BLAC (Black Liberated Arts Center) Inc. will host Soul Bowl Party in the Park from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12. at Washington Park, located at Northeast Fourth and High Streets in Oklahoma City.
The event will feature new musical artists on the Discovery stage. Among those local talents scheduled to appear are Born in November, Lil Dezzy, Roderick Pugh and jazz vocalist Miss Muffy. Miss Muffy is the granddaughter of the late, legendary bandleader Leslie Sheffield.
“Our community has been asking over the years for BLAC, Inc. to showcase new talent, and we see this event as the perfect opportunity to introduce new faces in a relaxed setting,” Anita Arnold, executive director of BLAC Inc. said. “Washington Park is special in the hearts and minds of many in the city because of the wonderful historic significance and pleasant memories of the past.”
According to Arnold, there will be an area High School T-shirt competition. The high school that has representatives wearing most T-shirts will have a $500 donation given to the school by BLAC, Inc. The participant who wears the oldest T-shirt will have $250 donated to their school. Everyone is encouraged to wear a T-shirt that represents their high school alma mater.
The evening will end with the featured artist – Tulsa jazz saxophonist Eldredge Jackson. Picnic baskets, blankets and lawn chairs are allowed. BLAC Inc. will sell beverages during the event. No beverages of any kind are allowed in the park – particularly alcoholic beverages. The public is invited, especially alumni members of all local high schools. Event tickets are $10 and are on sale now at the following locations in Oklahoma City: Capitol Square Station, KM66, Learning Tree Toy Store, Charlie’s Jazz, Rhythm and Blues Store and at BLAC Inc. offices. For more information, call (405) 524-3800.
Category: music
Family and friends of Isaac Hayes invite the public to attend the unveiling of grave marker at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, at Memphis Memorial Park, 5668 Poplar Ave. in Memphis, Tenn. Attendees are asked to bring a rose to be placed next to the marker.
Oklahoma City’s Black Liberated Arts Center (BLAC Inc.) will host a Thriller Tribute Party on Saturday, Aug. 29, in honor of the late Michael Joseph Jackson’s accomplishments in music, business, and charitable giving. The event also marks Jackson’s 51st birthday.
The Thriller Tribute Party will be held at the Petroleum Club (34th floor of the Chase building) 100 N Broadway in downtown Oklahoma City. There will be food, drinks, and music orchestrated by deejay Ron Leggins.
Ten of Michael Jackson’s most popular videos will be played at various times throughout the night. There will be a special presentation of Michael Jackson’s accomplishments – from those that made him famous through his amazing music career to facts that have been overlooked such as his great philanthropy and humanitarian efforts.
The party starts at 8:00 p.m. and ends at midnight. RSVP is preferred and due by Saturday, August 22. Admission is $25.
To make a reservation or for more information please contact BLAC, Inc. at (405)524-3800 or e-mail BLAC Inc. at blac37inc@yahoo.com.
Pianist/bandleader Ramsey Lewis will release “Songs From the Heart: Ramsey Plays Ramsey” on Concord Records. The CD will contain a refined collection of 12 new originals that he composed over a period of two years.
The collection includes music from two commissioned world premiere performances at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Ill. Eight songs come from the 2007 ballet score “To Know Her,” written for the Joffrey Ballet Company and four pieces come from 2008’s “Muses and Amusements” suite performed with the Turtle Island Quartet.
“Songs From the Heart: Ramsey Plays Ramsey” features eight pieces with bassist Larry Gray and drummer Leon Joyce, and four piano solo performances. The project marks a turning point in Lewis’ storied career – now as a composer.
New York guitarist and composer Pete McCann will release his fourth solo album “Extra Mile” on Nineteen-Eight Records.
McCann is joined by alto saxophonist John O’Gallagher and Henry Hey on keyboards, as well as his long-time collaborators bassist Matt Clohesy and drummer Mark Ferber. These ten originals demonstrate McCann’s deep roots in jazz while allowing him to branch off into the diverse sound-worlds he’s loved since his youth.
McCann, a native of Eau Claire, Wis., has worked with artists as diverse as Kenny Wheeler, Dave Liebman, Lee Konitz, Kenny Garrett, Peter Erskine, Gary Thomas, Greg Osby, Brian Blade, and the Maria Schneider Orchestra.
Count Basie Orchestra presents “Swinging, Singing, Playing: The Count Basie Orchestra Salutes the Jazz Masters,” a 11-track CD that salutes jazz titans as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Freddie Hubbard and John Coltrane, in addition to such living legends as Bennett, Quincy Jones, Hank Jones, Frank Wess, Jon Hendricks, Curtis Fuller, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and others.
