What a Wonderful World - A Tribute to Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald Performers

When you get to know Tina Fabrique, it is easy to understand how her personal dedication, talent and determination have guided her and helped her to reach the goals that once seemed only childhood dreams. From growing up in Harlem, or the responsibilities of young motherhood, to midtown recording studios and New York City Cabarets, Tina has built a career as an actress and singer respected by her peers and in demand by playwrights, producers and directors alike. Equally at home in musicals on Broadway: ” Gospel at Colonus”, “Bring In The Noise Bring In The Funk”, “Ragtime”, and others…or straight dramatic roles such as: “Trouble In Mind”, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Glass Menagerie”. She was honored to have received the Kevin KlienAward and Florida’s, Carbonell Award for her performance as Ella Fitzgerald in “ELLA”, a show which has taken Tina to countless regional theaters and which was cited by Variety as the top grossing Regional show of this decade. She was honored to have created this role, and thrilled at the critical reception to her performance. Tina’s television experience is just as varied; from the drama of “BLUE BLOODS” and “NEW AMSTERDAM”, to singing the original theme for “READING RAINBOW”, and much in between. She is also pleased to have been chosen to sing the title song for the Award Winning film “Mad Hot Ballroom.”

The career of Longineu Parsons, with its many musical pieces and parts, serves as a metaphor for what he calls “the disorder of the human tribe.” The whole of Longineu Parsons is greater than the sum of his parts, and he has made it his mission – and the mission of his own Tribal Disorder Records – to use music as “a force against disorder in the human tribe.” In his own life and career, this “disorder” has come in the form of widely diverse musical passions and pursuits. Growing up in Jacksonville, Florida, Parsons instinctively plays the blues as a native language. After cutting his teeth playing hometown gigs starting in junior high, he toured on the Chitlin Circuit for a few years before attending Florida A&M University for his undergraduate degree. There, two pivotal experiences would help set his course. The first was that he heard the John Coltrane album “Expression” – it opened his ears and changed his life. Though he was already into Miles Davis and “Bitches Brew,” something was different about this. To this day, if Longineu is said to play like anyone, “it’s Trane.” Secondly, he met the famous trumpeter (and FAMU alum) Nat Adderley. Nat took Longineu under his wing and over time, mentor and protégé became lifelong friends. Longineu is honored to play Nat’s cornet as his main horn…