Category: music

Oklahoma City’s Black Liberated Arts Center Inc. announces headliners for 2010-11 season

Post author By mitchmuse
Post date August 11, 2010

African Children’s Choir

Ailey II Dance Company of New York

Black Liberated Arts Center (BLAC) Inc. of Oklahoma City, OK recently announced headliners for the upcoming 2010-11 season of performing arts and a new venue for ongoing performances.
“Beginning this year, most of BLAC Inc.’s performances will be held at Frederick A. Douglass High School auditorium, said Anita Arnold, BLAC Inc. executive director. “However, the Soul Food Dinner Theater performances will continue to be held at the downtown Petroleum Club. The beautiful 1,200-seat auditorium fits our needs, as well as any other venue in the city, and it is conveniently located. In our 40th anniversary year, it is appropriate that we celebrate it by launching our 2010-11 season at Douglass.”
The African Children’s Choir will open the season at Fredrick A. Douglass High School auditorium on Nov. 7, 2010, and Ailey II Dance Company of New York will perform at the auditorium on March 26, 2011.
Grammy Award -winning jazz saxophonist Kirk Whalum will headline the Soul Food Dinner series in a show, “Kirk Whalum Plays Donnie Hathaway” on Jan. 15, 2010, at the Petroleum Club in Oklahoma City.

Kirk Whalum

“We are excited about our partnership at Douglass High School that includes professional development programs, performances and so much more,” Arnold said. “This is part of how we intend to continue our service to the community. BLAC, Inc. is offering a special Early Bird subscription to the 2010-11 season. It is our way of offering savings on advanced ticket purchases.”
The performances are partially funded through the Oklahoma Arts Council. For more information, call BLAC Inc. at (405) 524-3800.

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Jazz bandleader Gerald Wilson to be included in two upcoming documentaries

Post author By mitchmuse
Post date July 30, 2010

According to a recent news release, recording artist Gerald Wilson will be included in two upcoming documentaries — the first about Cab Calloway, produced by ARTE France and expected to air in America on PBS, and the other about Los Angeles’ storied Million Dollar Theater.
Wilson is best known in the music community as a premier composer, trumpeter, arranger, bandleader and educator. His work has supported some of the greatest names in jazz including Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Bobby Darin, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Carter, Nancy Wilson, Sarah Vaughn and Ray Charles, as well as a scorer for motion pictures and television shows such as Otto Preminger’s “Anatomy of a Murder” and ABC’s variety program “The Red Foxx Show.”
Wilson also scored a top-40 pop hit with El Chicano’s version of his song “Viva Torado” in 1971. Recently, Wilson was in the studio recording new material for his sixth release for the Mack Avenue Records label (which is yet to be titled), a follow up to 2009’s Detroit.
Wilson has earned seven Grammy nominations, a recent NAACP Image Award nomination, a NARAS President’s Merit Award, top Big Band and Composer/Arranger honors in the Downbeat International Critics Poll, the NEA American Jazz Masters Fellowship, two American Jazz Awards for Best Arranger and Best Big Band, and currently his masterpieces are ensconced in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington. His love for jazz and his 30 year educational career in teaching music also earned him the Teacher of the Year award at UCLA in 2008. Most recently, The Gerald Wilson Orchestra’s Detroit (Mack Avenue, 2009) won Record of the Year at the 2010 JazzWeek Awards.
Despite earning such various accolades throughout his career, his road to success hasn’t always been easy. At 91 years old, Wilson has struggled through more than nine decades of opposition to contribute to the fight for civil rights and to share his passion for music with the world. Born in 1918 into a hotbed of racial tension in Shelby, Miss., Wilson was sent by his mother to live with family in Detroit, where his musical talents afforded him the opportunity to attend the performing arts school, Cass Tech High School, a school that was second only to Juilliard at the time. As Wilson will tell you, this is where his musical career truly began.
Wilson’s passion to incorporate his art into his selfless crusade for civil rights has remained paramount in his life and has touched the lives in countless cultures and countries around the world. When asking this humble legend about his great successes, Wilson, who will be 92 years old this September, responds with sincere humility, “I just try to be a person worthy of being a part of this great art form.”

