Central Park

Cymande / Asha Puthli / Zacchae’us Paul / K.Tea

In association with Giant Step

Jazz royalty and disco pioneer, Asha Puthli returns to SummerStage after a 19 year hiatus. Known for her award-winning vocals on Ornette Coleman’s “Science Fiction” album,the music pioneer has released twelve albums, was a favorite at Studio 54 and placed by Andy Warhol in his time capsule. Her cult classic “Space Talk” was a mainstay at the Paradise Garage and The Loft, sampled by A-list hip-hop artists and launched into space! Her recent acclaimed remix album “Disco Mystic” has garnered her a new generation of fans. For years Cymande was a flame that burned quick but bright; the group, which drew its membership from several Caribbean nations, mixed funk, soul, reggae, rock, calypso, and jazz with African rhythms into a sound they dubbed “nyah-rock.” After releasing three albums between 1971-1974, they disappeared until reforming to tour in the 2010s. They’ll be performing their classics and their brand-new 2025 album Renascence. Zacchae’us Paul is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer with a fresh and irreverent take on Black music and the African diaspora, stretching and bending jazz around Atlanta hip-hop, gospel sounds and philosophies, and the Caribbean rhythms he picked up studying in Puerto Rico. Spinning tunes between sets is DJ K.Tea, an NYC-based DJ from St. Louis and Chicago who crafts sonic journeys that inspire freedom, dance, and discovery within house music. This show is presented in association with Giantstep, an agency with roots in a ‘90s-era party “dedicated to the preservation of funk.”