Blog Posts

Hometown Stars Light Up PIJF Stages

8/12/2024

Drummer Thomas Wendt

Hometown Favorites SEAN JONES, THOMAS WENDT,
HOWIE ALEXANDER, SELECTA and DJ BIG PHILL
Play Bop, Ballads and Beats
at the 14th Annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival

Co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield,
the FestivalTakes Place September 19-22, 2024,
with Free Outdoor Concerts on Liberty Avenue
and Paid Events at August Wilson African American Cultural Center

PITTSBURGH, PA, August 13, 2024 – The Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival (PIJF) has always spotlighted homegrown, home-nurtured talent, and the tradition of featuring musicians with ties to the city continues with Sean Jones, Howie Alexander, Thomas Wendt, Selecta and DJ Big Phill and more. Co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, the 14th annual PIJF returns to its roots with free concerts on Liberty Avenue between 10th and 7th Streets downtown and paid events at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC), 980 Liberty Avenue.

August 12th, 2024

8/12/2024

Multi Grammy Award-Winning Keyboardist,
Bandleader and Composer
ROBERT GLASPER
Returns to the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival
with His Ebony Eclipse of Jazz, Pop and Hip-Hop
for a FREE Concert September 21, 8:45 – 10:00 pm

Co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield,
the Festival Takes Place September 19-22, 2024,
with Free Outdoor Concerts on Liberty Avenue
and Paid Events at August Wilson African American Cultural Center

PITTSBURGH, PA, August 8, 2024 – The award-winning composer, bandleader and keyboardist Robert Glasper takes the stage at the 14th Annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival (PIJF), co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, on Saturday, September 21, 8:45 – 10:00 pm, in a Free concert on Liberty Avenue between 10th and 7th Streets downtown, near the August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC), 980 Liberty Avenue. Backed by drummer Justin Tyson, bassist Burniss Travis and longtime collaborator DJ Jahi Sundance, Glasper returns to Pittsburgh with his modern meld of jazz, R&B, neo-soul, hip-hop, electronica, dub and dance genres.

Average White Band Returns to PIJF

8/12/2024

AVERAGE WHITE BAND Closes the Curtain on Amazing 50+-year Career During Their Worldwide Farewell Tour
at 14th Annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival
on Sunday, September 22, 3:30 – 4:30 pm

Co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield,
the Festival Takes Place September 19-22, 2024,
with Free Outdoor Concerts on Liberty Avenue and Paid Events
at August Wilson African American Cultural Center

PITTSBURGH, PA, August 5, 2024 – As part of their worldwide Farewell Tour, the legendary Average White Band (AWB), one of the hottest soul/R&B/funk bands for over 50 years, returns for the final time to the 14th Annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival (PIJF), co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, on Sunday, September 22, 3:30 – 4:30 pm, in a Free concert on Liberty Avenue between 10th and 7th Streets downtown, near the August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC), 980 Liberty Avenue.

Great Jazz on the Great Hill Returns to Central Park

8/12/2024

Great Jazz on the Great Hill Returns to Central Park

Lineup features Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band,
Christian Sands, and Matthew Whitaker

Lezlie Harrison, Singer/WBGO 88.3 FM Announcer, to Serve as MC

New York, NY – Great Jazz on the Great Hill returns to Central Park at 106th & Central Park West, on Saturday, August 10, 3:30 – 7:00 pm. Featuring three jazz piano masters, the annual event is presented by Jazzmobile Summerfest 2024, Central Park Conservancy, Harlem Week, New Heritage Theatre Group and the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce. This year features Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band, Christian Sands and Matthew Whitaker, with Lezlie Harrison, vocalist/WBGO on-air announcer, as the day’s MC.

Summerfest 2024

7/29/2024

JAZZMOBILE IS
CELEBRATING ITS 60TH ANNIVERSARY

JAZZMOBILE SUMMERFEST 2024, NEW YORK CITY’S LONGEST RUNNING JAZZ CONCERT SERIES, FEATURING PERFORMANCES IN EVERY BOROUGH CONTINUES!

HARLEM, NY, July 29, 2024 – New York City’s parks and outdoor spaces come alive with the sound of jazz in the summer, courtesy of Jazzmobile’s annual Summerfest 2024 series, which premieres on stages throughout the city’s five boroughs with an outstanding assemblage of nearly 30 jazz stars and emerging talents from July 5 to September 20. Jazzmobile’s much-anticipated return provides audiences with another year of exceptional musical performances that reflect New York City’s dynamic diversity – from straight-ahead, Latin, post-bop, blues, swing stylings and genres beyond.

