Jazz Vespers: Juan Carlos Polo, Dan Blake, Arturo O'Farrill, Marty Kenney
About this Event
Welcome to Jazz Vespers!
However you are connecting with Saint Peter's, we hope you will find a wide and warm embrace. Among the skyscrapers and hustle and bustle of Midtown, this is a place of respite and renewal. Whether in person in our Sanctuary, or streaming from home. Jazz Vespers is free of charge with donations welcome at the door or online.
About Jazz Vespers
Jazz Vespers, NYC's unique jazz prayer service, is held every Sunday at 5:00 P.M. Originating in 1965 with The Rev. John Garcia Gensel, he believed jazz to be "probably the best music for worship because it speaks to the existential situation of a human being. It is the personal expression of the person playing it." Saint Peter’s Church, the “First Church of Jazz,” remains a spiritual home to jazz musicians and lovers of jazz. Founded by Ruth and Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Joe Newman and Sheila Jordan, among many others, today the community represents the best of the New York City jazz scene.
This Week We Welcome...
Juan Carlos Polo (drums)
Dan Blake (saxophone)
Arturo O'Farrill (piano)
Marty Kenney (bass)
About Juan Carlos Polo
Juan Carlos Polo is a Peruvian drummer, percussionist, composer, and educator based in New York City whose work bridges Afro-Peruvian traditions, jazz, and contemporary improvised music. A graduate of the City College of New York's Master's program in Jazz Studies, he has performed with artists including Arturo O'Farrill, Ayodele Casel, Rachel Therrien, Akua Dixon, Bill O'Connell, and Grandmaster Caz at internationally renowned venues and festivals including the Blue Note, Dizzy's Club, The Jazz Gallery, Joe's Pub, the Jazz Plaza Festival in Havana, and the Ithra Theater in Saudi Arabia. In addition to his work as a performer and composer, Polo is an active educator, teaching with organizations including Jazz at Lincoln Center, 92NY, and Belongó.
About Dan Blake
Dan Blake is a saxophonist, composer, and educator whose work bridges jazz, contemporary classical music, and free improvisation. A longtime collaborator of artists including Esperanza Spalding, Anthony Braxton, Danilo Pérez, and Leo Genovese, he has released several critically acclaimed albums on Sunnyside Records. Blake is a recipient of fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts and Humanities New York, and currently serves as Assistant Professor of Music at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY).
About Arturo O'Farrill
Arturo O'Farrill is a Mexican American composer, pianist, bandleader, educator, and six-time GRAMMY Award winner whose work bridges Afro Latin music, jazz, and contemporary composition. As the founder and artistic director of the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and Belongó, he has become one of the leading voices in contemporary Latin jazz, combining artistic excellence with a deep commitment to cultural dialogue and social justice. O'Farrill has performed and presented his music at major venues worldwide, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and Birdland, while collaborating with artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Harry Belafonte, Carla Bley, Tito Puente, Wynton Marsalis, and the San Francisco Ballet. In addition to his extensive performing and recording career, he is a dedicated educator who has held faculty positions at Brooklyn College, UCLA, SUNY Purchase, and The New School.
About Marty Kenney
Marty Kenney is a New York City–based bassist recognized for his versatility on both upright and electric bass. A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Jay Anderson, Kenney has performed with artists including Allan Harris, Billy Drummond, Rich Perry, Steve Slagle, Rez Abbasi, Steve Wilson, and the New York Standards Quartet. An active performer and recording artist, he has toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe, appearing at renowned festivals such as the Montreux Jazz Festival, Pori Jazz Festival, and Umbria Winter Jazz Festival, as well as leading venues including Birdland, Smalls Jazz Club, Blue Note NYC, the Bimhuis, and Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
About Saint Peter’s
If you are looking for a religious community, this may be a place for you! We are a Sanctuary and Reconciling in Christ Parish of the ELCA. We are a bi-lingual English-speaking and Spanish-speaking community. We are Brown, Black, White and more. We are persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Some of us hold citizenship, others of us are Dreamers, asylees or seeking documentation. A good way to begin this journey is to participate in our Sunday liturgies.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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