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| The Antoinette Montague Experience  The Antoinette Montague ExperienceUpcoming Appearances • Wednesday, July 13, 2022 7 pm-8:30 pm Jazzmobile at Grants Tomb Presents: Curated by Robin Belle Steven's The Antoinette Montague Experience Come prepared to party www.jazzmobile.org •Friday, July 22, 2022 Harlem School of the Arts Summer of Soul https://hsanyc.org •Friday July 29, 2022 7:pm -8:30pm Newark Museum of Art 7 pm -8:30 pm The Antoinette Montague Experience Curated by Sheila Anderson Advanced tkt sales a must NMOA.org / eventbright •July 23, Bryant Park/ Multiverse Big Band www.bryantpark.org •Saturday July 30, 2022 8 pm The Morris Museum's Bickford Theater at the Morris Museum Presents The Antoinette Montague Experience Out Doors / tickets Curated by Brett Messenger •Sunday, July 31, 2022 Dave Chamberlains Band of Bones The Cutting Room, NYC Tickets Antoinette Montague: A Joyful Experience By Don Jay Smith When we went into lockdown in March, 2020, jazz vocalist Antoinette Montague was already streaming jazz and blues to people sitting at home. As she explains, "I was one of the first jazz educators to use Zoom back in January, 2020, with my Marymount College students. And because of that, it was easy for me to be one of the first to bring jazz and blues to listeners via Zoom." As a result, the singer, who has shared the stage with jazz artists such as Benny Powell, Wycliffe Gordon, Christopher McBride, Bernard Purdie, Mulgrew Miller, Winard Harper, John Di Martino, Wynton Marsalis and Frank Wess, stayed extremely busy during the pandemic, teaching, mentoring and performing. "I recognized that, as jazz educators and performers, we needed to use this great music as a way of helping people heal. We were playing jazz and blues as a means of service, not for self-service, " she continues. That is why she is so highly regarded as a vocalist, educator and mentor. She is Senior Vocal Instructor for the Jazz Power Initiative, an adjunct at Marymount College and The New School, a teacher at the Newark School of the Arts, and singing instructor for Jazzmobile at the Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music. About her role as an educator, Antoinette says, "There are many skills that these young people learn that are applicable to life. I hope I'm preparing my students for their futures because most of them will pursue a career other than music." Even more, she is very active in community affairs as a member of the Board of the Duke Ellington Center for the Arts in New York, Advisory Board Chair for International Women in Jazz, and on the Community Advisory Board at WBGO. If that doesn't keep her busy enough, Antoinette is also the CEO of Jazz Woman to the Rescue, a nonprofit foundation which encourages the donation of musical instruments for young people. She has been recognized for her activism with many accolades and awards, including most recently "Jazz Women of Courage." Antoinette is best known as a dynamic vocalist whose high energy and range of song choices keep audiences totally engaged. "I think my music is, as Duke Ellington said, beyond category because I draw on the different forms that influenced me growing up, and I interpret them as a jazz and blues singer." She explains, "My mother loved Ella Fitzgerald, but I also loved Louis Armstrong, Aretha Franklin, the Clara Ward Singers, and Nat King Cole. Later I was mentored by Carrie Smith and Etta Jones." New York and New Jersey audiences have four opportunities to hear Antoinette's interpretations of many great songs including "I Loves You, Porgy, " "Natural Woman, " "Who Taught You That, " and "Up Jumped Spring, " beginning on Saturday, July 9, when Jazzmobile presents Summerfest at MacDonough Street in Brooklyn, then at Grant's Tomb on July 13, again with Jazzmobile. Later in the month, Antoinette performs music from the Great American Songbook in A Night of Jazz and Soul with Antoinette Montague at the Newark Museum. The next night, she heads to Morristown and the Morris Museum's Back Deck. As the Morris Museum touts, "Antoinette Montague doesn't give concerts, she gives an experience. And there is no better place to experience her jazz phenomenon." That's why she calls her group The Antoinette Montague Experience. "People come to see us not only for great jazz and blues, " she adds, "but also for the total joy of the show." And joy it is. Not only is Antoinette a powerful vocalist, she has an exuberant stage presence, and her happiness is infectious. Her group—usually consisting of pianist Danny Mixon, bassist Melissa Slocum, saxophonist Peter Valero, and tap dancer AC Lincoln—shares that joy. Everyone is having a wonderful time as musicians and human beings, and audiences are drawn in immediately. Harkening back to a New Orleans-style musical celebration, Antoinette will often begin and end a concert with her band, marching through the audience. This tradition lets everyone know that they are in for a good time. Smiles are everywhere. She sums it up, saying, "One of the rewarding aspects of performing is to have people return again and again because they enjoyed the show." This summer is the time to enjoy Antoinette Montague. She is busier than ever, and she likes it that way. Antoinette Montague appears at MacDonough Street on July 9 and Grant's Tomb on July 13 for Jazzmobile, at the Newark Museum on July 29, and the Bickford Theatre on July 30 with pianist Danny Mixon, bassist Melissa Slocum, saxophonist Peter Valero, tap dancer AC Lincoln, and a drummer. write your comments about the article :: © 2022 Jazz News :: home page |