By Sean Yoes
Special to the AFRO
Internationally acclaimed singer and Baltimore community activist Navasha Daya will celebrate her birthday in grand fashion this year by honoring two of the greatest musicians of the 20th century: Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington.
Daya will perform at the Keystone Korner, one of the top jazz venues on the East Coast, on May 19 for two shows (5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.), exploring the catalogs of these two titans of American music.
This birthday bash tribute concert (Daya and Fitzgerald share a birthday on April 25; Sir Duke’s is April 29) is a show Daya says she has been looking forward to.
“I have been eager to stage this show for a long time,” Daya told the AFRO.
“Duke Ellington is a composer I deeply admire, and I have a special fondness for Ella’s voice and she and I share a birthday,” she added. “As all three of us are Taureans, I felt it fitting to schedule the show during Taurus season. It is fascinating that this year, this show coincides with the birthday of another luminary, Malcolm X.”
Daya is completing work on her highly anticipated album, “Legacy (A Tribute to Gil Scott-Heron),” in loving praise of her late cousin.
Daya has shared the stage with many other great contemporary artists, including Hugh Masekela, Jill Scott, Common, Angelique Kidjo, Erykah Badu, Rachelle Farrell and Cassandra Wilson, to name a few.
Grammy-Award winner India Arie described Daya’s voice as “the true definition of soulful.”
Beyond the stage, the multi-talented singer, producer and arranger is a committed cultural arts and community activist. Daya and her husband, music producer and filmmaker Fanon Hill are founders of the Youth Resiliency Institute based in the Cherry Hill community of South Baltimore. The group’s mission is, “to utilize the arts to mobilize and bring change and equity in the community,” according to Daya.
The Youth Resiliency Institute is preparing for its annual Cherry Hill Arts and Music Waterfront Festival, held on July 4 in South Baltimore’s Middle Branch.
For more information on Daya’s tribute to Fitzgerald and Ellington at the Keystone Korner, visit this link.
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