The Beats of NYC: A Jazz Journey Through Dance, Rhythm and Rhyme January 23, 2010

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra drummer Ali Jackson takes a look at the function of the beat in contemporary music, dance and spoken word and how they tangle with the classic traditions of jazz percussion. Ali will present an evening of original compositions and re-imagined interpretations of Duke Ellington, Horace Silver and Dizzy Gillespie to explore this collision of rap, tap, poetry and song. Performers include dancer Hope Boykin from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, pianist Marc Cary, tap dancers Dormeshia Edwards and Derick K. Grant, guitarist Lionel Loueke, bassist Ben Williams, and spoken word artists Latasha N. Nevada Diggs and David Jefferson, Jr.