The Best Of Both Worlds! 

Herlin Riley & Friends + Quiana Lynell

Friday, September 15, 2023

Doors: 7:00PM Show: 8:00PM 

Tickets: $20 advance / $30 at the door

Café Istanbul

2372 St. Claude Avenue

New Orleans, LA

Herlin Riley & Friends

Herlin Riley is a native of New Orleans, and a member of a very musical family (the Lastie Family). Today he’s considered to be one of the most premier and prolific drummers in the world. The range of his musical experiences and drumming skills make Herlin a “first-call” for performers, recording artists and teaching engagements throughout the country and the world.

Herlin started on the drums when he was three years old, played trumpet throughout high school, then went back to drums after college. Soon thereafter he began getting more calls to play drums than trumpet, so in the early 80’s, Herlin switched to playing the drums exclusively and was called to London, Australia and Europe to play in a 1920’s musical style called “One Mo Time”. Immediately upon his return, Herlin received got the call to play with trumpeter Al Hirt’s band, and 5 years with jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal followed.

In 1988, Herlin was invited to play with Wynton Marsalis’ Quintet, which augmented to a septet and later became The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. As a member of the LCJO, Riley played a large role in developing the drum parts for Wynton’s Pulitzer Prize-winning album “Blood On The Fields”. Herlin has also played and/or recorded with Harry Connick Jr., Jon Batiste, George Benson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, Ruth Brown, Dr. John, Cubanismo, McCoy Tyner, John Clayton, Dee Daniels, Ambrose Akinmusire, Junko Onishi, Yutaka Shiina, Rufus Reid, Ellis Marsalis, Steve Turre, Branford Marsalis and many more. Locally, Riley and fellow New Orleans drummers Shannon Powell and Jason Marsalis formed a group called The New Orleans Groove Masters. The Groove Masters recorded a single entitled “Get Back” during the COVID pandemic in 2020.

Herlin is also an educator and lecturer in jazz drumming and percussion; he was an adjunct professor at the Bienen School Of Music at Northwestern University, The Julliard School Of Music in New York, and in The University Of New Orleans’ Jazz Studies program. He has released four recordings as a leader: Watch What You’re Doing and Cream Of The Crescent on the Criss Cross Jazzlabel, and New Direction and Perpetual Optimism on the Mack Avenue label.

Herlin Riley has been called “The Baron Of The Boom Boom and the Pulse that keeps the life flowing through any body of work”, and is ready to kick out the jams for everyone joining this very special party.

Quiana Lynell

Singer and songwriter Quiana Lynell approaches music with a rare combination of grace and grit. The multi-faceted talent, who works in a variety of genres, is a limitless masterclass personified. Her love for music carries over into all interactions of her life – from singing in clubs or performing huge showcases – to teaching collegiate courses and having a little bit of fun on TikTok.

Like so many significant artists, Quiana comes from the church. Secular music was not permitted in her childhood home in Texas, but she always knew she was a singer of multiple genres. Her local public school had music education beginning in kindergarten, so she gained a preliminary sense of how music works at a young age. She later perfected these skills at Louisiana State University where she obtained a BA of Music.

After years of honing her craft across the country, in 2017, she made her salient mark on the musical world as a wise, heartfelt, warm vocalist whose voice is singular in its soul, intensity, ecstasy, and outright spiritual courage. She played with her trio at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival which led to her performing in Poland with trumpeter Terence Blanchard’s Spike Lee tribute with a 75-piece orchestra. That November, after considering for a couple of years whether she was ready, she decided to vie for the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition Award. She commanded the finals stage at NJPAC’s Victoria Theater and wowed the judges and audience with her vocal prowess that earned her the prize, which afforded her the opportunity to record an album for Concord Records. The result, 2019’s A Little Love, produced by the renowned Brian Michel Bacchus, is testament to what a rare, mesmerizing artist can achieve on her auspicious debut.

While she enjoyed that breakthrough moment in 2017, Quiana has utilized her gifts in several ways throughout her career. She sees each opportunity to share music with any audience as a chance to create memories and build the soundtrack of life. Whether she is leading the band or supporting other artists, she is thankful to have the opportunity to sketch new memories that last a lifetime. When she takes the stage, she guides the listeners on a journey, allowing the simplest of melodies to entrance the listener. She works to create an environment where love is paramount, emphasizing the importance of self-worth and respect through her music. She speaks uplifting lyrics to those who have been broken hearted and stresses the importance of not letting the past dictate your future.

Quiana harnesses her voice as a true instrument and performs various genres of music with precision and validity. She frequents the stage as a clinician, performer, arranger, bandleader, and songwriter. She has performed with Nicolas Payton, Tank and the Bangas, Patti Austin, Ledisi, Herbie Hancock, Jon Batiste, and countless other contemporary music luminaries. She’s graced stages such as Lincoln Center, Dizzy’s, The Kennedy Center, Marian’s Jazz Room, Carnegie Hall, and Playboy Jazz Festival among many others.

Quiana is a Recording Academy Governor for the Memphis Chapter and an Artist in Residence at Interlochen School of the Arts. She served four years as a Jazz and Popular Music professor at Loyola University in New Orleans. She’s received the keys to the city from three Louisiana cities – Donaldsonville, Gonzales, and Baton Rouge, and she was the 2022 recipient of the Baton Rouge Legacy Award.

As with many artists around the world, Quiana reconnected with longtime friends and contemporaries during the height of the COVID pandemic. Spending time digging into the music of Betty Davis, Nancy Wilson and Dinah Washington, Marva Wright, Betty Wright and Millie Jackson, Lynell was reminded of the influence New Orleans music rhythm and blues has had on her. On a whim, she contacted a host of old band members, and together in one afternoon they created a magical Tiny Desk submission that garnered national press as the Best Jazz Submission of 2021, an original composition entitled “Tweedlee Dee” which playfully pits vocalist against the horn section while the rhythm is lock tight. This reinvigorated and reminded her of where it all began, and of the soul and blues of New Orleans that the horns bring to the bandstand. The constant communication and conversation drives everything as the section acts as a Traditional New Orleans Band like one would hear in Preservation Hall, Lynell adding to the texture with her vocals and storytelling.

Tonight’s show features Quiana presenting an intimate evening of musical exploration at the highest levels, and promises a very memorable journey indeed.

The Best Of Both Worlds! 

Herlin Riley & Friends + Quiana Lynell

Friday, September 15, 2023

Doors: 7:00PM Show: 8:00PM 

Tickets: $20 advance / $30 at the door

Café Istanbul

2372 St. Claude Avenue

New Orleans, LA

The Fine Print:

By purchasing a ticket to this event, the buyer agrees to be filmed, videotaped and/or otherwise recorded for possible inclusion in webcast, digital download, DVD and/or CD release, and/or any other exploitation of the event without limitation or compensation of any kind, and agrees to allow organizers to use his/her image and/or likeness without limitation or compensation of any kind.

>> FACEMASKS NOT MANDATED, BUT APPRECIATED <<

ALL SALES ARE FINAL. LINEUP SUBJECT TO CHANGE. NO REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES.

By purchasing this ticket, you confirm to the maximum extent permitted by law that (1) you understand and voluntarily assume all risks associated with attending this performance, including but not limited to COVID-19, and (2) you covenant not to sue Café Istanbul, Poolside Presents, Herlin Riley, Quiana Lynell or any related persons or entities in connection with any such risks.

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