Produced by Mack Avenue’s executive vice president of A&R Al Pryor and CBO producer / conductor of special projects Dennis Wilson, Count Basie Orchestra achieves just what the CD title boasts: a swinging good time of extraordinary blues-fueled performances that hail various jazz legends. There are top-drawer performances by the big band and its all-star guest list that includes Jones, Wess, Hendricks, Fuller, Geri Allen, Nnenna Freelon, Janis Siegel, Butch Miles, Rufus Reid and, in a nod to the younger generation that embraces Basie music, sparkplug singer/pianist Jamie Cullum. The project will be released on Aug. 25 on Mack Records.
Vibraphonist-composer Stefon Harris is set to release his 7th album as a bandleader in August. The 10-track “Urbanus” picks up where 2004’s “Evolution” left off in that it features Harris’ ensemble Blackout that’s as versed in modern jazz as it is with rhythms, melodies and soundscapes associated with R&B, pop, hip-hop and funk.
Marc Cary complements his acoustic piano with Fender Rhodes and alto saxophonist Casey Benjamin lends his captivating vocoder work to the proceeding. Harris’ broadening textures and colors comes to play with his sensational woodwind and string arrangements on a few of the compositions. New Blackout bassist Buster Williams rounds out the group.
Harris and Blackout will be on tour to promote “Urbanus” (on Concord Jazz label) starting in September 2009.
Drummer and composer Matt Wilson will release his eighth CD and first quartet CD since 2003 on July 7.
Wilson describes “That’s Gonna Leave a Mark” as “getting a chance to have this great band record again!” Alongside Wilson, alto saxophonist Andrew D’Angelo, tenor saxophonist Jeff Lederer and bassist Chris Lightcap are all in fine form. All the members of the Quartet have played together since the late 1990s, though this marks Lightcap’s first recorded appearance with the group.
“That’s Gonna Leave a Mark” was recorded by Matt Balitsaris at Maggie’s Farm.
The CD contains a wide spectrum of repertoire, with originals by all of the members. “To have everybody else contribute a song too, that makes it more special,” Wilson says. “I think it’s much like the player, they have distinct personalities, and we blend together, but you can always tell the personality. That’s the way the tunes work together too.”
Jazz keyboard virtuoso Eldar will be releasing his latest CD, “Virtue,” August 25 on Sony Masterworks.
“Virtue” is the follow-up to Eldar’s 2008 Grammy-nominated album, “re-imagination.” Partnered by bassist Armando Gola and Ludwig Afonso, “Virtue” features original compositions by Eldar. Eldar also welcomes guest appearances by trumpeter Nicholas Payton and saxophonists Joshua Redman and Felipe Lamoglia.
Born in Kyrgyzstan and raised in Kansas City, Eldar started playing jazz festivals before the age of ten (in what was then the Soviet Union). In 1998, he and his family emigrated to the United States and resettled in Kansas City. He became the youngest guest ever to appear on Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz. Later, he pursued advanced study at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, and eventually began enjoying a career that has seen him in performances throughout the United States, Europe, Indonesia, Japan and South America.
The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame announced two upcoming special musical events for the summer.
“We are thrilled to present three top jazz ensembles and The Wild Women of Oklahoma Jazz for our Summer Concert series on Sunday afternoons at the Jazz Depot,” said Chuck Cissel, executive producer of the Summer Jazz Concert Series and the free JazzFEST 2009. “In addition, it is always exciting to announce our stars for JazzFEST, including Jazz Hall 2005 Legacy Award recipient, the incredible saxophonist, Eldredge Jackson, and his smooth jazz ensemble, Listening Pleasure. ElJack will headline our annual Oklahoma JazzFEST for 2009.
“Also on the bill with Eldredge will be Wayman Tisdale Challenge 2008 Winners, R&B sensation and local favorites WallStreet. WallStreet had the special privilege of traveling and performing with Wayman as his special musical guests on a jazz cruise around the Bahamas this past Spring. Opening the JazzFEST 2009 concert is one of Tulsa’s musical favorites, J3 Jazz and Blues Band, under the leadership of guitarist/vocalist, Rick Gill. JazzFEST will take place on Saturday evening, June 27 beginning at 6pm and concluding at 11pm at the Jazz Depot, 1st St. & Cincinnati (Upper Level) – inside the Jazz Depot – in the Great Performance Hall. Food, beverages and snacks will be available for purchase at JazzFEST.”
All Summer Jazz Concert Series performances will be held at the Jazz Depot at 5 p.m. Sundays. General admission is $15 for adults, $10 for seniors, college students and Jazz Hall members and $5 for students. Participants may also reserve a seat at $20 per person at one of the tables of eight.
Reserved seating and table reservations must be purchased in advance of the concert date(s). For tickets or more information, call the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame at (918) 281-8600 or visit http://www.okjazz.org. Gift shop and concessions are available. All major credit cards are accepted.