Monday, March 9, 2014 | 7:00 p.m. | Featuring Karen Smith

To satisfy the universal need for deep grooves and sweet sounds, the Music Department at the Parkway Central Library is collaborating with the Philadelphia Jazz Project and the Producers’ Guild to bring you The Mysterious Travelers Concert Series. Through free, monthly concerts running through April 2015, audiences will hear from veterans as well as up-and-coming musicians who are shaping the future sounds of Philadelphia. You heard it here first at your Free Library of Improvisation!

Karen L. Smith is a percussionist, playwright, director, producer, poet, and educator. She is originally from Brooklyn and migrated to Philadelphia in 1993. She has two musical groups: Weez the Peeples, a jazz ensemble, and Sistahs laying down hands, laying hands down with love, a collective filled with vocals, dance, and drumming. Sistahs was part of the pre-opening event for the Al Jarreau & David Sanborn on August 21, 2014at the Dell Music Center and Sistahs will be the opening group for Lancaster Avenue 10th Annual Jazz Festival in July of 2015.

Philadelphia Jazz Project (PJP) works to inspire a network to support, promote, archive and celebrate the diverse elements within the Philadelphia jazz community, with the larger goal of connecting to the global community. PJP is a sponsored project of the Painted Bride Art Center, with funding provided by the Wyncote Foundation.

The Producer’s Guild’s mission is to ensure that the appreciation and enthusiasm for the rich cultural heritage of African American Arts continues to thrive in Philadelphia, especially Black Classical Music, commonly known as JAZZ.

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