Harlem Speaks on the Road: The Jazz Scene in New York

New York City is the Big Apple of jazz. No other city in the world has as many jazz venues or as active jazzscene as the City. What is it about jazz that makes it perennially interesting? What is it about New York that makes it so important for jazz? What is distinct about NY jazz? What changes have occurred in jazz in general and NY in particular in recent times? What issues are faced by jazz musicians here? What can be predicted about jazz in the future?

6:00 PM Wine & Cheese Reception
6:30 PM Panel Discussion
7:15 PM Q & A

Brought to you by the Penn Club and The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, celebrate Black History Month this February with our exclusive discussion led by jazz singer, Lolita Jackson (SEAS ‘89), featuring Grammy-award winning bassist, Christian McBride, jazz trombonist and composer, Kalia Vandever, as well as veteran jazz critic and award-winning author, Nate Chinen (C’97).

Tickets: $32.12
To purchase tickets email events@pennclubny.org

About the Panelists:

Lolita Jackson (SEAS’89 and President of the Class of 1989) is a jazz singer and has performed in China, Japan, Australia–and Carnegie Hall. She is lead singer of the Scottish band The Lolita Jackson Group, which focuses on straight ahead jazz as well as jazz funk. Lolita is also a Trustee and Vice Chair of the board of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem and an alum of Counterparts coed a cappella jazz group at Penn. As her day job, Lolita is Executive Director for Sustainable Cities at Sustainable Development Capital LLP [SDCL], a London-based climate investment firm.

Christian McBride is a jazz bassist and composer, and one of the most well-known bassists of his generation. He has appeared on over 300 recordings and has won eight Grammy Awards. As a sideman, he’s worked with the best of the very best – Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Rollins, Ray Brown, Milt Jackson, McCoy Tyner, Roy Haynes, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Sting, Bruce Hornsby and Pat Metheny. Christian can currently be heard on the soundtrack of the recently released movie The Color Purple. He is Artistic Director of the Newport Jazz Festival, and co-Artistic Director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. A West Philadelphia native, Christian grew up 15 blocks from Penn and attended Creative and Performing Arts High School.

Kalia Vandever, a jazz trombonist and composer, received her Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies at Juilliard. She has toured and performed internationally with her quartet and has performed and recorded with many other jazz and popular musicians, including Harry Styles and Demi Lovato. Her debut album was described by one reviewer as “an exciting new voice for music”; her second album was described as confirming “her strengths as a composer and bandleader with a distinctly contemporary point of view.”

Nate Chinen (C’97) was a jazz reviewer for The New York Times for over a decade. He is author of Playing Changes: Jazz For the New Century, a chronicle of jazz in our time, hailed as one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, GQ, Billboard, and JazzTimes. Nate is a thirteen-time winner of the Helen Dance–Robert Palmer Award for Excellence in Writing, presented by the Jazz Journalists Association. He was director of editorial content for WBGO and is currently first editorial director at WRTI. Nate is also an alum of Counterparts.