Tag Archives: jazz

Evolution of Jazz and its place on 9th Street focus of forum by Clinton School, Oxford American and Mosaic Templars

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jazz forumTonight (January 14) at 6pm at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, the Clinton School Speaker Series is presenting a forum on Jazz.  “Jazz: Evolution of an American Art Form and Its Place on 9th Street,” Jazz Symposium will be presented in partnership with the Oxford American and Mosaic Templars Cultural Center.

This panel discussion will be moderated by musician and lifelong jazz enthusiast, Chris Parker, and feature panelists Amina Claudine Myers (born in Blackwell, Ark.), a New York-based jazz singer and pianist; John Cain, a Little Rock-based activist and 9th Street historian; and Nathan Hood, a Hot Springs-based baritone saxophone player. The panel will share personal experiences as jazz musicians and lovers of the genre, as well as the art form’s historical context within the African American microeconomics that existed in U.S. cities prior to the Civil Rights movement.

At 7:30 p.m. — following the 60-minute symposium — a jazz ensemble led by Chris Parker will play a 60-minute set of music. Featured members of the ensemble will include bassist Bill Huntington, drummer Yvette ‘Babygirl’ Preyer, and saxophonist Nathan Hood. Parker, Huntington, Preyer, and Hood have worked with an impressive and wide range of musicians, including Ellis Marsalis, Dr. John, Benny Powell, Art Pepper, Isaac Hayes, and Harold Ousley, among others. Admission for the performance is $10 regular or $5 for students/artists.

2015 In Memoriam – Jim Porter

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1515 Porter

In these final days of 2015, we pause to look back at 15 who influenced Little Rock’s cultural scene who left us in 2015.

Jim Porter, Jr., spent a lifetime promoting music in Little Rock.  Along the way, he created social change as well.

A native of Little Rock, he graduated from Little Rock High School and the University of Arkansas.  After college, Jim started out in the family businesses and tried to follow a “traditional” path that his father had paved for him. Working in sales and public relations, he became active doing volunteer work.  Jim realized that the “traditional” path was not for him, and while working in the family businesses, he started bringing in top name entertainers, many of them black, to perform in Little Rock. He was not a singer, nor did he play any instrument, but his love for music and all things connected to music led him towards his calling as an agent/manager and promoter of musicians.

As a promoter of national artists and bands, Jim ran into southern racism and segregation. The Central High crisis in 1957 caused many black artists to refuse to come to Little Rock, fearful for their safety. Jim was forced to concentrate more on booking and managing local musicians through what was at the time Arkansas’ only full time booking and talent agency, Consolidated Talent Corporation (later to become Porter Entertainment). During his booking career from the late 50’s until his retirement in 2001, Jim placed talent across Arkansas (and even in Las Vegas) at clubs, hotels, restaurants, and private functions- anywhere that people needed entertainment.

Jim saw first hand the inequities of black musicians in Arkansas, the separate and very unequal accommodations, and the segregated venues. Never giving up promoting national artists, the 60’s led him and his co-investors to bring in such national names (mostly jazz artists) such as Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Al Hirt, Pete Fountain, Woody Herman, the Four Freshman, Dave Brubeck, George Shearing, Harry James and others.

In 1961, he was arrested for integrating a concert at Robinson Auditorium. A white man, he had entered the segregated balcony.  Knowing the challenges of booking acts in a segregated house (indeed Duke Ellington would cancel his booking at Robinson), Porter had tried to get the facility to change its rules.  It was 1966, when Louis Armstrong returned to Little Rock and played before an integrated house that the new rules were here to stay.  In the early 1970s, he helped bring the musical Hair to Little Rock, with the specter of full nudity causing consternation to Robinson Auditorium and some of the citizenry.

Jim was inducted into the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame in 2005, and the Arkansas Jazz Heritage Foundation Hall of Fame in 2006. He was appointed to the Martin Luther King Commission in 2005 and entered politics to serve as a member of the Pulaski County Quorum Court from 1998 until 2006.

Always an entrepreneur, Jim also started MusAd Recording Studio, where commercial jingles were produced and bands could record demo tapes. The Hot Air Balloon Theatre (in the old Center Theatre on Main Street) was the site for G-movies and live entertainment for kids. The Yellow Rocket, an arcade in the “Heights” is still remembered by now middle-aged adults who spent afternoons and weekends feeding money into the game machines and eating snacks. Jim wrote several books, hosted TV shows (“After Five” and “Scene Around”) featuring restaurants, bars, clubs and their patrons and employees. He was featured on a weekly radio show about dining and entertainment, and wrote “Scene Around” columns and a dining and entertainment guide for the Arkansas Democrat.

Tonight at South on Main – UCA Jazz II Ensemble

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ucajazzTonight at Join the Oxford American magazine for a special concert at South on Main, featuring the UCA Jazz II Ensemble! This event is free and open to the public. To guarantee a table/seat, call ahead at (501) 244-9660.

Led by Dr. Gail Robertson, the UCA Jazz Ensemble II consists of students with a variety of jazz backgrounds. Some members are experienced while others may have never been in a jazz band before. This ensemble often provides valuable opportunities for our students to play on secondary instruments. There is a strong focus on learning improvisation that has become known as the weekly “Blues Around the House.” Jazz II performs standards such as works by Duke Ellington, Thad Jones, Neal Hefti, Billy Strayhorn, Herbie Hancock, Sammy Nestico, Les Hooper, Mark Taylor, Josef Zawinul, Woody Herman, as well as over 50 charts from our Dance Band Book!

The University of Central Arkansas is a vibrant and exciting place to study jazz. With generous funding from the College of Fine Arts and Communication, UCA Student Government Association, and a partnership with the Oxford American, UCA is able to host several guest artists and clinicians each semester.

