Carnival of Soul

Cool cats who adore the red hot, silky smooth, sweet sounds of jazz, will be transported back in time to the era of sultry saxophones, guitars and basses at the St. George Theatre Saturday, Oct. 19, when Staten Island’s longest-running jazz festival comes to life from 2 to 7 p.m.

Hosted by Sheila Anderson, author and on-air personality on WBGO, 88.3 FM, the Universal Temple of the Arts (UTA) will celebrate its legacy of promoting, preserving and presenting jazz.

For more than three decades, UTA has presented the Staten Island JAZZ Festival to critical acclaim and loyal audiences. And regardless of the location, they have consistently produced a memorable production. Fast forward to 2019 and they have evolved into an archive of jazz history featuring award-winning artists year after year.

This year’s lineup includes: Reggie Workman who’ll present New Stars on This Horizon, Winard Harper & Jeli Posse, Leopoldo Fleming Afro-Caribbean Jazz Ensemble, Danny Mixon Quartet with Antoinette Montague, Jeannine Otis, Karlus Trapp, Sylvester Scott, Ray Scro, WaFoo and more.

Now 52 years old, the organization has established relationships with musicians, dancers, educators, visual artists, elected officials, community and faith-based organizations, and tourism outlets who contribute to the extraordinary world of jazz with highly respected cultural arts and education programs that benefit youth and families on Staten Island.

All proceeds from the festival support free year-round arts and educational programs.

“As we enter into our third decade as Staten Island’s oldest continuously-run jazz festival, we remain committed to presenting iconic and popular jazz artists, as well showcasing Staten Island performers who stand tall delivering their understanding of this world-wide, cherished music called jazz,” said Sajda Musawwir Ladner, artistic and executive director of the UTA.

“Like New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz and gumbo, the Staten Island Jazz Festival cooks with jazz music, dance, song and spoken word. Universal Temple of the Arts thinks of JAZZ in all capital letters. We explore every aspect of the art form,” she said.

A LITTLE ABOUT REGGIE WORKMAN

World-renowned bassist/educator/composer/producer Reggie Workman will have the honor to be referred to as Jazz Master among his many achievements when the award is presented to him next year from National Endowment of the Arts (NEA).

The NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship is the highest honor the nation can bestow upon jazz artists.

Each year since 1982, the program has elevated to its ranks and selects a number of living legends who have made exceptional contributions to the advancement of jazz. Additional 2020 Fellows include educator and saxophonist, Roscoe Mitchell; WBGO Jazz 88.3 FM’s, Dorthaan Kirk; and master of vocal improvisation, Bobby McFerrin.

Workman is recognized as one of the most technically gifted American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassists in history. A teacher, composer, and jazz advocate whose style ranges from Bop, Post Bop and beyond, Workman is most recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey.

In 1961, Workman joined the John Coltrane Quartet, replacing Steve Davis. He was present for the saxophonist’s Live at the Village Vanguard sessions, and also recorded with a second bassist (Art Davis) on the 1961 albums, Olé Coltrane and Africa/Brass.

Workman, together with pianist Tommy Flanagan and drummer Joe Chambers, formed The Super Jazz Trio in 1978. During the 1980s, he was the founding member of “Great Friends” and began leading his own group, The Reggie Workman Ensemble.

He also co-founded the historic Collective Black Artists and was musical director of the New Muse Community Museum in Brooklyn. In recent years he has been working with new music luminaries such as Geri Allen, Jason Moran, Vijay Iyer and his longstanding collaboration, TRIO 3 (Oliver Lake, Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille).

Workman is currently a tenured professor at The New School College of Performing Arts where’s he has been teaching since 1987. As an associate professor of The New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, Workman teaches classes such as Futuristic Concepts in Music, and the John Coltrane Ensemble. He is a strong advocate for the history of jazz music and treats his students with respect and professionalism. He mentors through the classroom and opens the door of opportunities to his students and continues to hire current and past students on his gigs, and is quick to recommend them to any leads.

ANTOINETTE MONTAGUE

Internationally recognized jazz and blues vocalist Antoinette Montague, who brings her powerful and soulful voice to the UTA Staten Island Jazz festival 32, was born and raised in Newark and was reared in home with a music environment.

She has been mentored by some of the jazz greats with names like Carrie Smith and Etta Jones, who taught her the ins and outs of life as a jazz and blues entertainer.

Evoking the two great Ettas — Etta Jones and Etta James — as well as blues star Carrie Smith and jazz whisperer Shirley Horn, Montague shows tremendous range to her artistry. Her commitment to her audience is refreshing: her show is crafted to take listeners on a journey that embraces the power of jazz history, yet maintains the excitement of the present.

With her repertoire of swing, blues, bebop, storytelling, explosive excitement and entertainment, Montague has performed internationally at hundreds of venues, including as an artist for the U.S State Department, the Blue Note, Bird Land, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Marcus Garvey Park, and more.

She also performs and instructs for Jazz At Lincoln Center, Jazzmobile, and is an Adjunct Professor instructing Jazz History and Jazz and Blues vocals at MaryMount College in Midtown Manhattan.

Montague is the CEO of the Jazz Woman to the Rescue Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization that encourages the public to give old instruments no longer in use to youth who are without the benefit of the arts in their schools.

She has released several CDs, including collaborations with Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Washington, Danny Mixon, Winard Harper, Jay Hoggard, King Solomon Hicks and other greats with whom she surrounds herself.

Her most recent releases are World Peace in the Key of Jazz and a children’s CD, Jazz Woman to the Rescue.

Phone the St. George Theatre at 718 442-2900 or visit https://stgeorgetheatre.com/universal-temple-of-the-arts-staten-island-jazz-festival-32/

https://www1.ticketmaster.com/event/00005702AD92461B

Note: Tickets may be purchased at St. George Theatre Box Office up until the day of the Festival.

ABOUT UNIVERSAL TEMPLE OF THE ARTS – www.utasi.org

Founded in 1967, Universal Temple of the Arts (UTA) is an arts, cultural and educational non-profit organization with a rich history of providing an array of life enrichment programs to Staten Island residents — and has long embraced the American-born music genre of jazz with the intent of both preserving and promoting jazz arts.

Since its inception in 1988, the Staten Island JAZZ Festival is a direct extension of UTA’s mission of “quickening the creative spirit in the individual and community and fostering brotherly love.”

Partnering with local businesses and community groups to present jazz programming to new and broader audiences, including under-served children and families. All proceeds from the Festival support free year-round arts and educational programs.