SUMMERSTAGE 2016 SEASON

Presented by Capital One Bank

FREE Music, Dance, Family, Film and Theater Programs in Staten Island

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Staten Island season runs July 7– August 7

New York, NY– City Parks Foundation is proud to announce the 2016 season of SummerStage, New York City’s largest free performing arts festival, bringing more than 115 free performances to Central Park and 15 neighborhood parks throughout the five boroughs. With performances ranging from American pop, Yiddish Soul, and Taiwanese music to dance, comedy, and theater, SummerStage will feature more than 200 unique artists, filling a vital niche in New York City’s summer arts landscape, ensuring that New Yorkers will have access to exceptional cultural experiences, free of charge. Since its inception 31 years ago, SummerStage has benefited more than six million people from New York City and around the world.

Having highlighted hip-hop music and culture in 2013 and salsa and Latin music in 2014, the festival is thrilled this year to honor another distinctly New York musical form: Jazz. The 2016 season of SummerStage will both showcase exceptional performing artists from around the globe, and will also feature more jazz performances than ever before, with nearly half a dozen planned for Central Park and many more in neighborhood parks across the city. The focus on jazz this season coincides with the upcoming centennial of the musical dawning of the term “jazz,” as well as what would have been the 100th birthdays of late jazz greats including Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Ella Fitzgerald.

In Staten Island, the festival will offer free music, dance, film, theater, and family programming in Cloves Lakes Park.

Musical highlights for this summer in Staten Island include the soulful sounds of R&B star Jon B and hip-hop pioneers the Jungle Brothers.

Dance lovers will enjoy Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s cutting-edge choreography combined with classical ballet.

In keeping with this year’s celebration of jazz, audiences will be treated to trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard as he breaks the mold with his new quintet, The E-Collective, performing a work inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.

“At City Parks Foundation, we believe culture should be convenient and affordable for everyone. Our SummerStage festival removes the barriers to culture, bringing world-class artists, topical and popular, to neighborhood parks across all five boroughs, free of charge,” said Heather Lubov, Executive Director of City Parks Foundation. “SummerStage brings together New York’s diverse communities in authentic and meaningful ways, making high quality performing arts — from music to spoken word, circus and contemporary dance — truly accessible.  We are thrilled to bring another season, filled with exceptional artistry, to communities across the City.”

“Capital One is proud to once again support SummerStage as it celebrates New York’s artistic energy and creativity,” said Michael Slocum, President, Commercial Banking and Northeast Regional President, Capital One. “The arts build communities and enrich lives, and this remarkable festival embodies our commitment to investing for good in the diverse communities where our associates live and work.”

The SummerStage schedule for Staten Island follows.  For the most up-to-date scheduling and line-up for all SummerStage programming, follow SummerStage via the below links and visit www.SummerStage.org  for festival information.

Twitter: @SummerStage

Instagram: @SummerStage

Facebook: SummerStage NYC

SummerStage 2016 Schedule

SummerStage Artist Information

Tuesday, August 2

Jon B

Clove Lakes, SI

7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Jon B is an accomplished musician, noted songwriter and producer who combined 1970s Soul with Hip-Hop influences in his debut album, Bonafide.  A soulful album that highlighted his dulcet tenor, it earned him both critical and commercial success, especially with the GRAMMY nominated song “Someone to Love” featuring Babyface. Jon B’s success continued with his platinum album Cool Relax, fueled by the success of “They Don’t Know,” which topped the R&B charts. In the album Stronger Everyday, Jon experimented with sounds and textures to accompany his vocals that gave his music a deeper, mature vibe. Hopeless Romantic showcased his songwriting skills, featuring the single “Ooh So Sexy” with Paul Wall. In 2011, Jon B released Comfortable Swagg, which celebrates his journey as a family man.

Wednesday, August 3

Screening: Kirikou and the Wild Beasts / Orisha’s Tale / DJ Djib Sayo in association with African Film Festival

Clove Lakes, SI

7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Tiny Senegalese hero Kirikou is back in this sumptuous follow-up to the universally beloved Kirikou and the Sorceress. Using his wits and speed, brave Kirikou once again sets out to thwart the evil Sorceress Karaba and save his village from supernatural and environmental perils. Based on traditional West African folk tales, Kirikou and the Wild Beasts shows how the smallest and most valiant of heroes can overcome the fiercest of beasts.

Orisha’s Journey is a fantasy tale of a girl’s journey through the spirit world (‘Orisha’ denotes a spirit in Nigerian Yoruba cosmology), who must learn about the importance of remembering one’s roots. The animated film, set in a mysterious walking forest, explores the power of a child’s imagination and the deep meanings and manifestations of Africa.

