City of Asylum

Over the past few months, Yoko Suzuki has curated concerts showcasing the music of female jazz composers—Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane among them. Yoko closes out her series with a concert featuring the music of pianist and composer Geri Allen.

This concert features some of Cory’s original music as well as music by one of his biggest inspirations, saxophonist Hank Mobley. Local musicians Alton Merrell, Paul Thompson, and Thomas Wendt round out the group in what promises to be a lively, fun, and cool evening of music.

Ciao! Local group Alla Boara celebrates the release of their debut album, Le Tre Sorelle, with an intimate concert for the City of Asylum community.
Alla Boara seeks to bring recognition and new life to Italy’s diverse history of regional folk music. Their modern arrangements of near-extinct folk songs are surprising, playful, mournful, tender, and bewitching. Alla Boara’s dynamic work aims to inspire audiences of all ethnic heritages to treasure their musical roots and consider the contemporary cultural relevance of historical songs. Check out their spin on the Italian folk song “Fimmene, Fimmene” here.

City of Asylum artist-in-residence Mai Khôi presents a concert of brand-new music composed in collaboration with Pittsburgh-based pianist Mark Micchelli. 
Khôi founded Mai Khôi and the Dissidents in Vietnam in 2017 as a vehicle to perform her genre-busting songs protesting government censorship and police violence. The band performed secretly at underground shows in Hanoi until threats from the Vietnamese government forced the band to change their name, then ultimately dissolve. Following Khôi's exile to the United States, she reformed the band with local Pittsburgh musicians while continuing the group's radical mission. 

In this concert, we welcome back Brooklyn’s Kaleta & Super Yamba Band, fronted by Afrobeat and Juju veteran Leon Ligan-Majek (a.k.a. Kaleta).

Fan favorite jazz series Off Minor returns this September with an ode to Buddy DeFranco.

Utilizing a unique blend of global folk traditions and contemporary jazz, Kinetic’s performance efforts celebrate multiculturalism, wisdom, and unity.

Mathew Tembo returns this fall as part of his U.S. tour! Themed "Reggae-Afro," this tour is aimed at highlighting the impact that reggae has had on his Afropop style from Zambia.

This unique collaboration is a mixture of avant garde jazz and ethno music from Hungary, like a cultural bridge between the USA and Eastern-Europe.

Emerging Pittsburgh jazz band SLP (members Mila Shadel, Ava Lintz, and Soojin Park) makes their debut performance at City of Asylum.

After performing at Alphabet City in November 2022 in their trio configuration, Alla Boara returns with their full group in all its glory– six talented musicians bringing recognition and new life to Italy's diverse history of regional folk music.

Yoko Suzuki, Roger Humphries, Dwayne Dolphin, and Max Leake return for a special Valentine's themed concert celebrating the romance of John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme.

City of Asylum welcomes Grammy-nominated bassist and composer Stephan Crump to perform pieces from his recent album, "Rocket Love."