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
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.
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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
Tomorrow Fri Jan 28, Mandee w/ Flamenco Pittsburgh & Bridge City Bombshells!
A.) Wander around downtown in the Cultural District and celebrate how incredibly amazing our art, music and dance scene is.....
or
B.) Head over to Belvedere's in Lawrenceville and watch pretty girls take off their clothes in an an incredibly artful and sexy fashion
or
C.) Pretend you're Phat Man Dee and do both.....
If you want to do both then I encourage you, for the very selfish reason, that I wish to sing to you and also see your faces when you bear witness to the incredible artistry of the beautiful dancers with whom I am privileged to work tomorrow evening.
Here's the deets:
6 PM SHOW ONLY at Pierce Gallery 805/807 Liberty Ave downtown, lower level
Gallery Crawl is free and open to the public, for more info visit:
http://www.pgharts.org/education/gallerycrawl.aspx
http://jonbanuelos.com/
http://www.flamencopittsburgh.org/
I shall join my favorite burlesque troupe, Pittsburgh's prettiest darlings, the "Bridge City Bombshells" at Belevdere's in Lawrenceville. I am their emcee for the evening and will also be singing a 40 min set with my trio, including Miguel "Cha" Sague III and Carlos Peña of Guaracha Latin Dance Band.Doors open at 9 pm, and show time is 10 pm.
21 and over, tickets are $10 for men and $7 for women.
4016 Butler Street in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh.
If you're on the face book here's a handy dandy event page!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=141308472594111
I would love to see you at both. If I cannot see you now, dates to mark and remember:
March 5th at Howler's Coyote Cafe with local Irish balladeer Terry Griffith and internationally celebrated Celtic rock sensation Coyote Run!
March 17 at the Smiling Moose opening for Bushwalla!
Also every Wednesday night at the Shadow Lounge, my friend and conga player Miguel "Cha" Sague III leads a band his father started 20 years ago, "Guaracha Latin Dance Band" and they do a weekly event called "Food Bank Fiesta" and they play salsa/cumbia/bolero/reggaton and they have me sit in sometimes as well. So, if it is a Wednesday in Pittsburgh, then it is very likely you will see me there, and if you do see me there it is then very likely I will sing something in Spanish with them. Cha is a wonderful sideman for me and I adore playing and singing with him, but if you haven't seen him leading his own 10 piece band with original Guaracha members and new kids just coming up, complete with 2 guitars, a horn section, multiple drummers and his incredible Pops hitting those high notes like it's 1969, then you're missing out in a serious way. Every Wednesday, Shadow Lounge, $7 or $5 with non perishable food donation for the Greater Pittsburgh Area Food Bank.
So I am back in school right now at Pittsburgh Filmmakers, and am really looking forward to getting my hands on their fleet of shiny new hi def video cameras and also to this this spring, when I will be shooting my podcasts wherein I showcase my favorite local creative artists across genres to the world in a free downloadable form. I also am planning a big live performance dvd shoot, so I can better share my music with the world. Your support has meant so much to me over the years, it is such an honor to sing to people who want to hear. Bless you. I look forward to inviting you to these events as the logistics unfold.
For now allow me to leave you with a new poem, it is my answer to all these wonderful Pittsburgh songs by artists like Wiz khalifa and Kelle Maize that are showcasing our fair city.
"My Pittsburgh Anthem" by Phat Man Dee
"What you think that being from Steel Town really truly is?
Is it football or is it hockey, well that stuff ain't my biz
All that big big money flowing through downtown
But in my steel city we got three rivers and we know how to get down
Flamenco dancers' flashing eyes will stare you down the line
Puerto Rican queens singing in and out of time
Cuban shaman science is sweating out Penn Hills
We have so much music, its how we pay our bills
Jazz giants coming forth as Sean and Reggie blow
Our musicians play with rock stars , they touring with the show
So welcome to my Pittsburgh, It's thick with dance and song
With middle eastern dancers swinging to Balkan beats and eastern gongs
Circus clowns are biking with punkers in the night
Hip hoppers rhyming fully, together under steel town's night
Yeah welcome to my Pittsburgh, though its not the one you'd see
On the tv or in the stadium, in my Pittsburgh we're singing free."
Follow me on twitter if you'd like to get more info in a more timely if sometimes disheveled fashion:
http://www/twitter.com/phatmandee
Love and light always my friends,
Mandee
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