6th & JAZZ @ THE DR. PHILLIPS CENTER
NEWorks is excited to partner with the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center in Orlando, Florida to present a 55 min immersive show that introduces young scholars to the jazz genre. The show highlights five key icons: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Ella Fitzgerald, in addition to recognizing Charles "Buddy" Bolden as pioneer of the art form. 6th & Jazz is a fast-paced program, filled with captivating video and multimedia imaging; audience interaction and improvisation; and show-stopping choreography and arrangements, including the world premiere of the catchy finale song composed by NEWorks CEO Nolan Williams, Jr. and arranged by Maestro Lightford, appropriately titled "Jazz Icons."
Show Dates: Tuesday—Friday,
February 21—24, 2023
Show Times: 10:30 a.m. & 12 p.m.
Please note that there is only one Wednesday performance at 10:30 a.m.
FEATURED ARTISTS
Nolan Williams, Jr., Co-Creator, Conductor & MC
Nolan Williams, Jr. is best described as a creative force. An award-winning producer, artistic director, composer/lyricist, and cultural curator, the multi-hyphenate Williams has dedicated his professional career to the curation of works that illuminate issues of civil rights, social justice, and cultural curiosities. Through his company, NEWorks Productions, Williams has produced a body of work that includes choral/orchestral works premiered by major American orchestras; music for television; songwriting credits on two Grammy-nominated projects; arts and educational festivals produced in partnership with The Kennedy Center and Philadelphia’s Mann Center; cultural programming developed with the Smithsonian, U.S. State Department, and the Embassies of India, France and South Africa; video/documentary projects; artist collaborations with Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Leslie Odom, Jr., Natalie Cole, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Audra McDonald, Raul Esparza, Denyce Graves, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo; and, a slate of theatrical productions, including GRACE, his critically-acclaimed new musical which premiered last year at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Williams is also the Kennedy Center’s inaugural Social Practice Resident and a recipient of the Kennedy Center’s National Performing Arts Committee’s 2019 Arts Advocacy Award.
Leonardo Sandoval, Tap Dancer
Brazilian tap dancer and choreographer Leonardo Sandoval is renowned for blending America’s great tap tradition with Brazil’s rich rhythmic and musical heritage. He is the co-Artistic Director of Music From The Sole, a tap dance and live music company he founded with composer Gregory Richardson, and he has been a core member of Dorrance Dance since 2014. He has appeared at venues around the world, including Lincoln Center, the Joyce Theater, Guggenheim Museum, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Kennedy Center, Sadler's Wells, the Bolshoï, and Hong Kong Arts Festival, and in 2012 was featured on Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony's "Q'Viva - The Chosen". A true dancer-musician, Leonardo was one of Dance Magazine’s “25 To Watch” for 2021, as well as the recipient of a 2022 Vilcek Foundation Prize for Creative Promise and a 2022 NYSCA/ NYFA Artist Fellow in Choreography.
Carrie Crawford, Jazz Choreographer
Carrie Crawford started dancing at the age of 4. What started out as an effort to correct her extremely turned in legs without using braces ended up not only working, but becoming her lifelong passion. She grew up dancing in Greenville, SC and upon graduation moved immediately to Los Angeles where she was accepted into the Apprentice Program at The Performing Arts Center in Van Nuys. She trained very closely with some of the best in the industry: Joe Malone, Jackie Sleight, Jerry Evans, Terri Yates, Doug Caldwell, Michelle Elkin, and Mark Goodman just to name a few. Training so closely with choreographers of such different styles has given Carrie a great deal of versatility in her own choreography now. Known for her impeccable musicality, her style is a refreshing blend of very classic jazz and lyrical, but with a fresh, modern twist. Carrie always tries to stay current and exciting without ever abandoning her true love and respect for her roots. Carrie has been performing, teaching and choreographing professionally across the country for over 20 years. Now based in Orlando, FL and the mom of 2 incredible, young children, she continues to do so, while simultaneously running Crawford Jazz Project, a professional jazz dance company in the area.
Performance credits include: Lady Antebellum, Disney Channel, Beyonce, Ally McBeal, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Hollywood, and numerous live concerts, awards shows and musicals.
Michelle Mailhot, Jazz Vocalist
Hailing originally from the Boston area, Michelle Mailhot has been singing jazz for over 25 years. She’s had the pleasure of sharing the stage with luminaries such as Mel Tormé, Max Roach, Sheila Jordan, Liza Minelli, Bobby McFerrin and Billy Taylor. She’s recorded several albums, been a session singer for radio, TV and film: most recently on several seasons of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Michelle has been a guest artist with the Orlando Philharmonic, the Dr. Phillips Center Jazz Orchestra and is constantly in demand as a vocalist with many ensembles throughout Florida and beyond.
As an educator Michelle is a professor at both Rollins and Valencia Colleges, and is an active adjudicator and clinician around the country.
Josselyn Baker, Jazz Dancer
Josselyn Baker is from St. Louis, Missouri and dance has been apart of her life since the age of 3. She is skilled in pretty much all forms of dance but her favorites are contemporary and hip hop. She recently had the opportunity to perform for Walt Disney World as an equity dancer in A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas. This job helped her realize that dance is more than just a hobby but something she would want to pursue as a career. She is grateful for the journey she's been on and hopes to continue doing what makes her happy!
