The lineup for JusticeAid’s spring concert is nothing short of spectacular.

Bessie! Empress of the Blues celebrates the legacy of jazz and blues vocalist Bessie Smith with an eclectic group of pioneering singer-songwriters whose origins and influences span the entire globe. The event will be hosted by Emmy Award winner Mark Ruffin with performances by Paula Cole, Valerie Simpson, Nona Hendryx, Terri Lyne Carrington, Madeleine Peyroux, Allan Harris, Morley, and Chris Bergson & Ellis Hooks.

WHAT
Enjoy an intimate music concert with hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, and a full dinner.

WHEN / WHERE
Mon, May 16
7 PM
City Winery
25 11th Ave.
NYC 10001

WHY
100% of ticket sales and sponsorships will provide unrestricted funds for JusticeAid’s 2022 grantee partner, SMYAL.

HOW
Consider sponsoring a table for 10 for your law firm, business, or group of music-loving friends!

Now, let’s meet the artists!

PAULA COLE

Paula Cole came to prominence in the mid-90s on tour with Peter Gabriel. She went on to sell several million albums and perform and collaborate with icons, including Dolly Parton, Herbie Hancock, and Emmylou Harris. Her songs continue to be covered by many—notably, Annie Lennox, Herbie Hancock, T.H.E.Y., Jamila Woods, and HAIM. The first woman in history to be solely nominated for the Grammy for Best Producer, Cole opened cultural confines and broke glass ceilings. Defying categorization, her albums and songs have been placed on multiple, diverse genre charts (Americana, Jazz, Pop, Adult Alternative, Dance, and Rock).  She has seven Grammy nominations and won the Grammy for Best New Artist for 1997. With an activist’s heart, Cole cares passionately about species preservation, sustainability, and equal rights.

VALERIE SIMPSON

Valerie Simpson is, in the words of Berry Gordy, “a pint-sized ball of dynamite.” She has also been described as an avatar of gospel-influenced, sophisticated, and romantic soul music. Her partnership with Nick Ashford produced such hits as “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “You’re All I Need to Get By,” and “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing”  and landed them in the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2002). They rewrote their classic, “Solid,” as “Solid as Barack” and dedicated it to Barack Obama at his 2009 inaugural festivities. Simpson’s 2012 solo album, Dinosaurs Are Coming Back Again, features vocals by Nina Simone and Roberta Flack. In 2014, Simpson received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music, and in 2019, the Grammy Trustees Award.

TERRI LYNE CARRINGTON

NEA Jazz Master and three-time Grammy award-winning drummer, producer, and educator, Terri Lyne Carrington started her career as an in-demand musician in New York City and later moved on to late-night TV as the house drummer for the Arsenio Hall Show and Quincy Jones’ VIBE TV shows in LA. While in her 20s, she toured extensively with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. She has performed on over 100 recordings and has been a role model and advocate for young people through her teaching and touring careers. Her 2013 release, Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue, earned a Grammy and established Carrington as the first woman to win in the Best Jazz Instrumental Album category. Waiting Game, nominated for a 2021 Grammy Award, was celebrated as one of the best jazz releases of 2019 by Rolling Stone, Downbeat, and The Boston Globe. Carrington serves as founder and artistic director of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, created to address gender equity in the jazz field.

NONA HENDRYX

Nona Hendryx’s legendary career spans six decades of sound and style evolution as an American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, educator, creater, author, and actress. She is known for her work as a solo artist as well as a founding member of Patti Labelle & the Bluebelles, “the Sweethearts of the Apollo Theatre,” inducted into the R&B Hall of Fame in 1999. She’s had ten top hits, including #1 record “Lady Marmalade,” and a Grammy nomination for “Rock This House” with The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards on guitar. Her music has ranged from soul, funk, and R&B, to hard rock, new wave, and new-age. An activist and vocal supporter for women’s rights, social, political and criminal justice, Hendryx helped raise funds and awareness of HIV/AIDS from the outbreak of the epidemic and is still involved today. She wrote the music for Lee Daniels’ film Precious and appeared on Terri Lyne Carrington’s Mosaic Project. Hendryx currently serves as Ambassador for Artistry in Music at Berklee College of Music.

MADELEINE PEYROUX

“The only thing that matters is the song,” says singer-songwriter Madeleine Peyroux—a conviction that along with a ‘one of a kind ’ voice has carried the award-winning artist from busking on the streets of Paris all the way to stardom. From Holiday to Dylan, Bessie Smith to Leonard Cohen, Peyroux sheds a striking new light onto familiar musical gems while making each phrase and croon her very own. With 10 universally praised albums, Peyroux has appeared at the world’s grandest concert halls and collaborated with some of the world’s finest musicians. The charmingly humble artist who “didn’t have any expectation of becoming someone that could make a dent in the outside world” has done just that. The prolific musician continues her world tour with the 2021 release of Careless Love Deluxe Anniversary Edition.

