In the spirit of April being not only Jazz Appreciation Month, and National Poetry Month, but also National Humor Month – a natural for a month kicked-off by April Fool’s Day – we present the following bit of reportage. Certainly one of the all-time cinematic hilarities is that ultra-cautionary tale “Reefer Madness.” I was recently doing some research at a favorite investigation source – the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University-Newark. Combing through their DownBeat magazine archives revealed the following piece, from the March 15, 1944 issue of DB (back when the mag was a weekly); reprinted by permission. We could all use a bit of comic relief…

MUSICIANS USED FOR WEED MEDICAL TEST (circa March 15, 1944)
By Frank Stacy

New York–The scientific world is finally paying some heed to the marijuana problem and attacking it from a musician’s viewpoint. According to reliable sources, research doctors attached to government prison-hospitals where drug addicts are confined for cure are currently working on a series of experiments with marijuana, using musicians as guinea pigs. The experiments are designed to find out the effect, if any, the weed has on the quality of a musician’s work and the medics and music-makers are locking themselves up in rooms then blowing their top – but scientifically.

Volunteers for the tests are being taken from among inmates with a musical background. A musical aptitude test is given each subject, both while he is in a normal condition and again while under the influence of marijuana. In this manner the doctors hope to determine why some musicians are attracted to the drug; whether it improves the quality of their playing and whether the whole idea is a bad kick.

Exaggerated Influence

It’s no secret that many musicians have been offenders against have been offenders against the Marijuana Tax Act. The records show this even though the facts have been over-stated to the point where the public believes all musicians and their friends live in a perpetual narcotic whirl.

Marijuana derives its name from a Mexican slang-word, meaning “Mary Jane.” In the United States the drug is known variously as tea, muggles, weed, dry gauge, reefers and hemp. The dried, crushed leaves of the plant are smoked heavily in Oriental countries, including India, Africa [ed’s note: you know, that “country” called Africa], Egypt [ed’s note: …which apparently Egypt is not a part of!], Syria, Greece and Arabia. In many sections of the United States, the plant is grown commercially for its hemp, used in manufacturing rope, hats, and paper. It can be cultivated easily. Due to its rapid spread as a stimulant, the Marijuana Tax Act was passed in 1937 and a curb put on the growing influence of the weed. [Ed’s note: well, they certainly put a cap on that demon weed, didn’t they?]

Problem Studied
Medical men and sociologists regard the drug as a stimulant, having the same physical and mental effects as alcohol. Unlike the pernicious drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, marijuana does not addict its user with an insatiable craving. Case histories of confirmed drug addicts disclose that many found their start with marijuana, which because of its availability and low price is within reach of everyone.

Stories and movies about marijuana users have misinterpreted the drug habit. Rather than the drug creating mental cases for the psychotic ward, the people who use marijuana are already emotionally unstable and turn to the drug as a refuge from life’s problems. [Ed’s note: Is that your excuse?] The basic problem with inveterate users involves a mental rehabilitation of the shattered mind drawn to drugs.

Over the last decade jazz in South Africa has been a source of endless fascination for this writer, on several fronts. Wondering how the music became such an indelible part of the anti-apartheid struggles and has continued to develop in post-apartheid South Africa was something I was intent on learning the first time I was blessed with an opportunity to make that long journey (17 hours by air to Jo’Burg from either New York or DC). In preparation for that trip as luck would have it Gwen Ansel’s deeply informative and lively 2004 book Soweto Blues (“Jazz, popular music & politics in South Africa”; pub. Continuum) came out just months prior to the trip.

Devouring that great book gave me a bit of a leg up on the whys and wherefores of jazz in South Africa. Then hearing the music in Cape Town at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival (assiduously avoiding most of the western artists presented on the festival in favor of the SA bands), and subsequently scarfing up CDs at excellent record stores on site at the festival, in Cape Town (including a good outlet on CT’s lovely waterfront mall), Johannesburg (ironically on the road to Soweto), and Durban (yes, they still have great record stores in SA, thank goodness), and online at the Sterns Music site, I was intent on producing a series of radio programs for WPFW in DC. Those subsequent shows became the subject of endless listener fascination; The calls still come whenever SA discs are spun.

Acquiring the records was only part of the task however. Through the graces of good friend Judy Pillay at the SA tourism office in New York who accompanied us on the trip, CTIJF founder Rashid Lombard, and Gwen Ansell (who annually hosts an extensive workshop for aspiring music print & radio journalists during the week leading up to the festival) I connected with several South African musicians for extensive interviews, none more informative or knowledgable than pianist-composer Hotep Idris Galeta.

A native of Cape Town, who passed suddenly in November 2010 at age 69, Hotep brought a broad perspective on jazz in SA. In addition to his work as a music educator and a player in-country (check his discs on the SA label Sheer), Hotep’s perspective was broadened by his world touring and recording experiences, with such artists as Hugh Masakela, Herb Alpert, John Handy, Letta Mbulu, Jackie McLean (Hotep also taught at JMac’s program at the University of Hartford), Joshua Redman, Archie Shepp, Elvin Jones, Bobby Hutcherson, Woody Shaw, and even David Crosby and the Byrds. Hotep and I developed a friendship from that first interview and he subsequently contributed the following piece to The Independent Ear. On the eve of the 2012 edition of the Cape Town Jazz Festival, I thought it would be a good opportunity to revisit Hotep’s wisdom on jazz in South Africa.

