Month: January 2021

Sumi Tonooka

Awarded a New Jazz Works grant from Chamber Music America in 2019, pianist/composer Sumi Tonooka found herself inspired by the root systems of trees.

The Revolutionary Spirit of Jazz on MLK Day

In past years, celebrations for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day would have included live musical performances and service projects throughout Philadelphia that people could participate in shoulder to shoulder, and hand to hand. This year, the Philadelphia Jazz Project and the Museum of the American Revolution are among the partners who have looked to highlights of celebrations past to create a beautiful and moving video celebration featuring Philly jazz artists such as V. Shayne Frederick and the renowned Philadelphia graphic artist Eric Battle. While we may not be shoulder to shoulder, we can still be heart to heart. “We Shall Continue: Celebrating MLK Weekend with the Philadelphia Jazz Project” can be viewed online on demand for anyone who needs to center themselves in the spirit of the day.

Pablo Batista

Latin jazz percussionist Pablo Batista has developed a reputation as one of most versatile and hardworking players in Latin jazz, modern jazz, and in R&B and funk circles.

Immanuel Wilkins: In His Solitude

A couple of weeks ago, Immanuel Wilkins, 23, was awakened at home in Upper Darby when his mobile phone buzzed with congratulatory messages lauding the selection of his debut album, Omega, by The New York Times as the #1 Best Jazz Album of 2020.

North Philly jazz tap dancer and business owner creates a livestream tap dance and jazz concert series

Pamela Hetherington, a jazz tap dancer who owns a percussive dance space in North Philadelphia, had to keep her space locked down for 23 weeks out of 2020. She used the time to produce multiple live-stream tap dance and jazz music concerts. In September, Hetherington created a live-stream tap dance and jazz concert series called "A Month of Sundays" (4 Sundays, 4 pm) for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. "It brought together my group choreography, improvised sets and audience requests," Hetherington writes. "We were able to reach a lot of people who wouldn't have seen our work otherwise, and what I was most proud of was that I offered gigs when there weren't any."

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