ELEW Gathers Entertainers for Rockjazz For Japan

NEW YORK, March 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Rockjazz pianist ELEW today announced the details of an upcoming benefit he is holding on Thursday, March 31 at the Gramercy Theater in New York City, in cooperation with Live Nation and Party With Purpose to benefit the relief efforts of humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders and Save The Children for victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

The event will include performances by two-time Grammy Award-winning jazz legend Cassandra Wilson and a special spoken word performance by Academy Award Winner Forest Whitaker.  The event will also feature NYC-based Great Big Planes, fresh off of their appearance at SXSW.  The critically acclaimed dance company Complexions Contemporary Ballet, will also perform their hit dance piece "Rise," set to the music of U2.

Who:   ELEW, Cassandra Wilson, Forest Whitaker, Great Big Planes and special guest Complexions Contemporary Ballet.

What:   Rockjazz Pianist ELEW Brings Together Luminaries from the Worlds of Music, Film, Dance and more to Raise Money for Japan Relief.

When:   Thursday, March 31. Doors at 7:00PM. Event Begins at 8:00PM.

Where:  Gramercy Theatre, 127 East 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010

Why:  Fundraiser Performance to Benefit Relief Work in Japan.  Party With Purpose Will Donate 100% of Proceeds To Doctors Without Borders and Save The Children.

Tickets are $100 for regular admission and $150 for VIP seating and pre-party.  Tickets are available at www.partywithpurpose.org/Japan.html.

Please contact Nancy Hirsch at 212-967-3805 or [email protected] if you are a journalist interested in covering this event.

About ELEW

A modern day pop artist and musical revolutionary, ELEW is making a substantial impression on the music world with a thunderous new style of playing: an inspired melding of ragtime, rock and pop that he calls Rockjazz. As he continues to gain notoriety with his blistering renditions of infectious rock and pop anthems by Coldplay, The Killers, Nirvana, and more, he has broken free of the rigidly defined boundaries of the traditional jazz world and ultimately given birth to something wholly original. Learn more at www.ELEWROCKJAZZ.com.

About Live Nation

Live Nation Entertainment is the world's leading live entertainment and eCommerce company, comprised of four market leaders: Ticketmaster.com, Live Nation Concerts, Front Line Management Group and Live Nation Network. Ticketmaster.com is the global event ticketing leader and one of the world's top five eCommerce sites, with over 26 million monthly unique visitors. Live Nation Concerts produces over 20,000 shows annually for more than 2,000 artists globally. Front Line is the world's top artist management company, representing over 250 artists. These businesses power Live Nation Network, the leading provider of entertainment marketing solutions, enabling over 800 advertisers to tap into the 200 million consumers Live Nation delivers annually through its live event and digital platforms. For additional information, visit www.livenation.com.

About Party With Purpose

Party With Purpose (PWP) is recognized as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization whose goal is to promote events that combine the best social events with charitable causes. All proceeds go directly to a selected local charity or local office of a national charitable organization. Charities have included: The Alzheimer's Association, American Cancer Society, Boys & Girls Club of Hudson County New Jersey and New Orleans, Jubilee Center, Jeremy's Heroes, CASA, Clean Ocean Action and Police Athletic League of New York City. PWP originated in Hoboken, New Jersey November 2002 and was founded by Scott Delea. Party With Purpose members and event attendees are a group of successful professionals looking to make a difference while juggling busy schedules and lives. That's why Party With Purpose believes in the motto: "Work Hard, Play Hard, Give Hard." For more information on Party With Purpose, please visit www.partywithpurpose.org.

About Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization created by doctors and journalists in France in 1971. Today, MSF provides aid in nearly 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters. MSF provides independent, impartial assistance to those most in need. MSF reserves the right to speak out to bring attention to neglected crises, to challenge inadequacies or abuse of the aid system, and to advocate for improved medical treatments and protocols. In 1999, MSF received the Nobel Peace Prize. Learn more at www.doctorswithoutborders.org.

About Save The Children

Save The Children is the leading independent organization creating lasting change in the lives of children in need in the United States and around the world. Recognized for our commitment to accountability, innovation and collaboration, our work takes us into the heart of communities, where we help children and families help themselves. We work with other organizations, governments, non-profits and a variety of local partners while maintaining our own independence without political agenda or religious orientation. When disaster strikes around the world, Save The Children is there to save lives with food, medical care and education and remains to help communities rebuild through long-term recovery programs. As quickly and as effectively as Save The Children responds to tsunamis and civil conflict, it works to resolve the ongoing struggles children face every day — poverty, hunger, illiteracy and disease — and replaces them with hope for the future. Learn more at www.savethechildren.org.

