HUB CITY SOUNDS—FREE OUTDOOR MUSIC SERIES
WHEN: Saturday, August 11 (Jazz in the Park) and Saturday, August 18 (NJ Blues Band, The Fins)
WHERE: the city’s river-front amphitheater at Boyd Park
TICKETS: All events are free and open to the public and free parking is available one block away at the Rutgers University Safety Building Deck. Information can be found on www.newbrunswickarts.org and http://www.facebook.com/NewBrunswickCulturalCenter.
Saturday, August 11, at 4 PM – JAZZ IN THE PARK, presented by The New Brunswick Jazz Project and the Civic League of Greater New Brunswick. This kick-off event will include performances by Winard Harper and Jeli Posse at 4 PM, The New Brunswick High School Jazz Ensemble at 5:15 and Arturo O'Farrill Afro Latin sextet at 5:45.
Hailed as “one of the true great bandleaders who sits behind the drum kit” by Chicago Defender Newspaper, Winard Harper (right) is a one of the most celebrated drummers in Jazz. A virtuoso on the drum set as well as the balafon, the West African equivalent of the marimba, Down Beat Magazine raves that “Harper plays the kind of soulful music that puts the lie to the notion that uncompromising jazz can't feed both the head and the heart.... (he) augments his high-energy hard-bop with an exploration of global rhythms and textures."
Arturo O’Farrill, pianist, composer extraordinaire, educator and winner of the Latin Jazz USA Outstanding Achievement Award for 2003, was born in Mexico and grew up in New York City. In 2002, Mr. O’Farrill created the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra for Jazz at Lincoln Center due in part to a large and very demanding body of substantial music in the genre of Latin and Afro Cuban Jazz that deserves to be much more widely appreciated and experienced by the general jazz audience. His debut album with the Orchestra “Una Noche Inolvidable” earned a GRAMMY award nomination in 2006. In 2008, he and the Orchestra won a GRAMMY for Best Latin Jazz Album for “Song for Chico.”
Saturday, August 18, at 5 PM—THE FINS
Credited with bringing Big Band Blues to the East Coast, New Jersey’s own eight-piece “Rockin’ Blues Band” blends rhythm and blues, jump, swing, jazz and urban Chicago sound—making them a local favorite and an international blues sensation.
Full Series Schedule:
- Saturday, August 25, at 5 PM — StarFish, presented by State Theatre
- Saturday, September 8, at 5 PM — The Tres Amigos
- Saturday, September 15, at 5 PM — Crossroads Theatre Musical Showcase
- Saturday, September 22, at 5 PM — Cimarrones
- Saturday, September 29, at 4:30 PM — A double bill of Family Friendly Programs by George Street Playhouse and American Repertory Ballet
New Brunswick Cultural Center, Inc. (NBCC), is the nonprofit organization that oversees the evolution, improvement, and expansion of the downtown cultural and entertainment district. The organization supports efforts among its member companies to achieve greater cooperation and coordination of activities and sponsors www.NewBrunswickArts.org, providing a comprehensive view of cultural activities. Under the leadership of Executive Director Norma Kaplan since fall of 2011, the Cultural Center is currently undergoing a planning process to reshape and further advance the arts community in New Brunswick.
Hub City Sounds is sponsored by The City of New Brunswick, New Brunswick Recreation Department, The Civic League of Greater New Brunswick, New Brunswick City Market, New Brunswick Tomorrow, Johnson and Johnson and New Millennium Bank.
