Nigel Hall & Madison McFerrin Kick Off Pittsburgh Jazz Festival

Multidisciplinary artist Nigel Hall and vocalist Madison McFerrin – who beautifully and boldly blend jazz, dance, alt-pop and electronica genres – kick off the 13th annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival (PIJF), as part of the Uhuru Jazz Sessions at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC), 980 Liberty Blvd, on Thursday, September 14, at 9:00 pm.

Uhuru Jazz Sessions are made possible with support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.Due to unforeseen circumstances, previously-announced artist Samora Pinderhughes has been replaced by the equally exciting Nigel Hall.Named for the Swahili word that translates to “freedom,” the Uhuru Jazz Sessions pay homage to jazz as the embodiment of freedom, improvisation, discovery, liberation, and promise. Supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the series has also featured keyboardist/beatmaker Georgia Anne Muldrow, vocalist Vanisha Gould, saxophonist Tia Fuller and violinist/NEA Jazz Master Regina Carter.
If you want a template for a modern musician, look no further than vocalist/keyboardist/composer Nigel Hall. Born in Washington, DC in 1981 and a resident of New Orleans, he’s fluent in the musical languages of funk, soul and R&B, as a member of the Afro-psychedelic jam band Lettuce, a sideman with Jon Cleary, the Soul Rebels, Questlove and as a leader in his own right. The New Orleans Times-Picayune compared Hall to Art Neville of the Neville Brothers, and the Pittsburgh City Paper proclaimed that Hall was the “artist to carry the music forward.” Hall’s six recordings include: Ladies and Gentlemen…, Wake Me, Gotta Go To Work, The Sun, Spiritual and his 2022 release, Nigel Hall Live! Nigel Hall will warm your heart and make your toes tap, from the congregation to the cookout.

Declared a Rising Artist by Pitchfork magazine in 2018, the Brooklyn-based Madison McFerrin is daughter of the world-renowned vocal giant Bobby McFerrin, granddaughter of Robert McFerrin, the first African-American to sing at the Metropolitan Opera, and the sister of singer/producer Taylor McFerrin. Educated at the Berklee College of Music, McFerrin possesses a lithe and lyrical voice that expresses itself in evocative, acapella arrangements. McFerrin has worked with The Roots, Gallant and De La Soul, and her music has been showcased on Comedy Central’s Broad City and HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness and she performed on Stephen Colbert’s #LateShowMeMusic series After releasing a number of singles and EP’s over the years, she’s just released her first full-length recording, I Hope You Can Forgive Me, a 10-track opus about love, self-esteem and relationships. Conceived during the COVID pandemic, the CD features her playing 70% of the instruments, with a track that also features her and her dad.

To riff off of an old adage, music is thicker than water.Both of these young, gifted and Black artists pay homage to what has come before, by creating music that defines the present, forecasts the future and sets the stage for a daring, dancing and dynamic festival.

Tickets are $33.00 and are available at http://pittsburghjazzfest.org. For more information on the Uhuru Jazz Sessions and all events at AWAACC, please visit www.awaacc.org