ARTREACH ASSEMBLY PERFORMANCES

ArtReach projects are launched with in-school performances presented by renowned professional artists.

A limited number of ArtReach performances and presentations are available for programs during the school year. Please call Kenn Doza, Project Manager or Susan Cohen, Director of Arts Education at (516) 922-0061 for performance fees and booking availability.


ARTREACH PERFORMANCES AND PRESENTATIONS

David Gonzalez - Master Storyteller

Cuentos: Tales from the Latino World
Grades K-5
Mr. Gonzalez paints a vivid picture of the people and rich cultures of the Spanish-speaking world with colorful tales from the Caribbean, South America, and the Bronx! These stories are filled with memorable characters, fantastic plots, and positive messages for children - a great introduction to the marvelous world of Latin literature and culture.

Aesop Bops!
Grades K-3
A zoo full of animals comes alive in this fast paced production, which teaches children about sharing and friendship. With such stories as “The Lion and the Mouse” and “Why the Turtle Has a Checkered Shell,” this fun-filled show features ample audience participation.

Finding North
Grades 5-12
“Finding North” is a one-man play drawn from historical research and oral histories that bring to the stage powerful stories of the strivings, sacrifices and dreams of the African-American Underground Railroad hero John P. Parker, as well as contemporary American immigrants. Set to a beautiful blues guitar score, “Finding North” is an exploration and celebration of the continuing quest for freedom in America .

Eli Yamin - Composer, Pianist, Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center's Middle School Jazz Academy and co-founder of The Jazz Drama Program.

Performance Programs created and performed by Eli Yamin and Friends:

The Magic and Mechanics of Jazz – Trio
Grades K-6
The concert invites young audiences to discover the magic of jazz by actively participating in the mechanics that make it happen. The magical music of count Basie, Chrlie Parker, Scott Joplin and Elizabeth Cotton, as well as pieces specifically commissioned for the program, inspire students to sing, stomp, clap and scat.

The Magic and Mechanics of Jazz with a Latin Tinge - Latin Quintet
Grades K-6
This interactive concert focuses on some of the ancient tools from African American and Afro-Cuban culture that fuel bebop, Latin jazz and swing. From a poem “Dizzy” by Joy Jones, to “ Manteca” and “A Night in Tunisia” Eli and the quintet introduce students to the rhythms, instruments and key players in Afro-Cuban and Latin Jazz.

The Different Moods of the Blues - Quartet
Grades 5-12
From spiritual to classical, bebop to folk, from the traditional “Trouble of the World” to “Fishin' Blues” and "John Henry” to an original “Healing Song,” Eli Yamin's quartet brings audiences into the varied and rich world of America's primary musical art form, the blues.  

Jazz Means Freedom – Quintet
Grades 7-12
Jazz Means Freedom with the Eli Yamin Quintet was commissioned by Jazz At Lincoln Center for the Spring 2008 Jazz in the Schools Tour. Jazz can be a launching pad for passionate protest, emotional fury, deep contemplation and ecstatic celebration.  In this program for middle and high school students, pianist Eli Yamin and his quintet explore the many ways jazz embodies and encourages personal and political freedom. Based on the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz In The Schools Curriculum (www.neajazzintheschools.org) this program is designed for teachers implementing these exceptional resources.  The concert features the music of Dizzy Gillespie, Chano Pozo, Charles Mingus, Max Roach, Abbey Lincoln, John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders.

Note: By special arrangement with Jazz at Lincoln Center, Friends of the Arts will present a very limited number of Jazz Means Freedom performances in Long Island schools. Please call for availability.

Mickey Davidson, Dancer and Choreographer
Dance, Rhythm, Dance
Mickey D. and Friends
Newman Baker, Artistic Director

Jazz History Through Music and Dance
Grades K-12
In Dance, Rhythm, Dance Mickey D. and her instrumental/dance ensemble utilize music and dance to transport students from the historical rhythms of plantation slave dances through the era of the Lindy Hop and Swing, to the present day Hip Hop craze. Ample audience participation in this educational performance!  

Carla Cook - Jazz Singer/Songwriter
Carla's CD It's All About Love received a Grammy nomination in the Best Jazz Vocal Performance category and was awarded the AFIM Indie Award for Best Jazz Vocal in 2000.  