Kathy Guryan, Jazz Dancer
Kathy Guryan began dancing at the young age of two in her hometown of Greenville, South Carolina! She began taking dance seriously around the age of 13 while diving deep into her training in Jazz, Ballet, Hip-Hop, Musical Theater and Contemporary and her love of dance only grew from there. She graduated at the age of 17 from The Fine Arts Center in Greenville and immediately started to take steps towards becoming a professional dancer. In 2015, she began touring with DanceMakers Inc, where she got the opportunity to tour the country, assist incredible dance educators, and get her first real taste of the dance industry. At the end of the tour, she followed her dreams up to New York City, where she continued training as a part of the Broadway Dance Center Professional Semester.
The Jazz Orchestra at Dr. Phillips Center (6th & Jazz Complement)
Tamara Danielsson, alto sax 1
David Mackenzie, alto sax 2 / clarinet
Daniel Jordan, tenor sax 1
Rochelle Fredrick, baritone / tenor sax
Doug Michels, trumpet 1
Charlie Bertini, trumpet 1
John Depaola, trumpet 2
Paul Chung You, trumpet 3
Frank Wosar, trombone 1
Derrick Harris, trombone 2
Clay Lucovich, trombone 3
Per Danielsson, piano
Charlie Silva, bass
Gerald Law, set percussion
About Leslie Odom Jr.
Leslie Odom, Jr. is a multifaceted, award-winning vocalist, songwriter, author, and actor. With a career that spans all performance genres, he has received recognition with Tony and Grammy Awards as well as Emmy and, most recently, toe Academy Award nominations for his excellence and achievements in Broadway, television, film, and music.
Odom most recently starred in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, playing the role of Lionel Toussaint, and the critically acclaimed Amazon film adaptation of One Night in Miami..., in which he performed the songs of legendary singer Sam Cooke. Other recent projects include: The Many Saints of Newark, a prequel to David Chase's award-winning HBO series The Sopranos, and hosting CBS's live concert special, "The Tony Awards Present: Broadway's Back!"
About Nolan Williams, Jr.
Nolan Williams, Jr. is best described as a creative force. An award-winning producer, artistic director, composer/lyricist, and cultural curator, the multi-hyphenate Williams has dedicated his professional career to the curation of works that illuminate issues of civil rights, social justice, and cultural curiosities.
Through his company, NEWorks Productions, Williams has produced a body of work that includes choral/orchestral works premiered by major American orchestras; music for television; songwriting credits on two Grammy-nominated projects; arts and educational festivals produced in partnership with The Kennedy Center and Philadelphia’s Mann Center; cultural programming developed with the Smithsonian, U.S. State Department, and the Embassies of India, France and South Africa; video/documentary projects; artist collaborations with Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Natalie Cole, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Audra McDonald, and Denyce Graves; and, a slate of theatrical productions, including GRACE, a critically-acclaimed musical which premiered last year at Ford’s Theatre.
Williams is also the Kennedy Center’s inaugural Social Practice Resident and a recipient of the Kennedy Center’s National Performing Arts Committee’s 2019 Arts Advocacy Award.
For more information, visit nolanwilliamsjr.com.
About The Let Freedom Ring Celebration Choir
The Let Freedom Ring Celebration Choir brings together blended voices from Georgetown University and the D.C. metropolitan community. Comprised wholly of volunteers, the choir is about much more than singing. It represents Dr. King's idea of people breaking social and economic barriers to come together for a common message.
'LET FREEDOM RING' featuring Leslie Odom, Jr.
also featuring Nolan Williams, Jr. with the Let Freedom Ring Celebration Choir and NEWorks Band
The Let Freedom Ring Celebration is an annual celebration of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., jointly presented by The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Georgetown University. Following a two-year hiatus prompted by the COVID pandemic, 'Let Freedom Ring' returned to the Kennedy Center Concert Hall this January with a stellar program headlined by Tony and Grammy winner Leslie Odom, Jr. and music produced by NEWorks Productions CEO, Nolan Williams, Jr.
The 2023 program, hailed by The Washington Informer as "a grand return," featured Odom performing a range of selections from the American songbook, Williams leading the Let Freedom Ring Celebration Choir and NEWorks Band, and the presentation of the 21st annual John Thompson Jr. Legacy of a Dream Award to Paula Fitzgerald, executive director of Ayuda.
Other program participants included: Naomi Eluojierior, Georgetown University student; Marc Bamuthi Joseph, VP & Artistic Director of Social Impact, The Kennedy Center; Ziad "Z" Ojakli, Executive Vice President, Government Operations, Boeing (LFR Title Sponsor); and John J. DeGioia, President, Georgetown University.
Williams presented two original works as part of the program, performed by the Let Freedom Ring Celebration Choir and Band, Georgetown University student poets Cameren Evans, Isaiah Hodges, and Lucy Lawlor, and community soloists Roy Patten, Jr. and Laura Van Duzer.
The program opened with the world premiere of Williams' "We're Marching On!," a work commissioned by Georgetown University. The piece draws inspiration from a 1965 speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and features spoken word delivered by Evans, Hodges and Lawlor.
Williams' second musical contribution is the social-justice-themed ballad, "We are the ones to heal our land." Commissioned last year by Choral Arts Society and Washington Performing Arts, this work has been adapted for this occasion and will feature Patten and Van Duzer.
Click here to read The Washington Informer feature story and here to access the concert review.
PHOTO CREDIT: Art Pittman, courtesy of Georgetown University
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