an industry-renowned trombonist, composer, and music director based in New York City. Hailing from Birmingham, Alabama, the jazz, funk and soul multi-hyphenate is best known as the leader of the Inner City All Stars, an ensemble he developed from 1996 up to the 2020s. Sexton studied music performance at the University of North Texas, completing his degree in 2003; since then, he has established himself as a mainstay on the New York scene, and has racked up numerous accomplishments and received many accolades.
Formed by saxophonist Patrick Bartley while attending the Manhattan School of Music, the J-MUSIC Ensemble initially spawned as a vehicle to express a mutual interest in anime and video game soundtracks – many of which never get a proper spotlight. This music is fused with the spontaneity and soulfulness of jazz improvisation to deliver a fresh and engaging listening experience, without distracting from the intent and message of the original songs. The band has since expanded its repertoire to include music from all facets of modern Japanese culture, and has done covers of artists such as Perfume, Utada Hikaru, PUFFY, and School Food Punishment. The J-MUSIC Ensemble frequently features some of the most talented and already accomplished young musicians from around the world, including Daryl Johns, Max Calkin, Leo P (from Too Many Zoos), and many others.
Patrick Bartley, Jr. is a GRAMMY-nominated saxophonist, composer, and bandleader from Hollywood, Florida who is known for his boundless versatility, virtuosic technique, and expressive vocal-like sound. Since moving to New York City, Bartley has performed and recorded with some of the greatest musical masters in the world, including Wynton Marsalis, Jon Batiste, Emmet Cohen, Larry Grenadier, Steve Miller, Herbie Hancock, Louis Hayes, Carole King, Jimmy Cobb, Marquis Hill, Bobby Sanabria, Marcus Printup, and many others.
Tammy McCann is an internationally-recognized jazz vocalist whose powerful, sultry, and soulful voice paints pictures and tells stories by merging classical vocal technique and gospel aesthetic with jazz to create a sound that is completely her own. McCann has performed with Ramsey Lewis, Willie Pickens, and Von Freeman and toured as a “Raelette” with the great Ray Charles. In addition, she has thrilled audiences at some of the nation’s premier jazz venues including Birdland, the Blue Note, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, and Chicago’s famed Jazz Showcase.
Richard Rogers Amphitheater @ Marcus Garvey Park - 6316 MT. Morris Park W
We are your go-to venue for off-site meetings, receptions, film screenings, workshops, networking events, socials and more. Located in the heart of Central Harlem’s thriving culinary and entertainment district, The National Jazz Museum in Harlem is the perfect place to hold your next gathering.