Author Archives: Scott

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About Scott

A cultural thinker with a life long interest in the arts and humanities: theatre, music, architecture, photography, history, urban planning, etc.

Jazz in the Park tonight: Walter Henderson and Chris Parker

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jazzinparkThe Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau continues Jazz in the Park tonight. The featured musicians are Walter Henderson and Chris Parker.

Walter Henderson is a trumpeter, flugelhornist, puccolist and vocalist.  Originally from Little Rock, he has developed his many musical skills from artists such as John Stubblefield, James Leary, York Wilborn, Donald E. Kramer, Pharaoh Sanders, Art Porter and Sylvia M. Clay.

He served with the 60th U.S. Army Band and studied music at Little Rock University and at Governors State University, where he gained popularity with the GSU Jazz Sextet. The group toured Europe, the Far East, and was twice winner of the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival.

Most notably, he is a 1987 Musicfest USA National Finals Winner in Chicago. He has performed for the Richard Muhal Richard Big Band, was leader of the Chicago band Inner Drive and also led The Raconteurs. He has been an active member of the Rocking Robins Rhythm Kings, and has performed with Leslie Gore, Little Anthony, Frankie Avalon, Dick Clark, Lou Christie, Bobby Lewis, and Del Shannon. Upon different occasions, he has appeared with Redd Foxx, Richard Boone, The Four Tops, Captain Jack McDuff, Buddy Guy, Ken Booth, and Lord Lara. He was a principal in the Little Rock Brazilian jazz-pop band, Circo Verde.

Chris Parker was born in North Little Rock, Arkansas. He first learned from local Arkansas musicians, most notably: Charles Thomas, Art Porter, Sr., Bob Steele, Lee Tomboulian, and Michael Bates. Chris moved to Memphis, TN in 1991. There he received his BA degree from the University of Memphis and learned from/ studied with musicians including Gene Rush, James Williams, Herman Green, Fred Ford, Calvin Newborn, Bill Mobley, Alvin Fielder, Kidd Jordan, Joe Jennings, and Vernel Fournier.

Chris also spent several years in New York City where he learned from masters including: Benny Powell, Chris Anderson, Walter Perkins, Sonelius Smith, Barry Harris, George Braith, Warren Smith, and Bill Fielder.

Chris has performed/worked with: Harold Ousley, Benny Powell, Frank Lacy, Michael Marcus, Warren Smith, Andy McCloud, Roy Campbell, Jr., Wendell Harrison, Kiane Zawadi, Frank Lowe, Alvin Fielder, Joe Jennings, Earl May, Fred Ford, and Herman Green. Also informally with: Rashied Ali, George Braith, Frank Grant, Talib Kibwe, and Sonny Simmons.

Chris is also active in educational activities. He has worked as a teacher/artist with organizations including: Louis Armstrong Jazz Camp (New Orleans, LA), Mind Builders Arts School (Bronx, NY), Memphis Black Arts Alliance (Memphis, TN), Memphis Arts Council (Memphis, TN)

Jazz in the Park takes place Wednesday night in June and July from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. They will take place in the History Pavilion in Riverfront Park (between the Junction Bridge and Peabody Park).

Beer & Wine will be available for sale – to benefit Sculpture at the River Market…so no coolers, please. Free to attend!

Tales from the South: Animal Tales

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talesfromthesouthTonight’s edition of  ”Tales from the South” is Animal Tales. It will feature stories by Danny J. Ramsey,  Louis Houston, and Roger Poole. Music is by Paul Morphis and blues guitarist Mark Simpson

“Tales From the South” is a radio show created and produced by Paula Martin Morell, who is also the show’s host. The show is taped live on Tuesday. The night is a cross between a house concert and a reading/show, with incredible food and great company. Tickets must be purchased before the show, as shows are usually standing-room only.

“Tales from the South” is a showcase of writers reading their own true stories. While the show itself is unrehearsed, the literary memoirs have been worked on for weeks leading up to the readings. Stories range from funny to touching, from everyday occurrences to life-altering tragedies.

The program takes place at Starving Artist Café.  Dinner is served from 5pm to 6:30pm, the show starts at 7pm.  Admission is $7.50, not including dinner.

You MUST purchase your ticket before the show

Previous episodes of “Tales from the South” air on KUAR Public Radio on Thursdays at 7pm.

Arts Council announces Gov Arts Award recipients

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Arkansas_Arts_Council_logo_2The Arkansas Arts Council has announced the recipients of the 2013 Governor’s Arts Awards.

They are:
Arts Community Development Award – Bob Ford and Amy Herzberg (Fayetteville)
Arts in Education Award – Paul Leopoulos (North Little Rock)
Corporate Sponsorship of the Arts Award – Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, PLLC (Little Rock)
Folklife Award – Paula Morell (North Little Rock)
Individual Artist Award – Robert Hupp (Little Rock)
Patron Award – Lee and Dale Ronnel (Little Rock)
Lifetime Achievement Award – Billie Seamans (McGehee)
Judges Special Recognition Award – Farrell Ford (Arkadelphia)

The awards will be presented in the fall.

Last Week of “Jazz Through the Eyes of Herman Leonard”

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Dinah Washington photo by Herman Leonard

Dinah Washington photo by Herman Leonard

Fans of jazz, photography or American popular culture in the 20th Century have one more week to see the exquisite exhibit “Jazz Through the Eyes of Herman Leonard.”  The exhibit, which opened in March, closes on July 21 at the Clinton Presidential Center.

