Contact: Golda Solomon: 877-529-9528 or gs@goldajazz.com

Cornelia Street Café: 212-989-9319 or corneliastreetcafe@earthlink.net

For immediate release

Po’Jazz at The Cornelia Street Cafe

Poetry in Partnership with Jazz

Thursday, April 21st, 2005 6 - 8 p.m.

Po’Jazz, the one-of-a-kind jazz and poetry series at The Cornelia Street Café, celebrates the ladies and songs of the post-depression era on Thursday, April 21st, from 6 to 8 pm. This special “Blues, Bops and Memories” program features chanteuse Rosemary George in selections that recall the lyrics and heart of New York as it was in the day of the great ladies of jazz—Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, Sarah Vaughn, and more. Ms. George will be joined by special guest and Po’Jazz favorite, musician J. D. Parran. The performance will take place Downstairs at the Café in the series’ third Thursday evening of the month. The downstairs room opens at 5:30 for early dining and imbibing (serving the same fine food as upstairs.) Admission is $13 ($11 students/seniors), which includes one drink.

Poet and host Golda Solomon, “The Medicine Woman of Jazz,” welcomes back to Po’Jazz Susan “Dr. Sue” Horowitz, whose poetry often includes costume elements, dialogue, history, fiction, multiple languages, and (sometimes) singing. Also performing will be tenor Hansil Jules in his Po’Jazz debut, and Electric Wolf (formerly the Po’Jazz House Quintet) with Eliot Cardinaux on piano, Adam Chilenski on bass, Bram Kincheloe on drums, Daniel Levine on trumpet, and Jonathan Rossman on alto sax.

From New York to London, from San Francisco to Asia and the Middle East, Rosemary George has been critically acclaimed for her “beautiful voice,” “charming personality,” “defined elegance” and “impeccable style.” She has delighted New York audiences with performances at the New York Festival of American Music Theater at Lincoln Center and the National Chorale’s On Broadway series at Avery Fisher Hall.

Golda Solomon’s unique brand of jazz-flavored poetry has been described as having “a rhythm and spontaneity that goes right to the heart… (She) has found her perfect accompaniment in jazz” (Madeline Peters, President and founder of Poet’s Corner). Last year, Golda was featured at the 92nd Street Y’s Makor Marathon and Mamapalooza at the Bowery Poetry Club, she headlined a pair of performances in Denver, Colorado, and she was a finalist in the Jazz Poetry Slam at Nuyorican Café hosted by WBGO’s Gary Walker.

Po’Jazz is increasingly becoming “the place to be” every third Thursday. Gladys Serrano of Mutable Music says, “Po’Jazz at Cornelia Street is one big friendly party of good words, good sounds, and good food.” Performances are currently being recorded live for a new CD (expected release summer 2005).

This performance is part of a third Thursday of the month poetry and jazz series at The Cornelia Street Café programmed by ICAAN co-founder Golda Solomon in association with JazzJaunts (www.jazzjaunts.com/). Dedicated to the belief that the arts are vital for tapping into processes needed for individual healing and community building, ICAAN (Interactive Communication and Arts Network) provides on-site arts programming to workplaces, schools and other organizations. For more information about ICAAN, call 877-529-9528 or visit www.icaan.biz.

The Café is located at 29 Cornelia Street, Greenwich Village, NYC. Po’Jazz events take place in the café’s downstairs performance space. By subway, take the A, C, E, F or V train to West 4th Street, or the 1 or 9 train to Christopher Street - Sheridan Square (walk 2.5 blocks east on West 4th and make a right onto Cornelia Street.) By car, take 7th Avenue south to Bleecker; left on Bleecker; left onto Cornelia. For more information, visit www.corneliastreetcafe.com, or call 212-989-9319.

The Cornelia Street Café poetry series is curated by Angelo Verga. The next event in this series will be held on Thursday, May 19th, from 6 until 8.

About the Artists
( e-mail info@icaan.biz for photos)

Eliot Cardinaux, piano, is a jazz piano student at the Manhattan School of Music. He was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1984 and moved to New York in the fall of 2003. He began playing jazz piano at the age of 15.

Adam Chilenski, bass, is excited to be living in NYC. Having recently moved here from Portland, Maine he already considers it his home. Adam has been making a living as a musician since high school, and says he has no plans to do anything else.

Rosemary George, vocals, has given critically acclaimed performances throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Her one woman cabaret act has taken her to the Barbican Centre and Theatre Museum in London, the 50th Anniversary of the Edinburgh Festival, the Jerash Festival in Jordan and a recent tour of Hong Kong which included the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. For several seasons Rosemary has delighted New York audiences with the New York Festival of American Music Theater at Lincoln Center. She has been a soloist in Musical Theater reviews at Avery Fisher Hall as well as other venues in New York such as Merkin Hall, Weill Hall, Symphony Space, the Pierpont Morgan Library, the 92^nd Street Y and the South Street Seaport. Rosemary has also been a featured performer with some of the nation’s leading music festivals including Caramoor, Waterloo, New Hampshire, Beethoven, and Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors. Upcoming performances include a return to London’s Theatre Museum on June 19th in a program entitled “The Ladies and Songs of Café Society” with saxophonist J.D.Parran. She also returns to Hong Kong in the summer of 2006. www.rosemarygeorge.com