The Development of Jazz in South Africa

By

Hotep Idris Galeta

African music, the progenitor of jazz and all other forms of African-American music has been around for a while. Given its ancient track record of longevity and creativity, I suspect it will be around for a long time to come, molding and influencing the various genres of world music. From a historical point of view and in this particular case, the musical chickens have come home to roost. Jazz has come full circle returning to its African roots.
South African Jazz has had many elements contributing to its evolution and development. The most prominent and significant being the rich eclectic cultural diversity of the country’s inhabitants and the influence of African/American musical culture upon it over the years. These two variants coupled with an environment of legislated racism, gross human rights violations, created the unique artistic forge and mould responsible for the evolution of South African Jazz. The first informal contact the inhabitants of Cape Town had with African Americans was during the American Civil War, when the Confederate warship the “Alabama” came into the port of Cape Town in 1862 to replenish its supplies. The “Alabama” patrolled the South Atlantic where it would lie in wait for Union Ships to come around the Cape from the Far East on its way to the east coast ports of Philadelphia, New York, New Port and Boston. It would then attack, plunder and sink them. The “Alabama” was one of the most notorious and feared Southern commerce raiders on patrol in the South Atlantic sending some fifty eight Union vessels to the bottom of the ocean during her two year patrol. Confederate captain Raphael Semmes commanded this British built steam powered schooner.

A mixed crew of British mercenary and Southern white sailors manned the ship. On board there were also a small contingent of African-American slaves who served as cleaners, mess stewards and also provided some sort of musical entertainment for the crew. When the Alabama docked in Cape Town the local population flocked to the waterfront to look at her. It was then that the African-Americans dressed in their minstrel outfits gave impromptu musical recitals at the dockside where the “Alabama” was moored. When the inhabitants of Cape Town enquired from the white crew who the black entertainers were, the reply was “These are just our “Coons”! Or more succinctly put, “Just Our Niggers!
The Alabama was finally tracked down and sunk off Cherbourg, France by the Union Warship the U.S.S. Kearsarge on the 19th of June 1864. On June 19th 1890 South Africans had their first formal contact with black-Americans and Black-American music when the minstrel troupe of Orpheus Myron McAdoo’s “Virginia Jubilee Singers” from Hampton Virginia presented a series of concerts in Cape Town. Orpheus McAdoo was born in 1858 in Greensborough, North Carolina. As a young man he attended the Hampton Institute in Hampton Virginia, where he studied and graduated as a teacher in 1876. Before turning to music as a professional career in 1886 he taught school in Pulaski and Accomac Counties in the state of Virginia for ten years. In 1886 he toured Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Far East after joining five members of the original Fisk Jubilee singers. Upon his return to the U.S. a year or two later McAdoo formed his own company by recruiting some ex students and graduates from Hampton amongst who were his future wife Mattie Allen and his brother Eugene. With his newly formed troupe consisting of six women and four men, they set sail on a European tour in 1888. Two years later we find them arriving in South Africa. Their appearance was to have a significant impact upon the music scene as it later influenced the creation and formation of the “Kaapse Klopse” or “Coon Carnival.” Since it’s inception at the turn of the century the minstrel street carnival became an integral part of Cape Town’s performing arts culture during the New Year celebrations. To use the derogatory term of the racist American, south of that time,“ Coon” or “Nigger” being the equivalent of the South African derogatory term of “Kaffir,” “Boesman,” “ Cooley” or “Hotnot”. If we look back to the Alabama’s visit to Cape Town we can now clearly see how the derogatory racist American term “Coon’ came to be known and adopted in Cape Town. Given South Africa’s colonial past of class consciousness, racism, divide and rule tactics, leaves little doubt for any speculation as to the name “Coon” and its tenure, popularity and longevity amongst the working class coloured population of Cape Town.

The “Coon carnival’s” popularity however decreased as more and more young people became politicized as the struggle for liberation intensified during the late 1970’s and into the 1980’s. McAdoo’s Minstrels stayed and toured throughout South Africa for eighteen months visiting places such as Grahamstown, King Williams Town and Alice where they visited and performed at Lovedale College, a South African equivalent of Tuskegee University. Musical history also indicates that their impact and influence upon the performing arts culture of the Eastern Cape was quite significant as it influenced the rich Xhosa choral traditions in existence there. It is somehow ironic that this genre of Creole/African/American minstrel-spiritual music which became one of the key developmental elements of jazz in New Orleans in 1895 should also become a contributing factor and play a crucial role in the development of South African Jazz. The introduction of Jazz into South Africa took place shortly after the 1st World War, around 1918 and this introduction was again via Cape Town. The first Jazz recording was only made in 1917, and this by the all white New Orleans Band called “The Original New Orleans Dixieland Band”. Some of these early recordings were brought to Cape Town by American merchant seaman. Local white and coloured bands (the Creole mixed racial population group resident in the Cape Town area) and even some visiting American musicians were instrumental in popularizing early New Orleans style jazz at the Cape after the 1st World War. To the white musicians who played it and the white audiences who danced to it in America and elsewhere in the British and European Imperial colonies it became known as Dixieland. Given the dreary social life and appalling conditions in the black South African townships, it is easy to understand why the introduction of the radio, gramophone and recordings of New Orleans Jazz served as the biggest catalyst for the developing styles of early township music and black professional musicianship in the 1920’s. It was in Queenstown in the province of the Eastern Cape that Jazz first developed and started to take on its South African character. Of all black people in South Africa at that time, the Xhosa nation were the most educated as the result of the early establishment of the British Missionary school system. Formal education, exposure to European hymnody and western classical music gave rise to a black upper class and a group of very sophisticated musicians and composers who embraced this new black American art form called Jazz.

