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JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER INAUGURATES NEW SERIES - SINGERS OVER MANHATTAN - WITH VANESSA RUBIN & KEVIN MAHOGANY

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  • VANESSA RUBIN performs in first half, followed by KEVIN MAHOGANY, backed by the same rhythm section of pianist RENEE ROSNES, bassist CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE, and drummer LEWIS NASH.
  • Singers on future concerts are FREDDY COLE, MARY STALLINGS, MILT GRAYSON, and MARLENA SHAW.


Jazz at Lincoln Center (J@LC) will kick off the latest addition to its popular Jazz at the Penthouse concerts - the Singers Over Manhattan series - with two of the most talented vocalists today, VANESSA RUBIN and KEVIN MAHOGANY, performing on Thursday, November 30, Friday & Saturday, December 1 & 2, 2000 at 8pm, and Sunday, December 3, 2000 at 6pm in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse. Ms. Rubin will perform in the first half, followed by Mr. Mahogany in the second half; they will both be backed by the stellar rhythm section of pianist RENEE ROSNES, bassist CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE (replaced by RAY DRUMMOND on December 2), and drummer LEWIS NASH.



Tickets at $45 are available at the Alice Tully Hall box office, by calling CenterCharge at (212) 721-6500, or via www.jazzatlincolncenter.org.



All Jazz at the Penthouse concerts take place in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, where the audience enjoys candlelight, spectacular views of the city, and complimentary wine (for patrons age 21 and over) - all in an intimate club-like setting. J@LC has expanded Jazz at the Penthouse to include a total of four series: Solo Piano, Piano & Bass Duets, Duets on the Hudson (featuring two duets in each concert), and new to the 2000-01 season, Singers Over Manhattan.



The other Jazz at the Penthouse: Singers Over Manhattan concerts of the 2000-01 season, all held in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, are:

  • Jazz at the Penthouse: Singers Over Manhattan - Freddy Cole and Mary Stallings

    Rhythm Section: Sir Roland Hanna, Peter Washington, and Kenny Washington

    Thursday, Friday, & Saturday February 22, 23, & 24, 2001, 8pm

    Sunday, February 25, 2001, 6pm

  • Jazz at the Penthouse: Singers Over Manhattan - Milt Grayson and Marlena Shaw

    Rhythm Section: The Eric Reed Trio

    Thursday, Friday, & Saturday, May 10, 11, & 12, 2001, 8pm

    Sunday, May 13, 2001, 6pm




Vanessa Rubin was born March 14, 1957 in Cleveland, Ohio. She grew up in a musical household, with parents from Trinidad and Louisiana descent. After finishing high school, Ms. Rubin entered Ohio State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. She received a standing ovation for her performance of “God Bless the Child" while competing in the Miss Black Central Ohio Contest, which convinced her that her true calling was to sing in the jazz tradition. This Billie Holiday masterpiece has since become her “official" theme song. Ms. Rubin returned to Cleveland, where she began singing in many of the city's clubs and hotels and performing with the best of the city's musicians. She also formed and managed her first group, consisting of organ, guitar, vibes and drums. Soon after she moved to New York City in 1982, Ms. Rubin performed at Sweet Basil and the Village Vanguard with the Pharoah Sanders Quartet. She then began to study with pianist Barry Harris at his Jazz Cultural Theatre. Her 1991 debut album Soul Eyes brought her worldwide recognition and respect in the jazz community, and she has gone on to record five additional acclaimed albums. Ms. Rubin has performed with such renowned artists as Kenny Barron, Jimmy Ponder, Paul West, Hilton Ruiz, John Hicks, Harold Mabern, Cecil Bridgewater, Idris Muhammed, Stanley Cowell, Lyle Atkinson, Lewis Nash, George Coleman, Norman Simmons, Danny Mixon, Lloyd Mayers and many others. She has participated in several J@LC productions, including leading a vocalist workshop in the 2000 Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival.

Born in 1958, Kevin Mahogany first started setting his musical goals when he began playing the saxophone in junior high school. He studied the instrument under the tutelage of saxophonist Ahmad Alaadeen at Kansas City's Charlie Parker Academy. At age 12, Mr. Mahogany stepped into the professional spotlight with a baritone saxophone, performing with Eddie Baker's New Breed Orchestra, an 18-piece big band. He continuously honed his skills on woodwind instruments, percussion and piano, while teaching clarinet to beginning students. Mr. Mahogany entered Baker University in 1976 and he graduated with a BFA in Music and English Drama in 1981. It was here that his love of singing emerged, and he founded a jazz choir and two other pop-orientated groups that performed contemporary R&B, jazz and classic 1960s soul music. In the early 1990s, Mr. Mahogany decided to focus on jazz. He appeared on albums by bandleader Frank Mantooth, and toured with the Montana-based NRE trio. In 1992, he traveled to New York and in 1993, his debut album Double Rainbow was released to critical and popular acclaim. The success of his first album and the frequency of its airplay put Mahogany in the spotlight as a new jazz performer and garnered him invitations to perform in a variety of venues, both in the United States and Europe. In September of 1994, Mahogany released his second album, Sons and Moments. His 1998 album My Romance features arrangements by Slide Hampton, Maria Schneider and Freddie Hubbard. His latest album, Pussy Cat Dues, released in 2000, features the music of Charles Mingus.

Now in its tenth year, Jazz at Lincoln Center is the world's largest not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to jazz. With the world-renowned Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and a comprehensive array of guest artists, Jazz at Lincoln Center advances a unique vision for the continued development of the art of jazz by producing a year-round schedule of education, performance and broadcast events for audiences of all ages. These productions include concerts, national and international tours, residencies, a weekly national radio program, television broadcasts, recordings, publications, an annual high school jazz band competition and festival, a band director academy, a jazz appreciation curriculum for children, advanced training through the Juilliard Institute for Jazz Studies, music publishing, children's concerts, lectures, film programs, and student and educator workshops. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis and Executive Producer & Director Rob Gibson, Jazz at Lincoln Center will produce more than 450 events during its 2000-01 season. Currently, Jazz at Lincoln Center is building its new home - Frederick P. Rose Hall - the first-ever education, performance, and broadcast facility devoted to jazz, slated to open in the fall of 2003.

For more information please visit www.jazzatlincolncenter.org

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