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Thank You! from the Editor
Dear Jazz Community!
February is the month that we celebrate African American History Month and March is Women's
Month. And,We will be celebrating the greats!
Thank you so much for reading, forwarding and introducing others to BALTIMORE JAZZINE, the
source for Baltimore's Jazz & Blues. This is our SECOND EDITION and as we evolve we
invite you to participate in bringing world wide exposure
to Baltimore's contribution to the African American Classical music called Jazz & Blues. Our host at Tripod report
that we have had short of 2000 hits within the in the two months we have published. It is because of you and your forwarding
efforts that the numbers are so favorable.
We welcome your participation, writers who write about Jazz, Jazz musicians, the business
of Jazz and any Jazz & Blues related experience, art form and subject. We want to know who's who and what's
going on in Baltimore and beyond... musicians, photographers, poets, dancers, singers, books, CDs, visual artist
and more.
Tell us your "Baltimore Jazz" story.
Tell us about back in the day when Jazz was hot and the Blues were loud and "joints
was jumpin' " on Baltimore's Pennsylvania Avenue, the historic strip equivalent to 125th Street in
New York City's Harlem with its theaters and night clubs, restaurants and commercial businesses.
Baltimore was an incubator and designated portal in America's offering of the creme
of the crop in African-American entertainment and culture, Ethel Waters, Pearl Bailey,
Baby Laurence, Louis Jordan and many more who set the standard.
We want to hear that story your grandfather and grandmother or your mom & dad told
you about that time they went to the Midnight Show at the Royal Theater and Billie Holiday was singing
"Lover Man".
Do you have an educated opinion? We invite book, CD and film reviewers
and critics to join us. Let your voice be heard. Film makers, authors, poets and recording artist submit your
CDs.
Check out the new Harlem, Brooklyn, NYC, Philly and DC Connection Calendars, The art
of Jerry Prettyman. The new JAZZ PHOTOGRAPY with Leo Howard Lubow. Keep coming back for the PRIMETIME UPDATE! calendar
with "WEAA 88.9 FM "Stolen Moments" host Gary Ellerbe .
Enjoy & Share BALTIMORE JAZZINE!
Tamm E Hunt
founder/editor-in-chief
PS Please Sign our GUEST BOOK
and while you are at it. Please join our mailing list
 
The transition from slavery
to freedom represents one of the major themes in the history of the African Diaspora in the Americas. Under and against the
rule of various powers, Africans experienced emancipation during the course of the nineteenth century. In Jamaica and Brazil,
freedom came peaceably, but bloodshed also accompanied slavery’s death. In the United States, the rebirth of
freedom resulted from what was at the time the world’s most destructive civil war, a war in which liberated slaves and
free Blacks played a vital role in determining the victor and securing their own liberty. In Saint Domingue, the slaves,
under the leadership of Toussaint L’Ouverture, engaged in violent revolution and won their freedom and in-dependence,
establishing Haiti, the world’s first Black republic. Regardless of the path to freedom, African peoples in the New
World had to continue to struggle for liberation. Where ex-slaves formed the majority, the quest for sovereignty, independence,
and equality remained elusive or hollow. Elsewhere they rarely enjoyed equal citizenship and the untrammeled right to
pursue happiness.
ASALH dedicates its 2007 national theme to the struggles of peoples of African descent to achieve
freedom and equality in the Americas during the age of emancipation. Over a half-century ago, the celebrated historian John
Hope Franklin, a leading light of ASALH, identified the struggle for slavery and freedom as the central theme of African American
history. We take up this theme to honor him and to place before the nation and the world the historical importance of slavery
and freedom in the making of modern societies in the Americas.
Afro Caribbean Jazz Musician
Dwight Brewster
Talking About
The “Mambo”
Read Brewster on The Mambo
Brooklyn Connect!
Celebrating The Lives Of...