The Rhythm Exchange
Carla Cook and Quartet
Grades K-6
The Rhythm Exchange gives students a unique opportunity to be enlightened, entertained and engaged by the American art form of jazz. Exploring the origins of swing, Latin jazz, the conventions of “trading fours,” cal and response, students make the connection between many styles of jazz and the contemporary music they hear today.



Louise Rogers and Rick Strong - Jazz Vocalist and Bassist  

Bop Boo Day!
Grades K-4
From their self produced CD, Bop Boo Day!, Louise Rogers and Rick Strong celebrate some of the greatest artists of jazz. Through songs, poems and stories, very young children are introduced to Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie. In a call-and-response style, Rogers sings and scats and the kids respond, making the performance an interactive experience for all.

Jazzy Fairy Tales
Grades K - 2
Jazzy Fairy Tales: Swing, boogie and dance as the playfulness of jazz gives these original versions of well-known fairy tales new life! Children are transported into a magical world where chocolate pudding tames a wolf, bears boogie and sing the blues, and trolls and goats scat and dance on tippy toes over bridges. Fun stanzas like “Bop Boo Bop, Bop Boo Bay, Piggy feet hop, Piggy feet play”, sung with an Andrews Sisters swing will make children want to sing, dance and bop along in this interactive performance piece.

Bebop, Bass Lines and Blues:
Exploring jazz repertoire through the Bass and Voice
Grades 4-12; customized for appropriate grade levels
An interactive approach to introducing the children to the Standard Jazz Repertoire and the stories behind the songs and jazz artists themselves; Students will be encouraged to participate with vocal improvisation (scatting), rhythmic activities, compositional techniques and singing.

Napoleon Revels-Bey - Percussionist, Music Educator, International Association of Jazz Educators
Revels-Bey Music Performances:

Joy of Jazz (instrumental) or..
Contemporary & Blue: The Great Jazz Vocal Songbook (vocal) Grades K-12 (customized for appropriate grade level)
Both programs offer a history of jazz music and its social significance using examples from the syncopated rhythms of the 19th century Spiritual, Blues March and Ragtime, into the Swing era 30's and 40's. In "Contemporary & Blue” the audience will recognize the vocal stylizations as well as the incorporation of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, Latin, Brazil and the Caribbean culture, and hear examples of the flexibility in expressions from complex to simple phrases used in TV and radio.

Rhythm Kings Ensemble - Afro-Cuban & Jazz Music
Grades K-12 (customized for appropriate grade level)
The rhythmic elements of music from around the world are demonstrated through the various forms tied together by the Clave rhythm, which has its roots in West African music and was developed in Cuba . The music from the Moors in Spain , as well as European, North and West African, South and North American regions are featured in this spirited performance.

Additional Revels-Bey Music performances:

•  Jazz Violin
•  Steel Pan: The Shiny Drum

Please call for more information.



Brian Pinkney - Award-Winning Author/Illustrator

The Rhythm of my Art
Grades K-6
Brian Pinkney combines literature, art and music in an inspirational presentation based on some of the books he has written and/or illustrated: Duke Ellington, Max Found Two Sticks, Alvin Ailey, and Ella Fitzgerald. The program includes storytelling, a power point presentation, and an interactive rhythm and scat activity.

Extend the learning experience with storyboarding and writing workshops for students or professional development workshops for teachers. Please call for workshop availability and fees.

Jazz Legends:
Tommy James - Jazz Historian/Musician with his All Stars

Sidemen to the Stars: The All Stars Jazz Ensemble
Grades K-12

Led by jazz historian and master performer Tommy James, the All Stars present enlivened, fun and humorous performances, which may be tailored for the appropriate grade level. The All Stars are a venerable who's who of the jazz world, performing the classics of the Big Band Era as well as modern and progressive jazz forms. Many of the ensemble members have extensive teaching backgrounds at the public school and collegiate levels. When this group is together, the product is nothing short of magic!

Lois Bohovesky - Founder/Artistic Director of the Hudson Vagabond Puppets

Mime, Masks, Myths, And Fables
Residencies for Grades 4-6
Ms. Bohovesky begins the residency with an interactive storytelling experience that includes stories from Greek Mythology (or fables) and an introduction to the use of theater masks. During the residency, students select myths or fables, construct polyfoam theater masks, and learn how to dramatize their stories utilizing the masks they have created. Ideal for unit on Greek Mythology and fables!

Note: Usual minimum residency length is four days.