Ndegeocello, Moran Anchor Uptown Nights Spring 2011 Series

A Fats Waller-inspired dance party conceived by Grammy nominee Meshell Ndegeocello (pictured, r.) and MacArthur Genius Award winner Jason Moran (pictured, l.) anchors the Spring 2011 season of the popular and acclaimed Uptown Nights at Harlem Stage series. Other highlights of the monthly series that runs February through May include a tribute to the 1990s neo-soul movement led by pianist Marc Cary, a one-night-only revival of DJ Rich Medina's "Lil' Ricky's Rib Shack," and a Valentine's Day edition of rocker Tamar-Kali's avant-garde Cabaret Chocolat. Tickets for the series go on sale January 11.

Now in its second smash year, Uptown Nights reaches back to the time when Harlem was the place to seek out the next big thing in music, and to hear top artists and rising stars in settings where socializing and community building was paramount. Four events comprise the spring series; a full list is below.

All Uptown Nights performances take place at the Harlem Stage Gatehouse (150 Convent Ave. @ W. 135th St.) except Cabaret Chocolat and Lil' Ricky's Harlem, which will be performed at Aaron Davis Hall (Convent Ave. between W. 133rd and W. 135th Streets).

Tickets are $10-$25, available January 11 at www.HarlemStage.org or 212-281-9240 ext. 19 or 20.

Sat, Feb 12
Cabaret Chocolat
7:30pm at Aaron Davis Hall, Convent Avenue between W. 133rd and W. 135th streets
Tickets: $25
Following a sold-out sensation last year Tamar-Kali returns with a titillating new Valentine's Day salute. Presented as a treatise on love, this multidisciplinary performance piece personifies desire, passion, infatuation and heartbreak through illusion, burlesque, aerial spectacle, dance, and song. Tamar-kali's alterna-classical hybrid Psychochamber Ensemble anchors this bold presentation.

Fri, March 25
Soul: Remixed, Revisited and Reconstructed
7:30pm at Harlem Stage Gatehouse, 150 Convent Avenue @ W. 135th St.
Ticket: $15
Emerging talents remix, revisit, and reconstruct classic albums and songs from the soul movement of the 1990s and 2000s. Led by music director and arranger Marc Cary, and backed by a powerhouse band of contemporary soulsters including ArinMaya, The Crowd, and TreZure Empire as well as winners from Harlem Stage's "I Know You've Got Soul" competition. The musical journey celebrates the era of artists like D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Musiq, Bilal, Lauryn Hill, and more.

Fri, April 15
Lil' Ricky's Harlem: A Dance Party with Rich Medina
9:30pm at Aaron Davis Hall, Convent Ave between W. 133rd and W. 135th Streets
Tickets: $15
Maintaining the tradition of his legendary residency at APT, DJ Rich Medina brings Lil' Ricky's Rib Shack uptown for one night only. Presented in conjunction with Harlem Stage's E-Moves dance series (and following its Friday night performance next door), Medina's party brings his signature blend of funk, house, afro beat and soul. With music this good, it will be impossible to stay off the dance floor!

Fri and Sat, May 13-14
THE FATS WALLER DANCE PARTY, Small's Paradise Tribute
Featuring Jason Moran and Meshell Ndegeocello
9pm and 11pm at Harlem Stage Gatehouse, 150 Convent Ave. @ W. 135th St.
Tickets: $10
Aside from its nightly sets, the legendary club Small's was famous for its after-hours jams and rent parties. Among the many artists Smalls hosted, Fats Waller regularly got the joint jumpin'. This tribute concert, conceived by ten-time Grammy Award nominee Meshell Ndegeocello and 2010 MacArthur Genius Award winner Jason Moran, looks back at that legacy, at the stride piano tradition for which Waller was a seminal figure, and how it resonates in contemporary music. Accompanied by a full band, Moran, Ndegeocello, and other artists re-envision Waller's historic music into a contemporary dance event.

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