Michael Brecker
March 29, 1949 - January 13, 2007
Influential Grammy-award-winning
jazz saxophonist,
band leader and prolific
session musician
More About Brecker
John Coltrane Widow, Alice Coltrane Dies at 69
Years Old
Alice Coltrane, an innovative jazz musician and composer died of respiratory
failure at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center in Los Angeles (California). According to her family, she had been in frail
health. She was 69.
She was born and raised in the religious family of Solon and Anne McLeod in Detroit, Michigan,
once hailed as a major musical capital. Alice became interested in music and began her study of the piano at the age of seven.
She consistently and diligently practiced and studied classical music. Subsequently, she enrolled in a more advanced study
of the music of Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, Stravinsky and Tschaikowsky.
She once said: "Classical music for me, was
an extensive, technical study for many years. At that time, I discovered it to be a truly profound music with a highly intellectual
ambiance. I will always appreciate it with a kind remembrance and great esteem. Subsequent to the completion of her studies,
she said, "The classical artist must respectfully recreate the composer's meaning. Although, with jazz music, you are allowed
to develop your own creativity, improvisation and expression. This greatly inspires me."
She graduated from high
school with a scholarship to the Detroit Institute of Technology; however, her musical achievements began to echo throughout
the city, to the extent that she played in many music halls, choirs and churches, for various occasions as weddings, funerals,
and religious programs. Her skills and abilities were highly enhanced when she began playing piano and organ for the gospel
choir, and for the junior and senior choirs at her church. In later years, she would further her musical attributes by including
organ, harp and synthesizer to her accomplishments.
After moving to New York in the early sixties, Alice met and married
John Coltrane, the great creator of avant-garde music and genius and master of the tenor and soprano saxophones.
Alice Coltrane's early albums under her name, including A Monastic Trio and Ptah the El Daoud, received critical acclaim.
After John Coltrane's his death in 1967, Alice dedicated herself to raising
their children but she also continued with her musical career.
She was one of the few harpists in the history of jazz and her style became
more meditative, blending jazz with Indian ragas and other world elements. In the early 1970s she collaborated with rock star
Carlos Santana, creating a fusion of jazz, rock and Indian music. Fruit of that work was
the album Illuminations.
In the early 1970s, after years of involvement with Eastern religion, Coltrane
took the name Swamini Turiyasangitananda. She was a devotee of the Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba. However, she continued to perform under the name Alice Coltrane.
Following a 25-year hiatus from major public performances, she returned
to the stage for three US appearances in the fall of 2006, culminating with an ecstatic concert in San Francisco on November
4th with her son Ravi, drummer Roy Haynes and bassist Charlie Haden.
Her last recording was Translinear Light, released in 2004. Her last performances came in an abbreviated tour last
fall with her saxophonist son, Ravi Coltrane.
Coltrane, a convert to Hinduism, was also a significant spiritual leader
and founded the Vedantic Center, a spiritual commune now located in Agoura Hills, California.
Elements of the biography courtesy of www.alicecoltrane.com and Wikipedia.
Photo courtesy of Impulse Records. Photo credit: Jeff Dunas
JAZZ MUSICIAN EMERGENCY FUND
Who We Help | Pledge | Donate Now
They have no pensions. They have no health insurance. They are sometimes too sick to work. They are sometimes even homeless.
They are older now, and the phone doesn't ring like it used to, making the rent impossible to pay. They are the jazz musicians
who pioneered this great art form. And they need us now.
The JMEF is committed to helping jazz professionals, especially older musicians, overcome their hard times and to help
them get back on their feet. As "freelancers," most jazz musicians do not have full-time jobs with one organization. Therefore,
they don't qualify for health insurance, pensions, or other benefits, making it next to impossible for them to receive the
proper health care they need. In addition, since most jazz clubs are barely profitable, jazz musicians are placed in poor
bargaining positions, and often play for marginal fees. This lack of income makes it extremely difficult for older musicians
to pay for their living expenses. In fact, they often go weeks without buying proper groceries and other necessities so they
can pay rent, or vice versa. Many times they are evicted and find themselves homeless with no means of support.
