Music

Bryant Park Picnic Performance: Carnegie Hall Citywide: NYC Ska Orchestra

When

Fri, Jul 24 · 7:00 PM

Where

Bryant ParkBryant Park Lawn (in Bryant Park), Manhattan · Map ↗Midtown

Price

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Experience the joy of a live performance by the NYC Ska Orchestra , which blends big-band jazz, soul, and R&B with the iconic Jamaican music styles of ska, mento, rock steady, reggae, and more. Led by celebrated trumpeter, singer, arranger, and educator Kevin Batchelor, this 20-piece big band also features legendary Jamaican percussionist-vocalist Larry MacDonald and Jamaican master drummer Carl Wright, who together have worked with Peter Tosh, Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, Lee “Scratch” Perry, the Skatalites, Toots and the Maytals, and many others. NYC Ska Orchestra is a 20-piece big band that creates and performs lush original compositions and arrangements of songs from the rich, historic, and culturally-iconic Jamaican music styles of ska, mento, rock steady, reggae, and jazz of the 1950s, 60s and 70s. They blend the exuberant musical layers of the jazz big band era, soul and R&B, with Jamaican roots music; effortlessly flowing into a unique, accessible, joyous and danceable sound that audiences love. NYC Ska Orchestra is led by arranger, trumpeter, singer and educator Kevin Batchelor; and features 87 year-young celebrated Jamaican percussionist/vocalist Larry MacDonald, and Jamaican master drummer Carl Wright. Together they have recorded and/or performed with nearly every great Jamaican music artist including Peter Tosh, Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, Lee Scratch Perry, Skatalites, and Toots & The Maytals; and they regularly work with the leading Jamaican artists today. The orchestra also features singers Pallavi Gummalam and singer/arranger Aida Brandies Hargrove, plus all top-notch pro players from NYC; which combines for a hugely entertaining, danceable, unforgettable show. Carnegie Hall is honored to partner with local community organizations to present free concerts that are sensational celebrations of sounds from across the country and around the globe. At a Carnegie Hall Citywide concert, you can revisit your favorite music or try something new, stay in your home borough or journey farther afield. Whatever you choose, you’ll experience everything that makes New York City so vibrant. Bryant Park Picnic Performances presented by Bank of America is a free outdoor festival that welcomes all New Yorkers to experience the city’s vibrant arts and culture. The series provides a platform for extraordinary artists and serves as a vital outdoor venue for a wide array of New York’s cultural institutions.