Thursday, August 4

Jungle Brothers / G-Bo the Pro

Clove Lakes, SI

7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Jungle Brothers are Mike G, Afrika Baby Bam, and DJ Sammy B! The first hip hop group that pioneered the Fusion of Jazz, Hip-Hop and House music. The club hit single “I’ll House You” is known for being the first hip-house record recorded outside of the Chicago scene. The group’s debut album, Straight out the Jungle, marked the beginning of the New York based Native Tongues crew, a collective that also featured groups such as De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest.

Friday, August 5

Terence Blanchard featuring the E-Collective

Clove Lakes, SI

7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard breaks the mold with his new quintet, The E-Collective. This project journeys to an exciting realm of grooved fusion teeming with funk, R&B, and blues colors. The May 2015 Blue Note release Breathless is a first foray into straight-up grooveland for Blanchard, and he’s thrilled with the range of this band — from dance-steeped party to pensive, ambient sounds: “Breathless is the album I’ve been wanting to do for quite awhile.” Joined by guitarist Charles Altura, Fabian Almazan on piano and synths, bassist Donald Ramsey, and Oscar Seaton on drums, Blanchard’s Breathless is a master class in storytelling, written in response to social tensions and inspired by Eric Garner’s resounding words: “I Can’t Breathe.”

Saturday, August 6

Complexions Contemporary Ballet / Master Class: Jamel Gaines

Clove Lakes, SI

7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

It is artistic directors Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson’s lifelong appreciation for the artistic and aesthetic appeal of the multicultural that forms the cornerstone of Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s singular approach to reinventing dance. Founded in 1994, Complexions’ groundbreaking mix of methods, styles, cultures has created an entirely new and exciting vision of human movement over the past 20 years. The company’s foremost innovation is that dance should be about removing boundaries, not reinforcing them. Whether it be the limiting traditions of a single style, period, venue, or culture, Complexions transcends them all, creating an open, continually evolving form of dance that reflects the movement of our world—and all its constituent cultures—as an interrelated whole. Together, Rhoden and Richardson have created in Complexions an institution that embodies its historical moment, a sanctuary where those passionate about dance can celebrate its past while simultaneously building its future. In the 21 years since its inception, the company has bore witness to a world that is becoming more fluid, more changeable, and more culturally interconnected than ever before—in other words, a world that is becoming more and more like Complexions itself.

Jamel Gaines is the artistic director and founder of Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn. Gaines began dancing under the direction of Diane and Adrian Brown. His choreographic career began at Purchase University, where he received the Harry Bellefonte Scholarship, graduating with a BFA. Under the tutelage of Kevin Iega Jeff, and as a member of Jubilation Dance Company, Gaines developed his unique and nurturing approach to teaching and composing dance art. His work has been staged by Actors Theatre Workshop, The NYC Department of Parks, Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, the Paramount Theatre, and the Martha Graham School. He has worked with such artists as Jennifer Holiday, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Savion Glover, Malik Yoba, George Fasion, Ornette Coleman, Ossie Davis, Olatunje Babatunde, Max Roach, Cassandra Wilson, and Rick James. He has also taught and choreographed dance for productions in Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Spain, Germany, Canada, Italy, London, and Portugal.

Sunday, August 7

Secret Agent 23 Skidoo / Sierra Leone Dance Troupe / Wahoo Skiffle Crazies, in association with the Staten Island Arts Folklife

Clove Lakes, SI

4:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Combining the excitement of hip hop with the magical world of childhood, Secret Agent 23 Skidoo is a one of a kind, stand out star in the family music scene. With sophisticated instrumental funk and positive, witty wordplay, he and his family band have earned a loyal national following. Skidoo’s GRAMMY-nominated fourth album, The Perfect Quirk, is classic Hip Hop spiced with Motown, reggae, club thump, blues,and the occasional pirate shanty. Along with his daughter, MC Fireworks, 23 Skidoo creates unique and heartwarming party music that has garnered national awards, seven #1 hits on SiriusXM Global Radio and praise from TIME, NPR, USA Today and many others.

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The 2016 SummerStage festival is presented by Capital One Bank. Sierra Nevada, Lagunitas, Ommegang, Downeast Cider, Red Hook Winery, Bai Beverages, Lyft, MetroPCS, Disney, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and JWT are all official SummerStage sponsors. Generous private support is provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation, Horace Silver Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, J.E. & Z.B. Butler Foundation, The Shubert Organization, and the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation.

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, Council Member Rosie Mendez, Council Member Debi Rose, and Council Member Helen Rosenthal.

Media sponsors include: Bandsintown, Big Screen Plaza, QNS.com, Remezcla, Relix, Time Out New York, The Village Voice, WBGO, WFUV, WNET, WNYC, and Zoom Media & Marketing.

In all of its programming and activities, City Parks Foundation partners with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation to improve neighborhood parks and the communities they serve.