July 25 • 5:30 PM • BKCM Garden
Join us at 5:30pm for BKCM’s Midsummer Nights VIP summer garden party with signature cocktails, snacks and singular/memorable conversation. During this exclusive garden party, we’ll be highlighting our Music Therapy Department with a performance by Certified Music Therapist Lloyd Miller, MA, MT-BC, LCAT and a Q&A about Lloyd’s work with the Extreme Kids and Crew Rock Band DaFunkies.
Space is limited! RSVP now to save yourself a spot at the party.
After the VIP Garden party, join us at 6:30pm at the front stoop for a free public concert featuring Key Hutchinson. Learn more below!
This year’s series is curated by rising jazz star and 2023-24 BKCM Jazz Leaders Fellow Melanie Charles, the founder of a collective whose name proclaims a mission: to Make Jazz Trill Again. Melanie has handpicked a lineup of artists who are expanding the borders of contemporary jazz in NYC, infusing elements of R&B, hip-hop, Latin, African and experimental musical traditions across four concerts that offer something for music lovers of all ages and backgrounds.
About Lloyd Miller:
Lloyd H. Miller (MT-BC)
Lloyd H. Miller (MT-BC) came to music therapy after many years as a performing musician, teaching artist, and writer. He’s the founder and frontman of the Deedle Deedle Dees, a long-running band that performs original songs inspired by history, science and folklore. He is also a regularly-gigging musician performing early jazz, R&B, klezmer, bluegrass, pop songs and other genres as a bassist, guitarist and singer.
In NYC, Lloyd is known by families for his weekly community sing-a-longs at a variety of venues. Online, he’s known as the creator of an extensive catalog of videos featuring interactive educational music. He has music-directed many theatrical productions and has co-written many original musicals with children of all ages. He graduated from NYU’s graduate program in music therapy and also holds an MFA in film from Columbia. He has lived in Brooklyn for many years and is thrilled to be part of the Conservatory community.
6:30pm Public Performance – Key Hutchinson
Key Hutchinson
Keyanna “Key” Hutchinson is a versatile guitarist, composer, and producer from Brooklyn, NY whose multivalent influences can be traced to her Caribbean lineage, her love for popular music, her conservatory training and a remarkable musical career supporting performers in the fields of R&B, jazz and other experimental genres. As an artist, she is newly embarking on channeling her knowledge of guitar and music production into a creative exploration of original compositions.
About Melanie Charles:
There are very few artists whose sound can capture the sentiments of a generation. The Brooklyn-born-and-raised Melanie Charles is one of these artists. Over the past few decades, she has made a name for herself through dynamic engagements with jazz, soul and R&B. Her bold genre-bending style has been embraced by a range of artists including Wynton Marsalis, SZA, Mach-Hommy, Gorillaz and The Roots. In 2021, she appeared on NPR’s Tiny Desk and stunned with her eclectic style. Through it all, she has remained committed to making music that pushes listeners to consider new possibilities — both sonically and politically. “Make Jazz Trill Again” a project that she launched in 2016, demonstrates her allegiance to everyday people, especially the youth, and is focused on taking jazz from the museum to the streets. “I love jazz, I really fell in love with it deeply. But I was interested in young people interacting with it,” Charles says. The album Y’all Don’t (Really) Care About Black Women is reflective of Charles’ tremendous versatility and imagination as an artist, but also of her deep care for community.