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Alvin Atkinson, Jr.

Alvin Atkinson, Jr., six-time Jazz Ambassador, drummer, bandleader and Jazz educator, has traveled the globe performing America’s classical music. As an ambassador of jazz, Atkinson possesses the characteristics of a diplomat whether he’s performing in front of a large audience in Saudi Arabia, working with college students in Jordan, or working with middle school children in New York City. Atkinson formed Alvin Atkinson and the Sound Merchants in New York City in 2004. The group combines jazz and blues influences with inflections of various rhythms and melodies from around the world. The group's first recording project, Alvin Atkinson and the Sound Merchants, received nominations for "Best International Jazz Song" from the First Annual 2007 Toronto Exclusive Magazine Awards and "Best Jazz Song" from the Seventh Annual Independent Music Awards in 2007 for the composition “Dance of the Emirates.” In 2007 and 2008, Alvin Atkinson and the Sound Merchants, traveled to the Middle East and Russia. In addition to the tours with his own group, Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad Program coordinators selected Atkinson to lead the Rhythm Road All-Stars Group. Native of North Carolina, Atkinson grew up in a musical family where both of his parents performed in touring gospel groups. He attended North Carolina Central University under the tutelage of Dr. Ira Wiggins. While a student, he performed with jazz notables Ellis Marsalis, Houston Person, Freddie Redd, Tom Browne, Maceo Parker, Shirley Scott, Branford Marsalis and Jimmy Heath.

Eli Yamin: Message From Saturn

Read "Message From Saturn" reviewed by James Nadal

by James Nadal
November 12, 2016

The Jazz Drama Program was founded in 2003, in New York City, by pianist and composer Eli Yamin, and educator Clifford Carlson, to stimulate youth by offering diverse and imaginative jazz, theater, and dance programs with active participation of those enrolled. Message From Saturn takes its title from a famous Sun Ra comment: “I just got a message from Saturn. We're not playing enough blues." With this statement as a launching point, the cosmological theme also draws inspiration from “The ...

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Album Review

Eli Yamin: You Can't Buy Swing

Read "You Can't Buy Swing" reviewed by George Kanzler

by George Kanzler
November 18, 2008

Pianist Eli Yamin is a communicator who believes jazz can foster a sense of community. His work is expansive and extroverted, populist in the best sense. As a teacher--he's now part of Jazz at Lincoln Center's education program--he's created jazz dramas and the dramatic impulse is a strong component of his music. So is swing. This album's title comes from a saying by a drummer who worked often with Yamin, the late Walter Perkins: “You can't buy swing, baby sweets. ...

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Performance / Tour

U.S. Sends Musicians to Make Overtures in War Zones.

Source: All About Jazz
May 5, 2009

In March four musicians from Alvin Atkinson and The Sound Merchants, traveled with the U.S. State Department for a new diplomacy program called Musicial Overtures.

When pianist Jonathan Lefcoski walked into a rehearsal at a Baghdad music club, he didn't know what to expect. He didn't know whether the Iraqi musicians would welcome him or whether they'd know how to play the same music he did.

Within minutes, however, Lefcoski and an Iraqi bass player were working their way through ...
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Performance / Tour

Alvin Atkinson Jr. and the Sound Merchants at Metropolitan Community United Methodist Church on October 21

Source: All About Jazz
October 15, 2007

Every third Sunday at Metropolitan Community United Methodist Church

Jazz In Harlem Sunday, October 21, 2007 2:30 pm

Alvin Atkinson and the Sound Merchants

Featuring: Alvin Atkinson, Jr. - Drums Jeb Patton - Piano LaKesha Benjamin - Sax Personnel TBA

Metropolitan Community United Methodist Church 1975 Madison Ave. at 126th Street New York, New York 10035

Take 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 trains ...
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Sound Merchants' Virtuoso Jazz Crosses Cultures, Thrills Dubai Audience Consulate General of the United States

The U.S. jazz quartet Alvin Atkinson and the Sound Merchants performed to an enthusiastic crowd of invited guests February 22 at the Dubai Community Theater and Arts Center (DUCTAC), earning a standing ovation for their mix of bebop, swing and classic jazz numbers. Consul General Paul Sutphin introduced the group, noting that blues and jazz music is a vital US contribution to global culture, and plays an important part promoting cross-cultural understanding, particularly between the Middle East and the United States. The Sound Merchants performance at DUCTAC was made possible through the generous support of the Dubai Cultural Council and the Dubai Community Theater.

Sound Merchants' Virtuoso Jazz Crosses Cultures, Thrills Dubai Audience Consulate General of the United States

The audience was treated to two 45-minute sets of jazz classics from Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, and Chick Corea, as well as to original compositions from Stacy Dillard and Alvin Atkinson. The original pieces included "Ibn Battuta," reflecting the jazz ensembles' commitment to incorporating influences from their travels into their music. Another piece performed was in homage of the cooking of Alvin Atkinson's mother, eliciting a universal response through the shared experience of coming home to the aroma of a succulent meal.

The event was part of the Rhythm Road American Music Abroad Program, which allows performers of jazz and urban music to tour countries with limited exposure to live American culture to reach out across language, cultural and social barriers through the language of music. The Rhythm Road American Music Program is co-produced by Jazz at Lincoln Center, The United States Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and U.S. Embassies and Consulates General Abroad. The Dubai portion of the Sound Merchants' concert was organized by the Consulate General's Public Affairs Officer Marion Ram and the office's Program Assistant.

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Primary Instrument

Drums

Willing to teach

Intermediate to advanced

Credentials/Background

As an educator, Alvin served as the Visiting Professor of Drum-set Studies at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada during the 2004-2005 school year. In addition to performing, he has taught at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Middle School Jazz Academy, The Bronx Academy and The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City.

Alvin works with students on all levels, beginning to advanced.