Neighborhood Music School Presents: Twilight Tuesdays Summer Concert Series

NMS Presents:  Twilight Tuesdays 2016

Doors open at 6:30 pm. Concerts start at 7:30 pm.

Neighborhood Music School presents Twilight Tuesdays, an alfresco dinner/concert series of four fabulous evenings of music in the Park of the Arts, located behind NMS.

 

July 19 – Goza Latin Jazz Band

Goza (Spanish for “joy”) performs classic and modern songs and dances from Latin America, Brazil and Spain with guitar, horns, violin, percussion and beautiful, romantic vocals. Their variety of styles includes cha-cha, samba, flamenco and tango, and will have you dancing in no time! Learn more about Goza here. 

Listen to Goza here

 

July 26 – Sasha Dobson

This singer/songwriter is a rising star who has toured with some of the music world’s greatest talents, including Willie Nelson, Norah Jones and Neil Young. Her debut album, Modern Romance, is a fusion of Brazilian Groove, pop, jazz and selections from the Great American Songbook. Sasha comes back to New Haven due to popular demand following her acclaimed performance at NMS’s Le Jazz event last March. Learn more about Sasha Dobson here.

Listen to Sasha Dobson here  

 

August 2 – Model Decoy

Model Decoy is an art-rock group, and New Haven favorite, that plays original songs ranging from upbeat and catchy, to slow and sublime. This imaginative duo Doron Monk Flake and Ari Sadowitz, and their band, certainly don’t stick to the same old topics when it comes to song-writing - their lyrical influences are drawn from literature, graphic novels, sci-fi shows and classic films. Learn more about Model Decoy here.

Listen to Model Decoy here 

 

 August 9 – Lonnie Plaxico

Don’t miss this renowned Jazz bassist and composer who has performed with notables including Alice Coltrane, Junior Cook and Dizzy Gillespie, not to mention his Grammy award-winning collaborations with Art Blakey and Cassandra Wilson. This performance will feature Plaxico and NMS faculty members performing classic jazz as well as his original compositions.

Learn about Lonnie Plaxico here. 

Listen to Lonnie Plaxico here. 

Concerts held in the Park of the Arts behind Neighborhood Music School,

100 Audubon Street, New Haven.  Rain or shine!

Food trucks available on site or you are welcome to bring a picnic dinner.

Cash beer and wine bar. BYOB is welcome.

Tickets available at:   https://goo.gl/1ZhiNR

Aaron Jafferis is Coming to the Neighborhood!

When acclaimed hip-hop poet and playwright Aaron Jafferis visits NMS on May 5, anything is possible. That's because Aaron's repertoire is so wide-ranging, from his free-form poetry to his musicals, which have been produced around the world. Aaron will be discussing the philosophy behind what he does - plus, he'll be performing!  The lecture is the third in the NMS Spotlight Series; the last event on March 31 -  featuring our own Jesse Hameen II describing his personal journey as a jazz musician - was standing room only with over 75 people in attendance!                                                                            Photo from www.sandiegouniontribune.com

May 5 will follow a similar format, with NMS Program Director Noah Bloom providing  an introduction to Aaron's impressive body of work, including discussing what he and  NMS are doing to create a forum for New Haven youth to express their feelings about cultural issues through the arts.  Aaron's artistic accomplishments (just to name a few) include appearing at major venues  such as the Kennedy Center and National Poetry Slam Championships, and completing  multiple artist's residencies. He teaches poetry and hip-hop theatre in schools, health  centers, community organizations, and detention centers in New Haven - his hometown -  including serving as the writer-in-residence at Yale-New Haven Hospital's Child Life  Department, where he works with children in the hospital on creating poetry about their  experiences.   "We chose Aaron for this series because Neighborhood is a place where we believe  deeply in giving youth a platform to develop their own voice through the arts," says Noah. "When we think about people in this community who are doing this with great success, Aaron is top of the mind."

