KU presents free concert featuring jazz, funk, hip-hop

Thu, 02/15/2018

Jill Hummels

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Office of Diversity & Equity and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences are hosting a free concert for the KU and Lawrence communities.

The Marcus Lewis Big Band will headline the free Brass & Boujee concert from 7 p.m. to midnight Friday, Feb. 23, at the Granada, 1020 Massachusetts St. Kemet the Phantom and Kadesh Flow will perform with the Marcus Lewis Big Band. The evening also includes performances from opening act Cuee and DJ Soul Chemist. Following Marcus Lewis in the lineup are The Phantastics and DJ Approach.

Lewis, a renowned composer, arranger, trombonist and sideman, will also provide a brief history of black American popular music from big band jazz to hip-hop, and he will discuss what he hopes to accomplish through his latest project, “Brass and Boujee.” Lewis has performed with Aretha Franklin, Janelle Monáe, Prince, Bruno Mars and more.

Lewis has a bachelor’s degree in jazz performance from Valdosta State University and master’s degree in trombone performance from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Lewis currently lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where he leads his own quintet, an 18-piece big band, and continues to tour with Monáe, a Grammy-nominated vocalist.

Lewis also is the artistic director of Future Jazz, a nonprofit dedicated to jazz education. He has performed at venues that include the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Klaipeda Castle Jazz Festival and the Jimmy Carter Summer Concert Series. As a sideman, he has also performed at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards, the New Orleans Jazz Fest, the Glastonbury Festival, the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Concert, the 2012 North Sea Jazz Festival, the Sydney Opera House and at the White House for former President Barack Obama. He has appeared on numerous television shows, including "Saturday Night Live," "Late Night with David Letterman," "The Today Show," "Later … with Jools Holland," "The Arsenio Hall Show" and "American Idol." Lewis was awarded the 2008 Betty Carter Jazz Residency and the 2003 Outstanding Soloist award at the Wichita Jazz Festival.

As a free, all-ages event aimed toward building community and social consciousness, Brass and Boujee concertgoers are invited to bring nonperishable canned goods to donate to Just Food, the Douglas County food bank that supports individuals, including KU students, experiencing food insecurity. Lawrence and regional organizations Justice Matters, United Way of Douglas County and Ecumenical Campus Ministries also will attend the event and provide information.

The event is sponsored by the Office of Diversity & Equity, the Department of African & African-American Studies, the Hall Center for the Humanities and the Granada Theater.