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Tulsa music legend David Teegarden to perform at Oklahoma Jazz Depot

Post author By mitchmuse
Post date July 30, 2010

Tulsa music legend David Teegarden (known to fans as David T.) and his quartet returns to the Jazz Depot, 111 E. First St. (Upper Level) in Tulsa, OK, at 5 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 1, 2010.

The Grammy award-winning artist (in 1981 for “Against the Wind” with Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band) has worked with superstars J.J. Cale, Eric Clapton and Joe Walsh. Sunday’s show will feature Kenny Quinn on piano, Mike Moore on trumpet, Bucky Young on bass, and David T on drums, along with special guest vocalist Chuck Cissel.

General admission tickets are $15 or $10 for seniors and students. Front-row seating is available for $20 per person. For more information, call the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame at (918) 281-8600. Tickets can be purchased online at MyTicketOffice.com or at the door the night of the event. Doors will open at 4 p.m.

David T will be selling his “Live at the Jazz Depot” CD from last summer’s concert for $15 each. Attendees can pick them up in the Gallery at the Depot during and after the concert.

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Timeless Music Festival features Robert Wilson of GAP Band, saxophonist Mike Phillips and comedian Melanie Comarcho on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2010 in Oklahoma

Post author By mitchmuse
Post date July 24, 2010

EDITOR’S NOTE: SINCE THIS POSTED, HAVE SAD NEWS: ROBERT WILSON DIED ON AUG. 15, 2010. MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS GO OUT TO HIS FAMILY, FRIENDS AND MANY FANS. READ STORY HERE: http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=269&articleid=20100816_269_A12_CUTLIN206688&rss_lnk=4

Robert Wilson of the legendary GAP Band will headline the Timeless Music Festival, an exciting new Jazz, Jokes and Funk Jam event, at 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28, 2010, at the Rose Bowl Event Center, 419 E. 11th St. in Tulsa, OK.

The lineup also includes the popular comedian Melanie Comarcho, best known for her performances on HBO’s Shaquille O’Neal All–Star Comedy Jam, the Katt Williams Tour and the Martin Lawrence 1st Amendment Tour; and Hidden Beach recording artist, saxophonist Mike Phillips, who has toured with Stevie Wonder and Prince and dedicates his just released third album M.P.3. to the late great Wayman Tisdale, the Tulsa native NBA All–Star and popular contemporary jazz bassist who helped Phillips sign his original deal with Hidden Beach.

The festival, the kickoff date of the Timeless Music U.S. tour that continues in late September, begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20, VIP (including reserved table seating) $30.

While the GAP Band featuring Robert and his brothers Charlie and Ronnie Wilson were named after Greenwood, Archer and Pine Streets in Tulsa, the group broke through to its biggest success after they moved to Los Angeles and hooked up with producer Lonnie Simmons. 1979’s “Shake” was the first of several high–energy, synth- and bass–heavy party anthems, followed by “Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me Bad)” and the oft–sampled “You Dropped a Bomb on Me.” Today the Gap Band still brings the party to packed houses worldwide, and the group was recently honored with this year’s BMI Icon Award for their “enduring influence on generations of music makers.” At the root of the group’s influential style lies Robert’s vivacious bass work, which anchors the band’s groove and provides the foundation for his Charlie’s synth- bass parts.

Camarcho’s TV appearances include “The Brian McKnight Show” on CW, “The Sarah Silverman Project” on Comedy Central, “Comics Unleashed” on CW, “One Mic Stand” on BET, “The New Def Comedy Jam” on HBO, “The Jamie Foxx Show” (Warner Bros.), “The Chris Rock Show” (HBO) and “The Tom Joyner Show” on ABC.

A native of Mount Vernon, N.Y., Phillips made his NYC debut at Wilson’s Nightclub in 1993, which led to a series of session and sideman jobs in jazz, R&B and rap. Eventually, he attracted the attention of Hidden Beach, which signed him and put him on the road in 2001 opening for Jill Scott. His debut album You Have Reached Mike Phillips, was released in 2002, followed by Uncommon Denominator in 2005.

For more information and VIP tickets, call (918) 295–0066.

