Burning Coal's MusiCoal Series Presents Al Strong and The Art of Cool in Raleigh Tonight, 8/5

Burning Coal Theatre Company's MusiCoal summer music series will feature Al Strong and The Art of Cool tonight, August 5, 2012 at 7 PM. The show will take place at the Murphey School, located on 224 Polk Street in Raleigh. Tickets are $10 at the door.

Washington, D.C. native, Albert Strong IV, is a well known trumpeter, arranger, and composer. He first emerged on the scene in 1998 as a jazz studies major at North Carolina Central University, (NCCU), and has been an important figure in the current local jazz scene ever since. He has performed and recorded with local artists like Mavis Swan Poole, Yahzarah, and Zakiyah. While attending Duke Ellington School for The Performing Arts in D.C., Strong received mentoring by some of the best-known names in jazz, such as Wynton Marsalis, Nicholas Payton, and Terrance Blanchard. He also gained performance experience at some of the world's biggest Jazz Festivals, such as North Sea and The Montreaux. Strong is currently an adjunct professor for the NCCU Jazz Studies program. Despite the fact that he has spent much of his life in D.C. and abroad, he still considers Durham to be one of the most culturally vibrant cities in the country, and is glad to now call it home. Strong's vision is to stay true to the style of music he presents, while still honoring the musicians of the past.

The Art of Cool Project is a jazz and art advocacy project led by trumpeter, Al Strong, and Cicely Mitchell of Al Strong Music Productions. Art of Cool strives to intertwine artistic, economic, and cultural boundaries in order to develop a diverse mix of people and creativity. The project is a unique collaboration between the music and art communities to bring both creative mediums to supporters in an intimate concert setting.

Burning Coal's MusiCoal is a summer concert series designed to provide an eclectic array of music to the Raleigh community. For further information, visit the website at www.burningcoal.org.

Burning Coal Theatre Company is one of Raleigh's small, professional theatres. Burning Coal is an incorporated, non-profit [501 (c) (3)] organization. Burning Coal's mission is to produce literate, visceral, affecting theatre that is experienced, not simply seen. Burning Coal produces explosive reexaminations of overlooked classic and modern plays, as well as new plays, whose themes and issues are of immediate concern to our audience, using the best local, national and International Artists available. We work toward a theatre of high-energy performances and minimalist production values. The emphasis is on literate works that are felt and experienced viscerally, unlike more traditional linear plays, at which audiences are most often asked to observe without participating. Race and gender non-specific casting is an integral component of our perspective, as well as an international viewpoint.