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

ADAM WADE revisits his alma mater Westinghouse High School for Billy Strayhorn Centennial concert on October 17, 2015

ADAM WADE

Adam Wade (Born Patrick Henry Wade) grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He achieved renown as an American singer, drummer, television, movie and stage actor and director. He is noted for his stint as the host of the 1975 CBS game show Musical Chairs, which made him the first African-American game show host.

In the 1950s after graduating from Westinghouse High School, he served as part of the research team for Dr. Jonas Salk who invented the polio vaccine. In 1959, he switched to performing and found in himself a smooth, gifted vocalist, compared to Johnny Mathis and Nat 'King' Cole.  In 1960 he signed with CoEd Records within a very short time and scored with a string of mild successes including "Ruby" and "I Can't Help It."

In 1961 three of Wade's recordings Take Good Care of Her (#7), As If I Didn't Know (#10) and The Writing on the Wall (#5) made the Top 10 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. These songs also made the Top 5 of Billboard's Easy Listening (later Adult Contemporary) survey. Take Good Care of Her reached #38 in the UK Singles chart in June 1961.  He released the following albums in the UK: 1961 Adam and Evening, Adam Wade: One Is A Lonely Number, both in 1962. He also released an EP in 1960, And Then Came Adam.  His achievements have led to him traveling as a night-club entertainer playing all over the world and highlighting in such important venues as the Copacobana and Club Harlem.

After appearing in the national tour of the musical Hallelujah, Baby! with Kim Weston and Julius LaRosa, he starred in the production Guys and Dolls in 1978, and hosted the talk show Mid-Morning LA.  On TV he was seen in the soaps "The Guiding Light" and "Search for Tomorrow," and was a familiar presence on the popular black-oriented sitcoms such as "Sanford & Son," "The Jeffersons," "What's Happening" and "Good Times.”  In the late 1970s and early 1980s Wade appeared in several of the so-called blaxploitation movies, including Gordon's War. His latest theatrical appearance was with the 2008 touring company of the play The Color Purple.  He bounced around in a few hip support roles such as Shaft (1971), Come Back, Charleston Blue (1972), Across 110th Street (1972) and The Education of Sonny Carson (1974), among others.  His other work besides in the soaps television included prime time television shows (Hill Street Blues, Queens Supreme, Dukes of Hazard, Police Woman, B.J. and the Bear, Adam 12 and Law & Order.

After a brief return to his recording career in 1978 in a funkier vein on Kirshner Records with songs including "Alexander's Soul Time Band," he returned to acting and in 1978 co-starred in an all-black cast of "Guys and Dolls" starring Leslie Uggams in Las Vegas. He also gave able support in such films as Texas Lightning (1981) and Kiss Me Goodbye (1982). An occasional stage director ("Cafe Society," "Guys and Dolls"), the gray-haired actor understudied Ben Vereen on Broadway in "I'm Not Rappaport" in 2002, and subsequently appeared in the movie Brother to Brother (2004).

He took time out to go back to school (after 40 years) and earned his BA and Master's degrees at Lehman College and Brooklyn College. He has been a speech and theater adjunct at LIU and Bloomfield College for some time and appears frequently on the L.A.-area stage.

Adam is a two time Audelco Award Winner and was twice nominated for Clio Awards, winning for his commercial Virgin Island Fifty Dollar Day.

Wade and his wife Jeree have a music production firm, Songbird Unlimited whose headquarters are in New Jersey.

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Comment by Roberta Windle on November 18, 2015 at 10:41pm

What a thrill to have attended this amazing concert. I was always a fan of Strayhorn's muscic, but was unaware of his connection with Pittsburgh. I am so proud to have experienced this magical tribute to a masterful muscician. The pride of being from the same city as such an Icon is over the hill. Pgh has always been known for its rich Jazz history and it is impotant to keep this legacy alive for future generations. The concert at WHS was a wonderful tribute to this genius and I was certainly glad to have had the pleasure of such a well orchestrated event.

Comment by Roberta Windle on October 25, 2015 at 4:36pm

THE CONCERT WAS MAGNIFICANT. IT WAS A ONCE IN A LIFE TIME EVENT THAT THOSE OF US WHO ATTENDED TRUELY RECEIVED A SPECIAL GIFT. IT WAS MY FIRST TIME IN THE HIGHSCHOOL AND IT IS  A BEAUTIFUL AND SPOTLESS BUILDING. THE AUDITRORIUM WAS AMAZING WITH A STAGE BIGGER THAN EXPECTED. THANK YOU ALL, FOR GIVING US THIS MAGICAL DAY.

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