For the month of February, The National Jazz Museum in Harlem continues to offer a wide range of top quality free programming and affordable concerts from jazz’s most celebrated musicians, educators and historians. For Harlem Speaks, our flagship public program of oral histories, we have the acclaimed saxophonist Jaleel Shaw and renowned arranger, producer and trumpet player Don Sickler. Jazz for Curious Listeners and our Saturday panel this month are dedicated to the pioneering jazz producer and civil rights advocate Norman Granz. We will be joined by Granz biographer Tad Hershorn. Co-director Jonathan Batiste and his talented band continue their successful Jazz Is: Now! program with swinging, jamming, fun-filled evening of the best jazz! Harlem in the Himalayas, at the Rubin Museum of Art, will feature saxophonist Tim Berne’s new group SNAKEOIL featuring the talents of Oscar Noriega, Matt Mitchell and Ches Smith.   Jazz at the Players features a performance by New York based, Trinidadian trumpet virtuoso Etienne Charles. We hope to see you, your family and friends at as many of our events as you can make during this exciting month at The National Jazz Museum in Harlem. Wednesday, February 1, 2012Jazz Is: Now! with Jonathan Batiste                                                                               FUN with Jazz!7:00 – 8:30pmLocation:NJMH Visitors Center(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300Pianist and band leader Jonathan Batiste continues his successful Jazz Is: Now! series in which he and an ensemble explore jazz today, never forgetting the past but always swinging into the future. This month Batiste, NJMH’s Program Advisor, focuses on having fun with jazz.Jazz music can be difficult for some to break in to. The Stay Human band dedicates this month to breaking down that myth and showing you how to have fun with the swing!Tuesday, February 7, 2012Jazz for Curious Listeners                                                                     The World of Norman Granz: The Early Years7:00 – 8:30pmLocation:NJMH Visitors Center(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300 During the late 30’s, Norman Granz fell in love with jazz as a young man, and by 1944, he created Jazz At The Philharmonic, one of the most successful jazz concert series of the 20th century. We’ll look into those early, formative years, and Granz’s friendships with Nat “King” Cole, Lester Young, Benny Carter and others and how they shaped the path he followed for the rest of his life. We will also screen the Oscar-nominated jazz film Granz produced, JAMMIN’ THE BLUES, featuring Young, Sid Catlett, Jo Jones, Harry Edison and others.Tuesday, February 7, 2012Drop Me Off in Harlem                                                                           An Evening of Ellingtonia in Collaboration with The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, Loren Schoenberg, Jonathan Batiste  & The National Jazz Museum All Stars7:30pmLocation:David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center70 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NYFREE | For more information: http://new.lincolncenter.org Explore the music of The Duke and the roots of the diverse and universal language called Jazz music. Musicians and audiences of all backgrounds gather around this vibrant and poetic genre which sprung from African-American tradition and attracted global attention during the great Harlem Renaissance. Spend an hour in Ellington a through music and film of Jazz Legend Duke Ellington. Wednesday, February 8, 2012Jazz Is: Now! with Jonathan Batiste                                                                               FUN with Jazz!7:00 – 8:30pmLocation:NJMH Visitors Center(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300 Pianist and band leader Jonathan Batiste continues his successful Jazz Is: Now! series in which he and an ensemble explore jazz today, never forgetting the past but always swinging into the future. This month Batiste, NJMH’s Program Advisor, focuses on having fun with jazz.Jazz music can be difficult for some to break in to. The Stay Human band dedicates this month to breaking down that myth and showing you how to have fun with the swing!Thursday, February 9, 2012Harlem SpeaksJaleel Shaw, Saxophonist   6:30 – 8:30pmLocation: NJMH Visitors Center(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300Alto saxophonist Jaleel Shaw grew up in Philadelphia, PA, where he studied with saxophone instructors Rayburn Wright and Robert Landham.As a teen, Jaleel performed, jammed and sat in at the many clubs in Philadephia, honing his chops and developing strong relationships with the many great musicians that Philadelphia had to offer as well as the musicians that came to Philadelphia from New York City.  