In the 1920’s Queenstown became known as “Little Jazz Town” because of the many New Orleans style bands that were resident there. The most popular bands there in the 20’s and 30’s were Meekly Matshikiza’s “Blue Rhythm Syncopators” and William Mbali’s “Big Four” who entertained both whites and upper class blacks. Some of the earliest preserved examples of South African Jazz were recorded by Gumede’s Swing Band on Gallotone GE 942 in the late 1920’s. It was during the late 20’s that Boet Gashe an itinerant organist from Queenstown popularized the three chord system the forerunner to the Marabi and Mbaqanga styles that were later to be perfected in the township shebeen environments of Johannesburg and Marabastad situated on the outskirts of Pretoria. Sophiatown the legendary ghetto of Johannesburg became the experimental ground for this vibrant new township music that was to under go further innovation during the 1930’s into the 50’s. The music of the townships served as an important platform and vehicle for developing singers and instrumentalists. Larger 15 piece bands such as the “Jazz Maniacs” were formed by popular Doornfontein shebeen pianist turned saxophonist, Solomon “Zulu Boy” Cele. Cele who was listening to the African/American bands of Fletcher Henderson,Count Basie and Duke Ellington saw the enormous potential of developing marabi into a big band style. This band was to feature and develop some of the legendary township Jazz players. They included saxophonists Mackay Davashe, Zakes Nkosi, Ntemi Pilliso and Wilson “King Fish” Silgee. The Jazz Maniacs are significant because they carried the spirit of marabi to the dance halls and provided inspiration for a new breed of emergent Jazz musicians such as Dollar Brand now known as Abdullah Ibrahim, Hugh Masekela, Kiepie Moeketsie, Jonas Gwangwa, Sol Klaaste, Early Mabuse and Gwigwi Mwerebi. Some of the legendary Sophiatown vocal groups and singers associated with the “Jazz Maniacs” are the Manhattan Brothers, The Quad Sisters, The Woody Wood Peckers and a group that was to launch four great individual singers, The Skylarks, consisting of Miriam Makeba, Abigail Khubeka, Letta Mbulu and Mary Rabotaba. The demise of marabi big bands can be directly attributed to encroaching legislated racism, forced removals and regulations forbidding blacks to appear at venues where liquor was served.
As the dance halls in Sophiatown and other areas around the country were destroyed, black musicians were shut out of the inner cities or had to play behind a curtain when playing with some of their white counterparts at whites only clubs, Jazz was gradually being deprived of its multi racial audience.

The 1950’s are remembered as the days of passive resistance against the Nationalist government’s institutionalized racism, but it also remembered as a great age of Jazz development in South Africa. A new strain of Jazz began to emerge which contained a greater American influence. This new strain was the result of the Bebop revolution in the U.S. Young emergent musicians such as Dollar Brand, Chris McGregor, Johnny Gertse, Sammy Moritz, Makaya Ntoshoko Mra “Cristopher Columbus” Ngcukana, Jonas Gwangwa, Jimmy Adams, Early Mabuza, “Cups and Saucers” Nkanuka, Hugh Masekela, Kippie Moeketsie, Henry February, Anthony and Richard Schilder, Harold Japhta and this writer included took to this new exciting Jazz form from America like ducks to water. The real milestone occurred when one of my future mentors to be, visiting American pianist and Jazz educator John Mehegan came to South Africa in the late 50’s on an American State Department sponsored tour. After the tour he assembled a local group to record an album for Gallo Records entitled “Jazz in Africa”. Beside Mehegan on piano the group consisted of Hugh Masekela on Trumpet, Jonas Gwangwa on Trombone, Kiepie Moeketsie on Alto Saxophone, Gene Latimore on Drums and Claude Shange on Bass. When Mehegan departed for the U.S. Dollar Brand added Johnny Gertse on Bass and Makaya Ntoshoko on Drums, creating a new rhythm section to which he added Masekela, Gwangwa and Moeketsie, calling this new band “The Jazz Epistles” One of the most dynamic and creative bands of the late 50’s. The band recorded two albums “The Jazz Epistles Vol. 1 and Vol. 2” played a few gigs around the country and disbanded when Masekela and Gwangwa left to study in the U.S. in 1960. That unfortunately was the end of the line for that kind of American Jazz in South Africa. Many of the musicians who played it left the country because of the increasingly repressive political situation, this writer included. With the advent of the Avant Garde in the 60’s the “Blue Notes” led by Eastern Cape born pianist Chris McGregor together with saxophonist Dudu Pukwane, trumpeter Mongezi Feza, bassist Johnny Mbizo Dyani and drummer Louis Tebogo Moholo took up the banner and propelled the music in a new direction. They also had to leave the country but made a huge impact upon the European and British jazz scene with their fiery brand of South African Avant Garde Jazz. It is only Louis Tebogo Moholo that is alive today. The rest of them all died in exile before they could experience the freedom of democracy in the land of their birth. Many stayed and continued to produce creative music in a political environment that became increasingly oppressive and brutal.

In the province of the Western Cape in the city of Cape Town musicians such as Basil “Mannenberg” Coetzee, Robbie Jansen, Paul Abrahams, Chris Schilder, Gilbert Matthews, and many others to numerous to mention gave their commitment, time and creativity to the struggle for democracy. They used South African Jazz as a platform and became deeply involved in the struggle for democracy on a creative level using their music as a clarion call for liberation at United Democratic Front political rallies in the townships. Today in a democratic South Africa jazz is thriving in an environment of freedom and racial reconciliation. At present there exists an up and coming core of extremely masterful young musicians, both black and white. Some of them are graduates from tertiary institutions here in South Africa with vibrant jazz education programs and some come from community jazz education programs. Gloria Bosman, Judith Sephuma, Melanie Scholtz, Zim Ngqawana, Kevin Gibson, Andile Yenana, Lulu Gontsana, Mark Fransman , Eddie Jooste, Buddy Wells, Paul Hamner, Keshivan Naidoo, Dominic Peters , Andre Petersen, Victor Masondo, Marcus Wyatt, Herbie Tshoali, Themba Mkize and the late Moses Taiwa Molelekwa. These are just a few of some of the new innovative core of younger South African musicians who are responsible for taking the music into a new creative direction. Their vision and innovative approaches is creating a significant impact upon the South African jazz scene by the development of new concepts and ideas within the South African jazz genre. This bodes extremely well for the development of jazz in South African which like in Nazi Germany some sixty odd years ago had been suppressed and stifled during the turbulent apartheid era.

