Jazz In Our Time

29/06/2024

Filmed in jazz clubs, HARGROVE shines a spotlight on Roy Hargrove's genius and contribution to jazz.

26/06/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/jxHYxBi92n1ssyM6/?mibextid=UalRPS

19/06/2024

The Origins of Juneteenth

The name, Juneteenth, is a portmanteau, combining June and nineteenth. Its origins date back to June 19, 1865, when the last group of people enslaved in the southern U.S. were informed of their freedom under the Emancipation Proclamation. President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years earlier, on Jan. 1, 1863, declaring that everyone held as a slave was, and would continue to be, free.

The proclamation took effect as the country neared its second year of the Civil War and technically applied to enslaved people in Confederate states. However, it could not actually be implemented in Confederate territory, and the war would not end in victory for the Union Army until much later, in the spring of 1865. In Texas, the westernmost state controlled by the Confederacy, news of freedom and the tenets of the Emancipation Proclamation arrived that summer.

On June 19, thousands of Union soldiers reached Galveston Bay, along the northeastern coast of Texas in the Gulf of Mexico, and announced that all enslaved people in the state were freed by executive order.

At the time, more than 250,000 Black people were being held as slaves in Texas alone, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which writes in a description of the holiday that the "historical legacy of Juneteenth shows the value of never giving up hope in uncertain times."

Once the Emancipation Proclamation laid its roots in Texas, those freed from slavery declared the day of its arrival "Juneteenth" in homage to the date when it finally happened.

11/06/2024

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fgofund.me%2F8ba9c16f&h=AT3tvDRojpg906CCVTipU1ebfLJstEjQ0APEG_p6sd9ECABZTNjDpsJKRG9Op2Mix8SexOaJYx2ZY5La__dw7dY5AhGWxnBvvdEzLWDyLMHd0U3wrQMb47RRmYBxiusBkhos5pY&s=1

Hello, my name is Rayse Biggs. You may remember me from a GoFundMe campaign in 202… Rayse Biggs needs your support for Help Rebuild Rayse Biggs' Life and Home

03/06/2024

An Interview with Versatile, Grammy Award-Winning Saxophonist Kenny Garrett

26/05/2024

It was a beautiful day Sunday, June 9, 1991. At Chene Park, the echoes of jazz legends danced in the air, setting a scene from a dream. It was here I found myself not just in the midst of another freelance gig, but at the crossroads of serendipity. I was to assist none other than Miles Dewey Davis III, "The Chief," on the eve of his last concert here in Detroit.

My rhythm in sync with the anticipation of the crew, we prepared for his arrival. Though I'd brushed paths with Miles twice before—courtesy of jazz titans Marcus Miller and Tom Barney—this was an altogether different experience. I was not just in Miles’ orbit; I was his aide, albeit momentarily.

As his limousine approached, my pulse quickened with the hope of a closer encounter. Yet, in a twist of fate, Miles remained in his Limo, stepping out only when the stage called. His manager, emerging in his stead, assigned me tasks, keeping me inside and away from the excitement outside.

Post-performance, the space inside was thick with adoration for Miles, as fervent fans clamored for a picture or an autograph. Amidst this, I stood reserved, professional to a fault, until his manager caught my hesitation. "Why are you hanging back here?" he challenged. With a modest shake of my head, I alluded to professionalism, of not intruding upon the space already crowded with admirers.

Miles, though unwell, still carried the night with his indefinable aura. His manager, accepting my reticence made an offer of securing an autograph I could not refuse. My copy of "Miles, The Autobiography" found its way with a secretive murmur, into the hands of Miles with a smile in my direction.

When the book was returned to me, it bore no signature on neither the inside front nor back cover. Disheartened, I almost accepted this absence as my answer; Miles had declined to sign. But then, a turn of a page by his manager unveiled a treasure: a sketch, intimately adorned with my name, a rare glimpse into the soul of Miles Davis. His manager's words, "Miles doesn't draw for everybody," sealed that moment in the depths of my heart.

As you can imagine this sketch remains one of my most treasured possessions, a stroke of genius from the hand of a master, eternally connecting me to Miles’ legacy.

22/05/2024

Honored that Apple Music named Kind of Blue as one of the of all time! Revisit the album and explore the list here: apple.co/MilesDavis100

14/05/2024

Peaceful journey, Maestro…

01/04/2024

It is Jazz Appreciation Month!
Go to a Jazz club!
Buy some Jazz music!
Support a Jazz musician!
Repeat all year long!!!

16/03/2024

Recovering Legacies: How Thelonious Monk, Nina Simone, and the Musicians of San Juan Hill Made History at Lincoln Center

https://www.lincolncenter.org/feature/legacies-of-san-juan-hill/recovering-legacies-how-thelonious-monk-nina-simone-and-the-musicians-of-san-juan-hill-made-history-at-lincoln-center

Photo by Nica de Koenigswarter

13/03/2024

Please join me in wishing a very Hapoy Birthday to the extraordinary Terence Blanchard!

“Terence Oliver Blanchard (born March 13, 1962) is an American trumpeter, pianist and composer. A jazz musician, he has also composed film scores and operas. He started his career in 1982 as a member of the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, then The Jazz Messengers. He has composed more than forty film scores and performed on more than fifty. A frequent collaborator with director Spike Lee, he has been nominated for two Academy Awards for composing the scores for Lee's films BlacKkKlansman (2018) and Da 5 Bloods (2020). He has won five Grammy Awards from fourteen nominations.” ~~Wikipedia

08/03/2024

Wishing all my beauti-full SiStars a wonder-full International Women’s Day!

01/03/2024

Please join me in wishing a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dearest friend and drummer extraordinaire, Kenwood Dennard!!!

“Kenwood Marshall Dennard (born March 1, 1956, New York City) is an American jazz drummer.

Dennard learned piano as a child and took up drumming at nine years of age. He attended the Manhattan School of Music from 1972 to 1973 and Berklee College of Music from 1973 to 1976. Later in the decade he worked with Dizzy Gillespie, Pat Martino, High Life and Brand X. He played with Martino again in the late 1980s and with The Manhattan Transfer, Dianne Reeves, Jaco Pastorius, Lew Soloff, Bob Moses, and Stanley Jordan during that decade.

In the 1990s he worked with Miles Davis, Maceo Parker, Quincy Jones, and Howard Johnson. He also led his own ensembles, including Just Advance, the Meta-Funk All Stars, and Quintessence; his sidemen have included Victor Bailey, Dave Bargeron, Hiram Bullock, Stanton Davis, Marcus Miller, and Herman Wright Jr.. In 1999 he began teaching at Berklee.” ~~Wikipedia