ALLAN HARRIS

Over the past 20 years, Allan Harris has developed a reputation as one of the finest vocalists of his era. Brooklyn-born and Harlem-based, he has forged his sterling credentials through his 10 previous albums, covering a broad range of contexts, all netted together within the rich territory of the jazz tradition. Harris has performed on a worldwide stage that has taken him to prestigious international festivals and halls in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. At home, he has toured at festivals and top venues, including Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center. He has received numerous awards, including the New York Nightlife Award for “Outstanding Jazz Vocalist” (which he won three times), the Backstage Bistro Award for “Ongoing Achievement in Jazz,” the Harlem Speaks “Jazz Museum of Harlem Award,” and the DownBeat Critic’s Poll Award for “Rising Star Vocalist.”His recent album, Kate’s Soulfood, is a spirited, soul-drenched homage to Harris’ home of Harlem, NY.

MORLEY

Recording artist, singer, and composer Morley travels the world to sit and sing with visionaries on the frontiers of social change. Her music has appeared on network television, commercials, and human rights documentaries. Morley has graced stages as wide-ranging as the Nomad Women’s Festival in the Sahara Desert, The United Nations, Carnegie Hall, TEDxWomen, and Lincoln Center. Morley spearheaded the fundraiser, “Borderless Lullabies” for the pro-bono legal defense fund, KIND: Kids-In-Need-of-Defense, which aids in reuniting children with their families after being separated by ICE. Morley has released seven albums of original songs via Sony, Universal, and independently.

CHRIS BERGSON & ELLIS HOOKS

Guitarist-singer Chris Bergson and soul blues and electric blues vocalist Ellis Hooks have become a blues-infused modern-day Sam and Dave, bringing a similar kind of gritty, rousing blues that is chill-inducing, whether with Hooks’s pleading vocals or via Bergson’s stinging, piercing solos (Glide). Their live album, Normandy, was voted one of MOJO’s Top 10 Blues Albums of 2019. Hailed as “the New York street poet with a blues soul” (MOJO) and “one of the most inventive songwriters in modern blues music,” (All Music Guide). Bergson was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame in 2015. His latest solo album, All I Got Left (2 Shirts/CRS) was named MOJO’s #4 Blues Album of 2021. He is an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music, where he teaches guitar and songwriting. Hooks has released six albums. AllMusic journalist Thom Jurek notes that Hooks “touches upon Wilson Pickett, Sam Cooke, and Otis Redding, but feels like one of the gritty New York streets Hooks busked upon” in his early days.

MARK RUFFIN

Mark Ruffin has spent his entire adult life bringing jazz to the people. He’s a two-time Emmy Award-winning broadcaster who’s written over 600 magazine articles on music. Before rising to prominence in North America, Ruffin was a presence in Chicago jazz radio for over 25 years, where he was also Jazz Editor at Chicago Magazine from 1982 to 2007. Ruffin was the co-host of the popular public radio series, “Listen Here,” the producer of the first five years of the nationally syndicated Ramsey Lewis radio program, and an original staff member of Oprah Winfrey’s station, “Oprah Radio.” Since 2007, Ruffin has been the Program Director and On-Air host for Sirius XM’s Real Jazz channel. He’s also produced several albums, including recordings by René Marie, Giacomo Gates, and George Freeman. His debut book Bebop Fairy Tales: An Historical Fiction Trilogy on Jazz, Intolerance and Baseball is a collection of three novellas that combine the themes in the subtitle.

Numbers Speak.
LGBTQ young people are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than non-LGBTQ youth, according to a study conducted by the University of Chicago.

To address this issue, JusticeAid grantee partner SMYAL has launched two low-barrier housing programs and a mental health counseling department for LGBTQ youth. SMYAL also conducts culturally competent training for housing providers who support LGBTQ youth.

Good to Know!
We’re learning about Women’s History Month, a national observance created by Congress in 1987 — but with roots that go much deeper, starting with suffragists fighting for women to get the vote in the early 20th century. “Providing Healing, Promoting Hope” is this year’s theme, which not only pays tribute to the continual efforts of caregivers and frontline workers during the Covid-19 pandemic but also recognizes the numerous ways women of various cultures across the globe have been providing healing and hope all through human history.

JusticeAid believes in the power of art and music to transform awareness into action in the fight against injustice. All donations this year until the end of October will support SMYAL’s programs for LGBTQ youth.

We’re excited to share that JusticeAid has earned a 2022 Platinum Seal of Transparency with Candid!

JusticeAid leverages the community-building power of art and music to transform awareness into action in the fight against injustice. Each year we identify and raise funds for justice causes by hosting music, arts, and educational events. Since 2013 JusticeAid has granted more than 1.5 million dollars to nonprofits working to ensure access to justice for the disenfranchised and marginalized. Our grantee partners are fighting racist voter suppression and racist policing, working to end mass incarceration and inhumane immigration practices, ensuring access to legal services, and addressing the criminalization and hatred of others.