The Jazz Foundation of America makes emergency funds available for immediate needs. The Jazz Foundation provides jazz artists
in need with someone who can assess their problems and find solutions. Through valued partnerships with Englewood Hospital
and Medical Center, they provide much needed, free medical care. For the past ten years, Jazz Foundations' jazz musicians
have been getting hundreds of free medical care visits and operations from our network of specialists. And the Jazz
Foundation of America established a volunteer network of other caring jazz enthusiasts to provide free legal, dental, and
psychological services when needed. Look through our Who We Help page and see for yourself how these volunteers and donations
like yours are making bad situations better and reuniting many of these musicians with their music.
Baltimore Jazz
VENUE OF THE MONTH
Location:
Tremont Park Hotel
8 East Pleasant Street
Btwn St Paul & Charles Streets
Baltimore,
MD 21202
410-576-1200
Calendar of Events
Wed.
Jan. 17th, 6 - 8 PM
SOUNDS GOOD JAZZ
DUO
Ron McCadden,
guitar & vocals, Bob Jacobson, sax & clarinet
Fri, Jan. 19th, 6 –8 PM
The Rhonda Robinson Trio
Hot Winter Nights – Brazilian Bossa Novas
Rhonda Robinson
– Vocals & Flute; Dave Arne – Guitar; Blake Meister – Acc. Bass
www.myspace.com/rhondarobinson
No
Cover – Complimentary Buffet & drink specials
Free street parking after 6pm
Wednesdays, 6 – 8 PM
Wednesday February 7 - Mandy Kriss Duo
Wednesday, February 14 – Coldspring Jazz
Wednesday, February 21 – Rhonda Robinson Trio
Wednesday, February 28 – George Spicka w/vocalist Charlene
Fridays, 6 – 9 PM
Friday, February 2 – Michelle Johnson Trio
Friday, February 9 – Tamm E Hunt & Friends
Friday, February 16 – Sounds Good
Friday, February 23 – Gary Richardson Trio
O'Donel"Butch" Levy
Update!
A message from Dr. Estella Ingram
Greetings Everyone:
Sorry, it has taken so long to give all of you an update on Butch's condition.
I have been waiting for the results from this morning's neurological evaluation.
Today, (Friday) Butch was transported to Johns Hopkins Medical Center.
He was thoroughly examined by a chief neurologist. The outcome was great news! Very soon, and after he has one
more CAT Scan, I will contact the surgeon to have the bones replaced in the cranium.
No, they did not store them in his stomach, but kept them in the lab.
The neurologist was very positive and pleased with his progress, and so am I.
Thank you all for your continuous prayers, those inspiring
and uplifting cards, and most importantly your Love and Friendship.
Enclosed is a link that you may visit to sign the guest book created
by the lovely and supportive Tamm Hunt. Coming very soon will be another website, I'll inform all of you as soon as
I know.
All of you need to know that you are most appreciated and loved unconditionally
by both of us.
Again, we are most gracious to know you and have you as our friends.
Please stay in touch.
God Bless
Dr. Estella Ingram
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"God
Father of Soul" Singer
James Brown Dies at 73
One of the most influential American musicians of the 20th century, James
Brown, died today, December 25, of a of conjunctive heart failure.
There will be a press conference today at 4:30 p.m. to discuss the life,
legacy, and passing of James Brown. In attendance will be his manager Frank Copsidas of Intrigue Music, his personal manager
Charles Bobbit, and the Reverend Al Sharpton. Location is the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Downtown Atlanta at 265 Peachtree Street
NE, Atlanta, Georgia. The press conference will take place in the Dunwoody Room.
In the United States, James Brown was known as the "Godfather of Soul."
His dynamic showmanship was celebrated throughout generations. As one of the most sampled artists to date, he had more honors
attached to his name than any other performer in music history. James Brown was a three-figure hitmaker with 114 total entries on Billboard's R&B singles charts and 94 that made
the Hot 100 singles chart. Seventeen of these hits reached number one, a feat topped only by Stevie Wonder and Louis Jordan.
