Actor, activist and music lover Don Cheadle will take center stage on behalf of [UP]Rising: An Afro-Future Her-Story at the Ford Theatres in Hollywood. Presenting an evening of post-modern South African music, the Sunday event will star two of the genre’s top female talents: trombonist/vocalist Siya Makuzeni and keyboardist/singer/songwriter Thandi Ntuli.
Performing in commemoration of South Africa’s annual National Women’s Day (Aug. 9, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year), Makuzeni and Ntuli will also be joined by other performers, including the nine-member Los Angeles group The Katalyst Collective. Sharing host duties with Cheadle will be KCRW Los Angeles radio personality Garth Trinidad.
[UP]Rising: An Afro-Future Her-Story is being presented by The Nonsemble. Dedicated to fostering the continued growth of jazz and its estimable legacy as America’s indigenous music, the LA-based organization was co-founded by Cheadle and Jason Sugars.
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In a joint statement to Billboard, Cheadle and Sugars commented: “The mission and vision of The Nonsemble is finding connective tissue and building bridges between people, generations and cultures using music — specifically sharing the American-born art, culture, life and style known as jazz. Bringing out these two incredibly gifted young artists from South Africa to showcase their very personal take on jazz seems a near-perfect first presentation of The Nonsemble’s arts and culture ambassadorship. This promises to be a beautiful night of music and magic.”
Ticket information for [UP]Rising: An Afro-Future Her-Story is available here.