Jazz Legend Nancy Wilson to Receive Honors from African Voices Magazine
at Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts, April 17

- Tributes by Jazzberry Jam!, Tulivu-Donna Cumberbatch,
Louis Reyes Rivera, Atiba Wilson & Songhai Djeli -

Brooklyn, N.Y. – A special awards ceremony at Long Island University’s Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts will pay tribute to jazz singer Nancy Wilson for her distinguished contributions as an artist and community activist. The festivities are sponsored by African Voices, a literary arts magazine, together with the Central Brooklyn Jazz Consortium.

Wilson will receive the magazine’s Ellie Charles Artists Award on Thursday, April 17, at the Kumble Theater, located at the University’s Brooklyn Campus, on the corner of DeKalb and Flatbush avenues. The reception will begin at 5:30 p.m.; the awards ceremony at 7 p.m. Tickets are $150 (includes private reception) and $100.

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, former Mayor David Dinkins, Motown Records President Sylvia Rhone, CBJC Chairman Jitu K. Weusi and Voza Rivers, the chairman of the Harlem Arts Alliance, are among the special guests participating in the ceremony.

The celebration will feature performances by Jazzberry Jam!, vocalist Tulivu-Donna Cumberbatch and poet Louis Reyes Rivera with Atiba Wilson & Songhai Djeli. WBGO radio host Rob Crocker will serve as emcee.

Wilson’s diverse musical style has endeared her to fans around the world. Her repertoire includes ballads, show tunes, jazz and blues and well-known standards. Critics have referred to her as a "storyteller" and "complete entertainer" and as “the thrush from Columbus."

Born in Chillicothe, Ohio, Nancy grew up in Columbus, where her father provided early exposure to many vocalists, including Billy Eckstine, Louis Jordan, Ruth Brown, LaVerne Baker and Nat King Cole. Wilson’s professional singing career began at the age of 15, when she had her own television show, Skyline Melody, on a local station. She has earned many distinguished honors including three Grammy Awards, the NAACP Image Award for best jazz artist, a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, honorary doctorate degrees, the UNCF Trumpet Award and Oprah Winfrey’s Legends Award. She is the honorary spokesperson for the National Minority AIDS Council, working to raise AIDS awareness in African-American communities.

The Ellie Charles Artists Awards are named after African Voices’ first chairperson, who dedicated her life to supporting the arts and education. The program is a benefit for the non-profit literary magazine, which sponsors readings, the Reel Sisters Film Festival and other cultural events.

For more information, call the Kumble Theater box office at (718) 488-1624, or visit www.kumbletheater.org; or call African Voices at (212) 865-2982.

Posted: March 26, 2008

Media contact: (718) 488-1015