Artist-focused non-profit Giant Step Arts presents new edition of acclaimed concert series Walk With The Wind
Free performances at NEW LOCATION in Central Park: Summit Rock in Seneca Village
Concerts honor legacy of congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis
Featuring James Brandon Lewis Freed Style Free Trio, Chris Potter Trio, Marquis Hill Quartet, Michael Thomas Quartet, Aaron Burnett Quartet, Marika Hughes New String Quartet, Antonio Sanchez Trio, Mark Turner Trio and Quartet, Johnathan Blake Quartet, Nasheet Waits Quartet, Abraham Burton Trio, Jason Palmer Quartet, Darius Jones Trio, Melissa Aldana Trio, Antoine Roney Trio
Giant Step Arts with additional funding from Jazz Generation’s KEYED UP! continues the acclaimed performance series Walk With The Wind honoring civil rights activist and congressman John Lewis. The concerts – curated by Jimmy Katz and Nasheet Waits – will take place in New York City’s Central Park at Summit Rock in Seneca Village. Performances noon-3 p.m. Opening bands will precede headliners, who take the stage at 2 p.m. Shows will be rescheduled in case of inclement weather.
UPDATED CONCERT SCHEDULEApril 4th: Wayne Escoffery/Jeremy Pelt Quartet w/ Dezron Douglas & Johnathan Blake
April 10th: William Parker Trio with Cooper Moore & Hamid Drake
April 11th: Melissa Aldana Trio w/ Pablo Menares & Kush Abadey (rescheduled)
April 17: Chris Potter Trio with Joe Martin, Nasheet Waits
April 18: (previously scheduled Antonio Sanchez Trio performance rescheduled for May 16)
Noon, Robert Lotreck Quartet
1 p.m., Steve Slagle Trio
April 24: Marquis Hill Quartet with Joel Ross, Jeremiah Hunt, Marvin Bugulu Smith
April 25: Michael Thomas Quartet with Michael Rodriguez, Edward Perez, Johnathan Blake
May 1: Aaron Burnett Quartet with Peter Evans, Nick Jozwiak, Tyshawn Sorey
May 2: Melissa Aldana Trio with Pablo Menares and Kush Abadey
May 8: Marika Hughes New String Quartet with Charlie Burnham, Marvin Sewell, Rashaan Carter
May 9: James Brandon Lewis, Freed Style Free Trio with Rashaan Carter, Chad Taylor
May 15: Mark Turner Trio with Vicente Archer, Johnathan Blake
May 16: Antonio Sanchez Trio with Donny McCaslin, Matt Brewer
May 22: Johnathan Blake Quartet with Chris Potter, Mark Turner, Dezron Douglas
May 23-24: Nasheet Waits Quartet “Live” Recording Project with Mark Turner, Steve Nelson, Rashaan Carter (Giant Step Arts)
May 29: Abraham Burton Trio with Dezron Douglas, Eric McPherson
May 30: Antoine Roney Trio with Kojo Roney
May 31: Jason Palmer Quartet with Mark Turner, Edward Perez, Kendrick Scott
June 2-4: Mark Turner Quartet "Live" Recording Project with Jason Palmer, Joe Martin, Marcus Gilmore (Giant Step Arts)
June 15th (3pm-6pm) : Darius Jones Trio “The Graveyard Sessions”. This will be a “Live” Recording Project w/ Dezron Douglas & Gerald Cleaver (Giant Step Arts). THIS WILL BE HELD AT GREEN-WOOD CEMETERY IN BROOKLYN. THE PERFORMANCE WILL BE NEAR THE CATACOMBS ON LARCH AVE. GO TO Jimmy Katz on Facebook if you need a detailed map.
“The pandemic has been disastrous for musicians, many of whom normally earn a living through live performances and tours,” says Katz. “We wanted to find a way to continue supporting musicians, bring them together with audiences safely, and enable them to have a payday! Walk with the Wind, honoring the legacy of the great American John Lewis, is one way we are accomplishing this, and the response has been tremendous.”
The well-received series, which began August 28, 2020 with Wayne Escoffery’s trio, has also featured The Marquis Hill Quartet, the Michael Thomas Trio, Marcus Strickland Trio, the Eric McPherson Trio, the Leap Day Trio and the Joel Ross Quartet.
Founded by renowned photographers Jimmy and Dena Katz in January 2018, Giant Step Arts is an innovative, artist-focused non-profit organization dedicated to commissioning and showcasing the work of innovative modern jazz artists. Giant Step Arts offers musicians the artistic and financial resources to create bold, adventurous new music free of commercial pressure. Giant Step Arts provides promotional material and publicity services, presents premiere performances and compensates artists, records performances for independent release, provides artists with CDs and digital downloads to sell directly, conveys complete ownership of masters to artists, and provides PR support for the recordings. “Giant Step Arts does not sell any music,” Katz says. “Our goals are to help musicians make bold artistic statements and to advance their careers.”
Jazz Generation was founded in 1999 to emphasize the importance of live jazz as an art form and the performing arts as a cultural asset. The Jazz Discovery Program (JDP) and The Jazz Standard Youth Orchestra (JSYO), and since 2014 KEYED UP!, an anti-poverty program, has offered services that support professional jazz artists in their performing careers, revitalize local businesses, and develop a new generation of audiences and performers. KEYED UP! Has quickly become a favorite NYC entity for musicians, audiences, and venues. Operating simultaneously in over 25 partner venues spanning from Jersey City to Boston, KeyedUP! Is proud to keep hundreds of musicians working and thousands of jazz listeners happy at no extra cost to partner venues.
Spring 2021 "Walk With the Wind" Concert Series in Central Park