The Independent Ear

A refreshing new voice: Cecile McLorin Salvant

Being a jazz concert and festival presenter, radio programmer, and journalist I am the fortunate recipient of all manner of new and recent CD releases and digital downloads from artists, spouses, publicists, labels and friends. That phenomenon has increased exponentially in the DIY era of digital recording, which coupled with the decimation of the record label business, has both compelled and made simpler the process of artists recording, releasing and making available their music. Of all instruments represented by this constant stream of new artist releases, the voice is represented by seemingly dozens of new records every month; and that is particularly the case with the female voice. It has long been a rather peculiar part of the jazz equation that while men dominate the other instruments in jazz, women dominate jazz voice exploits.

Frankly – and I’d hazard a guess that I could recruit a multi-voice chorus of amens on this from my fellow journalists, radio programmers and presenters working in jazz who are privy to new releases – the great majority of these (overwhelmingly women) vocalists making records today are either too green or too mediocre to have survived in the bygone era of artists needing labels to choose and subsequently release, distribute and publicize them; many of them simply would not have passed muster. But because we’re in the DIY era as far as record production is concerned, these singers just keep plugging.

Now and then a voice of true distinction, a vocal artist of obvious promise, and someone blessed with requisite humility to go with that great talent, comes along. The most recent such vocal artist is Cecile McLorin Salvant. Based on her brand new release Woman Child for the Mack Avenue label, Ms. Salvant is clearly one to watch, someone whose career arc will delight many, and whose meteoric talent is literally bursting at the seams for wider recognition.
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The Woman Child title of this recording is quite apt; at the startlingly young age of 23 (you’ll hear what I mean by “startling” as soon as you hear her) Cecile displays all the qualities of a young woman with an old soul. Of Haitian descent, she was born in Miami and moved to Paris to study at 18 – an immersion which broadened her approach and is borne out in many ways by her subsequent artistry (for reference on Woman Child check her original song “Le Front Cache Sur Tes Genoux”, based on a poem by Ida Faubert). Three years ago Cecile won the Thelonious Monk Jazz Vocal Competition and I had the pleasure of presenting her as part of our annual Monk in Motion young artist concert series at Tribeca Performing Arts Center (along with two other very promising young voices: Charenee Wade and Cyrille Aimee; based on subsequent sightings, as far as Monk Competition finalists go there’s been no better trio). On that occasion I was taken by Cecile’s range and zeal to address older and in some cases obscure songs; mark her in the book as someone to watch. The progress she has made since that appearance to the release of Woman Child gives one further faith in young talent, especially this woman!
Cecile

Last week was the capper for me. Cecile performed along with trumpeter Dominic Farinacci and her piano accompanist, the equally precocious and mature pianist Aaron Diehl (whose Mack Avenue debut The Bespoke Man’s Narrative is also recommended) as part of Dominic’s ongoing Young Artist residency series with Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland (full disclosure: this writer has served as artistic director of that festival for 17 years). In addition to being a fine trumpeter, Dominic is a sharp young guy and a Tri-C JazzFest alum who came up through our education program, along with such other trumpet aces as Sean Jones and Donald Malloy (you’ll be hearing about him soon) and a keen judge of the talent pool of his peers. In this case Dominic was beyond prescient in bringing Cecile to our festival.

I had an opportunity to small-talk with Cecile on several occasions during last week’s Cleveland residency and was impressed by her humility, grace and obvious intelligence (and don’t let the serious looks on her album cover photos throw you; girl’s got a radiant smile as well). When Dominic introduced her to our audience on April 23 and she eased onstage with her close cropped natural hair, in a billowing black dress, her characteristic oversized white framed glasses adding further distinction to her face, and wearing hot pink pumps, she already had our audience captivated. When she opened those rangy pipes, and particularly when she plumbed the lower depths of her impressive range, that audience was completely hers. You hear a coquettish youthfulness, colors ranging from little girl highs to learned woman low register expressions; a melange of influences that include shades of Betty Carter, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan – hell, make that the pantheon of great jazz women!) and the kind of keen Afro-folk awareness embodied by Nina Simone and the sisters of (scroll down for reference) Sweet Honey in the Rock (dig her take on “John Henry” on the new release). And she’s got a fine sense of drama; dig her incredible rendition of the obscure song “You Bring Out the Savage in Me” on Woman Child. Such high-positive response as embodied by her Cleveland audience is almost certain to be the case going forward, and I’d hazard a guess that the audience for her Saturday, May 18 performance at the Kennedy Center’s annual Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival will be equally taken. Look out for this one; she’s ‘da truth!
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JJA Jazz Hero Award