But you don't have to wait until May to get a sneak preview of the great work Aaron's  doing in the community. Don't miss THE WORD - Citywide Youth Poetry Collective's  annual high school poetry jam on April 29 at 6 p.m. - this year held at Neighborhood  Music School, with a back-up band made up of NMS jazz students accompanying some  of the performers! The event, showcasing original work of student poets from local high schools, follows week long residencies at these schools by Aaron and other artists and performers. Learn more about the poetry jam - which is free and open to the public! And to learn more about what Aaron does - and to watch mesmerizing videos of him  performing - visit his website - www.aaronjafferis.com So be sure to mark your calendars for these two fabulous events: April 29 - THE WORD poetry jam at 6 p.m. and Aaron's May 5 Spotlight Series talk, which will take place in the NMS Recital Hall at 6:30 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the public, and features complimentary coffee from the Happiness Lab and donuts from Tony's Square Donuts. The Spotlight Series talk series is sponsored by Yale New Hospital.

Neighborhood Music School Presents: Seymour Bernstein

Neighborhood Music School (NMS) is delighted to host pianist, teacher, composer and author Seymour Bernstein for a Master Class on Saturday, April 16 at 2 p.m.The class, featuring three advanced NMS students, will be followed at 5 p.m. by a viewing of the inspiring documentary, “Seymour, An Introduction,” a film by celebrated actor Ethan Hawke.

Bernstein, who began teaching piano at just 15 years of age, has made it his goal to bring music to as many people as possible, and he is one of the most sought after clinicians in the country and abroad.

Beyond his career as an educator, which includes maintaining a private studio in New York City, serving on the juries of international competitions and working as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Music and Music Education at New York University, Bernstein continues to perform internationally. His concert career has taken him around the globe, including Asia, Europe and throughout the Americas. He is also a prolific composer and has written a number of music books, including With Your Own Two Hands and 20 Lessons in Keyboard Choreography, which have been published in German, Japanese, Korean and Russian.

“Seymour: An Introduction,” explores this charming musician’s remarkable life through his own heartwarming stories, shared wisdom and insightful reflections on creativity, art and the pursuit of fulfillment. A Q&A with Bernstein will follow the film.

The program is open to the public and appropriate for ages 12 and up. Due to limited seating, advanced registration is strongly encouraged. Light snacks will be served before the film. Learn more and register here: http://neighborhoodmusicschool.org/calendar/event/2/1359/2016/04/all. For more information about "Seymour: An Introduction" by Ethan Hawke, visit http://www.seymouranintroduction.com/.

© 2011 Seymour Bernstein. Photo credit: Jiyang Chen

Jesse Hameen II Photo by Judy Sirota-Rosenthal

 Neighborhood Music School (NMS) invites the public to its free Spotlight Talk Series event, “The Journey of a Jazz Musician: From New Haven and Back Again - The Jesse Hameen II Experience,” on Thursday, March 31, 6:30 p.m. at NMS, 100 Audubon St., New Haven.  

Hameen will highlight some of his experiences as a drummer while playing professionally all over the world, from New York to Sweden to France, and with jazz greats including Hank Crawford, Charles Brown and Irene Reid – and many others! He will discuss his involvement in New Haven’s jazz scene, including reigniting the New Haven Jazz Festival several years ago, and what led him to develop the Jazz and Rock Studies program at NMS, where he’s been a beloved instructor for the past 18 years. 

Jesse says “It all began in New Haven, where I grew up living and breathing music. Once upon a time, the city boasted an impressive and happening jazz scene. New Haven prepared me for it all,” he says. “It used to be one of the meccas for jazz. There were a lot of clubs and musicians; it was one of the main stops that jazz artists made. I’m proud to talk about what New Haven did for me.”

The next Spotlight Talk Series event will be:

Aaron Jafferis - “Breaking and Entering: Hip-Hop, Theatre & Community”
Thursday, May 5, 6:30 p.m.

The Spotlight Talk Series is sponsored by Yale New Haven Health System. Complimentary refreshments provided by A Happy Life Coffee and Tony’s Square Donuts.