Upon graduating from high school, Jaleel attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA and the Manhattan School of Music for graduate school. During his time at the Manhattan School of Music, Jaleel was recruited by both the Mingus Big Band and Count Basie Orchestra. Jaleel appears on two Grammy-Nominated CD's by the Mingus Big Band  "Tonight at Noon" and "I Am Three". After finishing his graduate studies, Jaleel went on to instruct at Temple University and the New School. Today Jaleel still takes part in many jazz education programs in the United States and abroad. Shaw also continues to perform with The Roy Haynes Quartet, the Mingus Big Band, and his own Quartet and Quintet.Saturday, February 11, 2012 Saturday PanelsThe World of Norman Granz on Film12:00 – 4:00pm Location: NJMH Visitors Center(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Ben Webster, Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Lester Young and Charlie Parker are just  handful of the artists with whom Norman Granz had fruitful relationships as a concert producer and/or manager. We will celebrate those and other of his accomplishments with rare and exciting film clips, as well as interviews with Granz himself.Tuesday, February 14, 2012Jazz for Curious ListenersThe World of Norman Granz: Jazz at the Philharmonic7:00 – 8:30pm   Location: NJMH Visitors Center(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300                                                                                For decades, Jazz At The Philharmonic represented the best touring concert series in jazz, conquering venues all over the world. Concertgoers had the opportunity to see and hear Lester Young, Nat King Cole, Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Coleman Hawkins, Art Tatum and others play in the best concert halls. But there was another element to Granz’s business, as he successfully broke down racial barriers by refusing to accept the discriminatory setbacks leveled against his interracial troupe. We’ll explore these things plus more along with Granz biographer Tad Hershorn.Wednesday, February 15, 2012Jazz at the PlayersEtienne Charles7:00pmLocation: The Players(16 Gramercy Park S. | get directions)$20 | Reservations: reservations@theplayersnyc.org or 212-475-6116With Kaiso, his third recording as a leader, New York based, Trinidadian trumpet maestro Etienne Charles cooks up an ambrosial bouillabaisse of New World music genres, with the jazz and calypso genres standing out as piquant flavours. He explores the songbooks of three calypso legends, The Lord Kitchener, The Mighty Sparrow and the Roaring Lion using many different instrumental palettes ranging from duet to chamber orchestra. Born on the island of Trinidad in 1983, Etienne Charles defies easy musical categorization. An alumnus of the prestigious Juilliard School, Charles has received critical acclaim for his exciting performances, thrilling compositions and a knack for connecting with audiences worldwide. Etienne’s musical lineage runs at least four generations deep: His great-grandfather, emigrated to Trinidad from the overseas French department of Martinique bringing his folk music to the village of Mayaro; The young trumpeter’s grandfather’s distinct cuatro style can be heard on the classic folk and calypso recordings of the Growling Tiger; and, Etienne’s father, was a member of Phase II Pan Groove, one of Trinidad’s most progressive steel bands and one that Etienne himself would later join. Immersed in his father’s vast record collection, and suffused with the sounds of calypso, steel pan, and African Shango drumming, Etienne imbibed many of the influences that presently constitute the diverse colors of his harmonic palette. Perhaps more than any other musician of his generation or Eastern Caribbean origin, Etienne brings a careful study of myriad rhythms from the French, Spanish, English and Dutch speaking Caribbean to the table. Crucially, this young jazz professional fully understands the New Orleans trumpet tradition (which is readily discernible in his trademark instrumental swagger) and what the famed Crescent City pianist, Jelly Roll Morton so succinctly captured in the now immortal phrase, ‘The Spanish Tinge’. Like Charles’s Culture Shock (2006) and Folklore (2009), this latest opus addresses the fundamentals embodying calypso and jazz bringing exciting and heartfelt interpretations to the classic sing-along tunes of yesteryear.Wednesday, February 15, 2012Jazz Is: Now! with Jonathan Batiste                                                                               FUN with Jazz!7:00 – 8:30pmLocation:NJMH Visitors Center(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300Pianist and band leader Jonathan Batiste continues his successful Jazz Is: Now! series in which he and an ensemble explore jazz today, never forgetting the past but always swinging into the future. This month Batiste, NJMH’s Program Advisor, focuses on having fun with jazz.Jazz music can be difficult for some to break in to. The Stay Human band dedicates this month to breaking down that myth and showing you how to have fun with the swing!  