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Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez to receive honorary degree from Berklee College of Music

Post author By mitchmuse
Post date July 12, 2010

According to a recent news release, multi-Grammy Award winning drummer and composer Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez, will be awarded with an Honorary Doctor of Music Degree from Berklee College of Music on Thursday, July 15, 2010, in recognition of his extraordinary musicianship and many career achievements. The honorary degree will be presented on the main stage of the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy, by Berklee’s vice president, Larry Monroe.
El Negro has been the power behind the most popular and influential Latin music of the past decade. Since leaving Cuba and arriving in New York, he’s driven the efforts of Grammy Award-winners Listen Here (Eddie Palmieri), Live at the Blue Note (Michel Camilo), Supernatural (Carlos Santana), No Es Lo Mismo (Alejandro Sanz), and Crisol (Roy Hargrove). El Negro has also recorded with Chucho Valdes, Paquito D’Rivera, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Robbie Ameen, among others. His performance Live at the Modern Drummer Festival 2000 (Hudson Music), with Allman Brothers’ percussionist Marc Quiñones and late saxophone great Michael Brecker, lives on explosive video footage.
As a follow up to their last recording, Italuba II (Cacao Musica), El Negro’s band will be releasing Italuba III, a double album melding World Jazz with the legacy of Latin Music. The first disc will present Italuba celebrating the Afro-Cuban big band legacy, as the quartet performs both stateside with the Arturo O’Farrill Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, and in Rome, Italy with the Parco Della Musica Jazz Orchestra, turning in big band arrangements of Italuba and Italuba II repertoire. The second disc will offer new material performed by the original Italuba quartet, with each track featuring a different percussion maestro of El Negro’s generation: Marc Quiñones, Luis Conte, Karl Perazzo, Luisito Quintero, Richie Flores, and Giovanni Hidalgo. The album, produced under his own record label, “El Negro and Reusing Records Inc.”, will hit the streets in late 2010.
El Negro has appeared as the cover of over fourteen of the major percussion publications worldwide in countries that include the United States, Brazil, China, South Africa, Germany, Argentina, Japan, Italy, and more.

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Tommy Poole Quartet presents “Hot Jazz for a Hot Summer” on Sunday, June 27, 2010

Post author By mitchmuse
Post date June 25, 2010

Dr. Tommy Poole, professor of Jazz Studies at Northeastern State University, popular saxophonist and bandleader, makes his debut at 5 p.m. Sunday, June 27, 2010, at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame‘s Jazz Depot, 111 E. First Street (Upper Level) in Tulsa, OK.
Accompanying Poole will be Tulsa’s Scott McQuade on piano, Bill Crosby on bass and Tony Yohe on drums, guest vocalist Chuck Cissel and new jazz singer Missy Allen.
Poole has performed or recorded with such luminaries as Rosemary Clooney, Maynard Ferguson, The Woody Herman Orchestra, Diane Schuur, Joe Willams, Mercer Ellington, and Dianne Reeves.
General admission is $15 or $10 for seniors and students. Table seating is available for $20 per person. For more information, call (918) 281-8600 or go to http://www.okjazz.org/index.cfm?id=1. Attendees can also buy tickets at the door the night of the event. Doors will open at 2 p.m.

music Oklahoma Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame performances tulsa United States world

Barron Ryan pays tribute to fathers at Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame

Post author By mitchmuse
Post date June 18, 2010

Barron Ryan, a Tulsa native, an OU music grad and half of the exquisite Ryan and Ryan piano duo (with his father, Oklahoma Jazz Hall inductee Donald Ryan), will take center stage to showcase his amazing piano talent at 5 p.m. Sunday, June 20, 2010, at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, 111 E. First St. in Tulsa, OK. General admission is $15 or $10 for seniors and students. Table seating is available for $20 per person. For more information, call (918) 281-8600 or go to http://www.okjazz.org/.

