Sweet Jazz Music Series featuring Phat Man Dee!
February 27, 2015 from 7pm to 9pmMass March Against the Racist Wars at Home and Abroad
January 19, 2015 from 6pm to 9pmBloom-fest, Rock Against Racism!
January 16, 2015 from 8pm to 11:45pm
Pittsburgh's Own Regional Notables of Jazz
AFRO-AMERICAN MUSIC INSTITUTE CELEBRATES 31 YEARS
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/building-today-for-tomorrow/x/267428
PITTSBURGH JAZZ
Roger Humphries
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.
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Phat Man Dee
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Phat Man Dee posted eventsPhat Man Dee replied to Dr. Nelson Harrison's discussion Pittsburgh loses pitch-perfect jazz voice with death of Maureen Budway in the group OBITUARIES"Too young.... too beautiful.... sweet, funny, smart and just a wondrous musician. Her voice....her control, the Lord broke that mold when he made her."
Phat Man Dee replied to Dr. Nelson Harrison's discussion Pittsburgh Jazz Community laments the passing of guitarist Gerald "Shotgun" Haymon in the group OBITUARIES"I loved playing with Shotgun. I loved his tone, his groove, the unique way he just hit those rhythms.... and his fingers just sounded like raindrops on grass.....I didn't get to play with him nearly as much as I wished I had... but we had some…"
Dr. Nelson Harrison liked Phat Man Dee's event Mass March Against the Racist Wars at Home and AbroadPhat Man Dee's event was featured
Mass March Against the Racist Wars at Home and Abroad at Start at Forbes & Bigelow in Oakland, march to City County Building Downtown on Grant Street!
January 19, 2015 from 6pm to 9pm
"Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism." Martin Luther King March and rally against police brutality and racism on the day we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - keep his legacy alive! Demand an end to all forms of racist wars: from the domestic war waged against the poor and working Black and Latino communities to the imperialist wars on the poor…See More
Phat Man Dee posted a blog postStand up, be counted with all the rest! Cuz everybody nkows about Mississippi Goddam!
And here in Pittsburgh, and Ferguson, and Staten island and all over the world.... (If you are not familiar with the song referenced in my subject liner, please refer to the great Nina Simone's song "Mississippi Goddam": http://youtu.be/hBiAtwQZnHs ) Friends, as an artist and musician I long have enjoyed the blessings of working with thoughtful, beautiful, inspired and learned people, many of whom have been people of color, Black,…See More
Phat Man Dee posted a blog postDo you know what it means? To miss New Orleans??
I do, I know very well. I know the pain of being too far away for far too long from New Orleans. But late is better than never, so I am bound for the swamp, the land that spawned the music I love so much, to sing to the people who have survived both massive flooding and the Bush administration. So, if you have any friends down that way, do tell them to stop in. My first stop is actually in Valley Head, Alabama. I have never been to Alabama. I am going to be part of a Women's Weekend, Aspects…See More
Phat Man Dee posted a blog postWell the daze dwindle down....
What does September mean to you? To some it means the return to education, the end of summer, or the cooling of the daze (unless you live in South America and then I think that's totally opposite?) but for me, it is the continuation of a cycle and the…See More
Profile Information
- Favorite website
- http://laughingsquid.com/
- Pittsburgh Connection
- I live here.
- Favorite Pittsburgh musicians/performers
- Gerald "Shotgun" Haymon, Chizmo Charles, Gene Ludwig, Sandy Staley, Colter Harper, Tony DePaolis, Mike Murray, Kenny Peagler, Nelson Harrison, James Johnson III, Dave Throckmorton, Ben Opie, Paul Cosentino, Reggie Watkins, Gene Stovall, Sonji, Christiane D, John Purse, Sam Pace, Darryl Fleming, BC, Tommy Amoeba, Zafira Bellydance Company, Ishtar, Nick Ragheb
- Favorite Jazz Radio or media station
- http://www.shoutingfire.org
- Favorite Pittsburgh Jazz Venue
- Ava Lounge
- About Me:
- Phat Man Dee has a voice and a stage presence that rings clear as a bell. Her soulful delivery and heart ripping phrasing make the story of the song come through her body like a mountain rising to meet the sea. She is as comfortable floating in the air singing to the swells as she is through a megaphone in the Mermaid Parade or the Ides of March March.
