AfroSolo Arts Festival Begins August 2nd

San Francisco's award-winning AfroSolo Theatre Company presents the 15th annual AfroSolo Arts Festival, celebrating African American artists giving voice to the Black experience. Paying homage to and exploring the rich legacy of African Americans and people of African descent, the theme of this year's festival is RESILIENCE: My Culture, My People, Me! Festival events (August 2-October 16) featuring live music, visual art, and new works for the stage will take place at various venues around San Francisco: Yerba Buena Gardens, the Main San Francisco Public Library, The Marsh, and Yoshi's San Francisco Jazz Club. Most events, unless otherwise noted, are free and open to the public. For more information, the public may visit afrosolo.org or call 415-771-AFRO(2376).

"We are particularly excited about our theme of resilience," said Thomas Robert Simpson, AfroSolo founding Artistic Director. "This year's festival provides an opportunity for our artists to explore and draw upon the legacies of their history; it is also an opportunity to see our stories connect and unite with people of all cultures. Although our theme is based on the Black experience, resilience knows no racial boundaries. It is my hope that the works presented in AfroSolo Arts Festival 15 will provide inspiration to move past all of the difficulties we face in today's world."

The line up for this year is as follows:
 SaxoPhoNia: In Praise of the Saxophone
Outdoor Jazz Concert in Yerba Buena Gardens
Saturday, August 2, 1-4 pm
Yerba Buena Gardens (Mission Street between 3rd & 4th, SF)

Free and open to the public.

In collaboration with the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, AfroSolo presents its seventh free jazz concert in the gardens. Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Lester Young, James Moody – this year, AfroSolo celebrates the saxophone and the jazz innovators who pioneered today's modern saxophone sound. Pack a lunch, bring a blanket and enjoy a wonderful afternoon of jazz featuring Richard Howell, 15 year-old Bay Area musical prodigy Razel Merritt, and Robin Nzingah Smith presenting three diverse takes on jazz saxophone.

Vocalist and instrumentalist Richard Howell has worked with Babatunde Lea, the Bay Area Afro/Indian/jazz improvisational group The Supplicants, jazz/poetry ensemble Upsurge, and the Big Belly Blues Band. He lectures on jazz history and is currently developing jazz education programs.
 
Razel Merritt, 15, is a member of the Oaktown Jazz Workshops. Although young in age, he has garnered a reputation for his tonal quality and has performed with many of today's leading jazz artists.

Robin Nzingah Smith studied at Harlem's Jazzmobile, Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, and the Berkeley School of Music. She plays with Music She Wrote, a band dedicated to music composed by women and is the lead alto saxophonist in the Count Basie Tribute Band.

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