April 19th: Atlanta Streets Alive + Music in the Park
April 2015 is the 12th observance of National Jazz Appreciation Month. Founded at the Smithsonian Institution in 2002 by John Edward Hasse – musician, jazz scholar and Duke Ellington biographer – the celebration is intended, in the words of Quincy Jones, to “…recognize that our indigenous music – jazz – is the heart and soul of all popular music, and that we cannot afford to let its legacy slip into obscurity.”
“We are beginning this year’s Atlanta Jazz Festival activities in April in honor of Jazz Appreciation Month,” states Camille Russell Love, Executive Director of the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs. “And what better way to do that than to support the great work of Kebbi Williams and Music in the Park. We encourage jazz lovers to come out and join us on Sunday, April 19 from 2-8 pm for all the music and the fun.”
Grammy Award-winning saxophonist, Kebbi Williams, will present his 5th annual Music in the Park event in Atlanta’s historic West End community. For the second year, Music in the Park will be an active partner with Atlanta Streets Alive, the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, and the Atlanta Jazz Festival. Music in the Park will present some 50 live performances on 10 different stages featuring diverse musicians from 2 – 6 pm on Ralph David Abernathy. Featured performers this year will include: Russell Gunn, Julie Dexter, Joe Gransden, Frank Barham and Brazilian Sounds, Eric McFadden, 4th Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra, Rahbi and Mausiki Scales and the Common Ground Collective.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to experience orchestral music composed by special guest conductor, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, featuring arrangements that encompass musical styles from Jazz and Classical, to Funk, and Blues. The 50-piece orchestra will include youth from various Atlanta Public Schools and professional musicians, and will be held at The Wrens Nest from 6 – 8pm, immediately following Music in the Park and Atlanta Streets Alive activities. For more details about Music in the Park, visit their web site at: www.musicintheparkatl.org.
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