Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Edwin Hawkins & Eric Reed: Oh Happy Day!

Edwin Hawkins & Eric Reed
Oh Happy Day!
April 11 & 12, 2008 – The Allen Room 7:30pm/9:30pm


Pianist/music director Eric Reed and his group consisting of Gerald Cannon (bass), Willie Jones III (drums) and Stacy Dillard (saxophone) will be joined by Edwin Hawkins to perform a variety of selections from the contemporary, gospel and jazz traditions alongside Hawkins’ entourage of Lawrence Johnson (piano) and backup vocalists.

A trailblazing force behind the evolution of the contemporary gospel sound, Hawkins remains best known for his 1969 classic “Oh Happy Day,” one of the biggest gospel hits of all time. Reed says, “When I first heard Edwin’s music in the early 1970s, I immediately noticed several ‘spices’ that hadn’t existed in gospel music before he hit the scene: Latin-flavored rhythms and jazz harmonies interpolated into old hymns. I imagined that those 17th-century composers were rolling in their graves, but I was leaping in the air!”

April 11 & 12, 2008, 7:30pm & 9:30pm
The Allen Room, Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, on Broadway at 60th St., New York City.
Tickets at $60 are available at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office on Broadway at 60th St., by calling CenterCharge at (212) 721-6500 or via www.jalc.org.

***Come early to the Gospel Festival and enjoy live performances in the Atrium, along with food and beverage tastings, April 11 & 12 at 7pm.***

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