Celebrating Harlem’s Music Legacy: An Evening of Blues, Jazz and Swing featuring King Solomon Hicks and Charles Turner with his band, Uptown Swing. Free and Open to the public!
Come early and join Sam Coleman, Lindy Hop, and Frankie Manning Ambassador in a free Swing Dance class before the Concert!
Three amazing artists and torchbearers of Harlem’s world-renowned music and dance legacy! A live concert at Lourdes School gymnasium, 468 West 143rd Street, on Thursday, February 23, 2023, from 7 pm – 9:30 pm. Start the evening early at 6:00 pm with a pre-concert inter-generational swing dance class with Samuel Coleman.
King Solomon Hicks, guitarist, blues, jazz singer, and composer, performing selections from his most recent award-winning album, HARLEM!
King Solomon Hicks grew up in Harlem “around a lot of great musicians.” That certainly shows on HARLEM, an 11-song salute to those roots — and how the 24-year-old guitarist and singer has turned them into his own fierce and distinctive style over the years.
The set, produced by multiple Grammy Award winner Kirk Yano (Miles Davis, Public Enemy, Mariah Carey), showcases Hicks as a writer, player, and interpreter. Originals such as the roadhouse ready “421 South Main,” the gospel shuffle of “Have Mercy on Me” and the aching instrumental “Riverside Drive” rub musical elbows with staples such as “Everyday I Have the Blues” and “It’s Alright,” a Latin-tinged take on Blood, Sweat & Tears’ “I Love You More Than You Will Ever Know,” a funked-up romp through Gary Wright’s “Love is Alive” and a searing rendition of Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Help me” that closes the album.
Charles Turner is a jazz vocalist and songwriter who has held residencies, hosted, and performed at venues such as Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Birdland, Smoke Jazz Club, and the historic Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem.
Charles’ passion for bringing swing and jazz to listeners of all generations and backgrounds proceeds through his new band and project, Charles Turner & Uptown Swing. He brings the Swing and Spirit of Harlem to music lovers and dancers around the world. Vibrant Swing, Virtuosic Bebop & Vital Blues, the band extends music from the swing era to the present.
This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
A special thanks to Our Lady of Lourdes School for providing the venue, and marketing partner, Jazzmobile.
