Program Notes
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Thursday, February 16, 2017, at 8:30 pm m a r Laura Mvula g o r Troy Miller, Musical Director and Drums P Karl Rasheed-Abel, Bass e Oli Rockberger, Keyboards h T This evening’s program is approximately 75 minutes long and will be performed without intermission. Produced in association with Jill Newman Productions Please make certain all your electronic devices are switched off. Major support for Lincoln Center’s American Songbook is provided by Amy & Joseph Perella. Endowment support provided by Bank of America This performance is made possible in part by the Josie Robertson Fund for Lincoln Center. The Appel Room Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall American Songbook Additional support for Lincoln Center’s American Songbook is provided by Meg and Bennett Goodman, Rita J. and Stanley H. Kaplan Family Foundation, Inc., The DuBose and Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund, Jill & Irwin B. Cohen, The Shubert Foundation, Great Performers Circle, Chairman’s Council, and Friends of Lincoln Center. Public support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature American Airlines is the Official Airline of Lincoln Center Nespresso is the Official Coffee of Lincoln Center NewYork-Presbyterian is the Official Hospital of Lincoln Center Artist catering provided by Zabar’s and Zabars.com UPCOMING AMERICAN SONGBOOK EVENTS IN THE APPEL ROOM: Friday, February 17, at 8:30 pm Jamie Lidell & The Royal Pharaohs Saturday, February 18, at 8:30 pm Santino Fontana Wednesday, February 22, at 8:30 pm India.Arie Thursday, February 23, at 8:30 pm Buffy Sainte-Marie Friday, February 24, at 8:30 pm William Bell Saturday, February 25, at 8:30 pm Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder Wednesday, March 8, at 8:30 pm The Songs of Elizabeth Swados featuring Taylor Mac, Grace McLean, Josie de Guzman, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Shaina Taub, and others Thursday, March 9, at 8:30 pm Tanya Tagaq The Appel Room is located in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall. For tickets, call (212) 721-6500 or visit AmericanSongbook.org. Call the Lincoln Center Info Request Line at (212) 875-5766 or visit AmericanSongbook.org for complete program infor - mation. Join the conversation: #LCSongbook We would like to remind you that the sound of coughing and rustling paper might distract the performers and your fellow audience members. In consideration of the performing artists and members of the audience, those who must leave before the end of the performance are asked to do so between pieces . Flash photography and the use of recording equipment are not allowed in the building. American Songbook I Meet the Artists Laura Mvula s t Since bursting onto the cultural s landscape in 2013, Laura Mvula i t has become one of the U.K.’s r finest exports. From her Mercury Prize nomination and Mobo Award A wins to her BRIT Awards, Q e Awards, and Ivor Novello Award nods, she has found herself at the h t forefront of the current soul L L E N revival. With effortless originality N t O C C and a molasses-rich voice that M e E O contains echoes of Nina Simone, Z e Ms. Mvula invites listeners into a glowing, poetic world. M Last summer she released The Dreaming Room , the follow-up to her 2013 debut album, Sing to the Moon. Prince was an outspoken fan of Sing to the Moon and listened to it before shows. Ms. Mvula’s second album often resembles pop music, but with episodic, unusual song structures. There are off-center drums and explosions of vocal harmonies; “Angel” shifts from a cappella to a countryish guitar figure and then to a Baroque harpsichord backing in the space of three minutes. The Dreaming Room never feels self - conscious or jarring; it’s less the work of an artist showily disregarding the rules than one who didn’t wish to learn them in the first place. Troy Miller Troy Miller (musical director, drums) is Laura Mvula’s drummer, musical director, and producer. He studied music at the Guildhall School of Music in London, where he is now a visiting professor. From 2004, he toured as a drummer and recorded with American vibes legend Roy Ayers for 10 years, which led to tours with the late Don Blackman, Chaka Khan, Tom Browne, Ronnie Laws, and Donna Summer. In 2007 he joined Amy Winehouse’s band as drummer and also worked alongside producer Mark Ronson, which included performances at the Grammys and BRIT Awards in 2008. Mr. Miller has played on many platinum-selling records, including those of CeeLo Green & Rumer. As a producer, he has made records with Rebecca Ferguson, including Lady Sings the Blues and her latest release, Superwoman . He also produced some of Grammy winner Gregory Porter’s deluxe album Liquid Spirit . In 2013 he played on Mvula’s critically acclaimed album Sing to the Moon . He has now produced her last two albums: Sing to the Moon with the Metropole