Funk And Soul Legends Performing At North Beach Bandshell

A Miami Times Staff Report (Blue Note Jazz Festival), the Miami Times

Jun 2, 2022

The North Beach Bandshell will be hosting two Miami Beach Pop-Up Concerts being presented by the Blue Note Jazz Festival. The first weekend performance June 3 will see funk legend George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic taking the stage. Robert Glasper with special guests Ledisi and Bilal will perform the following weekend.

Recording both as Parliament and Funkadelic, Clinton revolutionized R&B during the 1970s, twisting soul music into funk by adding influences from several late-’60s acid heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and Sly Stone. The Parliament/Funkadelic machine ruled Black music during the ’70s, capturing more than 40 R&B hit singles – including three No. 1s – and recording three platinum albums.

Robert Glasper with friends Ledisi and Bilal will perform June 10 at the North Beach Bandshell.

(Blue Note Jazz Festival)

Glasper is the leader of a new paradigm in jazz, with a career that spans musical and artistic genres. He is a four-time Grammy winner with eight nominations across seven categories, as well as an Emmy winner for his song on Ava DuVernay’s documentary “13th” with Common and Karriem Riggins. Most recently he released the third installment of his acclaimed “Black Radio” series.

“We’re very pleased to bring Blue Note Jazz Festival to Miami Beach featuring a star-studded array of iconic and important artists,” said Alex Kurland, Blue Note’s director of programming. “Our featured Blue Note programming spotlights influential titans of the music industry including George Clinton and Robert Glasper. With the challenges we’ve all gone through over the past year, we’re grateful to be able to present great music in a truly great community. Cheers to these extraordinary artists, and to once more being able to present concerts by Blue Note in the greater Miami marketplace with our friends at the Rhythm Foundation at the famed North Beach Bandshell.”

The Blue Note jazz club has been a cultural institution in New York City and one of the premier jazz clubs in the world since 1981. Blue Note strives to preserve the history of jazz, and the club is a place where progression and innovation – the foundations of the genre – are encouraged and practiced on a nightly basis. In addition to main acts that feature the likes of Glasper, Pat Metheny, Christian McBride, Joshua Redman, Ron Carter and Chris Botti, Blue Note regularly showcases up-and-coming jazz, soul, hip-hop, R&B and funk artists. With 40 years of success, Blue Note continues to carry the torch for jazz into the 21st century in the cultural heart of New York, Greenwich Village.

The North Beach Bandshell was built in 1961 and has served as a live performance venue for the community for more than 60 years. In 2009 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places for its representation of midcentury modern architecture.

The Bandshell is operated by the Rhythm Foundation, a nonprofit cultural organization serving the Miami Beach community. The foundation receives support from the city of Miami Beach, Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, National Endowment of the Arts, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and Goldman Sachs.

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