Copyright: by Hotep Idris Galeta

A good source of information on South African jazz musicians, and SA musicians in general, is the website www.music.org.za

After a closer and more honest examination of some of my more cherished works, I felt that it became necessary for me to reduce the density of some of my own pieces in order for them to be better comprehended. There simply was a lot of cramming going on, and my point wasn’t being made clearly. I’d never suggest that anyone perform below their ability or make artistic concessions in an attempt to be “liked” or to gain broader appeal – also known as “dumbing down” one’s craft. That would be absurd and is entirely not the point I was making.
— Greg Osby

Several months ago The Independent Ear informed you of the exciting news of Jason Moran’s appointment at the Kennedy Center. Since then I’ve spotted Jason around DC, scouting the scene at events like the Gretchen Parlato/Gerald Clayton Trio doublebill at the blossoming Atlas Performing Arts Center on DC’s growing new 8th Street N.E. cultural corridor. Several weeks ago I ran into the pianist-composer on an Amtrak train on the way to New York. We had spoken informally about his appointment and subsequent plans as the artistic advisor for jazz, successor to Dr. Billy Taylor at the Kennedy Center; riding the rails afforded an opportunity for some in-depth discussion of his ideas for the KC, so we grabbed some time in the Cafe Car. I subsequently sent him a few questions for the express purpose of informing Independent Ear readers of what Jason Moran has up for the Kennedy Center. Here’s what he had to say, and just below that you’ll find the schedule for Jason’s first season at the Kennedy Center, advising the KC’s perceptive jazz programmer Kevin Struthers.

How did your appointment at the Kennedy Center develop?
I’m not necessarily sure how it developed. With the passing of Dr. Billy Taylor, I think the institution knew they needed someone to continue his/their work with relation to jazz. Kevin [Struthers] was on the search committee, so he knows the details. I received a call from my manager saying that they would like to meet with me to discuss the position. I was honored. We had a couple of meetings and then we all dove into the work.

What programming philosophy do you hope to impart during your KC tenure?
My first instinct is to say the word “inclusion”. Meaning, there are many branches of the tree, and sometimes only a few branches get the “light”. Also, i want to consider the “context” of the music. It’s social history, the political history, etc. How does the music function in the lifestyle? And considering the other great venues in DC, especially over at Bohemian Caverns and the upcoming Howard Theater, it’s clear that DC will have a feast. Also, I want to create some sort of institutional collaboration as well. So, working with the upcoming African-American Museum, or the Library of Congress, WPAS, the many art museums. There is lots of promise.

Working on this side of the arts can provide an artist with fresh perspectives in his/her performing career. Would you agree, and if so why and how?
Yes, it does offer fresh perspective. As a performer, I arrive at a venue and have only a one track mind: the music. As a curator/producer, there is much more to consider: budget, audience, schedule, etc. Also, I think each artist that gets this behind the scenes perspective becomes an advocate for the musician as well. And what I learn in these situations, enables me to share the insights with fellow musicians. We all learn.

What ideas do you have on tap for the next season of Jazz at the KC for the coming season?
I assume you’ve seen the season by now.
I’ll talk about a few of them.
I’m thrilled to have Anthony Braxton‘s Diamond Wall Curtain. It’s an ensemble featuring two firebrands, Mary Halvorson and Ingrid Laubrock, as well as Taylor Ho Bynam. I’ll sit in with the group as well. I couldn’t be more happy about this.
I’m also thrilled that the Heath Bros. will be here. They are an institution unto themselves.
Betty Carter‘s Jazz Ahead will return in 2013, and I’m currently selecting faculty right now. This will be fantastic.
Charles Lloyd‘s 75th birthday with the New Quartet featuring Zakir Hussain.
Also a night of jazz and comedy with David Alan Grier. He even wants to tackle some songs like “Mumbles” and “Potato Chips”.
We are selecting other comedians for this night as well.
Of course The Bandwagon is in full effect, as we adopt the KC as our homebase. [We’ll present our] Fats Waller Dance Party with DC’s own Meshell N’degeocello, and the Bandwagon with Bill Frisell and my wife Alicia Hall Moran in a piece called Live:Time, inspired by the quilts and quilters of Gee’s Bend Alabama.
And lastly an Election Night Jam that is free. This will be The Bandwagon and featured guests from the DC scene. Look forward to US anthems and campaign rallying cries. It should be interesting as the results are also beamed in live. We all have to live together anyway, despite which side wins.

How do you hope to engage the DC creative community in what you do at the KC?
Well, I think the institutional collaboration will open a lot of doors. Also finding these great organizations that are aiding the future, like Cora Barry’s work with the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center. And there are some great artists in the DC area like David Driskell and Sam Gilliam. I’m always looking for a way to include more. I want the perspective to be wide, and our audience to enjoy the “big room”.

