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Congo Square: Love. Libation. Liberation
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
with Wynton Marsalis
Odadaa! with Yacub Addy
Congo Square, a ground-breaking new work written by Wynton Marsalis with Ghanaian drum master Yacub Addy, debuted in Katrina-ravaged New Orleans in the spring of 2006 before a wildly enthusiastic audience in Congo Square (inside Louis Armstrong Park).
Congo Square was the only place in America where African slaves were allowed to perform their own music and dance in the 1700s-1800s, establishing the roots of American music.
Now this joyful and collaborative testament to the power of Congo Square—performed by two world-class ensembles—is available on two exquisitely recorded CDs. Enjoy this confluence of cultures and traditions converging to make a uniquely contemporary musical statement about the wellspring of jazz for those with ears to hear.
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"...a sense of uplift and release"
- The New York Times
"It's a festival unto itself"
- Washington Post
"All in all, this is the show of '07 fest that people will long be talking about, either because they were there, or they missed it."
- Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
"The greatest festival thrill was hearing Wynton Marsalis and The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Odadaa! play Congo Square. It was simply beautiful. Marsalis adds an unparalleled excellence and sophistication to it all...one of the most dynamic pieces of music I've ever heard."
- Rochester City News
"...the night took the air of encouraging triumph over adversities..."
- Philadelphia Inquirer
"Amazing. Incredible. Awesome. I've run out of adjectives."
- Grand Rapids Press
"pure music of jubilee"
- Detroit News
"charismatic performance brilliant, precise and beautiful, its presentation was visually striking"
- Times Argus, Montreal
"Congo Square is a truly significant work," says AMFS president and CEO Alan Fletcher. "Combining the quintessentially American sound of jazz and the masterful drumwork of West Africa , it is a profound blend of cultures and traditions; it shows how different art forms can complement and enrich each other. Wynton's uniquely powerful composition shows how jazz, classical and world music can seamlessly combine in a contemporary creation that points to the future."
-- Aspen Post |
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