On Saturday, February 25th (10:00-7:00), the first annual Teachers College Black Graduate Expo 2006 (BGE) will be presenting to Will Calhoun, the Black Graduate Expo 2006 Visionary Leader Award. Calhoun's leadership and innovation has inspired young scholars and professionals to pursue their dreams and work towards ameliorating the global community of the Diaspora.

The purpose of this event is to have undergraduate and graduate students and young professionals of color assemble as a community to address matters relating to the successes and challenges they face in higher education and in the workforce. To close the day's activities, Calhoun, the world-renown, award-winning drummer, will be delivering final remarks as well as performing. Calhoun is a recipient of the Buddy Rich Jazz Masters Award for Outstanding Performance by a Drummer, as well as a member of the two-time Grammy Award -receiving band, Living Colour. In addition to his past work with Living Colour, he has played with some of the all-time greats of rock and contemporary jazz, from Mick Jagger to B.B. King. He is currently touring with his solo project Native Lands. Native Lands (Half Note Records), was recently released by widely acclaimed drummer/musician Will Calhoun. Native Lands can be described as jazz meets world, coupled with trance-inducing urban music.

Not many artists have the vision and artistic energy to be Grammy winners and contribute to so many genres: jazz, rock, hip-hop, ambient, et al, while concurrently producing, touring, creating new projects, working on films, and continually pushing the envelope. Will's latest creation, Native Lands, is his follow-up release on Half Note Records. This dual disc (CD/DVD) combines Calhoun's experiences as he marries his far reaching interests in a genre-bending collection that taps key expressionists from various backgrounds. Among those contributing are Pharaoh Sanders, Mos Def, Buster Williams, Stanley Jordan, Kevin Eubanks, Marcus Miller and Wallace Roney, as well as Nana Vasconcelos from Brazil and Cheick Tidiane Seck from Mali. The DVD includes over ninety minutes of music videos and documentary materials that chronicle the last ten years of Will's life and travels.

Special accolades of Will's drumming virtuosity include honors by Modern Drummer Magazine and Rolling Stone Magazine. Will Calhoun's unique blend of improvisational and hard rock drumming can be found on each of Living Colour's four Epic releases. As a member of Living Colour, Will received a Grammy Award in 1989 for Best Hard Rock Performance by a group and another Grammy in 1990 for Best Hard Rock Performance. Living Colour also won an International Rock Award in 1991 for Best Rock Band. In addition to his work with Living Colour, Will has recorded and/or toured with diverse artists including B.B. King, Mick Jagger, Harry Belafonte, Pharoah Sanders, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, Carly Simon, Run-DMC and Public Enemy. In 2001, Will began working with rapper Mos Def, both as a producer and performer on his critically acclaimed sophomore album, The New Danger.

Teachers College is the largest graduate school of education in the nation. Teachers College is affiliated with Columbia University, but it is legally and financially independent. The editors of U.S. News and World Report have ranked Teachers College as one of the leading graduate schools of education in the country.

For more information please contact:

Dayna Ghiraldi
KSA Publicity
138 West 25th Street
7th Floor
New York, NY 10001
DaynaG@KSApublicity.com
p: (212) 582-5400
f: (212) 582-6513

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