The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County presents JAZZ ROOTS: JAZZ IN THE KEY OF ELLISON

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1 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACTS: Suzette Espinosa Fuentes Sheryl Feuerstein (786) (310) The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County presents JAZZ ROOTS: JAZZ IN THE KEY OF ELLISON Black History Month All-Star Concert Encompassing Music, Words and Images Celebrates the Musical Life of America s Iconic Writer Ralph Ellison Friday, February 8, 2019 at 8 p.m. Tickets: $45 - $125* John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall MIAMI, FL December 21, 2018 The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County (@arshtcenter) continues its 11 th season of internationally acclaimed JAZZ ROOTS concerts with JAZZ IN THE KEY OF ELLISON in the John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall on Friday, February 8, This highly anticipated Black History Month JAZZ ROOTS presentation features an exciting array of artists that includes the acclaimed R&B and jazz vocalist WILL DOWNING (@willdowning3), Labelle star NONA HENDRYX (@nonahendryx), Grammy -winning jazz trumpeter/composer NICHOLAS PAYTON (@nicholaspayton), the 2017 Sarah Vaughan jazz vocal competition winner QUIANA LYNELL (@quianalynell), and the ANDY FARBER JAZZ ORCHESTRA. This all-star lineup will perform music from the greats such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Thelonious Monk, Ray Charles and Nina Simone. New York Times best-selling writer ROXANE GAY will serve as special guest host and narrator. In acknowledgement of Ellison s long friendship with the renowned African-American painter and collagist Romare Bearden, himself a jazz artist and composer, images of Bearden s artistic works and rare video clips will serve as a backdrop for portions of the live performance, vividly bringing to life one of the most dynamic eras in American jazz history. TICKETS Tickets range from $45 - $125* and can be purchased by phone at (305) , online at or in person at the Arsht Center Box Office, located at 1300 Biscayne Blvd.

2 Ellison s beautiful writings were drenched in the sights and sounds of jazz. said Liz Wallace, Arsht Center vice president of programming. It is with joy that we bring together these art forms in celebration of Black History Month. It is a great occasion for the Arsht Center to celebrate the many sides of an American literary genius who loved jazz and imbued his words with this most American of art forms, says Shelly Berg, JAZZROOTS Artistic Advisor. This is jazz in all its glory. Ralph Ellison, the acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Invisible Man, was an accomplished trumpeter who knew Armstrong, Basie, Ellington, Bird, Monk, Miles, Dizzy, and Ray Charles. African-American music was central to his life and to his stories. This special evening, inspired by the jazz world he loved and knew so well, will feature works by Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman and Ray Charles. Readings from Ellison s eloquent writing on music will heighten the celebratory atmosphere throughout the evening. ABOUT THE ARTISTS With an almost unheard of 30-year career and 20 solo recordings as proof, it stands to reason music fans are nowhere near ready to vote WILL DOWNING off the proverbial island where he continues to reign as the Prince of Sophisticated Soul. Downing s voice is one of the most distinctive, loved and instantly recognizable voices in R&B. His flawless, emotive, buttery-smooth and honey-toned baritone, along with his impeccable phrasing and jazz-fueled agile runs, seamlessly bridge the worlds of R&B and Jazz. R&B and all-around Black-American female icon, NONA HENDRYX is a celebrated vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician and author. Tackling social issues, love and politics, Hendryx s legendary career, which began as one of the founding members of Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles, which morphed into the groundbreaking group Labelle, now spans six decades. New Orleans-born trumpeter, keyboardist, singer, and composer NICHOLAS PAYTON is a dynamic performer, steeped in acoustic jazz and post-bop, whose music often finds him exploring genres beyond the confines of the jazz tradition. In 1997 he won the Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist, Grammy Award. He became a founding member of the SFJAZZ Collective in 2004, and currently composes for and performs with TEN, the jazz trio featuring PAYTON, Esperanza Spalding and Terri Lyne Carrington. Winner of the 2017 Sarah Vaughn International Jazz Vocal Competition, QUIANA LYNELL infuses her classical training with her Southern gospel and blues upbringing and approaches jazz as a storyteller. With her debut album soon to be released by Concord Records, she is positioned to become one of the longstanding artists of Jazz. ANDY FARBER is a saxophonist, composer, arranger, bandleader and conductor who has performed each of these roles with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. At Marsalis request, Farber assembled the Jazz at Lincoln Center All-Stars for the Tony-nominated Broadway musical After Midnight. The band is now the Andy Farber Jazz Orchestra, which backed Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga in their PBS special Cheek To Cheek Live. Writer ROXANE GAY appears in Best American Mystery Stories 2014, Best American Short Stories 2012, Best Sex Writing 2012, Harper s Bazaar, A Public Space, McSweeney s, Tin House, Oxford American, American Short Fiction, Virginia Quarterly Review, and many others. She is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times and the author of the books Ayiti, An Untamed State, the New York Times best-selling Bad Feminist and Hunger: A Memoir of My Body, and the nationally bestselling Difficult Women. She is also the author of World of Wakanda for Marvel and the editor of Best American Short Stories She is currently at

