Off Minor Jazz – Kenny Washington Talks Kenny Clarke: A Birthday Celebration Alphabet City
The first Off-Minor Jazz series of the 2022 season is a celebration of Pittsburgh native and jazz drumming legend Kenny Clarke’s birthday and his contributions to jazz history, led by another great drummer, Kenny Washington, who travels from New York to join the Off Minor musicians on stage.
Live in Person and Online from Alphabet City
Featured Musicians:
Alton Merrell – piano; Paul Thompson – bass; Thomas Wendt – drums; Kenny Washington – drums
Kenny Washington, Paul Thompson, Thomas Wendt, Alton Merrell
Kenny Clarke was born in Pittsburgh on January 9, 1914, and became one of the greatest jazz drummers in history. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the cymbal to keep time.
Kenny Washington has played with Betty Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Ahmad Jamal, Bobby Watson, and Curtis Lundy. He’s described by Off Minor curator Tom Wendt as: “one of the greatest drummers and Jazz historians in the world and a mentor of mine since I was a teenager. It’s a total honor to host him.”
The evening features a combination of panel discussion, videos clips of Kenny Clarke, and ample live tunes.
Covid-19 policies for indoor programs [at Alphabet City] as of September 1, 2021
To keep our audience safe, we will require proof of vaccination (physical card or photo) to attend all events at Alphabet City.
There will be special accommodations for children under 12 and people with medical conditions or religious beliefs preventing them from being vaccinated. These audience members will be asked to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test within 72 hours of the performance start time, or a negative COVID-19 antigen test taken within 6 hours of the performance start time.
All guests will be required to wear masks.
Audience size will be limited to 60% total capacity and seats will be set up with moderate social distancing.