Karen Briggs, violinist extradinaire, composer, and band leader comes to UCLA

The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, Department of Ethnomusicology presented violinist Karen Briggs in a lecture-presentation for the course, "Women in Jazz" (ETHNOMU M109) on Tuesday, 11 March 2008, 11am - 1pm, Schoenberg Music Building, Room 1439.

Born in New York City and raised in Portsmouth, Virginia, Ms. Briggs has performed, recorded, and toured with various noted-performers including new age artist Yanni, appearing at such venues as the Taj Mahal in Agra, India and the Forbidden City in Beijing, China, as well as with the acclaimed hip-hop/neo soul group Soul II Soul, touring throughout America and Japan. Additionally, Ms. Briggs has performed as a guest soloist with Dave Grusin at New York's Carnegie Hall, and she has been featured alongside a diverse roster of artists such as Stanley Clarke, Geri Allen, Wynton Marsalis, Wu Tang Clan, Chaka Khan, Bela Fleck, Francisco Aguabella, the Taliesin Orchestra, just to name a few. Her versatility at improvising across world music systems from Caribbean, Latin, African to Middle Eastern-based idioms has contributed to Karen Briggs' signature style and her overall success in the music industry. Adept at performing both 4- and 5-string acoustic violins, Ms. Briggs is equally accomplished at playing the electric violin. Currently, she is near the completion of her third CD entitled "Soulchestra Groove," which will be released this spring.