Tomorrow night Wainscott’s LTV Studios (75 Industrial Road, 631-537-2777) is getting jazzed up.
The public access television station hosts “Women in Jazz,” a special collaborative concert featuring a lineup of female musicians performing musical works from legendary female jazz composers and performers in honor of Women’s History Month.
Led by Iris Ornig, director and founder of the nonprofit East End Jazz that’s co-presenting the concert, the all-female ensemble includes six other musicians, vocalists and educators from across the East End, New York State and around the globe. Members of the ensemble are slated to include the 22-year-old New York City-based trumpeter Kal Feretti, Italian-born saxophonist Ada Rovatti, Grammy-nominated Japanese pianist Miki Hayama, up-and-coming drummer and classically trained violinist Gary Kerkezou, and singer, composer, arranger and educator Lauren Kinhan, who also tours as a member of the internationally renowned New York Voices.
Clockwise from top left: Gary Kerkezou, Ada Rovatti, Olivia Foschi, Lauren Kinhan and Miki Hayuma.
“This concert is more than just a performance; it’s a celebration,” says Ornig. “It is a time to recognize and honor the contributions of female vocalists, composers, bandleaders and instrumentalists, especially women who had a lot of input and impact on jazz, but were never really acknowledged for it, as well as to inspire the next generation of female musicians.”
The German-born Ornig, who did all the musical arrangements for tomorrow’s concert herself, is a bassist and quickly became an original voice on the New York City jazz scene when she moved there in 2003. Brought to the East End during the pandemic, Ornig founded East End Jazz just over a year ago, with the intent “to bring the community together through jazz and as well as through educational and interactive programs.”
The repertoire for tomorrow’s concert features music from renowned female jazz figures, like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Mary Lou Williams, Carla Bley, Alice Coltrane, Dorothea Fields, and Irene Higginbotham, to name a few.
“By performing the works of these legendary women, we can help to preserve and promote this rich musical tradition,” adds Ornig. “This concert is an opportunity to honor their legacies and inspire future generations of female musicians. And hopefully next year we can even make like a little concert series where each musician can bring their own originals.”
Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. There will also be VIP cafe seating available for $50 per person, which will include a drink ticket.
