A mighty cross-cultural celebration

It all began on a gray January morning nearly a year ago, when Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and trumpet titan Wynton Marsalis joined West African drum master Yacub Addy and his drum ensemble Odadda! at The Egg in Albany for the first rehearsals of an ambitious new musical collaboration.

Born and raised in Ghana, Yacub Addy now lives in Latham and teaches at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy and Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs. But his most magical moment of the year took place in the Congo Square section of Louis Armstrong Park in New Orleans in April, when he premiered that new, full-length collaboration.

Nearly 2 1/2 hours long, "Congo Square" fused together the earthy African drum tradition with the soaring sound of jazz in a marathon cross-cultural concert that examined not only the birth and history of jazz itself, but also the recent devastation of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina and the city's determination to rise from the ruins.

Performed by Addy, Marsalis and their respective ensembles, Odadaa! and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the stage was awash in a colorful crowd of 27 musicians playing a sprawling one-world fusion of African percussion, jazz, gospel, blues and even a bit of hip-hop.

Following the New Orleans premiere, Odadaa! and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra embarked on an East Coast tour, with a dozen performances of "Congo Square" stretching from Florida to Manhattan.

Unfortunately, "Congo Square" didn't have a Capital Region performance, getting only as far north as Lincoln Center in New York City. But don't give up hope just yet. Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra are slated to reteam with Addy and Odadaa! for at least one additional performance of "Congo Square" in London in July. Who knows? Just maybe they could play a warm-up gig here in Albany before they head across the Atlantic.