February is HOT and we’ve got a great lineup of Jazz programming this month that you don’t want to miss…
Jazz is: Now!
Featuring Jon Batiste
Tue, Feb 11 | 6:30PM | SEI Innovation Studio
RESERVE FREE TICKETS. (Hurry, Limited availability!)
Jazz Is: Now! is an interactive, educational presentation that has evolved into a tremendously successful and totally original series headed by National Jazz Museum in Harlem Artistic Director-at-Large Jon Batiste. Audience members participate throughout the evening—playing, singing, dancing, and actually directing the music. Now you can experience Jazz Is: Now! first-hand at the Kimmel Center. You’ll never know who or what to expect!
Free at the Kimmel
Sittin’ In hosted by Laurin Talese
Wed, Feb 12 | SEI Innovation Studio
8pm Doors/DJ | 9pm Live Music
Well known for her effortlessly angelic vocals, thoughtful and provocative songwriting, and unique approach to the jazz vocal tradition, Laurin Talese has become a well respected voice within the Philly Jazz scene. With an all star cast, and her own special selection of songs befitting the occasion, Laurin will host a romantic Valentine’s edition of Sittin’ In.
The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess
Feb 18 - 23 | Academy of Music
TICKETS.
The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess is set in Charleston’s fabled Catfish Row, where the beautiful Bess struggles to break free from her scandalous past, and the only one who can rescue her is the courageous Porgy. Threatened by her formidable former lover Crown, and the seductive enticements of the colorful troublemaker Sporting Life, Porgy and Bess’ relationship evolves into a deep romance that triumphs as one of theater’s most exhilarating love stories.
Jazz Residency: Public Workshop
Josh Lawrence
Thu, Feb 27 | 6PM | SEI Innovation Studio
RESERVE FREE TICKETS.
Be a part of the creative process! Join our Jazz Residency artists for an interactive public workshop designed to incorporate YOUR creativity and input as each project, selected by an incredible panel of jazz experts from across the nation, continues to expand and develop from their original concepts to complete new works.
Collaborating Artists: Josh Lawrence and the Fresh Cut Orchestra with Jason Fraticelli (Composer and bass), Anwar Marshall (Composer and drums), and Tim Conley (Composer, Guitar, Laptop)
About the Project: We are composing an extended work Yin & Yang of Life (working title) for the Fresh Cut Orchestra fusing traditional acoustic and modern electronic music.
About Josh Lawrence: Josh Lawrence is a jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader living in Philadelphia where he is on faculty at the University of the Arts and Drexel University. In early 2013, Lawrence was invited as an artist-in-residence to the Kimmel Center’s Creative Music Program and debuted a new work for big band at the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts. Lawrence is currently composing music for the documentary Love and Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere and continues to perform in Philadelphia and New York City.
The Kimmel Center’s Jazz Residency is made possible by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. We would also like to thank the Hearst Foundation for their generous contribution.