She has toured and appeared with The Madagascar Institute of Brooklyn, NY, Candye Kane, the Goddess Perlman's Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad, the Fat Bottomed Girls Burlesque Review, Chicken John's Circus Ridiculous, Wolgemut, Jazz Mandolin Project, the Bindlestiff Family Roadshow, The Bull Seal! Collective, SEEMEN, the Flaming Lotus Girls and Heavy Pedal Cyclecide.
Though Phat Man Dee was somewhat recently nominated "One to Watch" in the pop music category of Pittsburgh Magazine's Harry Schwalb Awards, Mandy L. Kivowitz was born in 1975 to schoolteacher and a railroad man in Youngstown, OH. She studied music, classical cello and voice, theatre and dance all through childhood and into her brief college career at Allegheny College in Meadeville, PA. She left college to join the circus as Mistah Sistah Phat Man Dee , a half man half woman vaudeville act singing love songs to herself , eating glass, tap dancing, and playing cello while traveling with several variety acts cross country. Since then she has been blessed to work with some of the finest players Pittsburgh's rich musical community has to offer. Working to create an alternate reality for her audience utilizing her friends, be they musicians, poets, belly dancers, fire eaters, painters or circus geeks, Phat Man Dee puts on a show in which the visual texture is as important as the quality and intensity of the music.
Televsion and broadcast appearances include FUSE TV, KDKA Morning Show, WTAE Evening News, CSPAN, Judge Joe Brown (Fox), On Q (WQED), Lynn Cullen's Talk Show (WPTT).
She has appeared at the Improv as an opener for Caroline Rhea (NBC), Joe's Pub (NYC), Cabaret @ Theater Square, Exotic Erotic Ball (SF, CA), NYC Burlesque Fest, the Derby (LA, CA) , Rosemary's Billygoat's Odditoriom (LA, CA)the Andy Warhol Museum and the Great American Music Hall. Her best singing was performed at the Point Arena Lighthouse, and she ever longs for a return. She does love a parade, and to date, parades love her.
One evening will burn forever in the mind of Phat Man Dee, and that was her appearance with the Pittsburgh Opera wherein she sang an entire set of french cabaret love songs at the Benedum Center swinging aloft from a floral swing. (Though the night Circus Rediculous almost burned down the camp site at the Lafayette, Lousiana Festivale Internationale, in a misguided and unfortunate attempt to play flaming soccer ball with the misprinted tour shirts and the Veg-O-Matic of the Apocalypse burns nearly as bright.)
She recently celebrated her wedding anniversary with Tommy Amoeba, her husband of 5 years. They were wed on a pink elephant in Pittsburgh, PA's historic South Side on July 11. 2002.
The most frighteneing thing she ever did in her whole life was sing Lush Life by Billy Strayhorn at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater on July 18, 2008. That was terrifying. Like walking through fire....
- Website:
- http://www.phatmandee.com
- Artist or Fan
- artist
Phat Man Dee's Photos
Phat Man Dee's Videos
Phat Man Dee's Blog
Stand up, be counted with all the rest! Cuz everybody nkows about Mississippi Goddam!
Posted on January 14, 2015 at 7:55pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
And here in Pittsburgh, and Ferguson, and Staten island and all over the world....
(If you are not familiar with the song referenced in my subject liner, please refer to the great Nina Simone's song "Mississippi Goddam": http://youtu.be/hBiAtwQZnHs )
Friends, as an artist and musician I long have enjoyed the blessings of working with thoughtful, beautiful, inspired and learned people, many of whom have been people of…
Do you know what it means? To miss New Orleans??
Posted on November 5, 2014 at 6:27am 0 Comments 0 Likes
I do, I know very well. I know the pain of being too far away for far too long from New Orleans. But late is better than never, so I am bound for the swamp, the land that spawned the music I love so much, to sing to the people who have survived both massive flooding and the Bush administration. So, if you have any friends down that way, do tell them to stop in.
My first stop is actually in Valley Head, Alabama. I have never been to Alabama. I am going to be part of a Women's…
Well the daze dwindle down....
