In celebration of Haitian Heritage month, Haiti Cultural Exchange is presenting a series of programs during the month of May. We invite you to join us!
FANM | DIASPORA NOW! presented in partnership with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Saturday, May 8, 2021
2 to 3pm | Brooklyn Botanic Garden | 990 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11225
Riva Precil featuring Monvelyno Alexis & Markus Schwartz perform a fusion of Haitian Rasin/Roots, Jazz, and African rhythms.
Advance tickets are required. Limited FREE community tickets available here.
Haitian Flag Day Selebrasyon! presented in partnership with Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte, Council Member Farah Louis, and Little Haiti BK.
Saturday, May 15, 2021
4 to 7pm | Brooklyn Commons Rooftop | 495 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11225
Featuring Music by Mozayik, New York’s premiere Haitian jazz ensemble. Haitian bites by GRANDCHAMPS, raffle prizes, and live music.
Honoring Haitian Community Organizations on the Frontlines of the Pandemic:
Diaspora Community Services | Haitian American Nurses Association of Greater New York | Haitian Americans United for Progress | Haitian Community Coalition
Advance registration is required to attend this free event. Please register here
Pauline Jean & Godwin Louis presented in collaboration with Lincoln Center in honor of Haitian Heritage Month
Friday, May 21, 2021
7 -8pm | Lincoln Center, The Club at Hearst Plaza | 30 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023
Vocalist/bandleader Pauline Jean and saxophonist/composer Godwin Louis both share a Haitian-American heritage, impressive musical talent and a love for the rhythms and melodies of their motherland. For this evening performance, presented in collaboration with RESTART STAGES at Lincoln Center, both artists will bring a unique Caribbean island-inspired perspective to a jazz concert celebrating Haiti’s indigenous sounds and powerful grooves.
Featured performers: Godwin Louis, alto sax; Pauline Jean, vocals; Axel Laugart, piano; Jonathan Michel, bass; Allan Mednard, drums; Markus Schwartz, percussion.
Advance Tickets are required, please purchase your tickets here by May 13, 2021 to ensure entry.
Capacity is very limited for this event. In order to serve more guests, one pod per guest is available for reservation. Each pod seats two people and both parties need to arrive together.
Step 1 Click ticketing link to reserve your tickets (only e-tickets are available).
Step 2 Select your timed entry (one pod seats two people; maximum one pod; all seats are accessible).
Step 3 At checkout, agree to Terms & Conditions. Please use scroll bar to the right to accept terms.
Step 4 You will receive an email confirmation of your order.
Step 5 You will receive a separate email with your e-tickets. (All guests need to arrive together. E-tickets can be scanned as a mobile ticket or printed and brought to the event.)
Step 6 One day prior to event, you will receive pre-show email including the COVID-19 screening questionnaire. All guests will be required to take the Health Survey.
Please click here for important pre-arrival COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
About the Artists
Riva Precil is a music artist, dancer, author, and jeweler. When Precil was 5, she moved to Haiti where she resided for 10 years. While in Haiti, Riva was exposed to traditional Haitian music & culture, which greatly influenced her eclectic music & fashion palette. At the age of 18, Riva moved to New Orleans to attend Loyola University New Orleans where she graduated with a Music Therapy degree. Riva performs in New York City alongside her band Bohio Music.
Mozayik‘s musical concept draws upon a rich legacy of traditional Afro-Haitian rhythms and melodies, and blends them with the instrumentation, melodic/harmonic sensibilities, and improvisation of modern jazz. New York City’s premiere Haitian Jazz ensemble released their debut recording in 2000. The self-titled “Mozayik” garnered rave reviews and earned the group a feature on National Public Radio’s “The World “program. In 2002, Mozayik had the honor of representing Haiti in the Havana Jazz Festival, at the invitation of world-renowned Cuban pianist Chucho Valdes. Mozayik has headlined Haitian jazz festivals in New York City at the landmark Sounds of Brazil (SOB’S) and Irving Plaza, in Miami at the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts, as well as in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. In May 2005, Mozayik released “Haitian Creole Jazz”on the Grammy-winning Zoho music label, the recording received extensive national airplay and was a critic’s pick for 2005 in Jazziz Magazine. October of 2020 marked Mozayik’s 20th anniversary as a band.
Pauline Jean is a captivating songstress whose distinctive voice and rousing melodies have caught the attention of audiences both young and old. Pauline brings a refreshing sound to today’s music; creating an erudite blend of worldly jazz that draws from her Creole roots and integrates modern and traditional inflections. She has received considerable press globally from leading media publications such as The Source, DownBeat, Afropop Worldwide, World Music Report, Jazz Times, and many more.
Pauline has performed at the Pori Jazz Festival, Nõmme Jazz Festival, St. Lucia Jazz Festival, Port-au-Prince International Jazz Festival, Martinique Jazz Festival, Annecy Classical Festival, Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Jazz at Lincoln Center-Shanghai, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, and many other prominent jazz venues and festivals around the world. She has presented concert throughout the United States, Africa, Russia, Israel, China, Europe and the Caribbean with her band.
Pauline shares her perspectives on music and life as a musician through teaching private students and workshops for singers on all levels in the US and abroad. She travels to Haiti frequently with a group of musicians, as part of the Experience Ayiti mission, to provide aid, master classes, free concerts, and instrument distribution throughout different regions of the island. Jean is a graduate from Berklee College of Music and a cultural, musical ambassador worldwide.
On August 6, 2020, Pauline debuted her brand new single, Ain’t I A Woman (Singing Truth). She pays tribute to Sojourner Truth, a powerful force in the fight for justice and equality for both African Americans and all women in the United States.
Godwin Louis alto saxophonist, was born in Harlem, New York and began playing saxophone at age nine. Godwin grew up in Bridgeport, Connecticut and Port au Prince, Haiti. Godwin was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Saxophone Competition. He has performed around the globe including: Mali, Senegal, Togo, France, Finland, Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, Russia, Azerbaijan, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Venezuela, Colombia, South Korea, Indonesia and Australia. Godwin is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute for Jazz Performance. Godwin has studied and performed with Herbie Hancock, Clark Terry, Roger Dickerson, Ron Carter, Al Foster, Jack Dejohnette, Jimmy Heath, Billy Preston, Patti Labelle, Toni Braxton, Babyface, Madonna, Gloria Estefan, Barry Harris, Howard Shore, David Baker, Mulatu Astakte, Mahmoud Ahmed, Wynton Marsalis, and Terence Blanchard just to name a few.
In addition, Godwin has performed as a sideman, guest soloist and has conducted clinics and master classes worldwide. As a composer, Godwin has received the Jerome Foundation Emerging Artist Grant, and the Jazz Gallery’s “New Works Commission”. As an educator, humanitarian and ambassador, Godwin has traveled from Benin to China to help promote cross-cultural understanding and introduce thousands to America’s indigenous art form, through public concerts, master classes, and jam sessions. Godwin is the founder of Experience Ayiti, a nonprofit educational, multidisciplinary arts organization. Godwin’s debut album as a leader, entitled “Global”, was released in February 2019.