Bang and Jenkins Honored in NYC Holiday Concert

  I  
Image

Leroy Jenkins (left) and Billy Bang

(Photo: Courtesy of Arts for Art)

New York-based Arts for Art, the presenters of the annual Vision Festival, held a holiday concert honoring violinists Billy Bang (1947–2011) and Leroy Jenkins (132–2007) on Dec. 4 with performances by Andrew Drury and Spontaneous River, a 15-piece string ensemble directed by violinist Jason Kao Hwang. The program, titled A Holiday Celebration, featured music composed by the honorees.

Jason Hwang Conducting

Jason Hwang Conducts at the Lowline

Hwang provided conduction and arrangements. The music was dynamic and was received by a small but enthusiastic audience.The performance was held at the Lowline Lab, in a portion of the old Essex Street Market in Lower Manhattan that is a prototype for an innovative underground park. The Lowline is a proposed one-acre green space to be supported by solar technology and designed to be created in an abandoned trolley terminal below Delancey Street.

Jason Hwang

Arts for Art Jason Hwang

The event was a fundraiser to help Match the Artist Campaign, whose theme is to honor those artists who have inspired us. Several photographers donated work of Bang and Jenkins and the photos are available at the Arts for Art website, www.artsforart.org/store/. DB



  • Al_Foster_Marketing.jpg

    Foster was truly a drummer to the stars, including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.

  • kZYVcIag_copy.jpg

    Benny Benack III and his quartet took the Midwest Jazz Collective’s route for a test run this spring.

  • Theo_Croker_by_Bruno_Baretto.jpg

    To record Dream Manifest (Dom Recs), Croker convened artists from his current and recent past ensembles, plus special guests.

  • Kandace_Springs_by_Eli_Sethna_copy.jpg

    “There’s nothing quite like it,” Springs says of working with an orchestra. “It’s 60 people working in harmony in the moment. Singing with them is kind of empowering but also humbling at the same time.”

  • James_Brandon_Lewis_by_Julien_Vonier_lo-res.jpeg

    James Brandon Lewis earned honors for Artist of the Year and Tenor Saxophonist of the Year. Three of his recordings placed in the Albums of the Year category.


On Sale Now
August 2025
Anthony Braxton
Look Inside
Subscribe
Print | Digital | iPad