Edwin Hawkins & Eric Reed - Oh Happy Day! April 11 & 12, 2008

"The Allen Room ” 7:30pm/9:30pm WHO/WHAT: Pianist/music director Eric Reed and his group consisting of Gerald Cannon (bass), Willie Jones III (drums) and Stacy Dillard (saxophone) will be joined by Edwin Hawkins to perform a variety of selections from the contemporary, gospel and jazz traditions alongside Hawkins’ entourage of Lawrence Johnson (piano) and backup vocalists.

A trailblazing force behind the evolution of the contemporary gospel sound, Hawkins remains best known for his 1969 classic, "Oh Happy Day!", one of the biggest gospel hits of all time. Reed says, "When I first heard Edwin’s music in the early 1970s, I immediately noticed several ‘spices’ that hadn’t existed in gospel music before he hit the scene: Latin-flavored rhythms and jazz harmonies interpolated into old hymns. I imagined that those 17th century composers were rolling in their graves, but I was leaping in the air!"

WHEN: April 11 & 12, 2008, 7:30pm & 9:30pm WHERE: The Allen Room, Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, on Broadway at 60th St., New York City. HOW: Tickets at $60 are available at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office on Broadway at 60th St., by calling CenterCharge at (212) 721-6500 or via www.jalc.org.

***Come early to the Gospel Festival and enjoy live performances in the Atrium, along with food and beverage tastings, April 11 & 12 at 7pm.***

Contact: Scott H. Thompson, Assistant Director Public Relations, (212) 2589807, sthompson@jalc.org

GOSPEL FESTIVAL Continues With: The Oh Happy Day! Performances in The Allen Room are part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Gospel Festival. On April 10-12 at 8pm, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis celebrates The Abyssinian Baptist Church’s bicentennial with the Abyssinian Baptist Church Choir in Rose Theater at Frederick P. Rose Hall. Tickets are $30-$120. For more information, visit www.jalc.org.

On April 8-13 at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, gospel-inspired trombonist Wycliffe Gordon joins bassist Jay Leonhardt: Voices In Jazz with Special Guests for the week with showtimes at 7:30pm and 9:30pm; and 11:30 on Friday and Saturday. For more information, visit www.jalc.org.

Jazz at Lincoln Center is a not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to jazz. With the world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra and a comprehensive array of guest artists, Jazz at Lincoln Center advances a unique vision for the continued development of the art of jazz by producing a year-round schedule of performance, education and broadcast events for audiences of all ages.

These productions include concerts, national and international tours, residencies, weekly national radio and television programs, recordings, publications, an annual high school jazz band competition and festival, a band director academy, a jazz appreciation curriculum for children, advanced training through the Juilliard Institute for Jazz Studies, music publishing, children's concerts, lectures, adult education courses and student and educator workshops.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis, Chairman of the Board Lisa Schiff, Executive Director Katherine E. Brown and Jazz at Lincoln Center board and staff, Jazz at Lincoln Center produces hundreds of events every year.

In October 2004, Jazz at Lincoln Center opened Frederick P. Rose Hall—the first-ever performance, education and broadcast facility devoted to jazz. The facility has three performance venues: Rose Theater (seats about 1,200), The Allen Room (seats about 500) and Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola (seats 140).