Welcome to the
Staten Island JAZZ Festival 36
For more details see below or select to buy tickets
DETAILS
Friday, December 20, 2024
7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
at the St. George Theater
7:00 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm)
Tickets are $36.00 and on Sale Now!
PRESENTING
Joyful Women of Jazz
Lakecia Benjamin
Camille Thurman
Brandee Younger
OLATUJA
HONORING
Universal Temple of the Arts promotes the Staten Island JAZZ Festival with images by Romare Bearden, America’s preeminent African American visual artist, signifying the special relationship between Universal Temple of the Arts with iconic cultural creators and innovators since its inception in 1967 as an art, cultural and educational nonprofit organization.
The Joyful Women of Jazz
CAMILLE THURMAN
with the Darrell Green Quartet
“Imagine if Sarah Vaughan played saxophone like Dexter Gordon. That’s approximately the effect when singer and tenor saxophonist Camille Thurman performs.”
– Down Beat Magazine
“You’re hard-pressed to find rising talents more exciting than Camille Thurman.”
– The New York Times
LAKECIA BENJAMIN
The alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin plays jazz that is sprinkled with the rich flavors of funk and soul—she’s a crafty traditionalist who remains in step with the rhythms of the young generation
– The New Yorker
“Ms. Benjamin’s music is every bit as assertive and vital…”
– The Wall Street Journal
BRANDEE YOUNGER
“No harpist thus far has been more capable of combining all of the modern harp traditions — from Salzedo, through Dorothy Ashby, through Alice Coltrane — with such strength, grace and commitment.”
– The New York Times
OLATUJA
“Olatuja has a voice that is worthy of representing her generation.”
– St. Louis American
"[a] singer with a strong, lustrous tone and an amiably regal presence onstage."
– The New York Times
“When singer Alicia Olatuja steps on stage, she is sure-footed, and a smile almost always rests on her face.”
– Down Beat Magazine
SHEILA ANDERSON
Host of the Universal Temple of the Arts Annual Staten Island JAZZ Festival 36
Sheila Anderson joined the staff of WBGO-FM, in 1995, where she hosts Weekend jazz Overnight. From 1995-2002 she hosted the award-winning TV show “The Art of Jazz” on Manhattan Neighborhood Network. She authored four books: The Quotable Musician: From Bach to Tupac (2003), How to Grow as A Musician: What All Musicians Must Know to Succeed (2005) (both published by Allworth Press) The Little Red Book of Musicians Wisdom (Skyhorse Press, 2012) and in 2019 the 2nd edition of How to Grow as A Musician (Skyhorse Press.) As a producer, for eighteen years, Ms. Anderson curated Jazz in the Garden at The Newark Museum of Art (NMOA) and she continues to curate the Central Jersey Jazz Festival (CJJF).
Ms. Anderson is a (2017) Columbia University Community Scholar, an inaugural Dan Morgenstern Fellow at the Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University-Newark (2020,) is a graduate of Baruch College and resides in Harlem, NYC.
DR. DARRELL SMITH
Musical Director of the Universal Temple of the Arts Annual Staten Island JAZZ Festival 36
Darrell Smith DMA (jazz percussion, music director, band leader, composer, producer) is a jazz percussionist and composer endorsed by Canopus Drums. He has performed in numerous festivals both nationally and internationally including the Montclair Jazz Festival, the Newport Jazz Festival, the Bern Jazz Festival (Switzerland), the Mumbai NCPA Jazz Festival (India). As a band leader, he has led his original trio (Dal Segno Trio) in local performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Smoke Jazz and Supper Club, The Jazz Standard and Gotham. As a composer, Dr. Smith co-wrote an original off- broadway show entitled “Interludes” that features New Orleans themed music. “Interludes” was featured in the San Diego International Fringe Festival and the New York Fringe Festival. Dr. Smith has also performed in off-Broadway productions of “West Side Story”, “The King and I”, “Pearl”, and “Magdalene”. Since 2018 Dr. Smith has been the music director of the Staten Island Jazz Festival (via Universal Temple of the Arts). Dr. Smith is a board member of The Jazz Loft in Stony Brook, Long Island. He has just started his own non-profit organization “3 Degrees” to build an arts center on Staten Island. He is currently the Director of Education for Jazz House Kids under the artistic direction of bassist Chrisitian McBride. Dr. Smith serves on the faculties of the New School University and the College of Staten Island, CUNY.
How to Buy Tickets
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1
Call the St. George Theatre Box Office at 718-44-2900 Tuesday through Friday from 12pm to 5pm. There is a nominal credit card fee but no TM fees to pay.
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2
Visit the St. George Theatre Box Office, 35 Hyatt Street, Tuesday through Friday from 12pm to 5pm. If paying cash, there are no additional fees.
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3
For convenience, tickets can be purchased online Ticketmaster.com 24/7. TM fees are applied.
Sajda Musawwir Ladner’s spirit lives on
Sajda Musawwir Ladner’s spirit lives on forever through the annual Staten Island JAZZ Festival and the organization’s mission of “quickening the creative spirit in the individual and community and fostering brotherly love.” Not only did Mrs. Ladner make it possible for lovers of jazz to experience quality, live performances on Staten Island stages, but she also firmly believed that audiences of all ages should experience everything, and anything related to jazz by presenting educational workshops and forums taught by prominent scholars, visual artists, dancers, poets, etc. The festival is NYC’s longest-running community jazz festival and is the most anticipated Staten Island jazz event every year. To honor Sajda Musawwir’s legacy, the organization encourages widespread community support of the Staten Island JAZZ Festival: by purchasing a ticket – one of the most affordable in NYC at $36 – and sharing the event on social media. All proceeds from the festival support UTA’s FREE year-round arts and educational programs.
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“As we enter our third decade as Staten Island’s oldest continuously run jazz festival, we remain committed to presenting iconic and popular jazz artists as well as showcasing Staten Island performers who stand tall delivering their understanding of this world-wide, cherished music called jazz. Universal Temple of the Arts thinks of JAZZ in all capital letters. We explore every aspect of the art form.”
– October 19, 2019: Quote from the late Sajda Musawwir Ladner, who was the Founder of the Staten Island JAZZ Festival and Artistic/Executive Director of Universal Temple of the Arts.
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"The Romare Bearden Foundation shares a part of our mission with Universal Temple of the Arts - the arts education of young people and adults. UTA stays true to the spirit of its founder Sajda Musawwir. The annual jazz festival is also a jewel of the arts in New York City!"
- Diedra Harris-Kelley, Co-director, Romare Bearden Foundation