Imani Records All Stars Featuring Lenora Helm Hammonds

10/06/2023 9:30 PM
Other Showtimes

Imani Records All Stars Featuring Lenora Helm Hammonds

Dr. Lenora Z. Helm Hammonds is a Chicago IL native, Former U.S. Jazz Ambassador two-time Fulbright Senior Music Specialist, and a tenured, Associate Professor in the Department of Music and Jazz Studies Program at North Carolina Central University (NCCU). She is Chair for the Department of Music and Director of Graduate Programs, Jazz Studies. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in vocal jazz performance, jazz ear training, jazz pedagogy and songwriting, and is Director of NCCU Vocal Jazz Ensemble. Dr. Hammonds has authored several academic and student initiatives, including the planning, design, and coordination of an NEA-sponsored Teaching Artist Certificate program. The inaugural recipient of the 2022 Jazz Educator of Distinction award from Jazz Music Awards foundation, her academic award highlights include a Duke University-NCCU John Hope Franklin Digital Humanities Fellowship, 2018 Javett Music Award International Jazz Scholar at University of Pretoria, South Africa, a 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquis Publishing, NCCU’s Excellence in Teaching Award, and receiving the highest faculty honor, the 2021 University of North Carolina Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award. Lenora’s dream for creating access to under-served global populations interested in vocal jazz education was realized in the creation of a library of online vocal training programs at www.LenoraHelm.online. She earned a Bachelor of Music in Film Scoring and Voice from Berklee College of Music, a Master of Music, Jazz Performance from East Carolina University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Education from Boston University. Her research interests are at the intersection of digital humanities, intercultural competence, and Jazz, and is a published author with Routledge, Taylor & Francis, and Springer. https://www.nccu.edu/employee/lhelm

Her achievements in academia are in addition to more than three decades as a recording artist. P/K/A Lenora Zenzalai Helm, she is acclaimed as a jazz vocalist, vocal musicianship coach, lyricist, composer, arranger, and big band bandleader. She has eight commercially released recordings, her own recording and publishing company, Baoule Works Music Publishing, and an extensive discography with internationally renowned names in jazz and contemporary music. Her indie jazz record label, Zenzalai Music, was elected as a 2021American Association of Independent Music/Black Independent Music Accelerator recipient. She is also a 2021-22 Chamber Music America Residency Presenting Jazz Consortium recipient, awarded to present her 11-song suite, Journeywoman, in virtual concerts. Her achievements garnered accolades as “...the voice of her generation,” by Jazziz Magazine. Her 2022 film score projects include The Problem of the Hero (David zum Brunnen), featured at the 2023 Sante Fe Film Festival and Finding Home (Savannah Washington). Composer highlights include a 2023 Garth Newel Piano Quartet composition commission, a guest conductor invitation at Carnegie Hall for the 2024 season, awards from Chamber Music America/Doris Duke’s New Jazz Works, a MacDowell Colony composer fellowship, and scoring music for ESPN Black History Month ads. Her seventh CD, For the Love of Big Band, features her newly formed ensemble, The Tribe Jazz Orchestra® and reached JazzWeek’s top 50 radio list. Inspired to change the face of large ensembles usually lacking gender diversity, Tribe Jazz Orchestra® is Lenora’s effort to bring together a diverse group of men and women, veteran, and emerging musicians from around the globe, based in North Carolina. An eighth recording, Journeywoman, will be released September, 2023. Visit her at www.LenoraHelm.com


Dinner & Show package ~ includes 3-course chef tasting:  $80
VIP Dinner & Show package ~ includes 3-course chef tasting and stage-front seating:  $100
General Admission ~ includes a la carte menu:  $25
(Beverages not included)

