Jazz, Hip-Hop Connection Explored at Annual Jazz at the Fort Concert

A group of Berklee musicians will trace the lineage from jazz to hip hop in Hip-Hop 1942 at the free, annual Jazz at the Fort concert, Sunday, August 5, 5:00 p.m., at Roxbury's Highland Park, on Fort Avenue. Berklee College of Music, Boston Parks and Recreation Department's ParkARTS program, and Mayor Thomas M. Menino's Neighborhood Performance Series present this event. Roxbury Community College provides parking in the lot at Columbus Avenue and Cedar Street, and in rain, the concert moves to the college's Media Arts Center, 1234 Columbus Avenue. Both venues are wheelchair-accessible. For more information visit berklee.edu/events or call 617 747-6057.

The concert is part of Berklee's Summer in the City series, made possible by presenting sponsor Natixis Global Asset Management, with musical performances by Berklee musicians in neighborhoods throughout Boston. 

Hip-Hop 1942 is produced by New York City's Revive Music Group. It was in 1942 when Dizzy Gillespie wrote "A Night in Tunisia" and unknowingly provided the major hooks for Gang Starr's 1989 hit "Words I Manifest." Revive Music founder Meghan Stabile '06 says tracing the lineage from jazz standards to classic hip-hop anthems is a way to create community out of divergent cultures and generations. 

An eight-piece group of contemporay jazz musicians and hip-hop artists comprised of Berklee students, alumni, and faculty will perform. Featured will be MC Raydar Ellis '06, bassist Kenneth "Gizmo" Rogers '12, drummer Jonathan Newman '12, keyboardist Chad Selph '11, trumpeter Igmar Thomas '06, alto saxophonist Phillip Young '06, tenor saxophonist Jesse Scheinin '11, and trombonist John Egizi '12. Artists covered will include Dizzy Gillespie, A Tribe Called Quest, J Dilla, Gang Starr, Lucky Thompson, McCoy Tyner, and many more.