FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Karin Venegas, karin@anatgerstein.com, 347-361-7049


Flushing Town Hall to Celebrate Women's History Month with Series Commemorating Jazz, Pop, and Latin Music Icons Sarah Vaughan, Peggy Lee, Nina Simone, Celia Cruz, and more!

— Featuring Broadway veteran Rosena Hill Jackson, jazz singers Akua Allrich and Barbara Rosene, and Latin soul singer Deborah Resto—

— Tickets available at: https://www.flushingtownhall.org/women-history-month —



(Flushing, New York) —This March Flushing Town Hall will present a Women's History Month series featuring four, unique performances celebrating iconic women of music history — women whose talent, boldness, and originality 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,” says Ellen Kodadek, Flushing Town Hall’s Executive & Artistic Director.

“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!”


FRIDAY, March 4 at 7PM
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 Jason Jackson (trombone), Don Braden (saxophone), Cyrus Chestnut (piano), John Lee (bass), and Neil Smith (drums).

Rosena Hill 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 at 7PM
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), Mark Loperman (clarinet and 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 unequalled 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 at 8PM
Jazz vocalist Akua Allrich will present a soul-stirring Tribute to Nina Simone & Miriam Makeba that she curated.

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 panAfrican music. Allrich. 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 Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

THURSDAY, March 31 at 7PM
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/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 as 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/$12 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: Visit https://www.flushingtownhall.org/women-history-month or call (718) 463-7700 x222.

For the venue’s full schedule of 2022 Spring events, visit:
https://www.flushingtownhall.org/events

COVID Policy:
In adherence with New York City’s Covid policy for performance venues, Flushing Town Hall will require all visitors, performers, and staff to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 with matching identification. Additionally, masks will be required at all times. For more details on Flushing Town Hall’s Covid-safety measures and vaccine requirements, please visit:
https://www.flushingtownhall.org/covid-safety.

Support Global Arts With A Gift Today!
All gifts of $50 or more give you exclusive Flushing Town Hall Circle of Friends membership benefits including a Smithsonian membership, ticket discounts, and more! Donations in any amount are appreciated to support the artists and the nonprofit cultural organization as they continue to provide programming and entertainment across New York and the world.
https://www.flushingtownhall.org/circle-of-friends

Flushing Town Hall is a not for profit organization and receives major support in its 2021-2022 Fiscal Year from the National Endowment for the Arts; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; New York State Assembly Member Ron Kim; The City of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio (2021) and Mayor Eric Adams (2022); New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Commissioner Gonzalo Casals; Queens Borough President Donovan Richards; The New York City Council, Speaker Corey[EK1]  Johnson; Council Members Costa Constantinides, Daniel Dromm, Barry Grodenchik, Peter Koo, Karen Koslowitz, Paul A. Vallone, Jimmy Van Bramer; Howard Gilman Foundation, Booth Ferris Foundation, Guru Krupa Foundation, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation.

To view current donor lists, please visit www.flushingtownhall.org/donor-listings

About Flushing Town Hall
Flushing Town Hall (FTH), a Smithsonian affiliate, presents multi-disciplinary global arts that engage and educate the global communities of Queens and New York City, in order to foster mutual appreciation. As advocates of arts equity since 1979, we support local, immigrant, national, and international artists, developing partnerships and collaborations that enhance our efforts. As a member of New York City’s Cultural Institutions Group (CIG), we serve to restore, manage and program the historic 1862 landmark on behalf of the City of New York. FTH celebrates the history of Queens as the home of Jazz, by presenting the finest in Jazz performance. We are committed to arts education and hands-on learning, for the arts-curious, arts enthusiasts, and professional artists. We serve one of the most diverse communities in the world and strive to uphold the legacy of inclusiveness that has defined our community since the Flushing Remonstrance of 1657.

Land Acknowledgement:
Flushing Town Hall acknowledges that we are on the traditional land of the Matinecock People, one of the original tribes of New York, and the first people of Flushing, Queens. The Matinecock continue to live and work on this land to this day. Flushing Town Hall honors their elders who have stewarded this land throughout generations.

For more information:
www.flushingtownhall.org
(718) 463-7700 x222
137-35 Northern Blvd. Flushing, NY 11354