Join Henry Threadgill, Jaleel Shaw, Godwin Louis and Caroline Davis for BIRD: A Listening Party, where each musician plays their favorite recording by Charlie Parker and discusses it afterwards.
FREE with RSVP (in-person) SOLD OUT!
Livestream also available (no RSVP needed), watch >>HERE<<
Henry Threadgill
For over forty years, Henry Threadgill has been celebrated as one of the most forward-thinking composers and multi- instrumentalists in American music. The New York Times has called him “perhaps the most important jazz composer of his generation.” Threadgill is a recipient of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Music for "In for a Penny, In for a Pound." Threadgill is an early member of the AACM
Jaleel Shaw
Alto & Soprano saxophonist Jaleel Shaw has been a long standing member of the Roy Haynes Quartet, the Mingus Big Band and recently joined Tom Harrell’s Color of a Dream band. A bandleader in his own right, Jaleel’s solo recordings have been met with rave reviews from publications including The New York Times, Downbeat Magazine, and Jazztimes Magazine. In Jazztimes Magazine’s 2011 Readers Poll, he was mentioned as Alto Saxophonist of the Year along with lengendary saxophonists Phil Woods, Lee Konitz, Bunky Green, and Kenny Garrett. Jaleel is a force to be reckoned with and is noted as one of the most influential alto saxophonists of his generation.
Godwin Louis
Godwin Louis, alto saxophonist, was born in Harlem, New York and began playing saxophone at age nine. Godwin grew up in Bridgeport, Connecticut and Port au Prince, Haiti. Godwin was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Saxophone Competition. He has performed around the globe and is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute for Jazz Performance. Godwin has studied and performed with Herbie Hancock, Clark Terry, Roger Dickerson, Ron Carter, Al Foster, Jack Dejohnette, Jimmy Heath, Billy Preston, Patti Labelle, Toni Braxton, Babyface, Madonna, Gloria Estefan, Barry Harris, Howard Shore, David Baker, Mulatu Astakte, Mahmoud Ahmed, Wynton Marsalis, and Terence Blanchard just to name a few.
As a composer, Godwin has received the Jerome Foundation Emerging Artist Grant, and the Jazz Gallery's "New Works Commission". As an educator, humanitarian and ambassador, Godwin has traveled from Benin to China to help promote cross-cultural understanding and introduce thousands to America’s indigenous art form, through public concerts, master classes, and jam sessions. Godwin is the founder of Experience Ayiti, a nonprofit educational, multidisciplinary arts organization. Godwin’s debut album as a leader, entitled “Global”, was released in February 2019.
Caroline Davis
Mobile since her birth in Singapore, composer, and saxophonist Caroline Davis lives in Brooklyn, New York. Her debut album, Live Work & Play, was featured on All About Jazz’s best releases, and she was named one of JazzTimes’ Best New Artists in 2012. Her second album, Doors: Chicago Storylines, is an audio documentary that uniquely sets stories from Chicago's jazz scene from the 80s and 90s alongside her original music. In 2018, she won the Downbeat Critic’s Poll “rising star” in the alto saxophone category. Caroline’s third album, Heart Tonic, was released on Sunnyside Records to much acclaim in NPR, the New York Times, and DownBeat. Davis’ self-titled Alula, featuring Matt Mitchell and Greg Saunier, was released on New Amsterdam Records in 2019, and Persona's Anthems, a collaboration with pianist Rob Clearfield, was released later that year.