The Ringling’s Art of Performance Celebrates Global Jazz

By Scott Ferguson | Photos Courtesy of The Ringling | February 2025

From February through April, The Ringling will bring the world to Sarasota through its Art of Performance series. The infectious rhythms of Africa, the Middle East, Cuba and beyond — including echoes of American jazz and tap dance, the blues, and Spanish and Latin influences — will resound through the Historic Asolo Theater (affectionately known by its acronym as “the HAT”), an intimate showcase on the grounds of the museum complex.

 “A core focus of this season’s Art of Performance is what we’re calling our Global Jazz Series,” says Elizabeth Doud, the Currie-Kohlmann Curator of Performance at The Ringling. “We’re presenting four mainstage performances at the HAT. We call it global jazz because we’re featuring artists that infuse jazz into other global music traditions. 

“We’re excited to present Nélida Karr February 13 and 14. She’s a guitarist and singer-songwriter, and she also performs with a jazz trio. Nélida comes from Equatorial Guinea, the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa. So her music is this beautiful mix of not only traditional African polyrhythms, but also a lot of Spanish influence. 

“In her guitar playing you can hear a lot of the flamenco tonalities and classical Spanish sensibilities. And she brings a wonderful kind of jazz — almost like a scat-style singing approach — to a lot of her vocals. She sings in multiple languages and uses various guitars. She can play a Spanish classical guitar, then switch to a steel-string guitar and play the blues. Nélida takes off like a rocket; she’s such a surprise and so much fun.”

Amir ElSaffar and the Two Rivers Ensemble are next, on February 15 and 16. The group is a sextet that fuses Middle Eastern music with American jazz. Deeply rooted in the musical forms of Iraq and nearby regions, the music also speaks the language of swing, improvisation and group interaction, creating a sound that is distinct from other contemporary cross-cultural musical fusions.

“Amir is based in New York City and has an Iraqi heritage. He has done extensive research in the Middle East around the maqam music system. It’s based on a certain scale of tonal ranges, instrumentation and arrangements that may be familiar if you’ve listened to any Middle Eastern music. His main instrument is the trumpet, but he also plays the santur, a small stringed instrument with origins in Mesopotamia that’s played with little hammers like a dulcimer. He’s brilliant!”

On February 21 and 22, one of Cuba’s most versatile musicians, Alain Pérez, will take center stage. A GRAMMY®-winning singer, songwriter, bandleader and multi-instrumentalist, he is especially known for playing the electric bass. Pérez has shared the stage and recorded with a diverse collection of jazz legends, including the Chucho Valdés Quarter, the Paco de Lucía sextet, Enrique Morente, and the Jerry González Quartet. 

“Alain leads a big band, but he’s bringing his quintet to the HAT,” explains Doud. “He has adapted his orchestral arrangements for a smaller group. So the little riffs, like some of the solo moments, go off into orchestral areas. He’s a master of the many genres of Latin jazz, and a great collaborator. The interplay between Alain and the other musicians on stage is fascinating.”

The series moves to America with the Baby Laurence Legacy Project, featuring Brinae Ali, the Baltimore Jazz Collective and Wendell Patrick, March 14-17. The project, which blends innovative choreography and musical compositions with powerful storytelling, is a tribute to the artistic genius of Baltimore native Laurence Donald “Baby Laurence” Jackson (1921-1974), a tap dancer and singer who worked with the jazz bands of Duke Ellington, Woody Herman and Count Basie. He also appeared with the legendary dancer and singer Josephine Baker.

“Baby Laurence was one of the premier tap dancers, teachers and mentors of young tap artists,” says Doud. “One of the things Brinae is exploring in the work is not only preserving his history, but commemorating him through music and dance. 

“She identifies with his story because she is a vocalist and a tap dancer. She is trying to figure out how to fuse these two musical art forms. Her Baby Laurence Legacy Project includes a jazz ensemble, The Baltimore Jazz Collective — a group of respected musicians who’ve agreed to work with her on this exciting project. She choreographs the performance and dances in it, along with a couple of other dancers.

“One of the exciting things about this to me is that it’s a brand new work. It isn’t premiering here, but Brinae was an artist in residence with us briefly last year with some of her collaborators, so we feel like we’ve been able to make a valuable contribution to the project.” 

Fast-forward from tap dance to hip-hop and street dance with Rennie Harris Puremovement, April 4 and 5. Losing My Religion, a new retrospective creation by Harris, examines the historical use of hip-hop and street dance as languages of protest, resilience and power.

“Rennie is quite a legend in the world of hip-hop dance,” says Doud. “He’s been a teacher and an important mentor in that world. He created Losing My Religion with the help of the 2023 Hermitage Greenfield Prize, presented by the Hermitage Artist Retreat.

Rounding out the Art of Performance global jazz lineup is the Lívia Mattos Trio on April 18 and 19 at the HAT. Mattos is an accordion player, songwriter, vocalist, filmmaker and visual artist from Bahia, Brazil. She blends Brazilian popular music, burlesque jazz, and circus sensibilities. Her trio features her as the leader, plus a percussionist and a tuba player. Their highly original performances feature unique arrangements, inventive lyrics and visual treats.

 “Lívia’s work fits so well into our global jazz framing because it is unmistakably jazz in its configuration. Her influences are from Brazilian popular music, particularly from the northeast of Brazil, which is where she was born and raised. There are a lot of African and indigenous rhythms in her music, as well as the European influence of the accordion. Immigrants from Germany and other European countries brought the instrument to Brazil in the late 19th century. The accordion, of course, is also a traditional circus instrument. 

“On the afternoon of Saturday, April 19 — World Circus Day — Lívia will display her circus arts background when she becomes a roving performer. She’ll dress up as a little circus tent with lights. When she opens the flaps of the tent, you’ll see her inside with her accordion. She’ll walk around the grounds and give an enchanting itinerant concert. She’ll take people from the front gate all the way down to our Circus Museum, while serenading them in a very ‘circusy’ way.”

What better way to celebrate global jazz and the worldwide art of the circus than at The Ringling — the museum complex that is the legacy of circus magnate John Ringling himself?

For more information and tickets to the Art of Performance Global Jazz Series at The Ringling, visit www.ringling.org/explore/art-of-performance. Season subscriptions and tickets to individual performances are also available by phone at 941-360-7339, or in person at the Historic Asolo Theater Box Office at The Ringling, open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.