Michele Rosewoman: New Yor-uba at Dizzy's Club

With trumpeter Alex Norris, alto/soprano saxophonist Roman Filiu, tenor saxophonist Stacy Dillard, trombonist/tuba player Chris Washburne, pianist/vocalist Michele Rosewoman, bassist Gregg August, drummer Robby Ameen, bata player/conga player/vocalist Mauricio Herrera and Nicky Laboy, bata player/conga player Rafael Monteagudo, and lead vocalist Nina Rodriguez"New Yor-Uba is soulful evidence that Rosewoman is onto something significant. The music was energetic, propulsive and especially noteworthy, largely because it did not use either jazz melodies or Cuban rhythms as mere embellishments. Rosewoman's concept fully integrated orchestrated brasses, saxophones, and a jazz back line, with traditional Yoruban chants sung to the heavy rhythmic accompaniment of congas and bata drums, ceremoniously arriving at sumptuous Ellington-like orchestrations..." – DownBeat...

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With trumpeter Alex Norris, alto/soprano saxophonist Roman Filiu, tenor saxophonist Stacy Dillard, trombonist/tuba player Chris Washburne, pianist/vocalist Michele Rosewoman, bassist Gregg August, drummer Robby Ameen, bata player/conga player/vocalist Mauricio Herrera and Nicky Laboy, bata player/conga player Rafael Monteagudo, and lead vocalist Nina Rodriguez"New Yor-Uba is soulful evidence that Rosewoman is onto something significant. The music was energetic, propulsive and especially noteworthy, largely because it did not use either jazz melodies or Cuban rhythms as mere embellishments. Rosewoman's concept fully integrated orchestrated brasses, saxophones, and a jazz back line, with traditional Yoruban chants sung to the heavy rhythmic accompaniment of congas and bata drums, ceremoniously arriving at sumptuous Ellington-like orchestrations..." – DownBeat
In 1983, Rosewoman received a National Endowment for the Arts grant to form the pioneering 14-piece ensemble New Yor-Uba: A Musical Celebration of Cuba in America. Time and time again, this original group has been praised as a rare, seamless combination of jazz, Cuban folk music, and centuries-old African musical traditions. The ensemble features masters from multiple musical worlds, particularly jazz and Latin music, and the unique qualities of Rosewoman’s vision are immediately apparent on first listen. Her goal: “To conceive a thoroughly uncompromised synthesis of spiritually-based Cuban Folkloric music and contemporary jazz concept.” Following her 2013 Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola performances, the New York Times asserted that “Ms. Rosewoman should have a regular residency somewhere in New York… A couple nights at a club isn’t enough.” Catch her at Dizzy’s while you can!

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