A Night of Jazz: Curtis Lundy & Umoja Ensemble

GRAMMY-nominated composer, arranger, and recording artist Curtis Lundy studied music at the University of Miami and later moved to NYC, where he began performing with legendary vocalist Betty Carter, anchoring the rhythm section with John Hicks on piano and Kenny Washington on drums. Lundy also gained notoriety as co-leader of ‘Horizon’ with renowned alto saxophonist and former classmate Bobby Watson. Lundy has performed/recorded with Pharoah Sanders, Johnny Griffin, Cyrus Chestnut, Larry Willis, Wallace Rooney, Warren Wolf, Steve Nelson, and Carmen Lundy. Lundy’s arrangement of “Walk with Me,” recorded by the Arc Gospel Choir, was sampled and became the GRAMMY Award-winning hit “Jesus Walks.”

Curtis Lundy is best known for his legendary musicianship, as described above, but he is focused on more than his own performance and career. He is dedicated to finding and nurturing talent, developing audiences, and fostering budding jazz scenes in communities across the country.

Curtis Lundy & Umoja have previously performed at each of the consortium’s venues. At Crosstown Arts, at the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, and at MSM Arts United Inc., Mr. Lundy experienced something that he wanted to invest in. He expressed to representatives of each organization his desire to help “put (us) on the map” by bringing us together for the Presenter Consortium for Jazz grant. This consortium formed, then, because Mr. Lundy saw something in each presenter that echoed the others, and that he wanted to amplify. Curtis Lundy & Umoja’s performances at Crosstown Arts, the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, and the Melton Mustafa Jazz Festival will be impactful not just because of the quality of the music, but because the performances signal to other world-class musicians that Memphis, Birmingham, and Miami are jazz destinations. Too, these performances will help the consortium partners broaden and deepen their impact by attracting new audiences and by exposing listeners to music that will be unlike anything they’ve heard. Describe the concert project for which funding is requested. If each partner is presenting a different concert project, please describe each one. Curtis Lundy & Umoja received a New Jazz Works grant from Chamber Music America and will be presenting that new work at each of the three performances. Composed by Curtis Lundy, the new work is titled “The Ancestors Speak,” a suite of new music to pay tribute to the African-American musical contributions and traditions

Other members of the band include :

Michael Cruise   Trumpet
Emilio Modeste  Tenor Saxophone
Terrion Gully  Drums
Heriveaux  Piano

*The performance of Curtis Lundy and Umoja presented in collaboration with Crosstown Arts and Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame is supported by Chamber Music America’s Presenter Consortium for Jazz program, funded through the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.