Roots & Branches Concert Series

Sarah Elizabeth Charles
Vocals

Jesse Fischer
Keyboards Piano & background vocals

Yacine Boulares
Saxophones & background vocals

Sam Minaie
Bass

Ele Howell
Drums

Jekoro
Same
War Chant
Better Love
Soke Ijo
Houb Ouna
Chocot
Benskin
Assyko
Pa Kounye A
Chouchou

 AJOYO

Awarded Best Global Music EP at the Independent Music Awards in 2020, AJOYO has taken the jazz and world music scene by storm with their unique blend of North and West African traditions, jazz and soul. The brainchild of composer/saxophonist Yacine Boularès, AJOYO has grown to become a collective effort jointly led with Sarah Elizabeth Charles and Jesse Fischer. The band gained recognition for their 2015 self-titled debut album, praised for its vibrant eclecticism and socially conscious themes: AJOYO’s “music exudes sophistication yet responds to a primordial pulse” (All About Jazz). AJOYO has been featured in the U.S. on NPR's New Music Daily, WNYC The SoundCheck and on international radios in Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia and France, as well as a feature in Oliver Murray’s documentary Ronnie’s about London’s premiere jazz club, Ronnie Scott’s. The band has performed worldwide, including at the Jazzahead Festival, Ronnie Scott’s, Blue Note New York, Bric Jazz Festival, Jazz à Vienne, Festival de Hammamet, and the Habibi Festival.

Travis Rogers, Jr. in The Sentinel describes AJOYO’s sophomore album War Chant as “a spiritual call-to-arms against oppression, greed, fear of others, and isolation—national and individual. AJOYO does it with grace and strength, intelligence and wit, and—most of all—a love and acceptance of who we are and who we should be.”

AJOYO is a joyful ceremony that brings musicians and audiences close together through deep and unrelenting groove, virtuosic improvisations, and sophisticated compositions. It is a celebration of life, love and justice through music: music for the heart, the mind and the body, the kind that is soulful, sophisticated and that makes people want to dance.

YACINE BOULARES is a French-Tunisian saxophonist, composer and curator, hailed by Radio France Internationale as “one of the most talented jazzmen of his generation.” A graduate of the Paris National Conservatory and the New School for Jazz, as well as a Fulbright scholar, Boulares has collaborated with such artists as Placido Domingo, and toured with Fela Kuti's ex- drummer Jojo Kuo and Haitian Kompa legends Tabou Combo. In 2015, together with cellist Vincent Segal and drummer Nasheet Waits, he formed the trio Abu Sadiya, receiving a grant from the French American Jazz Exchange grant, the Arab Fund for the Arts and Culture and the Brooklyn Arts Fund, releasing an album,h ailed by Le Monde as “a glittering instrumental suite, all fluidity and golden colors.” He is the founder of the Habibi Festival in New York, the first U.S. music festival dedicated to contemporary Arabic music. In 2020, through a commission from Théâtre National de l’Opéra de Tunis, Boulares created Night in Tunisia, blending Tunisian rhythms, Soul and Arabic traditions. He is a 2023–-24 National Arts Club Fellow.

SARAH ELIZABETH CHARLES is a rising vocalist/composer based in New York City. She has worked and studied with artists such as George Cables, Geri Allen, Nicholas Payton, Sheila Jordan, Jimmy Owens and Carmen Lundy. An active vocalist in a number of bands, including SCOPE, AJOYO, Manner Effect, Transient Beings, Enoch Smith Jr. and Ben Rando, Charles has performed at venues ranging from The White House and Carnegie Hall to international jazz festivals and the Blue Note. Charles' musical output has been described as a “genre of one” (DownBeat Magazine), “soulfully articulate” (The New York Times) and “an unmatched sound” (Jay Z’s Life+Times). Charles recently released her fourth album, Blank Canvas, and is embarking upon many other creative endeavors.

JESSE FISCHER is a Brooklyn-based pianist, composer, and producer. Known for his warm, soulful touch and emphasis on melody, groove, storytelling and emotion, his unique voice combines elements of his own Jewish heritage with music of the African diaspora, jazz, hip- hop, and singer-songwriter genres. A recent awardee of the South Arts Jazz Road grant, as well as a three-time ASCAP Plus Award winner, Fischer has performed with many notables oin the jazz, pop, and world music scenes, including Becca Stevens, Sarah Elizabeth Charles, Mino Cinélu, Grace Kelly, Lakecia Benjamin, and Deva Mahal. He has released several records as a leader, most recently Resilience (self-released, 2020) and the Herbie Hancock/Head Hunters remix project Vein Melter (Tru Thoughts, 2015), created jointly with producer/multi-instrumentalist Sly5thAve and served as producer and engineer of AJOYO's sophomore release, War Chant.

ELE SALIF HOWELL officially began his drumming career at the tender age of two, with the gifting of his first drum set. Born and raised in the Bay Area of Northern California, he studied piano and composition with Art Khu and played in after-school Oaktown Jazz Workshops. He, continueding his music studies at NYU, where he met drum master Lenny White, forming a close apprenticeship that was decidedly old school. At six years old, Howell first met Christian Scott at Yoshi's in Oakland, Ca, where he sat in with the band. Today, he is on tour with Chief Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, with upcoming shows across the world. The Coltrane name has always been a part of his musical journey, and that remains relevant today, as he joins the band of Ravi Coltrane, son of jazz legend and saxophonist, John Coltrane’s band.

SAM MINAIE is an Iranian-American bassist and producer, born and raised in Reno, Nevada, where he attended the University of Nevada, Reno. After receiving his undergraduate degree in Reno, Minaie moved to Los Angeles to study with Charlie Haden at California Institute of the Arts, where he received his Master’’s degree. Currently living in New York City, he has enjoyed touring and recording throughout the world with artists, including Tigran Hamasyan, Kneebody, Donny McCaslin, Dhafer Youssef, Charlie Haden’s Liberation Orchestra (tuba), Peter Epstein, Ravi Coltrane, Jeff Ballard, Nate Wood, Mark Guiliana, Patti Austin, Melody Gardot, Butch Morris, Tootie Heath, Jean-Michel Pilc, Ari Hoenig, Nate Wood, Ben Wendel, Houman Pourmehdi, Alfred Ladzekpo and numerous others. As a producer and post- production engineer, Minaie has either written for, mixed or mastered dozens of records. He is the founder of birdFood Studio in NYC.