Alphabet City

With flexible instrumentation, guest musicians and eclectic programming, the Bell’Art Ensemble commits to breaking down preconceived ideas about classical music in order to connect chamber music with a new audience. They produce the Living Room Chamber Music Project, a decade-long series of concerts designed to bring classical music out of the concert hall and into intimate spaces.

Thoth Trio has previously appeared at City of Asylum in September 2020 to premiere a new collection of works by Ben Opie, Meditations on Quarantine. The suite was an intuitive and creative response to the initial pandemic lockdown. This performance will see the premiere of the followup, Reflections on Pandemic, a collection of seven new pieces inspired by both global and local circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Merrell is a composer of illustrious works in gospel jazz and regularly performs with local and nationally known Gospel/Christian artists such as Kim Burrell, Donnie McClurkin, David and Nicole Binion. He also has been featured several times on the nationally televised Bobby Jones Gospel Show. For his Kente engagement, he will perform with his own Jazz/Gospel group, IMPACT. 

Pittsburgh-based chamber ensemble Kamratōn presents a genre-blurring program curated by flutist, composer, and band leader Nicole Mitchell, including the premiere of a newly commissioned work. Kamratōn will be joined by guest bassist Jeffrey Grubbs of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and vocalist Anqwenique Wingfield for works by Nicole Mitchell, Yvette Jackson, Brittany J. Green, and others.

The Joe Fonda Quartet is a powerful group of musicians who have collectively been active within the New York Jazz community for over 40 years. The Quartet features a combination of  Bassoon and Saxophone—a unique and compelling sound, rarely heard in the world of Jazz. 

This program features music written by Jewish composers as well as music that expresses the powerful human ability to move forward, and create great art, after tragedy. The program also features remarks from Rabbi Myers of the Tree of Life Congregation as well as literary readings, to honor the memory of those whose lives were taken at the Tree of Life Synagogues.

The 3rd concert in a series of Geri Allen performances by Yoko Suzuki, a former student and colleague of Geri Allen. This concert features all-new arrangements of Geri's Work with unique instrumentation. These songs are rarely heard and the concert reveals Geri’s genius and the complex puzzle of her work.

Aimée Allen Trio: Strings and C(h)ords with Tony Romano and François Moutin
Aimée Allen brings her trademark soulful originals and lyricism to life with world-renowned bassist François Moutin and multi-dimensional guitarist Tony Romano.  They make nine strings and two vocal cords sound like much more, with rich sonic landscapes and passionate, adventurous explorations of jazz improvisation and musical storytelling.  The repertoire will include new arrangements of standards and old and new compositions.  The trio provides a warm, dynamic, rhythmic experience like no other.

Salsamba Latin Jazz Quintet fuses authentic Latin-American rhythms with the harmonic and melodic sophistication of contemporary American jazz.  Based in Pittsburgh, Salsamba performs at clubs, festivals, and colleges throughout the United States.