SummerStage Anywhere Presents Charlie Parker's 100th Birthday Celebration

Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage is proud to present special programming on Saturday, August 29, 2020 in celebration of jazz icon Charlie Parker's 100th birthday. In lieu of the in-person 28th annual Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, this year's digital festivities will take over SummerStage Instagram channel from 10:00AM - 4:00PM ET.

The digital celebration will include a Historic Park Walk Through at Tompkins Square Park and at Parker's House with Charlie Parker Jazz Festival founder Sam Turvey and Charlie Parker Jazz Festival Executive Artistic Director Erika Elliott with jazz performers Jason Moran, Jaleel Shaw and more. The day will also feature an encore presentation of an interview with Parker contemporary and friend, jazz singer Sheila Jordan in conversation with Christian McBride, a special performance by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, and the day will highlight archival video footage from past Charlie Parker Jazz Festivals. The full lineup is below:

SummerStage Anywhere's Charlie Parker's 100th Birthday Celebration

Programming be presented on SummerStage's Instagram channel:

10:30AM - 2018 Charlie Parker Jazz Festival recap featuring Catherine Russell, Jack DeJohnette, Monty Alexander, Amina Claudine Myers, Buster Williams and more.

10:45AM - Culture Talk with Executive Artistic Director of SummerStage Erika Elliott and Charlie Parker Jazz Festival founder and producer Sam Turvey, moderated by jazz drummer and composer Jerome Jennings.

12:00PM - UNHEARD presented at 2018 Charlie Parker Jazz Festival: a suite honoring Charlie Parker, written by and featuring saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, vibraphonist Joel Ross, and trumpeter Adam O'Farrill at Tompkins Square Park, NYC.

12:15PM - Culture Talk with Sheila Jordan & Christian McBride: A contemporary and friend of Charlie Parker's, Jordan is known for her bebop and scat jazz singing style with only an upright bass as her accompaniment. McBride, a six-time Grammy Award winning jazz bassist, composer and arranger.

1:30PM- 2019 Charlie Parker Jazz Festival recap featuring Winard Harper & Jeli Posse, Mwenso & The Shakes, Quiana Lynell, Ravi Coltrane, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Brandee Younger, Lakecia Benjamin and more.

1:45PM- A free family-friendly tap masterclass with Ayodele Casel, one of The New York Times' "Biggest Breakout Stars of 2019", Casel was named "a tap dancer of fine-grained musicianship" by The New Yorker.

4:00PM- Charlie Parker At 100: A Celebration of Parker's Birthday and the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, our headlining performance for the day commemorating Parker. This show will feature ahistoric park walk through Tompkins Square Park and a visit to Parker's house. The episode will feature a conversation with Charlie Parker Jazz Festival founder Sam Turvey and Festival Executive Artistic Director Erika Elliott, alongside jazz performers Jason Moran, Jaleel Shaw and more. The show will be followed by an encore performance of Miguel Atwood-Ferguson's 2012 performance, Bird with Strings, at the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival.

City Parks Foundation SummerStage Anywhere's digital platform offers daily one-of-a-kind digital arts content every week throughout the summer. Each day highlights different genres that were born in or deeply represent New York culture - Mondays: Contemporary Dance, Tuesdays: Global, Wednesdays: Indie Rock, Thursdays: Latin, Fridays: Hip Hop and Saturdays: Jazz. The SummerStage team has spent months finding ways to make the most of this summer and remains committed to bringing free, accessible, and diverse arts programming to New York City (and now the world!) For the most up-to-date scheduling and lineup information, please visit SummerStageAnywhere.org.

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