Langston Hughes Project Tickets

The essentials

Quick Facts About Langston Hughes Project

• Leadership: The project is directed by Ron McCurdy (trumpet) and features his Langston Hughes Project ensemble during performances.
• Musical concept: Uses Hughes’s 12-part epic poem with jazz cues spanning blues, Dixieland, bebop, gospel, Latin rhythms, Afro-Cuban styles, German lieder, Jewish liturgy, West Indian calypso, and African drumming.
• Discography (most recent first): Langston Hughes: The Dream Keeper (2017) on Mode Records - Avant; Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz (Live at the Huntington Library) (2013) The Langston Hughes Project; The Langston Hughes Project – Live at the Huntington (2010) – label unknown.
• 2025 tour date: February 28, 2025 at Lakewood Cultural Center, Lakewood, CO.
• Major awards: The live Langston Hughes Project performances have won industry recognition, including being named Live Experience of the Year at the JazzFM Awards in London (2015–2016 cycle), and Ron McCurdy has been honored with Jazz Educator of the Year (LA Jazz Society, 2005).
• Awards/roles: Ron McCurdy has served as IAJE president (2000–2002) and has held leadership roles at USC’s Thornton School of Music; he also edits/teaches and leads arts-education initiatives.