ArtsWestchester to Host Three Live Concerts for Jazz Fest in Downtown White Plains, Sept. 23-25

Three live jazz performances will take place in the intimate setting of ArtsWestchester’s downtown art gallery for the 5th Annual White Plains Jazz Fest this year as part of the six-day festival.

A collaboration between ArtsWestchester, The City of White Plains and the White Plains BID, Jazz Fest will take place Tuesday, September 20 through Sunday, September 25 featuring a lineup of established jazz and blues musicians like Source International Africa Jazz Band and Gary Smulyan’s Organ Quartet.

“This year’s Jazz Fest showcases a range of international styles with a spotlight on African and Latin jazz music,” explains Janet T. Langsam, ArtsWestchester CEO. She continues,

“Westchester audiences are in for a treat with the diversity and quality of live music coming to Jazz Fest venues throughout the City of White Plains.”

The following performances will take place at ArtsWestchester’s intimate venue, located at 31 Mamaroneck Avenue in White Plains, during the 2016 White Plains Jazz Fest:

Gary Smulyan Organ Quartet

Friday, September 23, 8pm (Admission: $25)

Featuring Mike Ledonne (organ), Peter Bernstein (guitar) and Joe Farnsworth (drums)

Gary Smulyan (baritone saxophone) started learning the alto sax as a teenager. While still in high school, he sat in with major jazz artists such as legendary trumpeter Chet Baker, saxophonist Lee Konitz, trombonist Jimmy Knepper and violinist Ray Nance. In 1978, he joined Woody Herman’s Young Thundering Herd, with saxophonist Joe Lovano, bassist Marc Johnson and drummer John Riley, young musicians who would be at the forefront of present-day jazz. He then joined the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra and worked with the Mingus Big Band and Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. He also performed and recorded with Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Chick Corea, Dave Holland, Tito Puente, Ray Charles, B.B. King and Diana Ross, and has over 10 recordings under his own name. Gary is a four-time winner of the Down Beat Critic and Reader’s Poll, and is a multiple winner of numerous other official polls, including the Jazz Journalists Award for Baritone Saxophonist of the Year. He is also a six-time Grammy Award winner for his work with King, Lovano, Holland and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Tickets are available online at artsw.org/jazzfest.

Source International African Jazz Band

Saturday, September 24, 8pm (Admission: $25)

Featuring Sylvain Leroux (saxophone and tambin), Abdoulaye Diabate (guitar and lead vocal), Emi Yabuno (piano and keyboards), Mamadou Ba (bass) and Robert Bonhomme (drums)

Source International African Jazz Band performs original music, inspired by the traditional sounds of Guinea and Mali, that will get audiences out of their seats. The group was founded as an improvisational group by Quebecois flutist Sylvain Leroux, with a standard formation of bass, drums, keyboards and winds, but was soon transformed into an explorative African Jazz unit when Malian singer Abdoulaye Diabate joined the group. Tickets are available online at artsw.org/jazzfest.

White Plains Jazz and Food Festival

Sunday, September 25, Noon-5:30pm (Admission: Free)

The 2016 Jazz Fest culminates with a free day of jazz on Mamaroneck Avenue with the White Plains Jazz and Food Festival. The festival will feature performances by Baby Soda, Joe Boykin & Friends, Mayra Casales, Bob Baldwin & Friends, Wali Ali and headliner Awa Sangho.

Awa Sangho, “The Golden Voice of Mali,” brings the sound of the Sahara to the White Plains Jazz and Food Festival on Sunday, September 25th. The festival headliner was raised near Timbuktu, Mali, a region noted for a diversity of world-class musicians and singers. Later, she moved to Abdijan, the capital of Ivory Coast, where she quickly became immersed in its music and dance scene. She was recruited into the acclaimed L’Ensemble Koteba D’Abidjan, noted for a blend of theatre, music and dance. Sangho joined Les Go De Koteba, a vocal trio that recorded five albums and performed worldwide. Sangho’s lyrics are socially conscious, often communicating reverence for the people who have touched her life, conveying controversial habits of culture and directing her message to the youth. Her music percolates with the rhythms and resonance of Africa.

For the full schedule of free and affordable Jazz Fest concerts or to purchase tickets, visit artsw.org/jazzfest.