…So here’s what Jason Moran has up for the Kennedy Center’s 2012-2013 season:

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
announces its

2012-2013 JAZZ SEASON

Inaugural season of Jason Moran to highlight:

An Evening of Comedy & Music with David Alan Grier
and the Jason Moran Ensemble

The Music of New Orleans:
The New Orleans Bingo! Show

Performances by the Heath Brothers, Kurt Elling, and Dr. Lonnie Smith

Supersized Jazz Club

Election Night Jam

NPR’s A Jazz Piano Christmas

The Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival

A Jazz New Year’s Eve with Freddy Cole
and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band

Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead

(WASHINGTON, D.C.)—The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced its 2012-2013 jazz season, the first season to reflect the new leadership and diverse mastery of Jason Moran, the Center’s new Artistic Advisor for Jazz. The jazz season showcases contemporary artists as well as those who have influenced the modern era of the music, with more than 70 performances including the Heath Brothers, Kurt Elling, Dave Holland, Regina Carter, Charles Lloyd, NEA Jazz Masters Jack DeJohnette and Kenny Barron, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Nnenna Freelon, Gretchen Parlato, and Roseanna Vitro.

The season presents an exciting range of unconventional programming, including An Evening of Comedy & Music with David Alan Grier and Jason Moran, plus multiple acts presented in the Kennedy Center’s new Supersized Jazz Club. This new performance space, housed in the Center’s Atrium, will feature a dance floor, sofas, chairs, and open seating. The Supersized Jazz Club presents concerts by Medeski Martin &Wood, Soulive, and a free presentation of Jason Moran’s Fats Waller Dance Party featuring Meshell Ndegeocello.

The season also presents performances in the Center’s intimate KC Jazz Club featuring the Anat Cohen Quartet, Matt Wilson, Fred Hersch, Mulgrew Miller, Monk Competition Winner Kris Bowers, and more. The Center’s more expansive Terrace Theater will feature artists such as Danilo Pérez, Anthony Braxton, and Eddie Palmieri.

Other season highlights include an Election Night Jam with Jason Moran and The Bandwagon as the presidential votes are tallied on November 6, and The Music of New Orleans featuring The New Orleans Bingo! Show with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Jason Marsalis in the KC Jazz Club, as well as other acts to be presented on the Millennium Stage. The Kennedy Center’s Nordic Cool 2013 festival, which will take place during February and March of next year, features several jazz artists from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Annual events such as NPR’s A Jazz Piano Christmas, The Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival, A Jazz New Year’s Eve, and Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead complete the season.

ELECTION NIGHT JAM WITH JASON MORAN AND THE BANDWAGON,
November 6, 2012, Millennium Stage
On Election Night in the United States, very few places are as electric as Washington, D.C. Welcoming those of all political stripes, the Center presents a free Election Night Jam with Jason Moran and his group The Bandwagon, complete with large-screen monitoring of the election results. Dance the night away regardless of whether your candidate wins or loses.

AN EVENING OF COMEDY & MUSIC, November 11, 2012, Concert Hall
Comedy and jazz have a vibrant history, such as when comedian Richard Pryor would open for Miles Davis or Redd Fox would perform backed by a big band. The Kennedy Center continues this tradition as David Alan Grier and other comedians provide the comedy while an ensemble led by Jason Moran provides the music.

CHARLES LLOYD BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION, March 22, 2013, Concert Hall
Saxophonist and forward thinker Charles Lloyd celebrates his 75th birthday in style with pianist and Kennedy Center Artistic Advisor for Jazz Jason Moran, tabla master Zakir Hussain, bassist Reuben Rogers, and drummer Eric Harland.

THE NEW ORLEANS BINGO! SHOW, April 13, 2013, Concert Hall
The New Orleans Bingo! Show and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, join forces to musically guide audiences through the city of New Orleans. The New Orleans Bingo! Show remains a curious spectacle, with a multimedia stage experience, which includes original black-and-white silent films, aerialists, dancers, ingénues, clowns, audience interaction, bingo games, slapstick comedy, and shady characters who remind you that every stage door opens into a dark alley. This performance is part of The Music of New Orleans.

KENNY BARRON AND DAVE HOLLAND, April 27, 2013, Family Theater
This intimate duo concert featuring pianist and NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron and bassist Dave Holland presents a memorable evening of music with two of the most talented and well-respected musicians in the business.

SUPERSIZED JAZZ CLUB
Get ready to move to an unconventional beat in the Supersized Jazz Club. Located in the Kennedy Center Atrium, the Club features a dance floor, sofas and chairs, open seating, and drinks available for purchase.

Medeski Martin & Wood, October 13, 2012
For more than 20 years, John Medeski (keyboards), Billy Martin (drums), and Chris Wood (bass) have blended musical elements into a mixture all their own. For this performance they will return to their more acoustic roots, to take you on a path less traveled. MMW – as they are known by fans worldwide – may play music tinged with jazz, hip-hop, and New Orleans funk at one turn, switching to strains of Middle Eastern music, or even reggae, at the next.

Jason Moran’s Fats Waller Dance Party, April 5, 2013
Jason Moran will be featured in a free Performing Arts for Everyone presentation of his Fats Waller Dance Party with vocalist Meshell Ndegeocello. This modern take on the music of Fats Waller, the man responsible for such classic jazz tunes as “This Joint Is Jumpin’” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” looks back at the stride tradition and music for which Waller was a seminal figure.

Soulive, April 6, 2013
Brothers Neal and Alan Evans (on keyboards and drums, respectively) first came together with guitarist Eric Krasno out of mutual love for the great soul-jazz organ trios of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Soulive has worked with artists such as Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder, Dave Matthews, and John Scofield, and opened for The Rolling Stones. Jazz, hip-hop, rock, soul, funk, R&B, Blues—musically, there is not much Soulive hasn’t done, and this funky jazz trio will have you clamoring for more.