Last evening, Monday, April 29, was a great night of youthful jazz at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) as the school presented its 27th annual Calvin Jones Big Band Jazz Festival. The event featured performances by the Howard University Jazz Ensemble, the University of Maryland jazz band, and concluded with a rousing set by the UDC Big Band under the skilled direction of soulful DC pianist Allyn Johnson. The festival is named after Calvin Jones, the musician-professor who founded the UDC jazz studies program, which is also closely affiliated with the excellent Felix Grant Jazz Archives, named after one of DC’s most historic jazz radio show hosts, the late Felix Grant.

In between the UMD and UDC band performances I was humbled to receive a 2013 Jazz Journalists Association (JJA) Jazz Hero Award for Washington, DC. It was indeed a lovely experience for which I am eternally grateful. On hand to present the award were my fellow jazz journalist Bill Brower (who frequently contributed to DownBeat under the byline W.A. Brower), and longtime congressional aide – and driving force behind the annual Congressional Black Caucus Jazz Day, Cedric Hendricks; also pictured in these photos is Cheryl Hawkins of UDC Media, who had previously hosted Randy Weston and me on her television program.

Jazz Hero Award

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Edward “Kidd” Jordan is New Orleans Jazz Hero

It is indeed my distinct honor and privilege to be named a Jazz Hero of Washington, DC (for more scroll down just below the Ysaye Maria Barnwell interview below) in a group of jazz activists that includes the distinguished saxophonist-educator and music family patriarch Edward “Kidd” Jordan. I’m honored to receive my JJA Jazz Hero award at the annual Calvin Jones Big Band Festival at the University of the District of Columbia tonight (Monday, April 29); Kidd will be feted on April 30 in New Orleans.

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Edward “Kidd” Jordan Named 2013 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Hero

Award to be presented on International Jazz Day
Tuesday, April 30, 5:30 p.m. Café Istanbul, 2372 St. Claude Ave. (MAP)

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans chapter of the Jazz Journalists Association is pleased to honor Edward “Kidd” Jordan as the city’s inaugural Jazz Hero, an award which is being bestowed in conjunction with

The Jazz Journalists Association’s annual Jazz Awards honoring significant artistic and journalistic achievements in the music.

These honorees are activists, advocates, altruists, aiders and abettors of jazz who have had significant impact in their local communities. Mr. Jordan was selected by members of the New Orleans JJA based on his career-spanning dedication to expanding the horizons of the music itself, and educating the next generation of musicians — both in fundamentals and in the essential risk-taking spirit of the art form.

Please join the JJA and members of the city’s cultural community at a reception following the presentation of Mr. Jordan’s award on International Jazz Day, Tuesday April 30 at 5:30pm at Cafe Istanbul. The event is free and open to the public.

*For more information about Kidd Jordan’s nomination, please visit his Jazz Hero page .

*To learn more about the Jazz Journalists Association, please visit the JJA website.

*Press inquiries: please contact Jennifer Odell at jennieodell@gmail.com or Vincent Sylvain at vincent@sylvainsolutions.com.

