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Cream Of The Crop

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Parent Issue
Day
29
Month
July
Year
1976
Copyright
Creative Commons (Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share-alike)
OCR Text

Cream of the Crop

by Ron English

In Memoriam: Ted Buckner (1914-1976)

In addition to all of the artists who are returning to the Motor City for Homecoming '76, The Bi-Centennial is presenting on the same stages some of the finest, most talented musicians who live in Detroit. Many of them are quite well-known from regular performance and recording work, while others have been brought out of semi-retirement for special live performances at the Homecoming concerts. In the current metro-Detroit music scene, they represent the "cream of the crop."

Trumpeter Marcus Marcus Belgrave played with Ray Charles and with Charles Mingus, who described him as one of the best trumpet players anywhere. Belgrave has chosen to make his home in Detroit, where he performs frequently with Tribe. He is Director of The Jazz Development Workshop, Inc., headquartered on Gratiot Avenue, where a great many of the city's most proming young jazzmen and women study with this master of the classical Afro-American idiom.

Pianist Harold McKinney comes from a family whose name is synonymous with music in the Detroit area. He has played with Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Kennv Burrell, Yusef Lateef and toured with the Gene Krupa and Wes Montgomery ensembles. McKinney's "Blue Sonata" for piano and ensemble was premiered last year at Oakland University, where he teaches in the Jazz Studies program.

The Jimmy Wilkins Orchestra recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Though much of the band's book comes from a variety of sources, within and without, many of the featured numbers are by trombonist Jimmy 's brother, prominent composer/arranger Ernie Wilkins. Ernie has arranged for countless jazz and pop stars (including Dizzy Gillespie and Ray Charles) and was chief architect of the sound responsible for Count Basie's resurgence in the early and mid-50's.

A former Basie trombonist himself, Jimmy has also played with Dizzy, Lionel Hampton, Erskine Hawkins, Illinois Jacquet, and Clark Terry. The Jimmy Wilkins Orchestra has accompanied Sammy Davis, Jr., Nancy Wilson, Jack Jones, and Peggy Lee, and has toured with the Four Tops, Gladys Knight and The Pips, and The Temptations. Two summers ago, the band toured Europe extensively with trumpeter Clark Terry.

At once gutty and sophisticated, traditional and contemporary, the band continues to be in constant demand for area social, civic, and artistic functions.

Drummer and vibraphonist Jack Brokensha owes his international reputation to his work with the Australian Jazz Quintet. Since moving to southeast Michigan, the sources of his fame are more various: the club that bore his name a few years ago in the New Center area remains a tasty memory to thousands of Detroiters and visitors; and more recently he has led his sophisticated trio in a variety of areas (most recently with vocalist Ursula Walker) while becoming one of the region's busiest producers of jingles and film underscores.

McKinney's Cotton Pickers were a popular recording and touring band headquartered in Detroit from 1927 to 1931, especially at the Greystone Ballroom, opposite Jean Goldkette and other popular bands of the day. Among the hit songs that they introduced to the standard repertoire were "Cherry," "If I Could Be With You" and "I Want a Little Girl." Their arrangements were crafted by the band's musical director, the seminal reedman/composer/arranger Don Redman, who later led his own band and contributed importantly to building the sound of the most popular swing bands in the later 30's.

The New McKinney's Cotton Pickers grew out of a meeting about four years ago between the original band's vocalist and banjoist, Dave Wilborn, and reedman David Hutson (who recently emigrated to Los Angeles). Hutson obtained (and in some cases re-constructed from records) the Cotton Pickers' original charts and assembled a dedicated corps of top area professional players to recreate the bubbling, intricate sounds.

Tribe is an assembly of contemporary Detroit jazz masters including Marcus Belgrave, Harold McKinney, composer/saxophonist (and publisher of Tribe magazine) Wendell Harrison, composer trombonist Phil Ranelin, and the former Aretha Franklin and Paul Butterfield rhythm section with Rod Hicks (bass) and George Davidson (drums). Tribe and its individual members record regularly for their own Tribe Records.