Neighborhood Spotlight: “Artistic Enterprise from the African Diaspora” featuring Akisa Omulepu

Neighborhood Music School has a whole world of creativity under one roof, from adult ballet to steel pan to guitar classes.

Of course, there’s also a lot of creativity out there in – well - the rest the world, too. And their newest program is all about exploring the arts in New Haven and beyond.

With the Neighborhood Spotlight Series, featuring expert speakers who work locally and internationally in music, dance and drama, NMS will bring unique artistic perspectives right to our front door (or more specifically, to their first floor performance space, but you get the picture).

The first three lectures will cover a diverse group of topics: African music and art; the hip hop experience and theatre; and jazz. These creative leaders will speak about their own projects and artistic process, and what inspires them. They will share their own unique perspective of both past and upcoming projects using visual tools, including video, to illustrate their experience, as well as host Q&A sessions.

And it gets better. All lectures are completely free of charge.

Can’t wait? No problem. The first lecture is scheduled for next Thursday evening, February 25 at 6:30 pm, with Akisa Omulepu presenting a discussion on “Black Enterprise and Music from the African Diaspora.”

Akisa – who just finished a semester collaborating with leaders from around the globe as part of the Yale World Fellows program – has lived in Kenya for the past seven years, where she produces groundbreaking television programs and manages Just A Band, a music and art collective.

Akisa is also the founder and CEO of Emerge Omnimedia, an organization that works towards creating opportunities for African artists expressing diverse views through media, music and art; her lecture will focus on the vibrant arts scene unfolding throughout Africa.                                                       

When asked her talk she answered “I’ll be talking a little bit about the Yale World Fellows, and about music and art and the changing landscape on the African continent. People underestimate how vast it actually is,” she says of her upcoming presentation. “There’s some incredible work happening around the continent.

Visit NMS webpage for specific information about the upcoming Spotlight Series and be sure to mark your calendars for February 25. All lectures take place in the NMS Recital Hall at 6:30 p.m. and they’re free and open to the public. This new talk series is sponsored by Yale New Haven Health System.

Cool Cats Jazz Brunch

The Branford Compassion Club hosts Cool Cats Jazz Brunch, a benefit emceed by News Channel 8 anchorman Darren Kramer, featuring the esteemed Jeff Fuller and the Premier Jazz Ensemble of the Neighborhood Music School.

The buffet brunch is Sunday, Nov. 8 at 11:30 a.m. at Pine Orchard Yacht & Country Club, 2 Club Parkway. There is a donation of $45 a person. Reserve by Nov. 1 by email at bccspecialevents32@gmail.com or call 203-444-0653. For more information, visit www.branfordcompassionclub.org.

There will be wine basket raffles, silent auction theme baskets and the chance to enjoy one of the Shoreline’s best brunches, not normally available to the public, at the club, with its stunning views of the Thimble Islands to a soundtrack of sophisticated jazz. Proceeds benefit BCC’s mission to rescue, care for and adopt out homeless felines and for operating expenses at its Feline Rescue and Adoption Center, 2037 Foxon Road, North Branford.

If Sundays mean football, you can kick back over a great brunch with hip music and be home in time for kickoff. Whether a jazz aficionado or a neophyte curious about the great American music genre, you’ll enjoy the cool and laid-back vibe.

The Yale School of Music-trained Fuller, an award-winning bassist and composer, has been a fixture

around the New Haven jazz scene for decades. He has toured worldwide with such luminaries as Dizzy Gillespie, Mose Allison, “Papa” Jo Jones, Gerry Mulligan and Clark Terry. A faculty member at the Neighborhood Music School, and ACES Educational Center for the Arts, he gets to pick from the cream of the crop for the Premier Jazz Ensemble, composed of NMS students and faculty.

Kramer, the popular weeknight anchor of WTNH News Channel 8, gives generously of his time for charities and has a large and faithful following on Twitter, where he is a prolific Tweeter of both wry commentary and news postings.

Branford Compassion Club is an all-volunteer-run non-profit organization founded in 1997. Its shelter, which opened in 2011, celebrated its milestone 1,000^th cat adoption on Oct. 3.