PROGRESSIVE MUSIC COMPANY

AFRO-AMERICAN MUSIC INSTITUTE CELEBRATES 36 YEARS

BOYS CHOIR AFRICA SHIRTS
 
 
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/building-today-for-tomorrow/x/267428

 Pain Relief Beyond Belief

                         http://www.komehsaessentials.com/                              

 

PITTSBURGH JAZZ

 

From Blakey to Brown, Como to Costa, Eckstine to Eldridge, Galbraith to Garner, Harris to Hines, Horne to Hyman, Jamal to Jefferson, Kelly to Klook; Mancini to Marmarosa, May to Mitchell, Negri to Nestico, Parlan to Ponder, Reed to Ruther, Strayhorn to Sullivan, Turk to Turrentine, Wade to Williams… the forthcoming publication Treasury of Pittsburgh Jazz Connections by Dr. Nelson Harrison and Dr. Ralph Proctor, Jr. will document the legacy of one of the world’s greatest jazz capitals.

 

Do you want to know who Dizzy Gillespie  idolized? Did you ever wonder who inspired Kenny Clarke and Art Blakey? Who was the pianist that mentored Monk, Bud Powell, Tad Dameron, Elmo Hope, Sarah Vaughan and Mel Torme? Who was Art Tatum’s idol and Nat Cole’s mentor? What musical quartet pioneered the concept adopted later by the Modern Jazz Quartet? Were you ever curious to know who taught saxophone to Stanley Turrentine or who taught piano to Ahmad Jamal? What community music school trained Robert McFerrin, Sr. for his history-making debut with the Metropolitan Opera? What virtually unknown pianist was a significant influence on young John Coltrane, Shirley Scott, McCoy Tyner, Bobby Timmons and Ray Bryant when he moved to Philadelphia from Pittsburgh in the 1940s?  Would you be surprised to know that Erroll Garner attended classes at the Julliard School of Music in New York and was at the top of his class in writing and arranging proficiency?

 

Some answers  can be gleaned from the postings on the Pittsburgh Jazz Network.

 

For almost 100 years the Pittsburgh region has been a metacenter of jazz originality that is second to no other in the history of jazz.  One of the best kept secrets in jazz folklore, the Pittsburgh Jazz Legacy has heretofore remained mythical.  We have dubbed it “the greatest story never told” since it has not been represented in writing before now in such a way as to be accessible to anyone seeking to know more about it.  When it was happening, little did we know how priceless the memories would become when the times were gone.

 

Today jazz is still king in Pittsburgh, with events, performances and activities happening all the time. The Pittsburgh Jazz Network is dedicated to celebrating and showcasing the places, artists and fans that carry on the legacy of Pittsburgh's jazz heritage.

 

WELCOME!

 

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Duke Ellington is first African-American and the first musician to solo on U.S. circulating coin

    MARY LOU WILLIAMS     

            INTERVIEW

       In Her Own Words

‘Just unlimited energy’…Pittsburgh’s music community honors Don Patterson


by Rob Taylor Jr.
Courier Staff Writer
In February, the New Pittsburgh Courier’s Genea L. Webb penned an article on Don Patterson wanting to create a wax museum in Pittsburgh, specifically honoring musical talent.

“There’s so much musical talent that has come out of Pittsburgh and I don’t think the story’s been told and that’s what I want to do. I want to tell the story because the story deserves to be told,” Patterson said in the article. “I fell in love with music at the age of 7 after I got Parliament’s ‘Testify’ (song) and I fell in love with museums and wax figures after my father took me to Canada, and I went to Ripley’s Believe It Or Not and saw the wax figures and how real they looked.”

Anyone who knew Patterson knew he was optimistic, ambitious, entrepreneurial, and always thought he could achieve anything. And over the course of his life, his achievements were numerous.

Although a funeral was held for the longtime educator and music promoter after his June 27 death, Pittsburgh’s music community felt more should be done for Patterson. Patterson had done so much for the music industry in Pittsburgh and beyond since coming to the Steel City from Cleveland in 1983 to attend the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.

MUSIC PROMOTER AND EDUCATOR DON PATTERSON died at age 61 on June 27.

The community responded with “A Tribute to Don Patterson,” at the Afro-American Music Institute in Homewood, Aug. 29.

Patterson, who died at age 61 from heart disease, worked closely over the years with the Afro-American Music Institute in public relations, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported he worked in the same capacity with the Kingsley Association.

To even more music lovers, Patterson was known as the co-founder of “The Soul Show” in 1995 on WYEP (91.3). He hosted the show in the first year. The show continues to this day on Saturday afternoons with host Michael Canton.

“Don Patterson might have been the biggest hustler I’ve ever known. I mean, he ALWAYS seemed to have AT LEAST three things going on, and more projects around the corner,” said Elwin Green of Homewood Nation, a community publication. He made the comments on his Facebook page.

Webb reported in February how Patterson met so many of the great music artists over the generations. He met Pittsburgh native Phyllis Hyman, whom he met when he worked at a local liquor company. “I said, ‘Hi, Ms. Hyman, I am here to take care of you.’ She was so nice to me. I was in my early 20s and I was intimidated by her. I couldn’t even look her in the eye,” Patterson said in the Courier article.

At the end of Webb’s story, Patterson said his primary reason for wanting the wax museum was because it’s about “promoting, recording and telling the story of the Pittsburgh music scene. Once I learned of all the musical history in Pittsburgh, I was wondering why no one was telling the story. This is our story and we have to tell this story.”

And on Aug. 29, Pittsburgh’s music staples and elected officials made sure to tell Don Patterson’s story, through words and music.

DR. JAMES JOHNSON, with the Afro-American Music Institute, talks about his friend, Don Patterson.

“He was one of us, no question about it,” said James Johnson, co-founder of the AAMI, to the Post-Gazette. “Just unlimited energy. It was hard to put him in any one category. He was a promoter, but was also helping people as individuals.”

STEVEE WELLONS performs.

B. MARSHALL reflects on his time with Don Patterson.

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