Streaming on YouTube: Chris' Jazz Cafe

Dr. Lenora Z. Helm Hammonds is a Chicago IL native, Former U.S. Jazz Ambassador two-time Fulbright Senior Music Specialist, and a tenured, Associate Professor in the Department of Music and Jazz Studies Program at North Carolina Central University (NCCU). She is Chair for the Department of Music and Director of Graduate Programs, Jazz Studies. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in vocal jazz performance, jazz ear training, jazz pedagogy and songwriting, and is Director of NCCU Vocal Jazz Ensemble. Dr. Hammonds has authored several academic and student initiatives, including the planning, design, and coordination of an NEA-sponsored Teaching Artist Certificate program. The inaugural recipient of the 2022 Jazz Educator of Distinction award from Jazz Music Awards foundation, her academic award highlights include a Duke University-NCCU John Hope Franklin Digital Humanities Fellowship, 2018 Javett Music Award International Jazz Scholar at University of Pretoria, South Africa, a 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquis Publishing, NCCU’s Excellence in Teaching Award, and receiving the highest faculty honor, the 2021 University of North Carolina Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award. Lenora’s dream for creating access to under-served global populations interested in vocal jazz education was realized in the creation of a library of online vocal training programs at www.LenoraHelm.online. She earned a Bachelor of Music in Film Scoring and Voice from Berklee College of Music, a Master of Music, Jazz Performance from East Carolina University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Education from Boston University. Her research interests are at the intersection of digital humanities, intercultural competence, and Jazz, and is a published author with Routledge, Taylor & Francis, and Springer. https://www.nccu.edu/employee/lhelm

Her achievements in academia are in addition to more than three decades as a recording artist. P/K/A Lenora Zenzalai Helm, she is acclaimed as a jazz vocalist, vocal musicianship coach, lyricist, composer, arranger, and big band bandleader. She has eight commercially released recordings, her own recording and publishing company, Baoule Works Music Publishing, and an extensive discography with internationally renowned names in jazz and contemporary music. Her indie jazz record label, Zenzalai Music, was elected as a 2021American Association of Independent Music/Black Independent Music Accelerator recipient. She is also a 2021-22 Chamber Music America Residency Presenting Jazz Consortium recipient, awarded to present her 11-song suite, Journeywoman, in virtual concerts. Her achievements garnered accolades as “...the voice of her generation,” by Jazziz Magazine. Her 2022 film score projects include The Problem of the Hero (David zum Brunnen), featured at the 2023 Sante Fe Film Festival and Finding Home (Savannah Washington). Composer highlights include a 2023 Garth Newel Piano Quartet composition commission, a guest conductor invitation at Carnegie Hall for the 2024 season, awards from Chamber Music America/Doris Duke’s New Jazz Works, a MacDowell Colony composer fellowship, and scoring music for ESPN Black History Month ads. Her seventh CD, For the Love of Big Band, features her newly formed ensemble, The Tribe Jazz Orchestra® and reached JazzWeek’s top 50 radio list. Inspired to change the face of large ensembles usually lacking gender diversity, Tribe Jazz Orchestra® is Lenora’s effort to bring together a diverse group of men and women, veteran, and emerging musicians from around the globe, based in North Carolina. An eighth recording, Journeywoman, will be released September, 2023. Visit her at www.LenoraHelm.com


Seating Info
View Seating Chart

Premier Tables:
The best seats in the house positioned directly in front of the performance stage (marked dark blue on the seating map).

Standard Tables:
Clear and unobstructed views of stage (marked purple on the seating map). A few tables have a partially obstructed view (marked light blue on the seating map).

Cocktail & Bar Area:
Seating at high-top tables and at the bar area available on a first come, first seated basis (marked green on the seating map). Tables may be shared for sold out shows. Two TV monitors with live video feed of the performance are conveniently located above the bar and cocktail areas.

  • All ticket prices are per person.
  • Dinner menu available in all sections.
  • Your ticket is also your dining reservation.
  • Every ticket gets a seat in area purchased and tables are reserved based on the date when you made your reservation.
  • We will do our best to ensure that your entire group sits together, please let us know in the order notes if there are multiple ticket orders in your group.
  • For any special needs or accommodation requests, please call us at 215-568-3131.
  • Tickets are the same price whether purchased in person, over the phone or online.
  • No refunds, professional cameras or outside food and drink.
  • There is a limited amount of seating available for performances, if the show is sold out online, contact us at 215-568-3131 for seating availability.

Festival Seating:
Festival seating is our general admission ticket. The entire venue or a portion of the venue may be designated for festival admission. These tickets will guarantee you a seat for the show and you are free to sit anywhere in the venue based on a "first come, first seated" basis. This should also allow for larger groups to sit together.

  • All ticket prices are per person.
  • Dinner menu available in all sections.
  • Your ticket is also your dining reservation.
  • For any special needs or accommodation requests, please call us at 215-568-3131.
  • Tickets are the same price whether purchased in person, over the phone or online.
  • No refunds, professional cameras or outside food and drink.
  • There is a limited amount of seating available for performances, if the show is sold out online, contact us at 215-568-3131 for seating availability.