JAZZ HEALS
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JAZZ HEALS 〰️
THE 29TH ANNUAL PAPPY MARTIN LEGACY MASTEN JAZZ FESTIVAL
JULY 21 AND JULY 28, 2024
CITY OF BUFFALO - MASTEN DISTRICT COUNCILWOMAN ZENETA B. EVERHART
2024 NATIONAL ARTISTS
THE KENNY GARRETT AND SOUNDS FROM THE ANCESTORS
Kenny Garrett’s latest release, Sounds from the Ancestors, is a multi-faceted album. The music, however, doesn’t lodge inside the tight confines of the jazz idiom, which is not surprising considering the alto saxophonist and composer acknowledges the likes of Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye as significant touchstones. Similar to how Miles Davis’ seminal LP, On the Corner, subverted its main guiding lights – James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone – then crafted its own unique, polyrhythmic, groove-laden, improv-heavy universe, Sounds from the Ancestors occupies its own space with intellectual clarity, sonic ingenuity and emotional heft. Read more HERE.
GIVETON GELIN
At age 10, Gelin, 2020 HAYJC award recipient, taught himself to play the trumpet simply by emulating his favorite records. After years of self-tutelage, Adrian D’Aguilar, bass player, began to mentor him, teaching him the tools to play jazz. Later on, the Nassau-born trumpeter would study with Dr. Eddie Henderson at the Oberlin Conservatory. The same year, he received recognition from the Young Arts Foundation and Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program. Gelon continued his studies at the Juilliard School, expecting to graduate in 2021. After only a year at Juilliard, the trumpeter has played with pioneers of the New York jazz scene including Curtis Lundy, Harold Mabern, Winard Harper, Sullivan Fortner, Ben Wolfe and Jon Batiste. Additionally, the 22-year-old trumpeter has studied with some of the world’s greatest including Wynton Marsalis, Nicholas Payton, Ralph Peterson and the late Roy Hargrove. Gelin’s artistic vision is to pay tribute to his ancestors and unify others by incorporating universal human experiences into sound. Through his quintet, Gelin brings forth a new narrative to jazz music.
Giveton Gelin’s performance is sponsored by the NYS Office of Mental Health / Reimagine: I Am The Change.
LOUIS HAYES
Louis Sedell Hayes was born May 31, 1937 in Detroit Michigan. He was always surrounded by music, actually first starting with the piano, before his father gave him a set of drums at age 10. A cousin noticed his talent, took him under his wing and made sure that his approach to the instrument would serve him well. And well it did, for after developing his skills in the fertile musical ground of Detroit in the 1950's with the likes of Yusef Lateef, Kenny Burrell, Doug Watkins and others, Louis found himself at the tender age of 18 in New York as a member of the great Horace Silver Quintet. His first recording with Horace, the classic Six Pieces Of Silver would introduce him to the jazz world as a new force to be acknowledged. Louis continued to enhance his reputation with Horace from 1956 until 1959 when he joined Cannonball Adderley where he propelled the quintet to joyous musical heights and timeless recordings through 1965. He joined piano master Oscar Peterson from 1965-67 during which time he and bassist Sam Jones became known as the "dynamic duo", recognized as the most powerful rhythm duo in jazz. Louis would rejoin Oscar in 1971 for a year.
Full bio HERE.
CURTIS LUNDY
Bassist Curtis Lundy (brother of Carmen Lundy) is best-known for his work as part of jazz vocalist Betty Carter's band, which has at one point or another had several eventual renowned musicians pass through their ranks (including Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, and Don Braden, among others). Lundy has also played on other jazz artist's recordings (including select albums by John Hicks, Bobby Watson, Steve Nelson Quintet, Johnny Griffin, etc.) and in the late '80s briefly stepped out of the background and issued Just Be Yourself (1988). A decade later he united with Justin Time Records for Against All Odds (1999), followed shortly thereafter by Purpose (2002). Both albums features pianists John Hicks and Anthony Wonsey.
SHENEL JOHNS
With a voice that embodies grace and passion and a personal style that sways effortlessly from jazz to R&B to gospel, Shenel has emerged as one of the shining stars of her generation. A native of Hartford, Connecticut, Johns has been performing since she was fourteen years of age, and has developed a distinctive, eclectic style that has increasingly caught the attention of her peers and some of the industry’s top performers. Johns received a B.A. in music management from the Jackie McLean Institute at the Hartt School of Music and studied performance with such jazz legends as Rene McLean, Jimmy Greene, and Nat Reeves. She has shared the stage with music royalty including Curtis Fuller, Hank Jones, Dionne Warwick, and Sheila Jordan, and has performed and recorded with an impressive array of leaders in the field. In 2016, Johns completed a musical residency at Jazz at Lincoln Center Doha in Qatar and, several months later, honored Billie Holiday as part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s New York production of Billie and the Boys. She has also paid tribute to another of her idols, Lena Horne, at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s famed Appel Room. Most recently, Johns was the winner of the Riga Jazz Stage Competition in Riga, Latvia, and was featured in the Hartford Jazz Festival’s Ella Fitzgerald Tribute.
Shenel Johns has toured with the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Endea Owens, Micheal Mwenso and the Shakes and more.
Shenel John’s performance is sponsored by the NYS Office of Mental Health / Reimagine: I Am The Change.
PREVIOUS YEARS
THE 28TH ANNUAL PAPPY MARTIN LEGACY MASTEN JAZZ FESTIVAL WAS HELD JULY 23 + 30, 2023. This year’s Line-up is as follows:
Buster Williams, Lakecia Benjamin, Curtis Lundy and UMOJA, Nasar Abadey and SUPERNOVA, George Caldwell, Brian Freeman, Odyssey, Carol McLaughlin and Trigger and The Sermon, and The Love Supreme School of Music.
(Art by Alexa Wajed)
HISTORY OF OUR FESTIVAL
In 1996, James “Pappy” Martin collaborated with Councilmember Byron Brown, Darryl Peebles, Council President James Pitts and Steve Porter to implement an innovative community enhancement program entitled Masten Jazz Festival. READ MORE…
VIDEOS
COMMEMORATIVE BOOKLETS
BECOME A SPONSOR TODAY
The Pappy Martin Legacy Jazz Collective graciously thanks you for supporting our vision and mission. You are helping to preserve the legacy of one of the finest straight ahead jazz festivals in WNY, the Love Supreme Music School, and year-round events.
Help us to keep our festival free to the community with your sponsorship!
Photos courtesy of Deborah Cahee-Christopher.