PHILL THOMPSON'S BLACK COMIC BOOK COLLECTION AT AWAACC

7/28/2024

DJ Big Phill Debuts His Documentary/Exhibit
Collections in Black: A Celebration of Black Comic Book Culture,
at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center,
July 26, 2024 - January 12, 2025

PITTSBURGH, PA – July 22, 2024 - Phillip Thompson, AKA DJ Big Phill, has been one of the hottest turntablists in Pittsburgh for two decades, and a renaissance man as an educator, photographer, art collector and filmmaker. On Friday, July 26, at 5:30 pm - Midnight, Thompson premieres his documentary and exhibit, Collections in Black: A Celebration of Black Comic Book Culture, at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC), 980 Liberty Avenue.

Spoken Word Apex Returns to NJPAC

7/28/2024

Newark’s Own TAALAM ACEY
Returns Home to Present Spoken Word Apex,
a Performance Poetry Concert Featuring
12 Spoken Word, Visual and Music Artists and Performers
at New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Victoria Theater,
August 24, 2024, 8 pm

Artists Include K-Love, Narubi Selah, Ed Mabrey, Obbie West,
Kween Moore, Black Chakra, Tamika “Georgia Me” Harper
and More

NEWARK, NJ, July 22, 2024 – Poet/Curator Taalam Acey honed his poetic skills growing up in Newark. Now known as “The Godfather of Spoken Word,” Acey triumphantly returns home to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s (NJPAC) Victoria Theater on Saturday, August 24, 2024, to curate Spoken Word Apex, an illuminating night of poetry, visual arts and music, as part of NJPAC’s Dodge Poetry series. No stranger to producing, Acey presented Spoken Word Apex last year at NJPAC and in April at Atlanta’s High Museum.

July 10th, 2024

7/10/2024

The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation
and Queens College School of Education
Partner to Present the First
Louis Armstrong Summer Teaching Institute
July 15 – 19, 2024

NEW YORK, NY, July 10, 2024 – The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation (LAEF) and the Queens College School of Education announce the Louis Armstrong Summer Teaching Institute, their first-ever five-day Institute for secondary educators. Participants will work with curriculum experts and be immersed in the life and legacy of the legendary entertainer through the newly digitized Armstrong archives at the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona, Queens.

Each day will be packed with musical experiences, hands-on workshops, archival research, a documentary screening and keynote presentations, leading each group of educators to finish the week with strategies and lesson plans that they can implement to enhance their existing history, English and arts curriculum. The goal is to connect their individual classroom practice within the constellation of Louis Armstrong, one of America’s first pop icons and diplomatic titans.

The week’s schedule, which runs from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm daily, features the topics:

Monday, July 15: Armstrong: His Life, His Values and His Music

Tuesday, July 16: The Real Ambassador: Louis and Cultural Exchange·

Wednesday, July 17: Black and Blue: Armstrong and the Civil Rights Movement

Thursday, July 18: A Story of My Own (ways to implement the life and legacy of Louis Armstrong into teaching practices)

Friday, July 19: A Wonderful World

Participation in the Institute is free and by invitation only for pre-registered regional educators.

Hailed as one of the most influential and popular musicians in modern music, trumpeter Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) rose out of poverty in New Orleans and became, in the words of music and cultural critic Albert Murray, “the Prometheus of jazz,” as the genre’s first major soloist and vocalist, who invented scat-singing. Growing up in the Crescent City, Armstrong heard music from the Caribbean – especially Cuba – and was greatly influenced by the exceptional Cuban trumpeter Manuel Perez of the Olympia Brass Band. In 1930, Armstrong’s recording of the Cuban standard “El Manisero” (The Peanut Vendor)” sold a million copies and was a precursor to the birth of modern Latin jazz in the 1940’s by Bebop Pioneer Dizzy Gillespie, arranger/ trumpeter Mario Bauza and percussionist Chano Pozo.

The Queens College School of Education – home to internationally recognized faculty and 149 education programs – seeks to prepare educators to teach in urban settings as members of an increasingly global, diverse, and inclusive society who are dedicated to advancing the fundamental principles of equity, excellence, and ethics. Signature programs include Time 2000, Computing Integrated Teacher Education, Literacy, Special Education, World Languages, and Mental Health and School Counseling.

The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, Inc. (LAEF) was founded and funded by Louis and Lucille Armstrong in 1969 to give back to the world “some of the goodness he received.” The mission of the organization is to preserve and promote the cultural legacy of Louis Armstrong by fostering programs, lectures, and other educational events to assist those interested, gifted and talented in the field of music, primarily jazz. Today the Foundation is a major source of funding for programs to expose and educate adults and children in the history of American jazz and has provided solid financial support to institutions across the nation.

