Jazz Concert Comes To Ocean City Arts Center

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Enjoy beautiful and soulful jazz music at the Ocean City Arts Center with Winard Harper & Jeli Posse on May 19.

Jazz drummer, Winard Harper, has collaborated with legendary artists including Betty Carter and Dexter Gordon, and has performed at the Kennedy Center and Yoshi Jazz Club. Harper leads the six-piece jazz band that also features tap dancer AC Lincoln.

Harper sees jazz as spiritual and social work and applies African musical influence to his fluid, soulful sound. Downbeat Magazine wrote, "Winard Harper is one of his generation's greatest standards bearers. Harper's goal seems plain and simple - propel the ensemble with a dynamic sense of swing."

Harper describes AC Lincoln's tap work as, "A harmonious blend of fierce energy, rhythm and movement, AC with his impeccable timing, and respect for tradition, is a joy to collaborate with and a force to be reckoned with."

After receiving a special pair of tap shoes from his family when he was young, Lincoln quickly became popular on the NYC tap scene sharing the stage with the original "hoofers" of the time and tap legends such as Peg Leg Bates, Jimmy Slide, Savion Glover, Buster Brown and Henry Latang.

With his definitive style and refined stage presence, Lincoln has headlined the Caramoor Jazz Festival and top NY Venues such as The Jazz Standard, Smalls, The Bitter End, Rockwood Music Hall and The Cotton Club. He also writes, produces, arranges and performs his own original music.

Tickets are $25 for general admission and $20 for members of Ocean City Arts Center and South Jersey Jazz Society. For further information, call Lynn Sullivan or Sarah Fertsch at (609) 399-7628. The Arts Center is located at 1735 Simpson Ave. Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and closed Sunday.