Jazz And Poetry Performers Headline At Winthrop

March 15, 2001  

ROCK HILL – His jazz performances are described as captivating, sensational and provocative, and his lectures as intellectual and stimulating.

Galen Abdur-Razzaq is a talented and extraordinary flautist who has performed both internationally and domestically for more than 30 years. He has performed with world renowned artists such as pianist Billy Taylor, Houston Person, Melba Moore, Sun Ra, Sonny Phillips, John Patton and others.

Along with the Association of Ebonites, the Dinkins Student Union will sponsor jazz flutist Galen who will present “Women & Jazz” at 2 p.m. March 23 at the Irvin and Jean Kirby Plowden Auditorium, Withers/W.T.S. Building.

Galen, a native of Montclair, NJ, who holds a master’s degree of fine arts from Rutgers, is a master flautist who fuses lectures with musical performances. His lecture “Women & Jazz” chronicles women’s historical influence in the evolution of jazz. Galen explores the styles of these women from early ragtime to post be-bop while performing musical samples of each.

Galen will give a second performance in the auditorium at 8 p.m. Admission to this performance is free with a ticket stub from the 2 p.m. performance. Regular admission to both performances is $3 with Winthrop I.D. and $5 without.  

On March 24, poet and winner of the 1999 People of Color Slam, Staceyann Chin will perform at 8 p.m. at the Dinkins ATS Café along with acoustic soul duo The Day.

Chin, who was also a runner-up in the 1999 Outright Poetry Slam, recently appeared on a segment of “60 Minutes” that dealt with the rise of performance poetry. She is currently a headliner in the American Amazons European tour and has had her work published in the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Singer/songwriter Donn of The Day is a native of Philadelphia who offers honest, no-nonsense lyrics accompanied by fluid melodies. Guitarist Wes of Dover, DE, is a graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston who mixes the cool sounds of jazz and soul with the rhythmic tone of funk and hip-hop. Admission is $3 with Winthrop I.D. and $5 without.