Celebrate April's Jazz Appreciation Month With Jazz Events For All Ages On The Kimmel Center

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month throughout the month of April with a variety of events for all ages across the Cultural Campus, from brand new works produced as part of the Center's sixth annual Jazz Residency program, to educational opportunities for children below age 5, and more.

"Jazz is a fixture of our diverse programming throughout the season on our Cultural Campus, but we are thrilled to draw attention to some of these extraordinary and personal programs during April's Jazz Appreciation Month," said Ed Cambron, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. "Philadelphia is a cultural hub for art of all forms and jazz in particular; we are proud to showcase both well-known talent and support new, up-and-coming jazz collaborations that further the city's legacy in this diverse and electrifying genre."

The month kicks off with FREE programming for the littlest arts lovers at PNC Grow Up Great with special guest and former Kimmel Center Jazz Residency artist, Luke Carlos O'Reilly. During this hour of interactive fun, children under age 5 are invited to explore the vibrant world of jazz, singing, dancing, and using their imaginations. April's program will take kids on a New Orleans jazz-themed adventure!

Throughout the month of April, audiences can engage with burgeoning jazz artists directly during each of the FREE & BYOB Work-In-Progress sessions of the Kimmel Center's Jazz Residency Program, now in its sixth year. A program designed to take artists and audiences on a season-long journey of creating new "Philly-made" jazz in and for the city and community, these events, hosted in the SEI Innovation Studio, are an opportunity for each Jazz Residency collaborative team to present an early draft of their newly-developed compositions.

The three 2018-19 Jazz Residency projects include: Dan Blacksberg and team, exploring the connections between jazz, klezmer music, and Jewish and non-Jewish music from the Middle East and North Africa; David Allen and team, developing a series of compositions that incorporate jazz, poetry, and spoken-word to tell a story of diverse Philadelphia as a multi-cultural safe-haven; and Dariel Peniazek and team, discovering cultural identity as a Latino-American through modern jazz and South American rhythms with emphasis on the tres Cubano, a traditional Cuban guitar-like instrument. Work-in-progress events throughout Jazz Appreciation Month are Wednesday, April 10; Thursday, April 18; and Friday, April 26.

The month-long celebration continues with DIVA Jazz Orchestra, playing the Kimmel Center's Perelman Theater on Saturday, April 27. The entirely-female group bring their contemporary, mainstream big band jazz sound to the stage with arrangements and compositions to fit their individual personalities and styles.

Closing Jazz Appreciation Month is a World Premiere event entitled SKYVIEWS by Lucas Brown; the Philadelphia jazz organist and composer brings his new piece to the intimate, blackbox space, SEI Innovation Studio on Sunday, April 28. In this musical exploration of how we set our own rules, Brown wrestles with the demons we all face, and finds out how to go beyond the limitations and boundaries of self-doubt.

Below is a full list of Jazz Appreciation Month offerings in chronological order:

PNC GROW UP GREAT WITH LUKE CARLOS O'REILLY

FREE AT THE KIMMEL

Saturday, April 6 at 11AM

Commonwealth Plaza, Kimmel Center

The Kimmel Center's monthly Grow Up Great program continues in Jazz Appreciation Month with special guest and former Kimmel Center Jazz Residency artist, Luke Carlos O'Reilly. During this hour of interactive fun, children under age 5 are invited to explore the vibrant world of jazz, singing, dancing, and using their imaginations. April's program will take them on a New Orleans jazz-themed adventure!

WORK- IN-PROGRESS: DAN BLACKSBERG / RABBI YOSEF GOLDMAN

KIMMEL CENTER JAZZ RESIDENCY PROGRAM

FREE AT THE KIMMEL

Wednesday, April 10 at 8PM

SEI Innovation Studio, Kimmel Center

The Kimmel Center Jazz Residency Work-in-Progress events provide an opportunity for the artistic teams to present an early draft of their new compositions. Artists perform new material for the first time, taking questions and direct feedback from the audience. Composer and trombonist Dan Blacksberg, with collaborator Rabbi Yosef Goldman, will explore and fuse connections between jazz, klezmer music, and Jewish and non-Jewish music from the Middle East and North Africa.