Click here for tickets or call us at 918-281-8600. You can also buy tickets at the door the night of the event. Doors will open at 2pm.

jazz Jazz Journalists Association music United States world

Jazz Journalists Association announces 2010 Jazz Award winners

Post author By mitchmuse
Post date June 17, 2010

According to a news release, the Jazz Journalists Association announced winners of the 2010 Jazz Awards at the City Winery in New York City on Monday, June 14, 2010, honoring honoring more than 40 musicians, presenters, jazz supporters and jazz journalists for the 14th year. Recipients of the Jazz Awards receive engraved statuettes from the international organization of some 450 writers, broadcasters, photographers and new media producers.
Highest honors went to saxophonist and flutist James Moody, for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz, and to veteran music journalist Don Heckman, for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism. Pianist-composer Vijay Iyer was named Musician of the Year, while multiple Awards were received by Joe Lovano (Record of the Year for Folk Art, Small Group of the Year for the band Us Five, and Tenor Saxophonist of the Year), Maria Schneider (Composer of the Year, Arranger of the Year) and Darcy James Argue, as Up and Coming Artist of the Year and for the Large Ensemble of the Year, his big band Secret Society. An entire list of the winners and other information can be seen at www.JJAJazzAwards.org.

film movies music Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame tulsa United States Wayman Tisdale

“The Wayman Tisdale Story” to premiere at Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame on Saturday, June 5, 2010

Post author By mitchmuse
Post date June 3, 2010

The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame will be the host of the Tulsa premiere of “The Wayman Tisdale Story” at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, June 5, 2010, at the Jazz Depot, 111 East First St. Upper Level in Tulsa, OK.
“The Wayman Tisdale Story” is a documentary celebrating the life and legacy of Tisdale, who was a Tulsa, OK, native, three-time all-American, gold-medal Olympian, former NBA basketball player and world renowned jazz musician. The film is directed by Emmy-nominated Brian Schodorf and produced by Hunter, Seamons, Linda Mensch and Rahman Ayi.
Doors will open at 7 p.m., reception/live music by Tulsa group WALLSTREET (winner of the Wayman’s Challenge held at the Depot in 2008) at 7:30 p.m. and finally, the showing of the film at 8:30 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session. For more information, call the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame at (918) 281-8603, (918) 281-8605, (918) 281-8609 or go online to www.okjazz.org.

arts Earnest Pugh gospel music

Earnest Pugh returns to radio airwaves with “Why Should I Be Bound?”

Post author By mitchmuse
Post date June 1, 2010

For almost a year, Earnest Pugh‘s “Rain on Us” has been one of the most popular songs on gospel radio station playlists and in Sunday morning church services. Aside from reaching #1 on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart, the track has established the veteran singer and stage actor as one of the most in-demand voices in Christian music today. Now, Abundant Harvest Entertainment is supplying the growing public demand for more Earnest Pugh music with the new radio single, “Why Should I Not Be Bound?”
There’s already an incredible buzz about Pugh’s mesmerizing and dramatic live performance of the song that was written by Detroit- based songwriter Rudolph Stanfield who composed gospel classics such as Vanessa Bell Armstrong’s “I’m Going Through,” Colorado Mass Choir’s “Stir Up The Gift,” and Rev. James Moore’s “Bread of Heaven.” It was originally released as “Perfect Peace” by Keith Pringle in 1984 and became a #1 gospel smash. Marvin Sapp and James Grear both covered it; but Pugh has made the song totally his own with awe-inspiring high notes, testifying, and the New Jersey-based Abundant Harvest Choir’s warm and luscious call and responses.
“First of all, I feel honored to have been asked by Bishop Evans and the producers – Gary E. Diggs and Lonnie Hunter to grace the lead microphone on the remake of `Why Should I Be Bound (Perfect Peace)?’ ” Pugh said in a news release. “This is sure to resonate in the hearts of people because it speaks to the current reality of many who allow fear, doubt, and unbelief to rob them of their joy and peace. Thankfully, the opening line of this song gives an assuring message of hope by where it says, `God will keep you in perfect peace if you keep your mind stayed on Him.’ We need this assurance amidst this terrible economic downturn.”
The soon-to-be hit is the third single from the CD, “Bishop David G. Evans Presents Automatic Praise!” The last single was the rousing foot stomper “This Joy” that was written and led by Tracy Shy with the Abundant Harvest Choir. The song spent twenty weeks on the Billboard Hot Gospel Songs chart and peaked at #20 before moving to the Top 10 on the Billboard Recurrent chart.