Orchestra and the Mercury Prize–nomi - nated The Dreaming Room . Other artists Mr. Miller has worked and/or recorded with include Adele, Lulu, Cliff Richard, Macy Gray, Branford American Songbook I Meet the Artists Marsalis, Gary Bartz, Lonnie Liston Smith, Daniel Merriweather, Suggs, Gloria Gaynor, Grace Jones, Sister Sledge, Q-Tip, and Mark Turner. Karl Rasheed-Abel Karl Rasheed-Abel (bass) started playing electric bass at age 15. After several years of primarily self-taught studying, Mike Janisch recommended he get a double bass to explore the sound and feel of the instrument. In 2006 he was granted a scholarship to Berklee College of Music, where he had the opportu - nity to perform with several world-renowned jazz artists such as Joe Lovano and George Garzone. Since returning to the U.K., Mr. Rasheed-Abel has per - formed with an eclectic variety of artists and genres, including pop (Laura Mvula, Ms. Dynamite, Omar, Speech Debelle, Bashy), jazz (Jean Toussaint, Soweto Kinch, Femi Temowo, Troy Miller, Abram Wilson, Court ney Pine, Jason Rebello, Shabaka Hutchings), funk (Ronnie Laws, Tom Browne), hip- hop (The I.R.S, Confucius MC, KWAKE), folk, avant-garde, and world (Hamid El Kasri, Dele Sosimi, Arun Ghosh, Jally Keba Soussa). Oli Rockberger London-born keys man, singer, songwriter, and producer Oli Rockberger (key - boards) has performed and/or recorded alongside Carly Simon, John Mayer, Steve Gadd, Jesse Harris, Levon Helm, Randy Brecker, Gloria Gaynor, Steve Jordan, Judy Collins, Nathan East, Becca Stevens, and Chris Dave and the Drumhedz, among many others. In addition to his work as a member of Laura Mvula’s touring band, Mr. Rockberger will be following his acclaimed album Old Habits (2013) with Sovereign , his fourth studio album to date, to be released in September 2017. American Songbook In 1998, Lincoln Center launched American Songbook, dedicated to the cele - bration of popular American song. Designed to highlight and affirm the cre - ative mastery of America’s songwriters from their emergence at the turn of the 19th century up through the present, American Songbook spans all styles and genres, from the form’s early roots in Tin Pan Alley and Broadway to the eclecticism of today’s singer-songwriters. American Songbook also show - cases the outstanding interpreters of popular song, including established and emerging concert, cabaret, theater, and songwriter performers. Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) serves three primary roles: presenter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and American Songbook community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presenter of more than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and educa - tional activities annually, LCPA offers 15 programs, series, and festivals includ - ing American Songbook, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Midsummer Night Swing, the Mostly Mozart Festival, and the White Light Festival, as well as the Emmy Award–winning Live From Lincoln Center , which airs nationally on PBS. As manager of the Lincoln Center campus, LCPA provides support and services for the Lincoln Center complex and the 11 resident organizations. In addition, LCPA led a $1.2 billion campus renovation, completed in October 2012. Lincoln Center Programming Department Jane Moss, Ehrenkranz Artistic Director Hanako Yamaguchi, Director, Music Programming Jon Nakagawa, Director, Contemporary Programming Jill Sternheimer, Director, Public Programming Lisa Takemoto, Production Manager Charles Cermele, Producer, Contemporary Programming Mauricio Lomelin, Producer, Contemporary Programming Andrew C. Elsesser, Associate Director, Programming Regina Grande Rivera, Associate Producer Nana Asase, Assistant to the Artistic Director Luna Shyr, Senior Editor Olivia Fortunato, Programming Assistant For American Songbook Rocky Noel, Lighting Design Scott Stauffer, Sound Design Angela M. Fludd, Wardrobe Assistant Janet Rucker , Company Manager Rocky Noel Lighting designer Rocky Noel returns to Lincoln Center’s American Songbook after recently completing two weeks on Broadway with Kristin Chenoweth in My Love Letter to Broadway . Mr. Noel calls New York City home and has worked extensively with artists such as Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand, Alan Cumming, Chita Rivera, Christine Ebersole, Elaine Paige, Stephanie J. Block, and Joel Grey, among countless others. Scott Stauffer Scott Stauffer has been the sound designer for Lincoln Center’s American Songbook since 1999. His Broadway design credits include A Free Man of Color , American Songbook The Rivals , Contact (also in London and Tokyo), Marie Christine , Twelfth Night , and Jekyll & Hyde . Off-Broadway Mr. Stauffer has worked on Subverted , Promises, Hereafter , A Minister’s Wife , Bernarda Alba , Third , Belle Epoque , Big Bill , Elegies , Hello Again , The Spitfire Grill , Pageant , and Hedwig and the Angry Inch .