Saturday, October 17 @ 4:00 pm
58 W 129th Street, New York, NY 10027
The National Jazz Museum in Harlem and Jazz Power Initiative invite you to an Intergenerational Jazz Power Jam saluting Hispanic Heritage Month! Dr. Paul Austerlitz and the Vodou Horn present “Gaga – Rara Unity,” featuring Alex Díaz, exploring the connections between jazz and the Haitian rara and Dominican gagá traditions. Join us at the Museum for an afternoon of music and cultural exchange across generations.
The fruit of Austerlitz’s lifetime of musical, cultural, and spiritual research, Dr. Austerlitz band, the Vodou Horn, focuses on the unique sound of the bass clarinet and presents original jazz music inspired by traditional genres from the Dominican Republic and Haiti such as rara – gaga, which, performed in both countries, exemplifies the island’s unity.
DR. PAUL AUSTERLITZ AND THE VODOU HORN: “GAGA – RARA UNITY” Featuring Alex Díaz
Reed player, composer, and ethnomusicologist Dr. Paul Austerlitz combines his background as an ethnomusicologist specializing in Afro-Caribbean music with his creative work as a musician. As an instrumentalist, Austerlitz plays bass and contrabass clarinets as well as tenor saxophone and other reed instruments. As a composer, he weds his backgrounds as a creative artist and ethnomusicologist, producing works incorporating music he researches, focusing on the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Dr. Austerlitz has shared the stage with Ed Blackwell, Julius Hemphill, Jimmy Knepper and other jazz luminaries. He has also played with the King of Merengue, Joseíto Mateo, and Foula, the groundbreaking Haitian roots band. Austerlitz has taught ethnomusicology and Africana Studies at Brown University and Gettysburg College and written award-winning books such as Jazz Consciousness: Music, Race, and Humanity (2005, Wesleyan University Press) and Merengue: Dominican Music and Dominican Identity
(1997, Temple University Press).
The fruit of Austerlitz’s lifetime of musical, cultural, and spiritual research, Dr. Austerlitz band, the Vodou Horn, focuses on the unique sound of the bass clarinet and presents original jazz music inspired by traditional genres from the Dominican Republic and Haiti such as rara – gaga, which, performed in both countries, exemplifies the island’s unity.
This concert will feature the great Dominican percussionist and bandleader, Alex Díaz. Díaz emerged as the single most important exponent of Dominican jazz, a title inherited from his mentor, the late, great Mario Rivera, who pioneered in blending African-American jazz with Dominican rhythms. In addition to leading his own band, Díaz has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Machito, Celia Cruz, and Eric Alexander. Díaz has recorded over 14 original CDs featuring merengue-jazz.
The Vodou Horn also highlights the extraordinary talent of Panamanian-American bassist Santi Debriano, who has played with jazz legends such as Pharoah Sanders, Randy Weston, and Joe Lovano. On piano and drum set, we present the fiery energy of Sungtaek Choo and Bryce Collins, two “young lions” on the contemporary jazz scene.
“[Dr. Austerlitz] is about jazz, the bass clarinet and world music, and the precise points where they intersect in the universe…It's more than education, it's about opening up new parts of your brain and filling it with splendid noises that make your life more interesting.” -The Vinyl Anachronist
Intergenerational Jazz Power Jam is produced by Jazz Power Initiative in partnership with the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. Jazz Power Initiative is a non-profit, 501 (c) (3) organization founded in 2003, and the Intergenerational Jazz Power Jam is made possible in part by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; the Howard Gilman Foundation; the Hispanic Federation; the National Jazz Museum in Harlem; Alianza Dominicana Cultural Center with Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New York and the New York City Department of Youth & Community Development; the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, and our individual donors. Thank you for your support!
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.