Thursday, February 16, 2012Harlem SpeaksDon Sickler, Arranger  6:30 – 8:30pmLocation: NJMH Visitors Center(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300Don Sickler is a five time Grammy Award-winning arranger, producer and trumpet player. Don has won numerous Downbeat Magazine awards for his work as an arranger and producer since the 1980s. Over 300 of his arrangements have been recorded by artists such as Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw. Don has recorded for a variety of labels, including Blue Note, Delos, Fantasy, HighNote, Muse, N2K, Polydor, Reservoir Music, Somethin' Else, Soul Note, Sunnyside, Uptown Records and Verve. As a trumpet player, Sickler has collaborated and performed with the likes of T.S. Monk, Freddie Redd, Larry Coryell, and Cindy Blackman. He currently serves as the director of the University Jazz Orchestra at Columbia University.Thursday, February 16, 2012Stanford Lively Arts  12:00pmLocation: Cantor Arts Center(300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, CA 94305)FREELoren Schoenberg, Artistic Director of The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, highlights the rich cross-fertilization American jazz has had with musics of Latin America and the Caribbean.Friday, February 17, 2012 Harlem in the HimalayasTim Berne/SNAKEOIL (ECM)7:00pmLocation: Rubin Museum of Art(150 West 17th Street)$18 in advance | $20 at door |For tickets: RMA Box Officeor call 212-620-5000 ext. 344SNAKEOILis a potent blend of new voices and new ideas. Oscar Noriega (woodwinds), Matt Mitchell (keyboards) and Ches Smith (percussion) bring fresh sounds and vibrant energy. Berne responds with a stunning book of new pieces balancing compositional rigor with fluid group improvisation. Hypnotic rhythms and long, seductive melodies collide with jagged dissonances and surprising textural shifts. A lush, organic blend of saxophones and clarinets is layered with electronic and acoustic keyboards and an ever-changing tapestry of percussion. Freedom and discipline, consonance and discord, past, present and future- all work together to power this new band from Tim Berne.Tuesday, February 21, 2012Jazz for Curious ListenersThe World of Norman Granz: Ella, The Count and Oscar Peterson7:00 – 8:30pm   Location: NJMH Visitors Center(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300                                                                                Of all the artists he presented over his long career, legendary concert producer Norman Granz cared the most about the lives of Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald and Oscar Peterson. The historic recordings Granz produced for them remain in the jazz pantheon. We’ll look into the personal side of their relationships as well as hear some the greatest jazz ever recorded. Wednesday, February 22, 2012Jazz Is: Now! with Jonathan Batiste                                                                               FUN with Jazz!7:00 – 8:30pmLocation:NJMH Visitors Center(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300Pianist and band leader Jonathan Batiste continues his successful Jazz Is: Now! series in which he and an ensemble explore jazz today, never forgetting the past but always swinging into the future. This month Batiste, NJMH’s Program Advisor, focuses on having fun with jazz.Jazz music can be difficult for some to break in to. The Stay Human band dedicates this month to breaking down that myth and showing you how to have fun with the swing! Tuesday, February 28, 2012Jazz for Curious ListenersThe World of Norman Granz: The Pablo Years7:00 – 8:30pm   Location: NJMH Visitors Center(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300                                                                                Named his close friend, Pablo Picasso, Norman Granz’s last recording company was named Pablo. In the 1970’s and 80’s Granz recorded dozens of sessions that captured the autumnal years of many of jazz’s greatest artists as well as introducing new ones, such as Joe Pass. We’ll listen to and look at film shot at many of these sessions, including Duke Ellington’s last small group recording date.Wednesday, February 29, 2012Jazz Is: Now! with Jonathan Batiste                                                                               FUN with Jazz!7:00 – 8:30pmLocation:NJMH Visitors Center(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 4D)FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300Pianist and band leader Jonathan Batiste continues his successful Jazz Is: Now! series in which he and an ensemble explore jazz today, never forgetting the past but always swinging into the future. This month concludes on a Leap Day as Batiste, NJMH’s Program Advisor, focuses on having fun with jazz.Jazz music can be difficult for some to break in to. The Stay Human band dedicates this month to breaking down that myth and showing you how to have fun with the swing!