# # #

Media Contacts:
Carolyn McClair (for Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation)
(212) 721-3341 | [email protected]

Maria Matteo (for Queens College)
[email protected]

BY POPULAR DEMAND: AWAACC Extends Xippi Exhibit

7/3/2024

BY POPULAR DEMAND …
August Wilson African American Cultural Center Extends
Xippi, Heritage & Metamorphosis: Voices in West African Art
Through Sunday, July 14, 2024

PITTSBURGH, PA, July 3, 2024 – Due to popular demand, August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC) has extended the exhibit Xippi, Heritage, and Metamorphosis: Voices in West African Art through Sunday, July 14, in the Claude Worthington Benedum Gallery.

WBGO Wins Two PMJA Awards!

7/1/2024

Above Photo: WBGO Doug Doyle, Director of News and Editorial Content

WBGO 88.3 FM Wins Two Awards
in Public Media Journalists Association (PMJA) Annual Awards Competition

NEWARK, NJ – The Public Media Journalists Association (PMJA) recently announced its annual award winners for 2024, including two of the prestigious honors for WBGO 88.3/Newark Public Radio in Division A (0-3 newsroom staff): first place in the Newscast category for “WBGO News Update with Doug Doyle” and second place in the Narrative/Produced Podcast category for “Conversations with Sydney: Episode 1: Should I Talk to My Teen About Suicide?.”

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Hometown Stars Light Up PIJF Stages

Hometown Favorites SEAN JONES, THOMAS WENDT,
HOWIE ALEXANDER, SELECTA and DJ BIG PHILL
Play Bop, Ballads and Beats
at the 14th Annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival

Co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield,
the FestivalTakes Place September 19-22, 2024,
with Free Outdoor Concerts on Liberty Avenue
and Paid Events at August Wilson African American Cultural Center

August 12th, 2024

Multi Grammy Award-Winning Keyboardist,
Bandleader and Composer
ROBERT GLASPER
Returns to the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival
with His Ebony Eclipse of Jazz, Pop and Hip-Hop
for a FREE Concert September 21, 8:45 – 10:00 pm

Co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield,
the Festival Takes Place September 19-22, 2024,
with Free Outdoor Concerts on Liberty Avenue
and Paid Events at August Wilson African American Cultural Center

Average White Band Returns to PIJF

AVERAGE WHITE BAND Closes the Curtain on Amazing 50+-year Career During Their Worldwide Farewell Tour
at 14th Annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival
on Sunday, September 22, 3:30 – 4:30 pm

Co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield,
the Festival Takes Place September 19-22, 2024,
with Free Outdoor Concerts on Liberty Avenue and Paid Events
at August Wilson African American Cultural Center

Great Jazz on the Great Hill Returns to Central Park

Great Jazz on the Great Hill Returns to Central Park

Lineup features Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band,
Christian Sands, and Matthew Whitaker

Lezlie Harrison, Singer/WBGO 88.3 FM Announcer, to Serve as MC

Summerfest 2024

JAZZMOBILE IS
CELEBRATING ITS 60TH ANNIVERSARY

JAZZMOBILE SUMMERFEST 2024, NEW YORK CITY’S LONGEST RUNNING JAZZ CONCERT SERIES, FEATURING PERFORMANCES IN EVERY BOROUGH CONTINUES!

PHILL THOMPSON'S BLACK COMIC BOOK COLLECTION AT AWAACC

DJ Big Phill Debuts His Documentary/Exhibit
Collections in Black: A Celebration of Black Comic Book Culture,
at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center,
July 26, 2024 - January 12, 2025

Spoken Word Apex Returns to NJPAC

July 10th, 2024

The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation
and Queens College School of Education
Partner to Present the First
Louis Armstrong Summer Teaching Institute
July 15 – 19, 2024

BY POPULAR DEMAND: AWAACC Extends Xippi Exhibit

BY POPULAR DEMAND …
August Wilson African American Cultural Center Extends
Xippi, Heritage & Metamorphosis: Voices in West African Art
Through Sunday, July 14, 2024

WBGO Wins Two PMJA Awards!

