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Alien odyssey
British pianist plays Fort Greene jazz festival
All that jazz: Aaron Whitby (second from left) and his band will play upbeat tunes from his jazz-funk album “Cousin from Another Planet,” at Bric’s JazzFest on Oct. 24. Photo by Derrick Watterson
COURIER LIFE, OCT. 18-24, 2019 53
HBy Rose Adams e’s got the keys to the
Planet!
A Fort Greene piano
player will invade Brooklyn’s
biggest jazz festival next week,
beaming down with his debut
album as a bandleader. Aaron
Whitby and his crew will play
funky tunes from “Cousin
From Another Planet” on
the opening night of the Bric
JazzFest Marathon, a three-night
extravaganza of blues, soul, and
jazzy performances taking place
all over the Bric House in Fort
Greene from Oct. 24–26.
The album contain eight
sunny songs filled with violins,
guitar, drums, keyboard, and
occasional vocals. Whitby said
that he came up with his out-ofthis
world songs while roaming
Fort Greene with his young son.
“A lot of these tunes kind of
came to me walking to school and
walking home,” said Whitby. “It’s
quite animated and colorful … a
lot of it was inspired by my son.”
The pianist was born in
London, England, but moved to
New York in 1997 to pursue a
career playing jazz. The title of
“Cousin from Another Planet”
riffs on the 1983 movie “Brother
from Another Planet,” about a
black alien who lands in Harlem
and bonds with a human over
their commonalities. As an
immigrant, Whitby said that he
related to the alien’s simultaneous
feelings of estrangement and
familiarity, as an Englishman
living in Brooklyn, and playing
a quintessentially American form
of music.
“One the one hand, it’s that
I’m an immigrant, I’m from
somewhere else. And also I’m an
immigrant to the music,” Whitby
said. But he believes in looking
at the similarities between all
creatures, human and otherwise.
“We’re all cousins,” he said.
The three-day marathon of
jazz, which will feature 21 acts
performing on three different
stages, is the conclusion of a week
of jazz-related events, starting
on Oct. 19 with a free outdoor
concert by rhythm and blues
singer Bettye LaVette. In the
following days, the Fort Greene
arts group will host a poetry slam
and two documentaries about
the history of jazz: “Blue Note
Records: Beyond The Notes,”
which sheds light on the artists
behind the legendary music
label, Blue Note Records, and
“Amazing Grace,” about two
Aretha Franklin performances
from 1972.
“Bric JazzFest Marathon”
at the Bric House (647 Fulton
St. at Rockwell Place in Fort
Greene, (718) 683–5600,
www.bricartsmedia.org). Oct.
24–26; 7:30–11:10 pm. $35 per
night ($30 in advance). Aaron
Whitby performs on Oct. 24 at
9:20 pm.
“Outdoor Kickoff Concert:
Bettye LaVette” at the Plaza at
300 Ashland (Lafayette Avenue
between Flatbush Avenue and
Ashland Place in Fort Greene).
Oct. 19 at 3 pm. Free.
“Brooklyn Poetry Slam” at
Bric House. Oct. 21 at 7 pm. Free.
“Blue Note Records: Beyond
The Notes” at Bric House. Oct. 22
at 7:30 pm. Free.
“Amazing Grace” at the Bric
House. Oct. 23 at 7:30 pm. Free.
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