Tony Award Winner, Heather Headley, To Perform At Exclusive Post-Concert Reception At Club Guastavinos.
Critically acclaimed musician and songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello will be joined on stage by Cassandra Wilson, Stephanie Mills, Rahsaan Patterson, Bilal, Mark Cohn and Yerba Buena featuring Andre Levin for You Rock My Soul, in a star-studded gala event at New York's Carnegie Hall on November 11th (7:30pm-9:30pm) benefiting Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC).
Meshell Ndegeocello, who plays double duty as musical director and performer, says “You Rock My Soul will be unlike anything to hit Carnegie Hall before! The musical journey will take you from Gospel to Afrobeat, Jazz to Rock, Hip-Hop to Funk all in one night with incredible guest artists joined by my band." She adds, “I think bringing diverse musical styles together is appropriate because we are trying to unite diverse people and cultures against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. While I hope the show we've put together inspires and entertains, the greater goal is to give folks a spiritual lift in this long battle ahead of us."
The gala event will be followed by a post-concert reception with the evening's participants for benefit level ticket holders, featuring a very special performance by Heather Headley. Heather has won countless converts throughout her storied career as an entertainer. Already a Tony Award-winner for her role in Elton John's Aida, Heather now proves herself a wondrously talented R&B solo artist with her recently released debut album This Is Who I Am.
Ana Oliveira, Executive Director of Gay Men's Health Crisis calls You Rock My Soul, “an example of the energy and vitality that comes from people working to make a difference. It's inspiring when such dynamic people come together to give something back, and in this case what these artists are giving is the ability to help save lives. You Rock My Soul is about saving and improving the lives of people affected by HIV and AIDS."
For GMHC, the long battle against AIDS began twenty-one years ago, before the illness had a name, with a single answering machine in a volunteer's home. Today GMHC provides HIV testing and counseling, treatment education, legal services, substance abuse counseling, meals, and crisis intervention to over 11,000 men, women, and children in the New York metropolitan area. As the face of AIDS has changed, GMHC has expanded and transformed by creating several programs, which deal specifically with the effects of the epidemic in the communities most impacted by AIDS. More than two-thirds of GMHC's clients are people of color.
The proportion of AIDS cases among women - particularly women of color - has increased every year of the epidemic. Of the 1,183 AIDS cases in women reported in NYC in 1999, 59% were among Black women, 33% were among Latina women, and 7% were among white women. By the year 2010, 50% of New York City's AIDS cases will be women.
“This is serious business!" says Ndegeocello. “It is so urgent that folks get involved right now, whether that means by getting educated, volunteering, providing services, or giving money. Without a soul-filled, spiritual, cross-cultural, unified effort, the number of HIV cases worldwide could reach 100 million by 2010!"
Principal sponsors for You Rock My Soul are The Michael Palm Foundation and The Terry K. Watanabe Charitable Trust. The evening's grand sponsors are Mitzi and Warren Eisenberg, Michael Krasnoff and Donna Field, Merrill Lynch & Company, Inc., and Uniworld Group Inc. Major Sponsors are Empire International Ltd. Chauffeured Transportation, Maureen Hayes, William F. McCarthy and Jonathan Burleson, The May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Michelle and Bob Wallach, and Ziff Brothers Investments. You Rock My Soul is produced in association with L. Greaves Media (LGM).
Tickets will range from $50-$250 and can be purchased at the Carnegie Hall box office, located at 57th Street & 7th Avenue, or by calling Carnegie Charge at (212) 247-7800. Benefit level tickets, including the post-concert reception, can be purchased GMHC at (212) 367-1472 or at www.gmhc.org. All proceeds from ticket sales benefit GMHC.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