WBGO 88.3 FM Wins Two Awards
in Public Media Journalists Association (PMJA) Annual Awards Competition

Archives

Categories

Hometown Favorites SEAN JONES, THOMAS WENDT,HOWIE ALEXANDER, SELECTA and DJ BIG PHILL ​Play Bop, Ballads and Beatsat the 14th Annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival

Co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield,the FestivalTakes Place September 19-22, 2024, ​with Free Outdoor Concerts on Liberty Avenueand Paid Events at August Wilson African American Cultural Center

Multi Grammy Award-Winning Keyboardist, ​Bandleader and ComposerROBERT GLASPERReturns to the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festivalwith His Ebony Eclipse of Jazz, Pop and Hip-Hopfor a FREE Concert September 21, 8:45 – 10:00 pm​

​Co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield,the Festival Takes Place September 19-22, 2024, ​with Free Outdoor Concerts on Liberty Avenueand Paid Events at August Wilson African American Cultural Center

AVERAGE WHITE BAND Closes the Curtain on Amazing 50+-year Career During Their Worldwide Farewell Tourat 14th Annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festivalon Sunday, September 22, 3:30 – 4:30 pm​

​Co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield,the Festival Takes Place September 19-22, 2024,with Free Outdoor Concerts on Liberty Avenue and Paid Events at August Wilson African American Cultural Center

Great Jazz on the Great Hill Returns to Central Park Lineup features Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band,Christian Sands, and Matthew Whitaker Lezlie Harrison, Singer/WBGO 88.3 FM Announcer, to Serve as MC

JAZZMOBILE IS​CELEBRATING ITS 60TH ANNIVERSARYJAZZMOBILE SUMMERFEST 2024, NEW YORK CITY’S LONGEST RUNNING JAZZ CONCERT SERIES, FEATURING PERFORMANCES IN EVERY BOROUGH CONTINUES!

DJ Big Phill Debuts His Documentary/ExhibitCollections in Black: A Celebration of Black Comic Book Culture,at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center,July 26, 2024 - January 12, 2025

The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundationand Queens College School of EducationPartner to Present the FirstLouis Armstrong Summer Teaching InstituteJuly 15 – 19, 2024

BY POPULAR DEMAND …August Wilson African American Cultural Center ExtendsXippi, Heritage & Metamorphosis: Voices in West African ArtThrough Sunday, July 14, 2024

WBGO 88.3 FM Wins Two Awardsin Public Media Journalists Association (PMJA) Annual Awards Competition

Archives

Categories

Hometown Favorites SEAN JONES, THOMAS WENDT,
HOWIE ALEXANDER, SELECTA and DJ BIG PHILL
Play Bop, Ballads and Beats
at the 14th Annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival

Co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield,
the FestivalTakes Place September 19-22, 2024,
with Free Outdoor Concerts on Liberty Avenue
and Paid Events at August Wilson African American Cultural Center

Multi Grammy Award-Winning Keyboardist,
Bandleader and Composer
ROBERT GLASPER
Returns to the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival
with His Ebony Eclipse of Jazz, Pop and Hip-Hop
for a FREE Concert September 21, 8:45 – 10:00 pm

Co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield,
the Festival Takes Place September 19-22, 2024,
with Free Outdoor Concerts on Liberty Avenue
and Paid Events at August Wilson African American Cultural Center

AVERAGE WHITE BAND Closes the Curtain on Amazing 50+-year Career During Their Worldwide Farewell Tour
at 14th Annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival
on Sunday, September 22, 3:30 – 4:30 pm

Co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield,
the Festival Takes Place September 19-22, 2024,
with Free Outdoor Concerts on Liberty Avenue and Paid Events
at August Wilson African American Cultural Center

Great Jazz on the Great Hill Returns to Central Park

Lineup features Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band,
Christian Sands, and Matthew Whitaker

Lezlie Harrison, Singer/WBGO 88.3 FM Announcer, to Serve as MC

JAZZMOBILE IS
CELEBRATING ITS 60TH ANNIVERSARY

JAZZMOBILE SUMMERFEST 2024, NEW YORK CITY’S LONGEST RUNNING JAZZ CONCERT SERIES, FEATURING PERFORMANCES IN EVERY BOROUGH CONTINUES!

DJ Big Phill Debuts His Documentary/Exhibit
Collections in Black: A Celebration of Black Comic Book Culture,
at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center,
July 26, 2024 - January 12, 2025

The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation
and Queens College School of Education
Partner to Present the First
Louis Armstrong Summer Teaching Institute
July 15 – 19, 2024

BY POPULAR DEMAND …
August Wilson African American Cultural Center Extends
Xippi, Heritage & Metamorphosis: Voices in West African Art
Through Sunday, July 14, 2024

WBGO 88.3 FM Wins Two Awards
in Public Media Journalists Association (PMJA) Annual Awards Competition