Carolyn Wilkins’ Spirited Jazz
Swings Oct. 28 at Zeitgeist
By Susie Davidson
CORRESPONDENT
The spiritual side of jazz will be in full force this Monday
evening when Carolyn Wilkins, who presides over The First Church of
Cambridge’s 5:30 p.m. Jazz Worship Service every Sunday at 11 Garden St.,
brings her soulfully rhythmic groove to the Zeitgeist Gallery.
Wilkins' ensemble SpiritJazz also includes John Voigt on bass and
Yoron Israel on drums. The trio is rooted in jazz, yet evoke a potpourri of
inspiration along with entertainment with added blues, swing and gospel
elements. Wilkins’ words and piano join the accompaniment to provide
eloquently reworked versions of African spirituals and popular jazz works by
Duke Ellington, Fats Waller and Thelonious Monk, among others.
For
over 13 years, Wilkins, a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory and the Eastman
School of Music, and currently an Associate Professor at Berklee College of
Music, has performed, taught and composed around town. She has toured South
America as a Jazz Ambassador for the U.S. State Department and appeared with
the Pittsburgh Symphony under Andre Previn as well as with Melba Moore, Nancy
Wilson and the Fifth Dimension. Her original compositions, as well as
selections from her two Tiphareth Records’ CDs Spirit Jazz I and II, have
been featured on National Public Radio, at First Night Boston (this year,
SpiritJazz will appear at First Night at the First Baptist Church at 110
Commonwealth Ave.) and various venues.
“Whenever I sing,” said Wilkins, “my goal is to
create a positive space - an oasis where my audience and I can nurture and
recharge each other.” While the musical roots of SpiritJazz lie in the
African American experience and its musical traditions, particularly jazz, blues
and gospel, she noted that their intention is to reach out and connect to
people of all races and religions. “Many of my original songs,” she
said, “deal with rediscovering our inner spirit and the intrinsic soul
connection that we have with all sentient beings.”
SpiritJazz focuses on the complexities of the human nature as it
seeks to alleviate dischord, if you will, with songs about love, unity, nature
and spirituality. The aim is to cure without dogma or preaching. It’s an
attempt to gain enlightenment outside of the weekend walls of church or
synagogue.
Wilkins’ coperformers have the mettle for this effort. Voigt
has performed with Chick Corea, Louie Bellson, Jameel Mondoc, Pearl Bailey, Jan
Hammer and other top jazz performers. Israel, who is the Assistant Chair of the
Percussion department at Berklee, has played with Ahmad Jamal, Grover
Washington, Horace Silver, Sonny Rollins, Abbey Lincoln, Tony Bennett, Joe
Lovano and Tom Harrell.
“My goal,” Wilkins stated, “is for people who
leave a SpiritJazz performance to feel that they have been lifted in some
fundamental way - reconnected with some part of the essential spirit that we as
human beings all share.”
The Zeitgeist is located at 1353 Cambridge St. in Inman Square.
Admission for this show is $10 ($8 for students and seniors). Light
refreshments will be served.
For information, please visit www.zeitgeist-gallery.org or call
617-876-6060.