Singing Afro-Beats: Exploring Jazz Voice through Rhythm

DEADLINE TO REGISTER: January 12th, 2025  

Singing Afro-Beats: Exploring Jazz Voice through Rhythm featuring vocalist Somi of Rwandan and Ugandan descent (10:30 AM show) and DC-based vocalist Akua Allrich (1:00 PM show)  will explore various international rhythms.  Musicians will highlight improvisation, blues, sampling, signifying and swagger; and provide informative, age-appropriate commentary for the student audiences in between performing musical selections. The connections between jazz, African and Afro-Cuban rhythms are deep. Students will learn that key elements of rhythm create of global extensions of jazz, many part of the continuum of African American musical conception and the rhythms that came from Africa. The field trip will challenge students’ thinking about these rhythms in unique ways.

Each show is 75 minutes.

A question/answer session will follow the performance. 

DCJF will promote the field trips to all DC public/public charter elementary schools and arrange free, round-trip bus transportation. 

This program is a collaboration between DC Jazz Festival and the Library of Congress. This field trip is made possible by a major grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities; will additional support provided by The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation,  Max and Victoria Dreyfus foundation, and the Venable foundation.