Critt's Juke Joint

Critt's Juke Joint: Hip-Hop & Urban Arts

Eric Crittenden is an award winning, world recognized performer, songwriter and recording artist. In addition, he has been creating and leading cutting edge and progressive workshops/performances throughout the WNY and NYC areas. Eric has been a Teaching Artist for almost 10 years.

Hip-Hop has become a culture unto itself. Conceived over 30 years ago, little is known about where it came from and what it was intended to represent as opposed to what it has become. Critt's Juke Joint focuses on both the modern and historical contexts of hip-hop and urban art. His aim is to use hip-hop, urban arts and pop culture to reunify our young people, to lift them up, and rid their minds of negativity.

Juke Joint Jazz

Eric and his 5 piece band put on an amazing performance and presentation that recreates those funky, groovy and soulful "get-togethers" that shaped modern day hip-hop and urban music. The Juke Joint, like the churches in the days of slavery, served as an opportunity for Brown people to let loose the grind of being oppressed and to be their musical selves. FYI: Most of the Motown hits were created in the Juke Joint, not the studio!

Grades: K-12
Limit: 200 students per performance

Image Hip Hop Organix

Exciting, empowering, and original hip hop featuring local artists in combination with young people from Buffalo who have been working with Eric in the IMAGE (Individuals Motivated Against Gang Environments) program for the last two years. The performance is a collaboration of songs created for the IMAGE program and the participants own words and original works. This performance is a testament to hip-hop with a positive message.

Grades: 7-12
Fee: single $720 back to back $985
Limit: 200 students per performance

More programs by this artist: Residencies

Cubanana

This Latin music duo gets everyone singing and dancing!  Jesus, is a hit songwriter and musician from Cuba, the Island of Music, and Carrie is a dancer/singer with a Masters in Education and a passion for Hispanic culture that's contagious.  Cubanana serves on Young Audiences and Arts Council rosters throughout the east coast, sharing the joy of Latin music and dance while helping people explore the possibility of dreams.  All programs are available in Spanish and English..

Melodías & Danzas de Cuba

When Cubanana presents popular Cuban music and dance, like the chachacha and the roots of salsa, everyone loves to join in singing, dancing, clapping and playing instruments!  This immersion in Cuban culture, dialect, and history is enriched by stories.

Artists: Carrie Lavender and Jesús Álvarez Bulté
Fee: single $850; back-to-back $1,230
Grades: K-12
Limit: 250
Limited Availability. Call office for details.

Cubanana Workshop

Workshops are available where students experience practicing a variety of songs, rhythms, instruments, dances and lyrics while gaining historical, linguistic and cultural perspectives.  Content and skill level adjusted according to grades.

Artists: Carrie Lavender and Jesús Álvarez Bulté
Workshops Fee: back-to-back $285; Full day $1,230
Grades: K-12
Limit: 30 for Workshops
Limited Availability. Call office for details.

Diaspora Drumming

Diaspora Drumming is a percussion trio dedicated to studying, performing and disseminating the music of the African Diaspora. Members enjoy active teaching and performing careers in a variety of settings.

Echoes of Africa

Ringo, Tiffany and Gabriel take audiences on a trip through time and across oceans, tracing the path of instruments and rhythms from Western Africa to North and South America. Members of this group have studied in Cuba, Brazil, and Mexico, and with teachers from Guinea and Senegal. They perform on authentic instruments from three continents, including the djembe, doundouns, balafon, repinique, timbal, agogos, and tumabadoras. Each "Echoes of Africa" performance also features singing, dancing and audience participation.

Percussion Workshop

Diaspora Drumming Percussion Workshops: Hands-on exploration of rhythmic layering in the Afro-Brazilian style, using authentic instruments such as surdo, repinique, caixa and marcacao.

The Wood that Sings

Starting with Balafons of Guinea in Western Africa, members of Diaspora Drumming perform music for xylophones and marimbas of the African Diaspora. The performance includes music from Guinea, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Mexico and the United States. Students will sing, dance, and experience first-hand the way African and European music came together in these traditions.

Artists: Ringo Brill, Tiffany Nicely & Gabriel Gutierrez
Fee: single $455; back-to-back $753
Workshops Fee: $330
Grades: pre K- 12
Limit: 300 students per performance, 25 students per workshop

Stuart Fuchs

A History of the Guitar

Geography, Science and the Arts come together in this very fun and interactive program.  Through great guitar music and stories, Stuart takes students on a thrilling and playful journey through the history of this very popular instrument.  Stuart performs a wide variety of musical styles on classical, steel string, ukulele and electric guitars-from Bach to Rock!  Stuart's program also includes selections from far reaching influences like the Japanese Koto and the Australian Digeridoo -which have more in common with the guitar than one might think!  With each piece of music performed, students learn about the many historical and cultural influences that helped to create each playing style.  Students also make connections between the different musical cultures found in the world today in order to give them a more global perspective on music. In addition to performing acoustic music, Stuart demonstrates how the electric guitar has broadened the sound palette for the modern guitarist.  Students also get a science lesson in acoustics as they make a "wah-wah" pedal out of their own two hands!

Artist: Stuart Fuchs
Fee: single $340; back-to-back $447
Grades: K-12
Limit: 300 students per performance

Plugged-in Workshop: The Unlimited Possibilities of the Electric Guitar

If students are beginning to learn to play the guitar from recordings and watching MTV, this hands-on workshop will teach them about stomp boxes, feedback, and ways to get their guitars to express a unique and original voice.  Topics will include: what is feedback and how can it be manipulated musically, the origins of tape delay, how to use effects pedals and how to develop an original style.

Artist: Stuart Fuchs
Worskshops Fee: $184
Grades: 6-12
Limit: 30 students per workshop

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