performance

The Preservatory Project Presents: The Artist’s Role, January 20, 2018

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I am honored to be invited to speak and perform as part of a collaborative show in Durham called The Artist’s Role, with some incredible performers and historians who I will be humbly and respectfully in awe of for the duration of the show, for their work, their knowledge, and their contributions to the arts.

What is this show? Here’s the story from the source:

“The Urban Artistry Preservatory Project, an initiative of Urban Artistry, An International Culture and Education Project, presents The Artist’s Role, an evening of music, dance, narrative, and visual art. Featured performers include three generations of tradition-bearers and innovators: NEA National Heritage Fellows Phil Wiggins and John Dee Holeman, Shana Tucker, Laura Windley, Joe Seamons and Ben Hunter. Featuring visual art by Darius Quarles and co-hosted by Greg Adams of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and Junious Lee Brickhouse of Urban Artistry, An International Culture and Education Project.

Tickets $12 in advance, $15 at the door theartistsrole.eventbrite.com

For The Artist’s Role, the Preservatory Project has chosen artists who, along with being talented and entertaining performers, are also historians, tradition bearers, and modern-day griots. The musicians span a range of genres and eras, from acoustic country blues to swing to soul. They all share a commitment to elevating the artists and communities who inspired and taught them. It is The Preservatory Project’s hope that the audience will find new ways to engage with and connect with communities that are often marginalized but to whom we owe so much artistically and culturally.”

I’m going to share some of my favorite stories and artists from women’s jazz history, sing a little, dance a little, and collaborate with the other musicians in the show. I hope you will come and be inspired, engaged, and energized by what you hear and see!

January 20, 2018, 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at The Vault, 1104 Broad Street, Durham, NC

Ella at the Savoy: A Centennial Tribute – April 23, 2017

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In 1934, Ella Fitzgerald was a homeless teenager on the streets of Harlem with an incredible voice – she was discovered at the Apollo Theater’s famous amateur night that year and was quickly picked up by drumming powerhouse Chick Webb to perform in his orchestra. Chick Webb’s band was the most prominent of the house bands at the Savoy Ballroom, one of New York’s largest ballrooms, the only integrated ballroom in New York, and the birthplace of Lindy Hop. Before she was the First Lady of Song, Ella honed her skills as a big band singer with some of New York’s top working jazz musicians of the 1930’s.

April 25, 2017 marks Ella’s 100th birthday and, as a centennial tribute, a group of Triangle musicians has come together to celebrate her early work with the Chick Webb Orchestra and, in the years following Chick Webb’s death in 1939 at the height of the orchestra’s fame, leading the orchestra under her own name – Ella Fitzgerald and her Famous Orchestra.

Come see the show on April 23, 2017 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Sharp Nine Gallery/Durham Jazz Workshop, 4608 Industry Lane, Suite L, Durham, NC – tickets are $20.00 and you can purchase them through Brown Paper Tickets. For more information, visit the Sharp Nine Gallery website.

11767807_4 Laura Windley – vocals
Kobie Watkins – drums
Jim Crew – piano
Peter Kimosh – bass
Chip Newton – guitar
Keenan McKenzie – reeds
Aaron Hill – reeds
Dan Hitchcock – reeds
Taylor Savage – reeds
Lucian Cobb – trombone
Evan Ringel – trombone
Jim Ketch – trumpet
Kyle Santos – trumpet
Paul Rogers – trumpet

New Orleans, October 4-5, 2014 – Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown with Jonathan Stout

After experiencing one of the best music festival experiences I’ve ever had earlier this year at New Orleans’ French Quarter Festival, I am returning to the cradle of jazz, this time to perform! I’ll be in New Orleans with two of Jonathan Stout’s bands, the Campus Five and the Jonathan Stout Orchestra for the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown, October 4 and 5, 2014. On October 4, from 8:00 p.m. to midnight, the Jonathan Stout Orchestra will perform at the Civic Theater, New Orleans’ oldest theater, built in 1906. On October 5, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five will be at NOLA’s famous French Market (at Dutch Alley). On top of these performances, ULHS will feature performances by some of New Orleans’ finest swing and traditional jazz bands and musicians – Ben Polcer’s Swinging Seven, Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns, Luke Winslow King Quintet, Aurora Nealand and the Royal Roses, Palmetto Bug Stompers, New Orleans Cottonmouth Kings, and the Shotgun Jazz Band. See you in NOLA!

Pink Renaissance: A Jazz Affair

This Friday, September 23, 2011, I will be performing with the Al Strong Quartet +1 as a dancer at Pink Renaissance: A Jazz Affair. This concert is a fundraiser sponsored by the Kappa Alpha Alpha Sorority and the money raised will go to scholarships. The concert will feature some early jazz tunes, to fit the Harlem Renaissance theme, and will feature the dancing of local swing dancers, including myself, performing Lindy Hop, Balboa, Charleston, and Blues dancing to the music performed by the band.

The event runs from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and will also feature heavy hors d’oeuvres and an amazing cake created by Gregory Bingham of The Art of Cake.

UNC- Chapel Hill, Sonja Haynes Stone Center Theater
150 South Road
Chapel Hill, NC

For more information visit the Kappa Alpha Alpha web site.

Atomic Plays TSDS and TCF Perform at Summer Solstice Festival

There’s another busy weekend in the works, with The Atomic Rhythm All-Stars taking the stage at the Murphey School in Durham, NC this Saturday, June 18, 2011 for a night of swing dancing, thanks to the Triangle Swing Dance Society.

On Sunday, June 19, The Carolina Fascinators will be performing their Shortenin’ Bread routine at Greensboro, NC’s Summer Solstice Festival, around 4:30 p.m. TCF member Abigail Browning will also be performing social swing dancing with her dance partner and partner in crime, Adam Speen. Looking forward to being a part of this outdoor festival!

The Southside Stomp: Carolina Invasion with Atomic’s Trio and The Carolina Fascinators

This coming weekend I’ll be heading to Norfolk, Virginia for The Southside Stomp: Carolina Invasion swing dance on Saturday, May 21, 2011. The Atomic Rhythm All-Stars‘ trio offshoot, commonly known as George Knott’s Square Trio, will be playing the dance, with George Knott on Guitar, Mark Wells on piano, and Lucian Cobb on trombone. The Carolina Fascinators will also be debuting their new routine at this event, so this is all very exciting! Great jazz, a new performance, and a great dance hosted by Bill Speidel and Victor Celania.

Atomic Rhythm All-Stars play Raleigh and Winston-Salem, NC

This weekend the Atomic Rhythm All-Stars have a double header, kicking off this season’s Music on the Porch concert series at the historic Mordecai House in Raleigh, NC on Friday, May 13. We’ll be playing from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on the lawn. Feel free to bring a picnic, kids, pets, and enjoy the sounds of hot jazz as the sun sets. More details at the Music on the Porch website at http://www.musicontheporch.com/.

On Saturday, May 14, we’ll be taking the bus to Winston-Salem, NC to the Piedmont Swing Dance Society’s dance at the Vintage Theater. The Carolina Fascinators will also be performing at this event. More details about the dance at http://www.piedmontswingdance.org/.