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Ysaye Maria Barnwell on the rich Sweet Honey in the Rock legacy

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The deeply organic, folkloric, and humanitarian expressions of the a cappella ensemble known as Sweet Honey in the Rock has made the ensemble an institution. Sweet Honey in the ROck was founded in 1973 by the distinguished freedom fighter Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon. Dr. Reagon retired from the group several years ago and they continue to soldier on in their rich tradition. Throughout the ensemble’s history Dr. Ysaye Maria Barnwell has always been an imposing presence, her burgundy voice most often occupying the bottom register of their characteristic harmonic pallet. Though not a jazz ensemble, their level of interplay and soloist support reflects that of the best small ensemble jazz tradition. Their latest recording, titled A Tribute (Appleseed Recordings), pays homage to Odetta (whose ancestral presence is best represented by Ms. Barnwell in the ensemble), Miriam Makeba, Nina Simone, and Abbey Lincoln. A bonus with this release is Ms. Barnwell’s renewed violin playing. We caught up with the multi-tasking Ms. Barnwell recently for some questions, about this latest Sweet Honey in the Rock release as well as her plans now that she too has retired from the ensemble that has brought so much definition and distinction to her career.

Clearly for you the latest Sweet Honey in the Rock release is special; but other than the fact that it marks your recorded transition from active performance with the group, why do you feel this new release is special?

This is the first recording in which we pay tribute to women musicians who have influenced each of us on a deep personal, artistic and political level. Personally, I feel I was politicized by ODETTA, Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln and Miriam Makeba and was inspired by all of them. In 1963 I entered the State University College of NY at Geneseo, and there were 7 Black people on the campus (faculty, students and staff) and there were no books by Black authors or about Black people in the library. This was shocking coming from NYC. These women literally provided the sound track which helped me define who I was in that environment, helped me to understand my issues in a much larger context and gave me a vocal repertoire with which to express myself.

Your new release A Tribute, recorded live at Jazz at Lincoln Center (Appleseed Recordings) has been characterized as perhaps having a stronger relationship to jazz than previous Sweet Honey releases; please talk about that aspect.

For me one of the strongest elements of jazz in the evolution of African American music was the introduction of instrumentation. Sweet Honey In The Rock (SHIR) is principally an a cappella group and while there are elements of Jazz improvisation in our vocals and while we have a few jazz inspired tunes in our repertoire and in our own compositions, it is the addition of the jazz trio (piano, bass and drums) [on A Tribute] that tips the balance for us and allows us to explore new territory as vocalists.
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How have you gone about developing your distinctive role as the “bottom” of the Sweet Honey sound?

I think that I am the only member of SHIR who did not identify as a singer when I came into the group. I had studied violin for 15 years, majored in music in High School, and had sung in choirs in Junior High School and College. I learned to play guitar while in College and sang folk songs in the manner of ODETTA, Richie Havens, etc. but earned both a Bachelors and Masters in Speech Pathology. I gradually completed these studies in 1968 and came to DC to teach at Howard University. I left the faculty for 2 years to earn a PhD and returned. Being a musician was never on the radar although music was a vital part of my life. So when I was invited to audition and then join SHIR, I had no preconceived notions about my voice; no actual repertoire or genre that I was attached to. I had learned from ODETTA and Nina that women could utilize the low register at will and so when asked to harmonize it was no problem to “go there” since that territory was available. Through the years my vocal range has expanded in both directions and I have had the opportunity to use my full range in the group.

What would you say have been some of the high points of your tenure in Sweet Honey?

There have been many. Here re a few.
-I don’t remember the year but one year on my birthday (2/28) SHIR performed a concert on the stage of Central High School in Little Rock AK with Daisey Bates sitting on the first row in an integrated audience.
– When Nelson Mandela was released from prison and toured the US, SHIR sang at the rallies in NYC, DC and CA. SHIR had been singing about apartheid in South Africa for years and Bernice and I had both been arrested for demonstrating and being messengers at the South African Embassy.
– SHIR was the first concert at the Obama White House during his first administration. He and family members including his mother and sister in Hawaii have seen us perform in various locations before any of us actually met.
– I gave up the violin when I went to college and not majoring in music and continuing with this instrument severely damaged my relationship with my father who had been my only teacher. The first time SHIR performed at Carnegie Hall, I invited my parents and they came. My father was proud and loved the group. Our relationship changed after that.
– Now, after exactly 40 years of not playing the violin, I have begun to play again. My initial feeble attempts can be heard on the Tribute CD recorded 2 years ago at the premiere of this concert. I’m getting better now, have found a great teacher and when I have time I study and practice consistently, so you never know…
– Being in SHIR has led me to a number of profound opportunities which I have grown from and which I will now continue to pursue with greater intensity and devotion; composing, conducting my Building a Vocal Community Workshops and leading Community Sings, and being open to new collaborative projects several of which have brought music and my background in Public Health into wonderful alignment.

