REAL ART WAYS PRESENTS ABU: FAMILY AND FRIENDS, AN EVENING WITH ALVIN CARTER, SR.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2010 | 8 PM
$15 | $10 for Real Art Ways Members, Hartford Residents and Students

Hartford, Connecticut - Real Art Ways and the Port Pie Hat Jazz Series, Hartford Office of Cultural Affairs, are pleased to present a concert of Alvin Carter, Sr. (Abu) on December 10, 2010 at 8 PM. The concert is $15 or $10 for Real Art Ways members, Hartford residents and students.

Abu, a longtime participant in the local music scene in Hartford, is an educator, a percussionist, and an avid supporter of musicians and community. This concert will celebrate his work and will bring together many of his longtime friends and family members.

"We are so pleased to present this concert during Real Art Ways' 35th anniversary season," says Real Art Ways director Will K. Wilkins. "Abu is the beating heart of Hartford's music scene. He is generous with his talents and enthusiasm. This will be a wonderful way to thank him for all he does."

ABOUT ABU

Alvin Benjamin Carter, Sr. has a love for drumming that is obvious to all who have heard him play. He has been playing congas for over 40 years and continues to perform with many of the area's top drummers and musicians.

Abu came to Hartford's S.A.N.D. Everywhere School and the Artists Collective in the early 70's from the Dunbar Cultural and Community Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. He was hired for his first full time job in Hartford at the Artists Collective by Jackie McLean. Since then, he has lectured, taught, and played drums at schools, colleges, community centers, cultural centers, churches, libraries, early childhood daycare centers, senior citizen centers, and correctional institutions all over the state of Connecticut.

The name of "Abubakar Kenyatta Ojinga Molefi" was bestowed upon him by The Communal Family of Afrikans in the Americas and translates to "noble musician, he who drums, and is a keeper of the traditions." Abu has studied and performed with master drummers such as Chief James Hawthorne-Bey of New York and Professor Abraham Adzenyah of Wesleyan University. A founder of the popular group People Of Goodwill, Abu has played with many groups, including with his son, multi-percussionist Alvin Carter, Jr.

This event is made possible with support from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, the Greater Hartford Arts Council's United Arts Campaign, the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, Travelers, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, and Real Art Ways members.

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