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

IN MEMORIAM: Film and stage legend Cicely Tyson dies at 96

by Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

From her first significant role as Jane Foster in the TV drama “East Side/West Side” to her recurring role as Ophelia Harkness in “How to Get Away with Murder,” Cicely Tyson’s nuanced portrayals of proud Black women “were a powerful counterbalance to the negative stereotypes prevalent in film and television.”

The legendary film, television, and stage actress who earned an Academy Honorary Award, three Emmy’s and a Tony, has died at the age of 96.

“Often at great personal cost, she demanded truth and dignity in the roles she accepted. Few actors have done more to advance the cause of racial justice than the incomparable Cicely Tyson,” National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial said late Thursday.

“The National Urban League was proud to present her with one of our highest honors, the Arts Award, at our 2013 Conference. The entire Urban League Movement mourns her passing and honors her memory.”

A cause of death was not immediately released.

“With heavy heart, the family of Miss Cicely Tyson announces her peaceful transition this afternoon,” her manager, Larry Thompson, said in a statement. “At this time, please allow the family their privacy.”

Born in New York on December 19, 1924, Tyson grew up in Harlem’s famed but hardscrabble streets.

As a teenager, she worked as a typist but decided she wanted to go into show business.

She began modeling at the age of 18, but her love of the stage almost immediately took over.

In 1963, Tyson made history with East Side/West Side, becoming the first Black lead in a television drama series.

Her star soared after an Academy Award-nominated performance for the 1972 film, Sounder.

She had previously appeared in an episode of the TV western “Gunsmoke,” and had made a name for herself in “The FBI,” “A Man Called Adam,” and I-Spy with Bill Cosby.

“Cicely was a brilliant actress, who was a woman of color, with the strength of her Blackness, she made it possible for Black women to grace the stage of theatre, film, and television,” comedian Bill Cosby wrote in a statement posted to his official Twitter account.

“I still smile because I had the blessings of witnessing her talent on an episode of ‘The Bill Cosby Show’ called ‘Blind Date’ I can only imagine how strong Miles Davis is blowing that trumpet, welcoming you in his arms with the song, ‘So What.’ Thank you for your brilliance and grace.”

The ultra-talented Tyson would earn Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Kunta Kinte’s mother in Alex Haley’s “Roots,” and as the lead character in “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.”

In 1994, Tyson earned her third Emmy in her supporting role as housemaid Castalia in CBS’ miniseries “The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All.”

Among her more memorable stage performances were 1968’s “Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights,” 1969’s “To Be Young, Gifted and Black,” and 1983’s “The Corn is Green.”

“So many great stories about Cicely Tyson,” Tweeted Soledad O’Brien. “Whew, that lady was amazing. While shooting a doc on her in Spanish Harlem, people kept stopping their cars. In the street. To hop out and say hi. Old people. Teenagers. Middle-aged fans. “Ciss-el-lee” they’d chant as she’d walk by.”

The Hollywood Reporter received statements from some of Hollywood’s biggest stars.

Viola Davis, who worked with Tyson on How to Get Away with Murder and wrote the foreword of Tyson’s memoir, wrote:

“I’m devastated. My heart is just broken. I loved you so much!! You were everything to me! You made me feel loved and seen and valued in a world where there is still a cloak of invisibility for us dark chocolate girls. You gave me permission to

I’m not ready for you to be my angel yet. But…I also understand that it’s only when the last person who has a memory of you dies that you’ll truly be dead.

“In that case, you will be immortal. Thank you for shifting my life. Thank you for the long talks. Thank you for loving me. Rest well.”

In a tribute, Tyler Perry emotionally shared that the news “brought me to my knees,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“She was the grandmother I never had and the wisdom tree that I could always sit under to fill my cup. My heart breaks in one beat, while celebrating her life in the next,” he wrote.

“She called me son. Well, today your son grieves your loss and will miss our long talks, your laughter from your belly, and your very presence.”

Whoopi Goldberg also paid tribute by describing Tyson as “a tower of power, a pillar of strength, CLEAR about who she was, and how she was to be treated.”

LeVar Burton paid tribute to his “first screen Mom.” “Elegance, warmth, beauty, wisdom, style, and abundant grace. She was as regal as they come. An artist of the highest order, I will love her forever,” he wrote. 

@StacyBrownMedia

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An Appraisal: “She seemed delicate. But only ‘seemed.’ She was delicate the way a ribbon of steel holds up its part of a bridge.” The critic Wesley Morris reflects on Cicely Tyson’s career.

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