Pittsburgh's Own Regional Notables of Jazz
AFRO-AMERICAN MUSIC INSTITUTE CELEBRATES 36 YEARS
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/building-today-for-tomorrow/x/267428
Pain Relief Beyond Belief
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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.
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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
Blogging about my blog ---> www.idigpgh.com
Hey PJN Ppl,
I wanted to make everyone aware of this new project that I'm working on, I DIG PGH. It isn't exactly new because I started working on it 6 years ago, but I finally started making the info public last month. Anyhow, I've been collecting and researching local records for a while now, officially for the past 6 years I suppose. I guess I started accumulating them when I was 15. I'm creating a resource to document them now. This is actually how Nelson Harrison and I first met (circa 2005), haha.
Right now the project is in the form of a blog, which you can check out at www.idigpgh.com, and a sister-youtube page, www.youtube.com/user/idigpgh. My first feature was on Gene Ludwig. Gene and I did two phone interviews in 2006 and we discussed his vinyl discography. This month's feature is on a local group named Blacklove. For this one I interviewed Walt Maddox, Alan Leeds and two of the members of the group, Francis Barnes and Bobby Short. Most of these interviews were done circa 2007. I have plenty more features that I've already started and a long list of people who I need to get back in touch with, so expect updates on a monthly basis. If time permits I'll start to update more frequently, but monthly is all that I'm able to handle for the time being.
Hope that everyone enjoys. Please leave comments/feedback. If you are a regular blogger or youtube user please follow me or add me on the respective sites. Also, if you frequently blog about records or music we could add each other to our blog rolls. Until I figure out a way to devote more time and energy to this I'm relying on people sharing and reposting links for exposure, so feel free to share this info with friends and family!
Thanks for reading, J
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