Posted on September 5, 2014 at 7:06pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
What does September mean to you? To some it means the return to education, the end of summer, or the cooling of the daze (unless you…
Continue Pgh Complaint Choir, Summer Phun w/ Phat Man Dee, Korel sightings & more!
Posted on June 6, 2014 at 5:24pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
Hey! Bon jour! Guten tak! Shalom! Hola mi amigos!
I have so many things happening simultaneously I don't always get the word out in the timely fashion I would care too. If you want to know where/when I will be singing, please follow me on twitter or facebook or check my calendar online, I hit those up with far more frequency than I do…
Springtime in Pittsburgh means Jazz, Dance, Video and Phat Man Dee!
Posted on March 27, 2014 at 5:32am 0 Comments 0 Likes
Wow.... it's like Bill Peduto got elected to mayor of Pittsburgh, and I've just been sent into this delirious, in between state, of joy and am just now waking up to find that we're all actually living the dream! Ok, maybe it's not like that at all, in reality I've been studying hard at Pittsburgh Filmmakers and working my video internship at Mr Smalls, which has also involved weekly vocal coaching for some young people which has been thoroughly enjoyable,…
ContinueComment Wall (14 comments)
- At 5:02pm on April 13, 2009, Dr. Nelson Harrison said…
- Mandee,
Thanks for the feedback and for being an active member. We are supposed to be leaders in the jazz community as were our predecessors. Please help us recruit new members. We lose an occasional few along the way but we are growing steadily and gaining respect in all corners of the globe.
- At 5:34pm on April 12, 2009,
Kent Bey said… - Greetings... I am establishing a live Jazz Night on a Wednesday between 7pm to 10pm at a very nice, clean, and classy venue in the East Liberty area. The evening will feature local Pittsburgh musicians like Tony Campbell and many others performing for a very appreciative audience of jazz lovers.
I am a Pittsburgh native and local youth arts advocate attempting to expose young up and coming artists to the heart and soul of pure Pittsburgh music culture and traditions as they meet and learn from some of the local Music Masters. If you are interested in hosting a Wednesday night once a month or every other month I would be humbled and honored to make this happen.
Respectfully,
Kent Bey
412.657.3327
kbey7@royaltribemusic.com
- At 4:51am on March 28, 2009,
Aaron Jackendoff said… - I donno, was that at the backstage bar?
- At 12:13am on December 7, 2008,
Gypsy Cafe said… - Hey Lady--Don Aliquo's in tonight and I just heard Don Jr. will be with him. Stop by if you're in the hood!
- At 4:57am on August 10, 2008,
SANDY STALEY said… - USUALLY THE 1ST TUESDAY OF EACH MONTH, I AM AT
SPIN ON ELLSWORTH. AUG.29TH, I WILL BE AT THE
PENN CENTER (OUTDOORS, GOD WILLING) IN
MONROEVILLE FROM 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM. IF IT IS TOO
HOT THOUGH, I WILL HAVE TO CANCEL... WILL LET YOU
KNOW. MY E-MAIL IS : sstaley2@verizon.net
- At 10:17pm on July 29, 2008,
Elizabeth "Betty" Asche Douglas said… - Your imagination seems to know no bounds, and I love it! What courage-- and you have the talent to justify it all-- that's the amazing part. Keep on keepin' on.
- At 5:34pm on July 27, 2008,
Janelle Burdell said… - Hey Hey! Been hearing bout you for years!!!! Glad I finally bumped into you~(Thanks Nelson!!!) Let's sip together something refreshing when I return to the Burgh in August. RIght now I am teaching Teen Girl ROck and ROll Camps in Western MASS-with legendary ROckrGrrlS! VEry fun! Look forward to meeting you! ENjoy, -janelle
- At 3:19am on July 21, 2008,
George Heid said… - Hey hey... they had the files.... great news and for the future, I will have the hedgehog's voice in top form. Be well and thank you for the most sweet email.
-George
- At 3:06am on July 21, 2008,
Kevin Amos said… - Hi Man Dee! Long time no hear from. Welcome
- At 8:21pm on July 19, 2008,
J. Malls said… - Wassup ManDee? Glad that you joined the jazz network! Hope you can stop by AVA on Monday!! See ya soon. -J
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