CRISIS ALERT: Jazz 4 AfriKa Concert Benefits SAREAD: Working for the Development of Rural Areas in South Africa

In-Joy Enterprises, Funkshunal Entertainment NYC, and SAREAD present CRISIS ALERT: Jazz 4 AfriKa, featuring jazz-soul giants Onaje Allan Gumbs and Brian Jackson performing with special guests at The Creole Restaurant on Sunday, January 1 at 9:00 p.m.

Harlem-born, Queens-raised, Onaje Allan Gumbs has enjoyed a career as first-call sideman, valued arranger and composer, producer, and most importantly, bandleader and recording artist. Many will remember him for his vital contributions to such Woody Shaw classics as Moontrane, and Rosewood, to which he lent his exceptional composing and arranging skills. Still others will recall his work as producer/arranger for vocal dates led by Downing, Rubin, and Marlena Shaw; or perhaps his sideman contributions to dates with an impressive range of artists from NEA Jazz Master Kenny Burrell and Nat Adderley, to the cutting edge with Ronald Shannon Jackson, to the crossover dreams of Jonathan Butler. Onaje has staked out a territory that is equal parts originality, straight ahead jazz, R&B, Brazilian, contemporary jazz, and beyond.

Widely regarded as one of the early architects of the neo-soul era, Brian Jackson's enduring sound is capturing the hearts and souls of yet another generation. Having first collaborated with poet Gil Scott-Heron, Jackson has gone on to work with legends such as Kool and the Gang, Roy Ayers, Phyllis Hyman, and George Benson. Today, Brian is not only a respected jazz artist but also a frequent collaborator with emerging artists who carry on the Tradition of inspiring and informing the masses through conscious music.

This concert benefits the organization SAREAD, a non-profit corporation dedicated to the building of schools and providing aid for African children in rural South Africa. For more information on SAREAD, visit their website at
www.saread.org.

Concert Information:
CRISIS ALERT: Jazz 4 AfriKa
Featuring Onaje Allan Gumbs and Brian Jackson
The Creole Restaurant
2167 Third Avenue, (212) 876-8838
Doors open at 7:00 p.m., Showtime at 9:00 p.m.
Tickets, $15, are available at The Harlem Record Shack ( www.harlemrecordshack.com)
274 West 125th Street, 212-866-1600.