Brown was still putting that "Good Foot" forward with new recordings and protégés such as Derrick Monk, Laurice Monica and
Roosevelt Johnson.
James Brown's life history contained many triumphs over adversity. He was born in South Carolina
during the Great Depression. As a child, he picked cotton, danced for spare change and shined shoes. At 16, he landed in reform
school for three years where he met Bobby Byrd, leader of a gospel group and life-long friend. Brown tried semi-pro boxing
and baseball, but a leg injury put him on the path to pursue music as a career.
James Brown joined his friend Bobby
Byrd in a group that sang gospel in and around Toccoa, Georgia. After seeing Hank Ballard and Fats Domino in a blues revue,
Byrd and Brown were lured into the realm of secular music. Naming their band the Flames, they formed a tightly knit ensemble
of singers, dancers and multi-instrumentalists.
Over the years, while maintaining a grueling touring schedule, James
Brown amassed 800 songs in his repertoire.
James Brown became an icon of the music industry. With his signature one-three
beat, James Brown directly influenced the evolutionary beat of soul music in the 1960, funk music in the 1970s and rap music
in the 1980.
Brown instilled the essence of R&B with recordings under the King and Federal labels throughout the
Sixties. With albums such as Live at the Apollo, Brown captured the energy and hysteria generated by his live performances.
People who had never seen him in person could hear and feel the excitement of him screaming and hollering until his back was
soaking wet. Convinced that such an album would not sell, King Records refused to produce the album.
Brown put up his
own money and recorded the performance at the Apollo Theater in 1962.Released nearly a year later, Live at the Apollo went to Number Two on Billboard's album chart, an unprecedented feat for
a live R&B album. Radio stations played it with a frequency formerly reserved for singles, and attendance at Mr. Brown's
concerts mushroomed.
As the leader of the James Brown Revue (The J.B.'s), James Brown sweated off up to seven pounds
a night through captivating performances. His furious regimen of spins, drops, and shtick such as feigning a heart attack
thrilled crowds. The ritual donning of capes and skintight rhythm & blues became part of his personal trademark as a performer.
Brown's
transformation of gospel fervor into the taut, explosive intensity of rhythm & blues, combined with precision choreography
and dynamic showmanship, defined the direction of black music from the release of his first R&B hit ("Please Please Please")
in 1956. In 1965, Brown scored his first Top 10 pop single with "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag," and the hits kept coming one
after another for the next decade.
The gospel and blues structure of his early records gave way to rhythmic vocals
and a complex funk sound. His innovations during this period had a profound influence on popular music styles around the world,
including funk, rock, Afro-pop, disco and eventually rap.
A charter member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, James
Brown added to his collection of accolades a lifetime achievement Grammy Award in 1992.
Biography courtesy of Intrigue
Music
Kim H. Walker born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, IL home of
the blues, owes her spiritually haunting vocals to years of listening to blues, gospel, R & B, funk, rock and 20 years
of training.
Her love for performing through song and dance began at an early age. With no formal training in her early years, she used
her natural talents to become a lead soloist in the Bloom Trail Swing Choir and the True Harmony Gospel Choir of Chicago,
IL. But her first love, dance, moved her to Washington, DC, where she formed her own dance company, ONYX, from 1990 –
1993. She has performed in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, MD, Pittsburgh, PA, Philadelphia, PA, Atlanta, GA, New York, NY and
Buffalo, NY. She was asked to perform with the Buffalo City Ballet, but due to her summer studies she declined the offer.
Kim studied at SUNY College at Buffalo from 1996 – 1999 and obtained a dual degree in BUSINESS STUDIES and FINANCE
& ECONOMICS where she graduated with honors. She was the recipient of the ECONOMICS AWARD in 1999 and is a member of PSI
OMEGA an ECONOMICS SCHOLASTIC HOUSE OF HONORS. After graduation, in 2001, Kim decided to move back to Washington, DC to pursue
her second love of singing. But due to the events of 9/11/01 she was steered to the Baltimore region to continue her pursuits.