Arranger Dave Van De Pitte has arranged countless pop and soul dates for Motown and a host of other labels and is personally responsible for most of the famous "Motown Sound" which was so successful throughout the sixties. His work may be heard on records by Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Gladys Knight, and, most recently, on Johnny Taylor's platinum (two million sales) single, "Disco Lady." His extended symphonic work, to be performed by the West Bloomfield Symphony during Homecoming, is entitled "A Jazz Synthesis."

The Shoo-Be-Doo Show / Jazz A Go Go Band will feature the irrepressible bassist Shoo-Be-Doo (Reginald Fields) and, among others, percussionist Sundiata. Mr. Doo has played with many area jazz ensembles, including Tribe, and recenfly toured with the legendary Sun Ra and his Arkestra.

Baritone saxophonist Thomas "Beans" Bowles (Dr. Bowles to his friends) was a mainstay in the Motown recording and touring operations. He was Director of Artists Development at the Metropolitan Arts Complex, the federally-funded inner-city arts teaching program. More recently, he has been involved in developing and promoting The Other Brothers Review, featuring sons Dennis and Harold Bowles and their sister, who performs as Ms. Pamela Valencia.

The Hastings Street Experience, named after the well-known former thoroughfare, is a new 16-piece band under the leadership of arranger and tenor saxophonist Miller Brisker and drummer Ed Nelson. Brisker, originally from St. Louis, is a veteran of the Choker Campbell and Aretha Franklin bands, has been a featured soloist with the Jimmy Wilkins Orchestra, and has graced countless pop recording sessions. Nelson, a long-term contributor to the scene, teaches jazz history at Wayne County Community College.

Dennis Rowland's rich baritone voice and engaging presentations have been featured with the jimmy Wilkins Orchestra and in many clubs in the greater Detroit area. He is joined in this concert by LUV, comprising singers Maria Martin and Myrna Wilson.

Mickey's Pulsating Unit (Mickey Stein and Steve Shepard, guitars; Nolan Mendenhall, bass; and Steve Lipson, drums) is a new rock jazz group that has gathered much attention and praise over the last few months for their work at the Perfect Blend and Delta Lady nightclubs. Mickey was nominated for Best Jazz Guitarist in Guitar Player Magazine.

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Cream of the Crop

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The Nazty Band has a hot new album called Movin', and area stations have been giving significant exposure to their single, "It's Summer." Formerly The Black Nasty Band, they are under the direction of r&b artist and producer Johnnie Mae Matthews. The group includes vocalist Audrey Matthews; Larry Thomas on vocals and keyboards; Mike Junket, keyboards; Jackie Casper, guitar; Mark Patterson, bass; and Chuck Matthews, drums.

Pianist and vocalist Fito, who comes to Detroit from Cuba, leads a fiery 7-piece salsa-rock band that features drummer Ron Johnson, bassist Ron Kanales, trumpets Kevin, and Charles Moore, congas David Kanales, percussionist and vocalist Monin, and guitarist Doug Hambursky. Fito's first recordings will be released soon by Detroit's Strata Records.

Epic recording artist and song writer Betty LaVette will sing with 7 Below Zero, a tight unit under the direction of arranger/producer/saxophonist Rudy Robinson. Betty recorded her first hit, "My Man," for Atlantic, when she was 15. Since then, she has recorded "Let Me Down Easy" for Calla, and "He Made a Woman Out of Me" for Shelby Singleton's Silver Fox label.

Candy Johnson and the Peppermint Sticks: Candy Johnson is perhaps best known for his tenor saxophone solo on Bill Doggett's immortal "Honky Tonk." But many Detroiters recall the days in the late 40's and early 50's when Candy was a star at Paradise Valley's burgeoning club scene, featured at places like The Rage, The Parrot Lounge, and Club 666. He toured Europe with the Kansas City - Stars, and the U.S. with the likes of Count Basie, Andy Kirk, and Tiny Bradshaw. He received his music degree at Bowling Green State University n 1968 and currently teaches music at Spencer Sharples High School in Toledo, where he now makes his home.