Now that you’ve announced your intention to retire from Sweet Honey, what opportunities or projects are you looking at on the horizon?
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– I have just trademarked THE FORTUNE’S BONES PROJECT and hope that it will have greater visibility in the future.
I want to create several more children’s books based on my songs.
I want to expand my teaching opportunities.
I’d love to do some recording projects.
I’d love to collaborate with other artists.

Contact: www.ymbarnwell.com

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JJA Awards Nominee

Many thanks to the voters in the annual Jazz Journalism Awards for nominating Willard Jenkins for a Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism; I’m deeply honored by this nominationNOMINEES
FOR JAZZ JOURNALISM AWARDS
29) LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN JAZZ JOURNALISM

Ted Panken
W. Royal Stokes
Willard Jenkins
Stanley Crouch (declined to participate)

…And many thanks for Willard Jenkins’ selection as one of the 2013 JJA “Jazz Heroes”…

Willard Jenkins- Washington, D.C.
WVJ on wall

Willard Jenkins is a giant among jazz journalists, and that’s not even accounting for his 6 foot 7 inch frame, which helps the more vertically challenged of us easily find him in a crowd. The man whose invitation in 1986, while he was working with Arts Midwest, to jazz writers and broadcasters inviting them to convene in Chicago — which led to the founding of the Jazz Journalists Association, has been a feature writer, radio programmer, television show host, co-author (or, as he puts it, “arranger”) of Randy Weston’s autobiography African Rhythms, a blogger, a concert and festival artistic director, an educator and consultant.

With these efforts and also invaluable behind-the-scenes work, Willard has helped keep jazz honest and advancing, usually from his home base in Rockville, Maryland (suburban Washington D.C.) although his activities spread across the U.S. and to Africa as well. He got his start as a journalist in the early 1970s at the Cleveland Plain Dealer and since then he’s written for virtually every jazz-oriented publication, and many online platforms (he maintains his own provocative blog, the Independent Ear, on his website OpenSkyJazz.com). He’s been an editor and done oral history interviews for the Smithsonian Institution and the Rhythm and Blues Foundation; he’s had a radio show since 1989 on WPFW, Washington’s Pacifica Radio Station, and in 1994 he became affiliated with Black Entertainment Television, hosting, writing and producing series, specials and documentaries for its BET Jazz and BET J channels.

Having worked in the late ‘70s with the Northeast Ohio Jazz Society, he got involved with the Tri-C Jazz Festival in Cleveland, and appointed its artistic director in 1995. Since 2005 he’s taught the online course Jazz Imagines Africa for Kent State University, his alma mater, and he’s contributed educational content to the International Association for Jazz Education website and the Thelonious Monk Institute’s Jazz in America website. As executive director of the National Jazz Service Organization from 1989 to 1994 he was responsible for many powerful projects, perhaps most significantly the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest National Jazz Network of presenting organizations and regional arts organizations. Most recently Willard has worked with Paul Carr and the Jazz Academy of Music to establish the Mid-Atlantic jazz Festival as an important winter season event for the metropolitan Washington area.

The efforts cited above only begins to suggest the enormous amount of work Jenkins has done on behalf of jazz, blues and other American culture resulting from the African diaspora. He has, most essentially, connected people throughout diverse and sometimes conflicting facets of the jazz world to one another. It should be said, though, that his demeanor is that of a modest man, who nonetheless has an engaging laugh and the wit to discern quality music, good journalism, useful ideas. It’s about time the Jazz Journalists Association recognized its former vice president for what he is: a Jazz Hero.

— W.A. Brower

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