About Complexions Contemporary Ballet

It is artistic directors Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson's lifelong appreciation for the artistic & aesthetic appeal of the multicultural that forms the cornerstone of Complexions Contemporary Ballet's singular approach to reinventing dance. Founded in 1994, Complexions' groundbreaking mix of methods, styles, cultures has created an entirely new and exciting vision of human movement over the past decade-and-a-half. The company's foremost innovation is that dance should be about removing boundaries, not reinforcing them. Whether it be the limiting traditions of a single style, period, venue, or culture, Complexions transcends them all, creating an open, continually evolving form of dance that reflects the movement of our world—and all its constituent cultures—as an interrelated whole. It is Rhoden and Richardson's unique career paths that have paved the way for them to re-define dance—as their multifaceted resumes will show, neither has ever been comfortable with his art being placed in a box. Instead, from E! to PBS to VH1, from Cirque de Soleil to the Joffrey Ballet to So You Think You Can Dance, the two have allowed the transformative power of their art to flow freely throughout the entertainment world—their creative vision restricted by nothing but the limits of the human body itself. Together, Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson have created in Complexions an institution that embodies its historical moment, a sanctuary where those passionate about dance can celebrate its past while simultaneously building its future. In the 16 years since its inception, the company has born witness to a world that is becoming more fluid, more changeable, and more culturally interconnected than ever before—in other words, a world that is becoming more and more like Complexions itself. Learn more at www.complexionsdance.org.

About Cassandra Wilson

The voice is more visual than audible; shaded, iridescent, tangible, substantial. It seems to flow effortlessly. Read any of the dozen or so biographies on Cassandra Wilson and you'll discover some basics: born and reared in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s and 70s by musician and educator parents. Classically trained on piano from age 6  until the age of 13, she also received further musical instruction as a clarinetist for the concert and marching bands of secondary school. During the 70s, she could be found performing Joni Mitchell songs behind an acoustic guitar, or singing with a blues band in Little Rock, Arkansas, in front of a large funk band in Jackson, or in the company of long-time friends in an all-girls ensemble. In the eighties, Cassandra moved to New Orleans where she performed with local luminaries Earl Turbinton and Ellis Marsalis.  After a year, she relocated to East Orange, New Jersey where she made a decision to take her chances on the New York jazz scene. After a stint as the main vocalist with Steve Coleman's M-Base Collective, Cassandra began recording on her own. Her development can be tracked through her discography. From the standards on Blue Skies to the Grammy-winning projects New Moon Daughter and Loverly, to the combination of originals and interpretations played by a collection of Mississippi and New York musicians on both the 2001 release, Belly of the Sun, and 2003's Glamoured, Cassandra continues to evolve as a vocalist, songwriter, and producer. She is a world renowned vocalist, songwriter and producer, with an extraordinary following, but at heart she is still a Mississippi girl whose art reflects her deep musical and cultural roots, anchored in the fertile Mississippi soil. Learn more at www.cassandrawilson.com

About Great Big Planes

Great Big Planes is the type of band you read about in your hometown newspaper. Coming from nothing and reaching for the stars. Despite the odds against them, they have been able to accomplish a lot in a very short amount of time. "It's not easy playing the type of music we play in a time where radio is overrun by auto-tuned pop music," says lead singer / guitarist Josh Moran. "We knew we were coming out at a dangerous time for music, especially being a new band. We didn't realize what a strange and rocky ride it would be." The band started in November 2009. Soon after they joined up with Working Group Artist Management. Moran was recording demos for a solo project when he brought in Pat Campion and Chad Sabo to assist on the recordings. There was an undeniable chemistry with the trio and things soon took off. They chose the name Great Big Planes and released The Lost One EP. The band went from sleeping on couches, benches, and friends' houses to touring the entire country with bands like Never Shout Never, The Bigger Lights, and The Ready Set. The band initially started as an acoustic act but developed into a full band with some help from their friends Boys Like Girls and Third Eye Blind during the Bamboozle Road Show in the summer of 2010. The band eventually added friend Nash Breen to play drums for them full-time.

Learn more at http://www.facebook.com/greatbigplanes.

Press Contact:
Nancy Hirsch
[email protected]
212-967-3805

SOURCE Rockjazz For Japan