Pianist Johnny Griffith played on virtually all of the Motown recording sessions from '62 to '67, including the early hits of The Supremes, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder. Since then he has freelanced, recording for Atlantic, MGM, RCA, Invictus and other labels for such artists as Freda Payne and The Chairmen of the Board. He has toured with Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, Al Hibler, Esther Phillips, and Spanky Wilson, and did a State Department tour with Dakota Staton. In 1968 his single, "Grand Central Shuffle," was one of the first wave of "disco" hits. The Geneva Convention album, on the Geneva label, was Griffith's musical commentary on the drug explosion of the 70's. His 1973 RCA album Togetherness included a song called "Detroit Renaissance." Recently Val Benson added lyrics which 10-ycar old Lisa Stone sang at the July 4th naturalization ceremony. More recently, Johnny was commissioned to write the special Homecoming theme which will introduce all the concert events.

Pianist and composer James Tatum s contemporary Jazz Mass had its premier performance at Detroit's St. Cecilia Roman Catholic Church, making it the first time in the U.S. that a jazz mass was celebrated by Catholic priests. Tatum has been a pianist and choral director at Butler College in Tyler, Texas, and is presently head of the Fine Arts Dept. at Murray Wright High School. Excerpts from Tatum's Jazz Mass will be performed by the James Tatum Trio Plus, consisting of such Detroit notables as saxophonist Joe Thurman, trumpeter Gordon Camp, trombonist Norman O'Hara, bassist Joe Williams and percussionist Bert Myrick. They will be joined by jazz vocalist Ursula Walker and bassist Conwell Carrington, and by Motif, a 13-voice chorus.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Besides writing this article and other astute pieces for The Sun, Ron English is an excellent musician n his own right and, as a performer at Homecoming (both as an individual and as a member of the hot Lyman Woodard Organization), he and his band more than deserve credit here.

The Lyman Woodard Organization is best known to Detroiters by ts Saturday Night Special album on the Strata label, and for its long tenures at JJ's Lounge (n the Shelby Hotel) and The Pretzel Bowl, where thousands heard their dramatically funky music. Lyman Woodard plays the organ, English is on guitar, Larry Smith is on the alto saxophone and the mighty George Davidson plays tons of drums.

Ron himself has toured with The Four Tops and with Martha Reeves; he plays frequently with the Pine Knob, Fisher Theatre, Michigan Chamber (Music Hall) and Detroit Symphony orchestras, as well as with the Austin-Moro and Jimmy Wilkins bands. He has recorded with the CJQ and Lyman Woodard (with whom he's worked for the past three years) and has also played on recording dates for Gladys Knight, The Fantastic Four, fellow guitarist Melvin Sparks, and many others. His first Lp as a leader, Fishfeet, is due for imminent release by Strata Records.

Ron is also president of the non-profit Allied Artists Association of America, an artist-run collective which produced a long series of major jazz concerts at the Strata Concert Gallery in 1970-74, and produced and arranged the staging, recording, and subsequent radio broadcast of the three-day musical extravaganza at the 1975 American Festival. He has taught jazz guitar at Oakland University for two years.

-Frank Bach

Clifford Fears And The Homecoming Dancers

Clifford Fears, noted Detroit master of modern dance, has been chosen by the BiCentennial Commission to assemble and direct The Homecoming Dancers, who will perform at most of the Homecoming '76 concerts.

Fears studied dance at Northeastern High and started working under the legendary Motor City showman Ziggy Johnson when he was 14 years old. He studied in New York City at the Julliard School of Music, The Martha Graham School of Dance, and as a member of the Alvin Ailey dance troupe; in 1958 he joined The Katherine Dunham Dance Company. He toured Europe with Dunham for three years and worked in Paris, France for three more. Invited to Stockholm University, Fears worked for nine years in Sweden before returning to Detroit to set up a school here in 1971. Lack of funding caused him to re-join Dunham at her new Performing Arts Training Center at Southern Illinois University in East St. Louis.

He returned again in 1975 to establish The Clifford Fears Dance Theatre, whose members comprise most of the Homecoming Dancers appearing this week.