After placing an ad in the local CITY PAPER, Kim met fellow bandleader, band mate, and spiritual partner Kevin Robinson.
An advent supporter of the arts, Kim and Kevin developed and implemented the idea of bringing musicians, dancers, poets,
the culinary and visual artists together under one roof to create a showcase of the talent hidden in the Baltimore region.
This event became known as BALTIMORE SOUND ART, an organization and venue that fostered the artist and their art. Held quarterly
at the Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center, the event featured local artist such as Audio Fix, The Collective
Conscious, The Rhonda Robinson Quartet, visual artist David Cunningham, Larry Scott, culinary cuisine from Chef Gina Heath,
and local poet ensemble Spoken.
Kim’s approach to life, “There’s enough here for everyone, scarcity is a myth.” Not fearing life
and other artist as competition but as spiritual enlightenment is my foundation for inviting more and more artists into the
fold and out of their proverbial “shells”. What’s best, who’s better, is ALL perception based. “Where
do YOU believe you fit in?” “Are YOU being TRULY YOU?” Is ALL that materializes (matters).
KRE
BALTIMORE
JAZZ FACTOIDS
BILLIE
HOLIDAY
Born Eleanor Fagan: Wednesday, April 7, 1915
in Philadelphia.
Died: Friday July 17, 1959 at 3.10, age 44 in Metropolitan Hospital,
room 6A12, New York City.
Considered by many to be the greatest jazz vocalist of all time, Billie Holiday
lived a tempestuous and difficult life. Her singing expressed an incredible depth of emotion that spoke of hard times and
injustice as well as triumph. Though her career was relatively short and often erratic, she left behind a body of work as
great as any vocalist before or since.
Born Eleanora Fagan in 1915, Billie Holiday spent much of her
young life in Baltimore, Maryland. Raised primarily by her mother, Holiday had only a tenuous connection with her father,
who was a jazz guitarist in Fletcher Henderson’s band. Living in extreme poverty, Holiday dropped out of school in the
fifth grade and found a job running errands in a brothel. When she was twelve, Holiday moved with her mother to Harlem, where
she was eventually arrested for prostitution.
Desperate for money, Holiday looked for work as a dancer at
a Harlem speakeasy. When there wasn’t an opening for a dancer, she auditioned as a singer. Long interested in both jazz
and blues, Holiday wowed the owner and found herself singing at the popular Pod and Jerry’s Log Cabin. This led to a
number of other jobs in Harlem jazz clubs, and by 1933 she had her first major breakthrough. She was only twenty when the
well-connected jazz writer and producer John Hammond heard her fill in for a better-known performer. Soon after, he reported that
she was the greatest singer he had ever heard. Her bluesy vocal style brought a slow and rough quality to the jazz standards
that were often upbeat and light. This combination made for poignant and distinctive renditions of songs that were already
standards. By slowing the tone with emotive vocals that reset the timing and rhythm, she added a new dimension to jazz singing.
More About Billie
Starting a
Jazz Collection
First Timer?
Starting a Jazz collection is something every well-rounded music listener
considers. Unfortunately, most folks have trouble getting started because they don't know where to begin. Do you start chronologically
with Louis Armstrong or do you jump right into the new stuff -- how about the '50's and '60's? Everyone is different, so where
you begin will depend a lot on your musical taste.
We hope the information on this page provides you with some insight on how to build your CD collection as well as discover
the essentials about the music, its players and its rich history.
There's a lot of great music out there. Take your time and have fun exploring the world of Jazz!
-- Michael Ricci (AAJ Founder & Publisher)
Contents
Second Issue 2007
Letter From the Publisher/Editor
Billie Holiday
Becoming A Jazz Collector
Kevin Robinson
Bmore Jazz Woman
Caton Castle
Larzine
Jimmy Wilson, Trumpet
Jazz Venues
PrimeTime Updates!
Jazz Legends
Jazz Profiles
Jazz School
Mission
Musicians Directory
House Resolution 57
MLK on Jazz
Jazz Organizations
Health & Fitness
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