By Andrew Gans
02 Jul 2008

Soul Deep: An Anthology of Black Music is the title of an upcoming concert at Birdland that will honor stage and screen star Phylicia Rashad and raise funds for Broadway Inspirational Voices, the gospel singing group.

The Aug. 18 concert at the famed jazz venue will feature the talents of La La Brooks, Chuck Cooper, Lilli Cooper, Asmeret Ghebremichael, Chad Goodwin, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Justin Keyes, Adriane Lenox, Joshua Melvin, Elisabeth Mendes, Maurice Murphy, Harry Thompson, Destan Owens, Shayna Steele, and Sophia Stephens. Show time is 7 PM.

Singers will pay homage to such entertainers as Bo Diddley, Sarah Vaughn, Donny Hathaway, Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield and Public Enemy, among others.

Broadway Inspirational Voices is a gospel ensemble comprised of actors performing on and off Broadway whose mission is to "bring people of all races and religious backgrounds together to explore and perform traditional American Musical art forms with an emphasis on Gospel music."

Amy Birnbaum and Dominique Sharpton are producing the benefit concert.

Birdland is located in Manhattan at 315 West 44th Street. Tickets, priced $25 and $50 (VIP), are available by calling (212) 581-3080 or by visiting www.birdlandjazz.com.