Past featured artists are: Delfayo Marsalis, Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band, Maynard Ferguson, The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra featuring Wynton Marsalis, Poncho Sanchez, Chris Vadala, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Jim Cullum Jazz Band, The Bad Plus, Warren Wolf and Wolfpack, Peter Martin and Romero Lubambo, Bennie Wallace Quartet, Anat Cohen, Rhythm and Brass, and many more to come!

As part of Oxford American Jazz Series, Aaron Diehl headlines at South on Main tonight

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som diehlJazz returns to Main Street tonight at 8:00 PM!  The Oxford American magazine welcomes Aaron Diehl to Little Rock as the second show in its 2015 – 2016 Jazz Series!

Doors open at 6:00 PM, with dinner and drinks available for purchase at that time. This series is made possible by presenting sponsor, the UCA College of Fine Arts & Communication. Additional partners include The Summer Foundation, Arkansas Arts Council, Capital Hotel, Piano Kraft, Rosen Music Company, and FM-89.1 KUAR.

Tickets are $20 (General Admission), $30 (Reserved), and $32 (Premium Reserved).

In an era revolving around celebrity hype and mediocre entertainment, Columbus, Ohio native Aaron Diehl seeks to stand out as an artist in his generation that exemplifies excellence, sophistication, and a fluency in the American musical vernacular. The 2011 Cole Porter Fellow of the American Pianists Association, Diehl has been hailed by the New York Times as “a smart young pianist with a fastidious grasp of Jazz traditions.” He is committed to unearthing the treasures of a musical aesthetic through collaborative efforts with musicians across generations.

Born in 1985, Diehl grew up in a nurturing musical environment with his grandfather, Arthur Baskerville, who often played piano at local establishments in Columbus and sang in the church choir. Aaron began studying classically at age seven, and he discovered his passion for jazz music when attending the Interlochen Summer Camp. There he met piano prodigy Eldar Djangirov, who made a lasting impression on Diehl through his enthusiasm for Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum.

Diehl is the Artistic Director of the Catskill Jazz Factory, an organization dedicated to enhancing community development by means of America’s original art form.

Tonight’s Local Live at South on Main showcases Sounds So Good

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llsom ssgTonight at 7:30 PM, the weekly Oxford American Local Live concert series features Sounds So Good!

Local Live showcases the best of local and regional music talent and is always free and open to the public. Call ahead to South on Main to make your reservations and ensure a table: (501) 244-9660.

 

Pianist Curtis JJ Adams began playing in the metro Little Rock area in 1966 with his Latin / Eastern style jazz group, the Jamaica Jive Trio, whose style was heavily influenced by the Rochester, New York jazz scene of that era. Adams started the jazz group Sounds So Good in 2013, and with its east coast flavor, yet decidedly down-home feel, SSG is quickly becoming a local favorite.

The group is rounded out by saxophonist Timothy Woods, a 2011 graduate of the University of Arkansas at Monticello who was awarded the Outstanding Soloist award at the Elmhurst Jazz Festival in Elmhurst, IL in both Big Band and combo divisions, and vocalist Tamisha “Sonnie” Cheatham, who has performed in opera and musical theatre productions and the jazz ensemble at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Tonight’s Jazz in the Park: Syn RG!

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jazzinparkThis September, on Wednesday nights from 6 pm – 8 pm., Jazz in the Park continues its partnership with Art Porter Music Education, Inc. in the Riverfront Park.
Tonight features Syn RG!  The concert will take place in the History Pavilion in Riverfront Park.  In case of rain, it will be in the River Market pavilions.
The concert series is brought to you by the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau.  Lost Forty Brewing beers, select wines, soft drinks & water are available for sale. Proceeds benefit Art Porter Music Education, Inc. So please, NO Coolers. Picnic blankets and chairs are welcome. As are children and pets (please leash your pets)
Art Porter Music Education, Inc. (APME) continues its mission of keeping the musical legacies of local jazz statesman Art Porter, Sr. and his son, renowned saxophonist Art Porter, Jr. alive with community enrichment opportunities, volunteerism, and the awarding of scholarships. Through music, APME works to enhance education by helping students improve reading, language and mathematical skills. The partnership with the River Market to support Jazz in the Park, a free, family-friendly event featuring jazz in downtown Little Rock, is a natural fit for both organizations.

 

Enjoy That Arkansas Weather at tonight’s FREE Jazz in the Park from 6pm to 8pm.

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jazzinparkThis September, on Wednesday nights from 6 pm – 8 pm., Jazz in the Park continues its partnership with Art Porter Music Education, Inc. in the Riverfront Park.
Tonight features That Arkansas Weather!  The concert will take place in the History Pavilion in Riverfront Park.  In case of rain, it will be in the River Market pavilions.
That Arkansas Weather is a versatile band of UALR trained and gig-tested musicians. Come hear them play a high energy blend of Jazz, Soul, and Funk.  Bring your party pants and dancing shoes, but don’t try to predict the weather— It’s always changing!
The concert series is brought to you by the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau.  Lost Forty Brewing beers, select wines, soft drinks & water are available for sale. Proceeds benefit Art Porter Music Education, Inc. So please, NO Coolers. Picnic blankets and chairs are welcome. As are children and pets (please leash your pets)
Art Porter Music Education, Inc. (APME) continues its mission of keeping the musical legacies of local jazz statesman Art Porter, Sr. and his son, renowned saxophonist Art Porter, Jr. alive with community enrichment opportunities, volunteerism, and the awarding of scholarships. Through music, APME works to enhance education by helping students improve reading, language and mathematical skills. The partnership with the River Market to support Jazz in the Park, a free, family-friendly event featuring jazz in downtown Little Rock, is a natural fit for both organizations.