Herman Leonard was a popular and influential photographer well into the 2000s, but is best known for his crisp, high-contrast black and white images of famous jazz performers from the 1940s and 1950s.

The exhibit features the who’s who of this uniquely American music.  If you have a favorite jazz singer, musician or composer, Herman Leonard photographed them – and they are featured in this collection.

Leonard caught the eye of jazz fans around the world, and Bill Clinton is no exception. Clinton called Leonard: “The greatest jazz photographer in the history of the genre” and has several Leonard prints hanging in his office in Harlem.

This exhibit features over 40 large-format black and white prints made and signed by Herman Leonard. To help tell the story of the artists in the images personal objects will accompany the stunning Leonard images.

Little Rock Look Back: Mayor James A. Woodson

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IMG_0298On July 14, 1848, future Little Rock Mayor James Alexander Woodson was born in North Carolina.  The son of two prominent eastern families, he and his parents moved to Pine Bluff in 1849.  His father died within two weeks of the families arrival in Arkansas.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted as a drummer boy in the Ninth Arkansas infantry but was discharged because of his youth. He worked as a clerk at a general store in Pine Bluff. After the Civil War ended, he attended school in Virginia and Maryland before returning Pine Bluff. Upon his return he worked in the steamboat business and eventually started working in railroads. He was instrumental in putting together one of the forerunners of the Missouri Pacific Railroad and worked for them for 18 years.

Woodson moved to Little Rock in March 1881 and continued working for the railroad until 1891.  Working in the mercantile business allowed him more time to be engaged in civic affairs.  In 1895 he was elected mayor.   He handily defeated former mayor W. G. Whipple who was seeking to return to office.

During Mayor Woodson’s tenure, he oversaw renovations of Little Rock City Hall (which was located at the time on the north side of Markham between Main Street and Louisiana Street).  He also championed the construction of a city hospital and the first free bridge across the Arkansas River.  Mayor Woodson was reelected in April 1897 and April 1899.

In April 1890, he resigned to take over the Arkansas and Southwestern Railway.  After restoring it to sound financial footing, he later led the Arkansas Asphalt Company.  That company provided the first asphalt for paving Little Rock city streets.

Woodson served as a director of the Little Rock board of trade (forerunner to the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce), director of the Mercantile Trust Company and president of the state board of trade (forerunner of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce).

Woodson married Virginia Lanier in 1868.  They had six children, five of whom lived to adulthood.  Mayor Woodson died on October 19, 1908 and is buried in Mt. Holly Cemetery.  His wife lived until 1937 and is buried next to him.  Also buried in Mt. Holly are their children James Alexander, Benjamin Morehead and Gertrude Woodson Hardeman; each of whom died before their mother.  Mrs. Hardeman’s husband and son are also buried in Mt. Holly.

Vintage Military Vehicles at MacArthur Museum

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vintagevehiclemacmusThe MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History will be hosting an event today to showcase vintage military vehicles.  The event will run from 9am to 3pm and is FREE.

This event will showcase approximately 20 vintage military vehicles including World War II Jeeps, a 1941 Staff car, 1992 Humvee, and the 1915 Dodge touring car used by Gen. John J. Pershing in Mexico in his search for Pancho Villa.  Food and beverages will be available for purchase on-site from Bryant’s BBQ and Repicci’s Italian Ice of Little Rock.

The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History was created to interpret our state’s military heritage from its territorial period to the present.

Located in the historic Tower Building of the Little Rock Arsenal–the birthplace of General Douglas MacArthur–the museum preserves the contributions of Arkansas men and women who served in the armed forces.

Exhibits feature artifacts, photographs, weapons, documents, uniforms and other military items that vividly portray Arkansas’s military history at home and abroad.

The Museum is a program of the City of Little Rock’s Parks and Recreation Department.

Sandwiching in History: Villa Marre

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villamarreToday at 12 noon, the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program’s monthly “Sandwiching in History” program will visit the Villa Marre.

The Villa Marre is located at 1321 Scott Street. The Second Empire-style Villa Marre was built in 1881 by Italian immigrant and Little Rock saloonkeeper Angelo Marre, who also served on the Little Rock City Council.

The distinctive home features a mansard roof covered in patterned slate, a central tower topped by wrought-iron cresting, and hood molding above the doors and windows. Marre died in 1889, and his widow, Jennie, remained in the house until about 1900. Arkansas Governor Jeff Davis rented the house for a few years, and in 1905, the home was purchased by E. B. Kinsworthy, former state senator and attorney general of Arkansas.

It is probably most famous today for being the outdoor exterior of Sugarbakers design firm in the CBS sitcom “Designing Women.”  For several years, it was the home of the Quapaw Quarter Association. It later returned to a private residence.  Currently it is a rentable venue for weddings and other events.

The “Sandwiching In History” program is a series of tours that seeks to familiarize people who live and work in central Arkansas with the historic structures and sites around us. The tours take place on Fridays at noon, last less than an hour, and participants are encouraged to bring their lunches so that they can eat while listening to a brief lecture about the property and its history before proceeding on a short tour. A representative from the property is encouraged to attend also and address the group.

The tours are organized by the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage. All tours are free and open to the public.