JAZZ IN THE TERRACE THEATER
The Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater houses several concerts throughout the season featuring a mixture of new faces and Kennedy Center favorites.

Kurt Elling, October 27, 2012, Terrace Theater
Grammy®-winning vocalist and Kennedy Center favorite Kurt Elling returns with music from his new, yet-to-be-released recording highlighting songs from New York’s Brill Building, famous for housing music industry offices and studios where some of the most popular American tunes were written.

Danilo Pérez Trio, November 30, 2012, Terrace Theater
Following his star turn at last season’s Jazz on the Elevens: A Tribute to Billy Taylor, pianist Danilo Pérez makes his first Kennedy Center appearance with his own group. This native Panamanian, noted for his past work with Dizzy Gillespie and Wayne Shorter, among others, is a bold example of the reimagining of jazz as an art form.

Anthony Braxton Diamond Curtain Wall Quartet with Special Guest Jason Moran,
December 15, 2012, Terrace Theater
Saxophonist Anthony Braxton is a musician without boundaries or limitations. A master musician, composer, and performer, this avant-garde artist and recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship has pushed the realms of jazz and classical music into a glorious, unique mixture that is his own. Braxton appears with Taylor Bo Hynum (cornet), Mary Halvorson (guitar), Ingrid Laubrock (saxophone), and special guest Jason Moran (piano).

Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Septet, January 26, 2013, Terrace Theater
Finishing a yearlong celebration to mark his 75th birthday, Eddie Palmieri, last at the Kennedy Center for the 2011 NPR’s A Jazz Piano Christmas, brings his Latin jazz band to storm the Terrace and perform “Latinized” jazz standards and original works in a swingin’ session certain to bring down the house.

Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour, February 1, 2013, Terrace Theater
Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater and bassist Christian McBride headline an all-star line-up with pianist Benny Green, drummer Lewis Nash, and newcomer Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet, in a concert highlighting why JazzTimes readers continue to rank the California-based event as “the best jazz festival in the United States.”

Jack DeJohnette 70th Birthday Tour, March 16, 2013, Terrace Theater
NEA Jazz Master drummer Jack DeJohnette celebrates his 70th birthday with an international tour featuring David Fiuczynski (double-neck guitar), George Colligan (piano), and Jerome Harris (electric and acoustic bass guitars). This alumnus of Miles Davis’ seminal recording Bitches Brew continues to show why he is one of the most important and inventive players involved in the music.

KC JAZZ CLUB
The Kennedy Center’s intimate KC Jazz Club enters its second decade with concerts featuring both new and established artists.

Mulgrew Miller Trio, October 5, 2012
One of the leading pianists of his generation, the masterful Mulgrew Miller was the first artist to appear at the KC Jazz Club when it opened in 2002. Now he returns to open the venue’s second decade with an energetic, swinging performance that both personifies and transcends his modern-jazz pedigree.

Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio featuring Jonathan Kreisberg and Jamire Williams, October 6, 2012
Authentic master of the piano and the Hammond B-3 organ, Dr. Lonnie Smith has furthered the sound of jazz organ for more than five decades. He has created a worldwide fan-base, and revealed his musical talents on more than 70 albums, making his name synonymous with the instrument. Dr. Smith brings his renowned talents to the KC Jazz Club along with his trio, which includes guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg and drummer Jamire Williams.

Anat Cohen Quartet, November 19, 2012
Israeli clarinetist Anat Cohen brings her quartet to Kennedy Center to premiere selections from her newest, soon-to-be-released CD. Popular with both critics and fans alike, Cohen was voted number one in the clarinet category in both the 2011 DownBeat critics, and readers polls. Her 2010 Kennedy Center performances sold-out in the larger Terrace Theater, so be sure to buy your tickets early for the more intimate KC Jazz Club.

The Heath Brothers: Jimmy and Tootie Heath, October 20, 2012
Having been synonymous with great jazz for more than 60 years, the legendary Heath Brothers—tenor saxophonist, composer, arranger, and NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath—bring their masterful talents to the KC Jazz Club for this one-night-only event.

Jason Moran and The Bandwagon with Bill Frisell and Alicia Hall Moran, October 26, 2012
Kennedy Center Artistic Advisor for Jazz Jason Moran returns with his group The Bandwagon to present a unique evening with contemporary jazz guitarist Bill Frisell and acclaimed soprano and stage actress Alicia Hall Moran.

Lionel Loueke, November 2, 2012
Originally from the small West African nation of Benin, guitarist Lionel Loueke combines harmonic sophistication, soaring melody, a deep knowledge of African music, and conventional and extended guitar techniques to create a warm and evocative sound all his own. Signed by the prestigious Blue Note label (releasing Mwaliko in 2010, and Karibu in 2007), Loueke brings his own band to the Kennedy Center for the first time, after having appeared several times with Dianne Reeves, Terence Blanchard, and Herbie Hancock, among others.

Roseanna Vitro: The Music of Randy Newman, November 3, 2012
Vocalist Roseanna Vitro returns to the Kennedy Center after a seven-year absence, with selections from her Grammy®-nominated CD from 2011, The Randy Newman Project (Motéma). The Newman Project was nominated in the category of Best Jazz Vocal Album, was awarded three-and-a-half stars by Down Beat, and follows her critically acclaimed 2006 Live at the Kennedy Center (Challenge), recorded at the KC Jazz Club in 2005.

Carl Allen-Rodney Whitaker Project, November 17, 2012
Drummer Carl Allen, Artistic Director of Jazz Studies at The Juilliard School, and bassist Rodney Whitaker, Director of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University, return to the KC Jazz Club for an encore evening of music following their sold-out 2010 shows.

