Get ready for an exciting, energized event blending West African dance, music and American jazz.  Tonight, Friday, Jan. 15, at 7:30 p.m., Jazz Vistas presents "African Connections" -- the next in the Dwight-Englewood School's 2009-'10 Head of School Series.  The concert takes place in Hajjar Auditorium in the Klein Campus Center.

African Connections presents the collaborative expertise of D-E Music Faculty members Rob DeBellis and Robert Levin, in partnership with the Jazz Vistas Ensemble and the talents of Ghanaian dancers Vida Mawufemor and Victor Koblavi Dogah. The group will perform great American jazz composers Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner, and Don Cherry, along with West African music and dance.  Musicians Marcus Gilmore (drums); Brad Jones (bassist); Allen Farnham (piano) and Joe Galeota, director of the JAG Drum and Dance Ensemble, will round out the ensemble. The concert is generously sponsored by the Grace and Mercy Foundation.  African-inspired dishes and beverages will be served.    

Tickets for "African Connections" are priced as follows:
>  $ 10 for D-E  Students, Faculty/Staff, Seniors & Alumni
>  $ 25 General Admission at the Door

The D-E Head of School Series is designed to showcase exceptional professionals in the fine and performing arts. Two remaining events are scheduled for this academic year:

>  April 9, 2010:  315 East, A Chamber Ensemble will perform the universally-popular The Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns on April 9 in Schenck Auditorium.

>  May 22, 2010:  Internationally-acclaimed and award-winning string ensemble The Cavatina Trio performs, featuring violinist Harumi Rhodes, a Dwight-Englewood graduate of the Class of ’97.