New York Member Picnic

The Society of Composers & Lyricists New York & The Alliance For Women Film Composers warmly invite members and friends to an evening of music at the Bryant Park Picnic Performances.

We’d like to extend a special invitation to members of our fellow organizations: the Dramatists Guild of America, Maestra, the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers, and the New York Songwriters Collective.

Jazzmobile celebrates the 100th birthday of legendary jazz singer Sarah Vaughan with acclaimed vocalist Charenée Wade and her Septet, so let’s gather early to catch up with each other and enjoy the concert together! Read more about the program below:

About the Jazzmobile concert via Bryan Park:

June 21, 2024, 7:00pm–8:30pm

Celebrating the 100th birthday of legendary jazz singer Sarah Vaughan with acclaimed vocalist Charenée Wade and her Septet.

“Sarah Vaughan was the first vocalist that attracted me to Jazz at an early age. Her warm and rich tone was mesmerizing, her storytelling, improvisation, playful expressiveness, and her “swanging” soulfulness set a new standard for artists all around the world. She is the epitome of a great jazz musician and all generations of artists should listen and can learn from her recordings and expansive body of work. They called her Sassy, but she is truly the Divine One.”
-Charenee Wade

Known for expert vocal improvisational ability and her seriously swinging groove, Brooklyn native Charenée Wade evokes a classic jazz sound akin to Betty Carter and Sarah Vaughan, two of her musical touchstones. With her Motéma debut, Offering: The Music of Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson, she pays tribute to another inspiration, the socially conscious poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron, and confirms that she too plans to use her artist platform thoughtfully. The first full-length album tribute to Scott-Heron and his musical collaborator Brian Jackson by a woman artist, Offering is arresting in just how timely Scott-Heron’s messages are today and how perfectly Wade delivers them through her savvy arrangements and intimate jazz interpretations. While she has earned many accolades – first runner-up in New York’s Jazzmobile Vocal competition; a participant in Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead program; a feature on NPR’s Song Travels; a starring role in the off-Broadway show Café Society and in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Salute to Betty Carter – she may surprise people with this authentic tour de force. Wade gives ample evidence on this remarkable debut as to why she is one of the most exciting, distinctive and bold young musical talents on the rise today. Wade has performed with Bobby Sanabria, Aaron Diehl, Oran Etkin, Robert Glasper and MacArthur Fellow and choreographer Kyle Abraham, among others, and at venues and festivals worldwide including Montreux and Spoleto. A singer, composer, arranger and educator, Wade teaches at Juillard Jazz, is also a professor at the Aaron Copland School at Queens College; in 2017 Wade received the Jazz At Lincoln Center Millennial Swing Award, and was just recently appointed to Peabody Institute.

*** BRYANT PARK INFORMATION ***

• No reservation with Bryant Park is required. FREE tickets are available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.
• We kindly request that attendees RSVP on our Eventbrite. This will help us ensure we reserve enough space for everybody.
• Attendees must adhere to Bryant Park’s Rules & Regulations.
• Please be mindful of the SCL’s Code of Conduct.
• Once you’re in the park, look for the SCL balloon! We will be setting up near the center of the lawn.

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