WORK- IN-PROGRESS: DARIEL PENIAZEK / MAYA PENIAZEK / ARIACNE TRUJILLO

KIMMEL CENTER JAZZ RESIDENCY PROGRAM

FREE AT THE KIMMEL

Thursday, April 18 at 8PM

SEI Innovation Studio, Kimmel Center

The Kimmel Center Jazz Residency Work-in-Progress events provide an opportunity for the artistic teams to present an early draft of their new compositions. Artists perform new material for the first time, taking questions and direct feedback from the audience. Using the traditional guitar-like instrument of Cuban origin, the tres cubano, Dariel Peniazek is creating a piece combining the infectious rhythms of South America with the intellectual approach of modern jazz that also address his experiences of discovering his cultural identity as a Latino-American through lyrics and spoken word.

WORK- IN-PROGRESS: David Allen / RAQUEL SALAS RIVERA / Diane Monroe

KIMMEL CENTER JAZZ RESIDENCY PROGRAM

FREE AT THE KIMMEL

Friday, April 26 at 8PM

SEI Innovation Studio, Kimmel Center

The Kimmel Center Jazz Residency Work-in-Progress events provide an opportunity for the artistic teams to present an early draft of their new compositions. Artists perform new material for the first time, taking questions and direct feedback from the audience. Composer, guitarist, and educator David Allen collaborates with Diane Monroe on violin and 2018-19 poet laureate of Philadelphia Raquel Salas Rivera to develop a series of jazz compositions that incorporate poetry and spoken-word to tell a story of diverse Philadelphia as a multi-cultural safe-haven.

DIVA JAZZ ORCHESTRA

KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS

Saturday, April 27 at 8PM

Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center

"The band punched, kicked, roared and swung with a disciplined abandon and an unaffected joie de vivre." - JazzTimes

Headed by Music Director/Drummer Sherrie Maricle, DIVA exudes the excitement and force found in the tradition of the historic big bands but with an eye towards today's progressive sound and originality. With New York as their home base, DIVA performs all over the world playing contemporary, mainstream big band jazz, composed and arranged to fit the individual personalities and styles of the players. The inspiration for DIVA came from Stanley Kay, one-time manager and relief drummer for Buddy Rich. In 1990, Kay was conducting a band in which Sherrie Maricle was playing the drums. Stanley immediately picked up on her extraordinary talent and began to wonder if there were other women players who could perform at the same level. The search was on and through nationwide auditions, the foundation for DIVA was poured in June 1992, and what emerged is the dynamic musical force that holds forth to the present day.

SKYVIEWS

FREE AT THE KIMMEL

WORLD PREMIERE EVENT

Sunday, April 28 at 7PM

SEI Innovation Studio, Kimmel Center

Sometimes you feel like you're floating up in the air and looking down on yourself, out of body and out of sorts, self-critical, letting others take the lead, and not living up to your full potential. Instead you should be flying high and proud; soaring across time and space and feeling the sun. In this musical exploration of how we set our own rules, composer Lucas Brown wrestles with the demons we all face, and finds out how to go beyond the limitations and boundaries of self-doubt.

Known to many throughout the Jazz world as an organist, Lucas Brown is a performing artist, composer and educator. He actively performs both Jazz and Classical music and has performed around the US at such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Kimmel Center, the Smithsonian Museum, the Jazz Standard, and the Blue Note.

He has performed with such Jazz artists as Pat Martino, Eric Alexander, Terell Stafford, Larry McKenna, Bootsie Barnes, Tim Warfield, and Gerald Veasley as well as with Opera Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. As a member of the American Guild of Organists, Lucas has been on the programming team for the Kimmel Center's Organ Day, and has performed for multiple years at Organ Day on the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ with a Jazz band.

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, visiting kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center Box Office. More information at kimmelcenter.org.

*All events held in SEI Innovation Studio are designated BYO performances. Acceptable forms of BYO are 6-pack of beer and/or 750ml bottles of wine only; no liquor or open containers are permitted. Limit of one (1) 750ml bottle of wine OR one (1) six-pack of beer per two guests. Corkscrews and rolling coolers are not permitted. Ice, cups and corking service available at venue at no cost. All BYO Night guests are subject to lawful ID checks and bag checks at the manager's discretion.