In celebration of Women’s History Month in March, Flushing Town Hall will present a series featuring four unique performances celebrating iconic women of music history, who overcame barriers in the male-dominated spaces of their time.
“The month will be jam-packed with extraordinary women, past and present! There will be some truly powerhouse vocals on our stage, interpreting some of the most beloved songs of the last few decades,” said Ellen Kodadek, executive and artistic director at Flushing Town Hall. “We are overjoyed to be welcoming artists like Akua Allrich, whose original performance date in March 2020 was canceled due to the pandemic lockdown. This month’s celebration of women artists will inspire and delight our audiences!”
Here’s a lineup of next month’s performances celebrating women artists:
Friday, March 4, 7 p.m.
Broadway veteran and vocalist Rosena Hill Jackson performs “Songs of Sarah Vaughan,” a tribute to the Queen of Bebop, with exciting new arrangements by Grammy-winning trombonist and music arranger Jason Jackson. Her band will feature Jackson, Don Braden (saxophone), Cyrus Chestnut (piano), John Lee (bass) and Neil Smith (drums).
Jackson’s Broadway credits include “The Color Purple,” “Ragtime,” “Riverdance,” “After Midnight,” “Dreamgirls,” “Mandela,” “Ain’t Misbehavin'” and more. She has performed extensively as a vocal soloist, including with The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, with The New York Philharmonic for PBS and with the Long Island Philharmonic, The Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra, The Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Teatro di Massimo Symphony Orchestra in Palermo, Italy.
Thursday, March 10, 7 p.m.
Vocalist Barbara Rosene performs “You Give Me Fever – The Peggy Lee Songbook,” a tribute to the jazz and popular music singer whose career spanned seven decades and helped redefine what it meant to be a female singer. Rosene’s band will feature Conal Fowkes (piano and acoustic bass), John Merrill (guitar), Mike Hashim (saxophone) and Kevin Dorn (drums).
Rosene has graced stages internationally, including with Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks, the late Les Paul at NY’s Iridium Jazz Club, Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall, the Montreal Jazz Festival and Lake Como, Italy. She has built an unequaled reputation for interpreting the great music of the 1920s and ’30s. Rosene is a passionate vocalist whose interpretations uncover the richness of jazz classics through the skilled delivery of one truly in love with the genre she sings.
Saturday, March 19, 8 p.m.
Jazz vocalist Akua Allrich will present a soul-stirring Tribute to Nina Simone & Miriam Makeba that she curated and will be joined on stage by her bandmates Sam Prather (keys), Kris Funn (upright bass), Tyler Leak (drums) and Gabrielle Murphy (saxophone and flute).
A Washington, D.C., native and Howard University graduate, Allrich is quickly making a name for herself with a musical style that draws from blues, soul, jazz and pan-African music. Her albums have included her independently produced “A Peace of Mind” (2010), “Uniquely Standard,” “Akua Allrich Live!” (2012), and her latest release, “Soul Singer.”
This engagement of Akua Allrich and the Tribe is made possible through the Jazz Touring Network program of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Thursday, March 31, at 7 p.m.
Flushing Town Hall’s Women’s History Month celebration culminates with “Oye Como Va – A Tribute to the Great Women of Latin Music,” featuring singer and songwriter Deborah Resto in a performance spanning more than 50 years of music by legendary Latinas like Celia Cruz, La Lupe and Olga Tanon. Her band will feature Oreste Abrantes (percussion), Franco Pinna (drums), Eddie Venegas (trombone and violin), Alex Apolo (bass) and Pablo Mayor (piano and music direction).
Resto is a New York-born, Hispanic recording artist and musician. In addition to her own CD, entitled “Let Him Hear My Heart,” she has recorded as a background vocalist for such major artists like Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, Enrique Iglesias, Paul Simon, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Olga Tanon, Tito Nieves, Tito Puente, Jimmy Sabater, Ruben Blades, Larry Harlow and others.
In-person tickets for each performance are $15 for non-members and $12 for members. Those unable to attend in person can view each event by livestream for free, with a suggested donation.
To purchase tickets to any event in this series or to register for the livestreams, click here, or call 718-463-7700 ext. 222.
