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Panel of National Jazz Experts and Legends Announce Prestigious 2014-15 Kimmel Center Jazz Residency Artist Participants!

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The Kimmel Center’s commitment to Jazz continues as their Jazz Residency winners are announced! The five-person panel, representing some of the nation’s most influential jazz practitioners and innovators—including Kennedy Center Director of Jazz Programming Kevin Struthers, SF Jazz Center Artistic Producer Lilly Schwartz, Jazz at Lincoln Center Vice President of Education Todd Stoll—culled through over 25 applicants and selected five early to mid-career Philadelphia jazz musicians to participate in this prestigious season-long journey.

Selected artists include: percussionist Francois Zayas, joined by vocalist Melvis Santa and disc jockey Ben Scheible, who are working on a composition of a jazz love story featuring Serbian inspired brass, digital sampling and dance. Vocalist Venissa Santi and guitarist Monnette Sudler-Honesty will create a jazz musical featuring children, dance, and narrative directly tied to the Philadelphia community.

The Jazz Residency program, now in its second season, discovers the next generation of jazz artists and contributes to the cultural vitality of not only the genre, but also of the Philadelphia performing arts scene, by nurturing their talent. The program fosters these artists to create new work through student workshops, work-in-progress performances, and culminates in a world premiere June 19 -20, 2015.

Previous participants to this esteemed experience include Josh Lawrence and the Fresh Cut Orchestra, who premiered Yin & Yang of Life; saxophonist Bobby Zankel, choreographer Raphael Xavier and percussionist Francois Zayas explored African American culture and its transcendental nature through music, dance, literature, and visual arts; and, Pablo Batista and the Mambo Syndicate who collaborated with pianist Dennis Guevara on a fusion of three genres of music: the ancient Bata rhythms of Yoruba, Afro-Cuban rhythms, and jazz.

The Kimmel Center nurtures these artists by providing time, space and resources; help them forge key relationships; and give them the chance to work in Philadelphia and engage with its community. Artists participating in the program receive:

A Kimmel Center commission to create new work;

Stipend to cover travel, project and other related expenses;

The opportunity to work and meet with nationally renowned master jazz artists and curators.

“The Kimmel Center is committed to nurturing the creative pool of jazz artists that reside in Philadelphia,” said Kimmel Center Artistic Director Jay Wahl. “Philadelphia has always been a celebrated Jazz city, with many legendary musicians who grow up here and live here touring the world. This residency allows us to bring together talented local artists to collaborate and create new music in a public forum.”

The jazz residency program is part of a collective Jazz at the Kimmel celebration. The winter jazz highlights include the Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia, led by Philly renowned trumpeter Terrell Stafford, performing with Philly legends, the three tenors—Bootsie Barnes, Larry McKenna and Jimmy Heath (December 3 at 3 p.m., Perelman Theater). Their performance of Bringin’ in the Season features The Harlem Nutcracker by Billy Strayhorn, among other works. Then, nine-time Grammy Award-winning Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra perform a spirited holiday program of swing featuring the vocal talents of young chanteuse Cecile McLorin Salvant (December 21 at 8 p.m., Verizon Hall). Funk and soul jazz saxophonist Maceo Parker performs his signature brassy sound, as experienced as band member in James Brown and the Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s(January 17 at 8 p.m., Merriam Theater). Mardi Gras kicks-off on Fat Tuesday, with Grammy and Billboard Award-winning artist Irvin Mayfield leading the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (February 17 at 8 p.m., Verizon Hall). And, jazz provocateurs Jason Moran & the Bandwagon, joins the stead, with an open-minded, intuitive jazz performance (March 29 at 7 p.m., Perelman Theater).

“We are honored to host the second jazz residency in the Kimmel Center’s SEI Innovation Studio,” adds Kimmel Center President and CEO Anne Ewers. “The space is a perfect incubator for creative jazz artists to showcase new works and engage the Philadelphia community within the process.”

FREE Jazz at the Kimmel events continue this winter with monthly Sittin’ In jam sessions, an open forum for musicians to perform improv jazz on the Commonwealth Plaza with a dance party atmosphere, opened by resident DJ PHSH, and emcee’d by Philadelphia personality and songwriter Ciarra Lambert. The FREE Sittin’ In jam session will be hosted by Philly native jazz vocalist Venissa Santi performing with percussionist Francois Zayas on November 12 at 8 p.m., and Jonathan Finlayson and Sicilian Defense in SEI Innovation Studio on December 10 at 8 p.m..PNC Grow Up Great continues with Bebop program with Lucas Brown on December 6 at 11 a.m.,continuing the monthly free series with an engaging program targeted toward little ones, ages zero to four years old.

And, the Kimmel Center’s Creative Music Program (CMP) for Jazz, led by Director of CMP Anthony Tidd, returns to perform a holiday concert in the Commonwealth Plaza on December 23 at 6:30 p.m. Kimmel Center jazz resident, Francois Zayas, artist-in-residence for the Meet the Masters series (Nov. to Dec.), part of the Creative Music Program, has created compositions for this student performance.

Visit kimmelcenter.org for more information about the jazz residency artist calendar, and jazz packages starting at $99. Join us on social media at #PhillyLovesJazz for season highlights.

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