West African Beats event returns with steel pan & Caribbean jazz

This Saturday, February 11th at 8pm the Dranoff2 Piano Foundation will present the West African Beats, at the Miami Beach Bandshell on Collins Avenue.

The annual concert will celebrate the soul of high art and music that was brought to the Americas, along with the steel drum, as expressed by Leon Foster Thomas' internationally acclaimed Jazz ensemble. West African Beats is a contemporary inspiration of this exciting and important music and will be embodied and interpreted by fellow Trinidadian, choreographer Peter London, who’s eclectic dance company calls Miami home.

From London to Jazz at Lincoln Center, Leon Foster Thomas, one of the leading Trinidadian Jazz band maestros and steel pan superstar, will bring the house down with exciting performances of new works on steel pan, pianos, and Jazz band to coincide with the world premiere of his album, Calasantius.

A pre-concert talk at 7pm will bring together Leon Foster Thomas, Peter London, and musicologist of the African diaspora, Melvin Butler, for a discussion of the influence of West African song and dance on contemporary music and the spirit of the Caribbean heritage in Jazz.

Tickets are available online at www.Dranoff2Piano.org