Saturday, April 13, 2013 | 8pm
Michele Rosewoman and New Yor-Uba’s 30th Anniversary and Birthday Celebration w/ Pedrito Martinez and other top-flight musicians.
$25 in advance/$30 day of show | Members: $18.75/$22.50
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Michele Rosewoman and New Yor-Uba take the listener on a journey spanning ancient Yoruba culture from Nigeria through Cuba, as they pay homage to its living contemporary manifestations. The ensemble will be celebrating their 30th anniversary with their first studio recording. With a repertoire that includes the debut of new and rarely performed works, New Yor-Uba salutes the Orishas (Yoruban deities) through Ms. Rosewoman’s original compositions and visionary arrangements of centuries-old Yoruba (Nigeria) and Arara (Dahomey) chants as well as Abakwa (Nigeria) and rumba (Cuba) musical traditions. Ms. Rosewoman –who celebrates her own 60th birthday–is credited as one of the first in bringing together Cuban Folkloric music with a contemporary jazz concept for a thoroughly uncompromised synthesis of these two profound musical genres. With its 30-year history, New Yor-Uba remains eminently vital as Rosewoman continues to enhance the ensemble’s repertoire with new music and personnel, further inspiring her to reflect and explore the crossroads of these musical traditions as perceived and channeled through her genuinely unique vision.

Pianist/Composer Michele Rosewoman has deftly fused her musical influences across three decades to expand musical horizons and boundaries while remaining firmly rooted in tradition. A fearless bandleader and mentor, her Quintessence ensemble brings together some of the most inventive voices in jazz while New Yor-Uba unites master musicians from both musical worlds. Ms. Rosewoman has performed and recorded with many greats from both the jazz and Latin music worlds, including Jimmy Heath, Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake, Julian Priester, Gary Bartz, Freddie Waits, Carlos Ward, Reggie Workman, Rufus Reid, Greg Osby, Gary Thomas, Steve Coleman, Miguel Zenon, James Spaulding, Billy Hart, Terri Lyne Carrington, Celia Cruz, Paquito D’Rivera, Chocolate, Cuban master Orlando ‘Puntilla’ Rios, Pedrito Martinez, Andy Gonzalez, and many others. She has received great critical acclaim and prestigious awards; highlights include major support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Chamber Music America and an ASCAP/Meet the Composer Commission. She has performed at festivals, colleges, concert halls and clubs and conducted educational workshops throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe.

PERSONNEL:

Michele Rosewoman: Piano and Vocals

Oliver Lake: Alto and Soprano Saxophones

Freddie Hendrix: Trumpet

Mike Lee: Tenor Saxophone and Flute

Vincent Gardner: Trombone

Howard Johnson: Baritone Saxophone and Tuba

Yunior Terry: Bass

Adam Cruz: Drums

Pedrito Martinez: Bata, Congas, and Vocals

Roman Diaz: Bata, Congas, and Vocals

Abraham Rodriguez: Bata, Congas, and Vocals