Nnenna Freelon, December 14, 2012
Vocalist and multiple Grammy®-nominee Nnenna Freelon returns to the KC Jazz Club, for a festive holiday performance. Last seen with Jon Faddis for A Jazz New Year’s Eve in 2010, Ms. Freelon returns for an evening certain to get anyone into the spirit of the holiday season.

Monk Competition Winner Kris Bowers, February 2, 2013
Winner of the 2011 Thelonious Monk Institute International Piano Competition, pianist Kris Bowers has shared the stage and/or recorded with jazz artists such as Terell Stafford, Vincent Herring, and Louis Hayes, as well as Jay-Z and Kanye West.

Matt Wilson’s Arts & Crafts, February 8, 2013
New York based drummer and Grammy® nominee Matt Wilson shows why he is one of today’s most celebrated jazz artists with this KC Jazz Club performance An Attitude for Gratitude. Universally recognized for his musical and melodic drumming style as well as being a gifted composer, bandleader, producer, and teaching artist, Wilson’s dedication to jazz has helped establish him as a beloved world ambassador for the music, on and off the bandstand. The performance also features Terell Stafford (trumpet), Gary Versace (keyboards), and Martin Wind (bass).

Jason Marsalis, April 12, 2013
Renowned drummer and vibraphonist Jason Marsalis brings his energetic presence and talents to the KC Jazz Club. Son of pianist Ellis Marsalis, Jason has built an impressive career with his ability to blend modern jazz techniques with New Orleans rhythmic styles. This performance is part of The Music of New Orleans.

Jason Moran and The Bandwagon, April 26, 2013
Kennedy Center Artistic Advisor for Jazz Jason Moran performs with his acclaimed group The Bandwagon. In almost every category—improvisation, composition, technique, and technological experimentation—Moran and his group have challenged the status quo, providing genre-bending flair with every performance.

Fred Hersch & Julian Lage, May 3, 2012
Grammy® nominees Fred Hersch (piano) and Julian Lage (guitar) team up in this unique program which will blend Hersch’s innovative talents on the piano with Lage’s purity of tone and consistency on the guitar. This is a night of adventurous music not to be missed.

ANNUAL EVENTS AND FESTIVALS
This season, the Kennedy Center welcomes the return of its annual jazz programs including NPR’s A Jazz Piano Christmas, A Jazz New Year’s Eve, the 18th Annual Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival, and Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead.

NPR’s A Jazz Piano Christmas, December 8, 2012, Terrace Theater
Join the Kennedy Center and NPR as top jazz pianists perform their favorite holiday songs. An annual NPR tradition, the concert will be recorded for later broadcast. Artists and repertoire will be announced at a later date.

A Jazz New Year’s Eve:
Freddy Cole and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band,
December 31, 2012, Terrace Theater
Piano-vocalist Freddy Cole returns to the Terrace Theater to perform with the swingin’ Dizzy Gillespie All Star Big Band. Enjoy a festive night of rousing music, to help ring in 2013. After the performance, there will be festive dancing, a countdown to 2013, and a balloon drop in the Grand Foyer, free with concert ticket.

Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead, March 20-22, 2013, Millennium Stage
Now in its 15th year at the Kennedy Center, Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead—the Center’s national jazz residency program for emerging artists—includes two weeks of intense training in performance, composing, and arranging with established jazz artists. As an alumnus of the inaugural class of Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead (1998), Jason Moran is excited to host this professional development program for the first time. The 2013 graduates will perform three free concerts on the Millennium Stage, March 20-22. Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead alumni include Jason Moran, Aaron Parks, Lage Lund, Andre Hayward, Marco Panascia, Ameen Saleem, Miri Ben-Ari, Grace Kelly, and others.

18th Annual Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival,
May 16-18, 2013, Terrace Theater
The Kennedy Center continues to bring female jazz artists into the spotlight with the 18th Annual Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival, May 16-18, 2013. This annual event features an impressive line-up of phenomenal jazz artists, featuring both veterans and up-and-comers. Artists for 2013 will include, among others: Regina Carter, the Helen Sung Quintet, and the vocal trio Tillery featuring Becca Stevens, Gretchen Parlato, and Rebecca Martin. In addition to the ticketed events featuring headlining artists and their respective ensembles in the Terrace Theater, the Center also presents free performances on the Millennium Stage and Explore the Arts events. A complete list of artists will be announced at a later date.

NORDIC COOL 2013, February 19-March 17, 2013
The Kennedy Center’s Nordic Cool 2013 festival, which runs February 19 to March 17, features several jazz artists from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Please see the Nordic Cool 2013 press release for additional information.

Tord Gustavsen Ensemble is led by pianist Tord Gustavsen, a solid fixture in the Norwegian jazz scene for many years, is influenced by Scandinavian folk music, gospel, Caribbean music, and cool jazz, creating a unique mix of Nordic introspection and lyricism.

Jacob Anderskov Trio is led by pianist, composer, and bandleader Jacob Anderskov, who has performed all over the world with his trio and his other bands including Anderskov Accident and Airto Moreira – Jacob Anderskov Duo. He is one of three spearhead acts of the Danish International Jazz Launch, a cooperative Music Export project between several of the major music institutions in Denmark.

The Sunna Gunnlaugs Trio is named for its leader Sunna Gunnlaugs, an Islandic pianist who bridges the Brooklyn Reykjavik jazz divide by combining the elegance of the European approach with a fiery New York drive, with influences by such American pianists as Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett and by Scandinavians like Bobo Stenson and Jon Balke.

