One of the fastest rising stars in jazz, vocalist Jazzmeia Horn, is set to bring her most recent album of music on the Concord label – “Love and Liberation” – to Buffalo on Saturday, September 14 at 7:00 pm. The evening JazzWorks Live is presented by local public TV and Radio stations WNED/WBFO in association with JazzWorks, the syndicated HD and HD-2 Channel on WBFO. The concert will take place in the WNED/WBFO studio located in Downtown Buffalo as the station transforms its studio into a jazz setting for the first-time concert. (Please note: the concert is sold-out.)
Jazzmeia Horn received a Grammy nomination in the category of Best Jazz Vocal for her debut album, A Social Call. She is also the winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocal Competition held in 2015. Additionally, she was the winner of the Sarah Vaughn International Jazz Vocal Competition in 2013. An impressive resumé of wins and nominations for a vocalist still under the age of 30.
The new album represents a deeper foray into the creative talents of Horn. Eight of the twelves songs on the album are originals. In what has become a signature calling for Horn, the songs provide an ample platform for her to spread social and personal messages. Here is what she has to say about the title of the album “Love and Liberation”:
“For me, the two go hand in hand and they both describe where I am in my life and career right now. An act of love is an act of liberation – and choosing to liberate — oneself or another — is an act of love.”
In a recent interview with NPR, Horn expressed further on this point:
“ ‘Social Call’ was mostly a call to social awareness, and ‘Love And Liberation’ is a call to action. So now that we know what’s going on in our society, let’s do something about it, starting first with yourself. And the first track on the album is entitled ‘Free Your Mind’ because when you free your mind, everything else will follow.
Here is the track “Free Your Mind”:
The album features an ensemble of up and coming jazz instrumentalists making their mark in the jazz world. The ensemble includes both Victor Gould and Sullivan Fortner on the piano in various tracks. Rounding out the ensemble are Stacey Dillard on tenor sax, Josh Evans on trumpet, Ben Williams on bass, and Jamison Ross on drums. Jamison Ross also gets the opportunity to display his superlative vocals on the song “Reflections of My Heart” that appears on the new album.
The event marks another occasion for international jazz artists to make their way to Buffalo. During the past few years, we have seen an increase in such visits as Buffalo returns to being a must-stop visit for touring jazz artists. A welcomed trend.
(For more information on the WNED/WBFO and JazzWorks channel offerings, visit the dedicated JazzBuffalo page here: WNED/WBFO/JazzWorks. Here you will find more information and links to JazzWorks.)
