Due to forecasted winter weather, Sunday’s presentation of the NCCU Vocal Jazz Ensemble will be canceled and not rescheduled. Interested patrons can attend the ensemble’s free performance on Saturday, December 8 at 1 PM at Durham Fruit & Produce Company.

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The NCCU Vocal Jazz Ensemble, directed by Lenora Helm Hammonds, was named Best Choir at the annual HBCU Awards ceremony presented by HBCU Digest recognizing the excellence of more than 100 historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the nation. The internationally-acclaimed NCCU Vocal Jazz Ensemble was founded in 1992 and is comprised of undergraduate and graduate students. The ensemble has performed throughout North America, Europe, and the Caribbean, with appearances at the White House, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Montreux Jazz Festival, and many others. Most recently, NCCU Vocal Jazz Ensemble and NCCU Jazz Ensemble performed to packed audiences and standing ovations at the 2017 Jazz Education Network Conference in Dallas, TX. The Vocal Jazz Ensemble’s 2017 release, Take Note, covers tunes by artists such as Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis, and includes original songs written for the ensemble.

At In the Jazz Tradition the ensemble will perform tunes by composers including Nina Simone, Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane, Jimmy Heath/Roberta Gamberini, Take 6, Count Basie/Joe Williams, Miles Davis, Abbey Lincoln, Duke Ellington/Ella Fitzgerald, Lenora Helm Hammonds, and Maurice Myers. Tunes include “African Flower,” “Black Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair,” “Caravan,” “Conversations with God (Dear Lord),” “Everyday I Have The Blues,” “Freddie Freeloader,” “How High The Moon,” “I Got It Bad,” “In a Mellow Tone,” “Little Sunflower,” “Minton’s,” “Moody’s Groove,” “My Foolish Heart,” “Naima,” “Rio Dawn,” “Sassy Samba,” “Speak No Evil,” and “Throw It Away,” amongst others.

VJE Personnel
Judner Attys
Jawan Davidson
Laurence Horn
Malik Denny
Najma Pettiford
Tyquon Garrett
Tyra Scott
Dupresha Townsend
Samantha Williams
Stephanie Hamilton
Susie Cross
Kadiatou Fofana

VJE Instrumentalists
Matt Reid, piano
Lydia Salett Dudley, piano
Ginnae Koon, bass
Christian Sharp, bass
Jasmine Best, drums
Dorien Dotson, drums
Lenora Helm Hammonds, Director

assisted by Professors Ed Paolantonio, piano & Maurice Myers, voice