The Olli Hirvonen Quartet, has been the main outlet of Finnish guitarist Olli Hirvonen’s creative vision since 2008. This ensemble has performed at numerous Finnish festivals, including the Pori Jazz Festival. Hirvonen also performs with the Ohne Trio, which represented Finland in the Young Nordic Jazz Comets competition of 2010.

The Cecilia Persson Trio is a group led by acclaimed Swedish pianist, composer, and winner of
the prestigious Stockholm Jazz Fest Prize, Cecilia Persson. Persson is an inventive pianist who
makes a mark in every context in which she performs. With music thoroughly conceived and exact,
she often collaborates with renowned artist Pernilla Persson to produce a dynamic performance of
live digital painting accompanying the music.

Born in Stockholm, vocalist Caroline Henderson has made seven solo recordings, among them her
acclaimed album Love or Nothin’. She is also an accomplished actress whose credits include the
Spanish drama Tuya Siempre, the Howard Barker play Dead, Dead, Very Dead, and a Peter
Langdals production of Don Juan.

Several of this season’s Jazz performances will be part of the Kennedy Center’s MyTix program, which offers those 18-30 years old and active duty members of the armed services complimentary and discounted tickets to a wide variety of performances throughout the 2012-13 season. Patrons can visit kennedy-center.org/mytix to register and receive MyTix member benefits including a bi-weekly newsletter and ticket alerts, discounts on food and beverage service, discounts at Kennedy Center Gift Shops, and much more. MyTix is part the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

2012-2013 Season Schedule – Jazz

Performance Date Venue Show

October 5, 2012 KC Jazz Club Mulgrew Miller Trio

October 6, 2012 KC Jazz Club Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio
featuring Jonathan Kreisberg and Jamire Williams

October 13, 2012 Supersized Jazz Club Medeski Martin & Wood

November 19, 2012 KC Jazz Club Anat Cohen Quartet

October 20, 2012 KC Jazz Club The Heath Brothers:
Jimmy and Tootie Heath

October 26, 2012 KC Jazz Club Jason Moran and The Bandwagon
with Bill Frisell and Alicia Hall Moran

October 27, 2012 Terrace Theater Kurt Elling

November 2, 2012 KC Jazz Club Lionel Loueke

November 3, 2012 KC Jazz Club Roseanna Vitro:
The Music of Randy Newman

November 6, 2012 Millennium Stage Election Night Jam with Jason Moran
and The Bandwagon

November 11, 2012 Concert Hall An Evening of Comedy & Music
with David Alan Grier and Jason Moran

November 17, 2012 KC Jazz Club Carl Allen-Rodney Whitaker Project

November 30, 2012 Terrace Theater Danilo Pérez Trio

December 8, 2012 Terrace Theater NPR’s A Jazz Piano Christmas

December 14, 2012 KC Jazz Club Nnenna Freelon

December 15, 2012 Terrace Theater Anthony Braxton Diamond Curtain
Wall Quartet with Jason Moran

December 31, 2012 Terrace Theater A Jazz New Year’s Eve with Freddy Cole
and Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band

January 26, 2013 Terrace Theater Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Septet

February 1, 2013 Terrace Theater Monterey Jazz Festival On Tour

February 2, 2013 KC Jazz Club Kris Bowers

February 8, 2013 KC Jazz Club Matt Wilson’s Arts & Crafts

March 16, 2013 Terrace Theater Jack DeJohnette 70th Birthday Tour

March 20-22, 2013 Millennium Stage Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead

March 22, 2013 Concert Hall Charles Lloyd Birthday Celebration

April 5, 2013 Supersized Jazz Club Jason Moran’s Fats Waller Dance Party
featuring Meshell Ndegeocello

April 6, 2013 Supersized Jazz Club Soulive

April 12, 2013 KC Jazz Club The Music of New Orleans:
Jason Marsalis

April 13, 2013 Concert Hall The Music of New Orleans:
The New Orleans Bingo! Show

April 26, 2013 KC Jazz Club Jason Moran and The Bandwagon

April 27, 2013 Family Theater Kenny Barron & Dave Holland

May 3, 2013 KC Jazz Club Fred Hersch & Julian Lage

May 16 – 18, 2013 Terrace Theater Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival

(All artists and performances are subject to change.)

Premiere of :
“An African Nubian Suite”
Composed and performed by Randy Weston & his African Rhythms Orchestra.

April, 8, 2012 at the Skirball Center for Performing Arts, NYC, USA

http://www.nyuskirball.org/calendar/weston

http://africanastudies.as.nyu.edu/object/Weston.html

An African Nubian Suite salutes the Nubians who were the first human race on earth
and the oldest of the great civilizations in Africa.
The suite was conceived through Weston’s relationship with the traditional peoples of Aswan
where he married his wife.
An African Nubian Suite was developed with support of the Guggenheim Foundation.
Listeners can expect to hear the spirituality of Africa with music and poetry.

With:
Special Guests: writers Wayne B. Chandler and Robin D.G. Kelley; poet Jayne Cortez

Musicians:
Randy Weston (Piano)
Alex Blake (Bass)
Lewis Nash (Drums)
Candido (Percussion)
Neil Clarke (African Percussion)
Billy Harper (Tenor Sax)
T. K. Blue (Sax & Flute)
Robert Trowers (Trombone)
Cecil Bridgewater (Trumpet)
Howard Johnson (Tuba)
Martin Obeng (Balafon)
Ayodele Maakheru (Banjo)
Salieu Suso (Kora)
Min Xiao Feng (Pipa)
Lhoussine Bouhamidy (Gnawa)
Tanpani Demda Cissoko (Singer)