Susan “Dr. Sue” Horowitz, poet, is a singer/songwriter/actor/speaker/comedian/writer. She has written award-winning books, screenplays, musicals, and more, including Queens of Comedy, based on interviews with well-known female comedians, Boulevard X, an original, multicultural musical, and I Am Loved, a book of original poetry. Dr. Sue has been awarded grants by the Puffin Foundation and The Harburg Foundation, fiscal sponsorship by New York Foundation for the Arts, and a Faculty Development Grant by Borough of Manhattan Community College, where she is an adjunct professor. In April, 2005, she will present a program to Northeast Modern Language Association (NEMLA) that includes her book Queens of Comedy and her original poetry about women’s empowerment. www.drsue.com

Bram Kincheloe, drums, has been playing music all of his life, starting drum lessons at the age of five and taking piano lessons from his mother. He has toured Japan twice with the Monterey Jazz Festival High School All Star Band, and visited Amsterdam twice to study at the Conservatory Von Amsterdam. Bram moved to New York at the age of 16 to study at the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts. One year later, he left to attend the Manhattan School of Music, where he is currently studying with Justin Dicioccio.

Hansil Jules, tenor, was born in St. Lucia and is now resident in New York. He studied at the St. Lucia School of Music and is now at the Harlem School of the Arts, studying with world-renowned soprano, Betty Allen. He has performed baroque songs and oratorios, such as Handel’s Messiah, and has also sung for Bel Canto choir and St. Lucia’s National Heritage Celebrations. He made his acting debut in Isaac Julien’s Paradise Omeros and recorded the song cycle for the film’s score.

Daniel Levine, trumpet, grew up in New York City in a family of musicians. He started playing trumpet at age 11, and became interested in jazz 2 years later when he first heard Miles Davis and John Coltrane. After three years of high school, he dropped out to have more time to practice, play and enjoy the wealth of music in New York City, and began meeting the various musicians he would come to play with at Po’Jazz and elsewhere. He moved to Boston to study at the New England Conservatory for a year, then returned to New York, where he is currently attending the Manhattan School of Music and having a great time playing and digging music.

J. D. Parran, saxophone, reeds, clarinet and flute, is a Po’Jazz favorite. For two decades his featured instrument has been the rarely-heard alto clarinet. A native of St. Louis, he was a member of the Black Artist Group (BAG). He has performed and/or recorded with Derek Bailey, Muhal Richard Abrams, Douglas Ewart, Quincy Troupe, Hamiet Bluiett, Lena Horne, Frank Foster, George E. Lewis, Leroy Jenkins, Don Byron and Julius Hemphill, among others, and is a member of the prestigious Me We & Them Orchestra led by James "Jabbo" Ware. Mr. Parran teaches at City University of New York and at The Harlem School of the Arts, where he has served as Music Department Chair and Director of Jazz and African-American Music Studies.

Jonathan Rossman, alto sax, moved to New York in 2000 to pursue his studies in music at New York University, where he studied with two legendary teachers-- Ralph Lalama and George Garzone. He quickly became immersed in the New York city jazz scene, playing gigs at such places as Birdland, Bluenote, Cornelia Street Café, and the Knitting Factory. As an integral part of the young jazz community, he was responsible for the creation of the jazz scene at Totem Jazz Club in the East Village. Jonathan has received awards from the National Foundation for the Arts, the John Coltrane Foundation, and the Eubie Blake foundation. In 2003 he attended a residency at the Banff Jazz Workshop where he performed with such jazz greats as Dave Douglas, Mark Turner and John Abercrombie. He has performed extensively across the United States, in Canada, and in Europe.

Golda Solomon, “the medicine woman of jazz,” is a professor of communications, speech, and theater arts; a poet, performer, producer, and docent; a supporter of women musicians as well as young musicians, poets, and performers. She was project director of Po’Jazz at The Hudson Valley Writers’ Center for four years, and co-founded the brooklyn poetry choir. Golda has pioneered several unique businesses including JazzJaunts, a personalized jazz service, and, with Barbara Sfraga, ICAAN (Interactive Communication and Arts Network), which provides innovative, on-site, organization-specific arts programming to workplaces, schools, and other organizations. She and poet Monique Avakian are currently conducting “From Page to Performance” workshops for emerging poets and “ready to come out of the closet” writers. Golda has a collection of poetry, Flatbush Cowgirl, published in 1999, for which she co-produced a companion CD, First Set. She also co-produced the CD Po’Jazz: Takin’ It To The Hollow, which includes over 20 poets and musicians. In 2002, Golda's poetry won first prize at the Writer's Workshop in Asheville, North Carolina. Her poem, “On Meeting Eric Dolphy,” is currently featured on the poetry page of www.jerryjazzmusician.com. Her book and CDs are available on www.amazon.com and www.jazzjaunts.com.