3 work on numerous television, film and print projects, including a YA novel entitled The Year I Learned Everything. JAZZ IN THE KEY OF ELLISON is presented by the Arsht Center with generous support from Baldwin Richardson Foods, Quint Family Foundation, Steinway & Sons, the official piano of the Adrienne Arsht Center, and EAST Miami. WLRN 91.3 and JAZZIZ Magazine are media sponsors. Produced by Danny Kapilian ( ABOUT JAZZ ROOTS JAZZ ROOTS has been credited with revitalizing America s art form in South Florida. More than 90,000 people have attended the annual six-part concert and educational series. JAZZ ROOTS was co-created by the Adrienne Arsht Center in 2008 in collaboration with the late music industry entrepreneur Larry Rosen and since then has presented a rich variety of thematically based concerts exploring the spectrum of jazz. The series has featured more than 160 of the greatest living jazz artists/ensembles on the scene today and has introduced Miami audiences to dozens of rising stars and local talent. JAZZ ROOTS has showcased every unique style and incarnation of jazz from Latin jazz and fusion to bossa nova and straight ahead. Quincy Jones has heralded JAZZ ROOTS as the most important new jazz and educational series in America! This historymaking series has sold out dozens of concerts. JAZZ ROOTS also features JAZZ ROOTS: Sound Check, an in-depth educational partnership with Miami- Dade County Public Schools which has brought more than 9,000 high school music students to the Center for a complimentary and unique behind-the-scenes experience including: a pre-concert sound check; a Q&A session with featured artists followed by workshops with local jazz experts; and free entry to the evening s performance. The JAZZ ROOTS education program is presented by Baldwin Richardson Foods, and made possible in part by Wells Fargo, Green Family Foundation, Quint Family Foundation, Citizens Interested in Arts, and Encore Circle members. *All programs, artists, ticket prices, availability, dates and times are subject to change without notice. Visit for up-to-date information for details and schedules.

4 Will Downing Nona Hendryx Nicholas Payton Andy Farber Orchestra Quiana Lynell To download high-resolution versions of these photos, click #ArshtCenter #JazzRoots The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is made possible by the public support of the Miami-Dade County Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council and the City of Miami Omni Community Redevelopment Agency, as well as the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. The Adrienne Arsht Center also receives generous support from local, state and national foundations, as well as private contributions to the Adrienne Arsht Center Foundation through corporate and individual giving, Visionary Society membership and the Encore Circle major gifts programs. ### About the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County Set in the heart of downtown Miami and designed by world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is one of the world s leading performing arts organizations and venues. Since opening in 2006, the Arsht Center, a 501C3 non-profit organization, has emerged as a leader in presenting innovative programming that mirrors South Florida s diversity as well as a catalyst for billions of dollars in new development in the downtown area. Spotlighting legends and serving as a launch pad for local artists to make their mark on the international stage, the Center presents nearly 400 events each year across its flexible, state-of-the-art performance spaces. The Center programs several Signature Series, including the largest jazz series in South Florida, a major annual Flamenco Festival, and a robust program of new theatrical works as well as free programming for the community and an arts education program that serves nearly 60,000 children each year. As Miami s new Town Square, the Arsht Center also houses BRAVA by Brad Kilgore, a fine dining restaurant; the Café at Books & Books in the historic Carnival Tower and a weekly Farmers Market. Visit for more information.

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