Presenting Ms. Rita Edmond - Meet The Contemporary Face of True Jazz Royalty (UPDATE)

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

PROLOGUE

AN APPEAL TO PRESERVE BLACK CULTURE

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I’m a lifelong musician who’s been devoted to jazz every since I was a child, and I take great pride in what jazz has contributed to the Black community, America, and the world. I also have a deep devotion to my culture. For both of those reasons I’ve decided to devote much of my waking hours to the promotion of a woman who I’m convinced is highly significant to what Black people represent as a culture, and as an artistic force in the world. Her name is Rita Edmond, and she’s come along at just the right time, because the jazz world really needs someone like her now. But due to America’s current self-serving environment, its elitist media is completely ignoring her, and it’s a slap in the face of jazz. It’s, literally, like ignoring Sarah Vaughan.
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But this situation is not just a result of the White establishment alone. It’s also a result of what many Black people have allowed themselves to become. It’s sad that I even have to make this appeal for an artist of this caliber. In the past, jazz flourished because musicians promoted one another. Back in the day Jimmy Heath would have told a promoter or club owner, “If you like me, you’ll also like a guy by the name John Coltrane. You need to check him out.” Jimmy would do that in the name of jazz, because he recognized that by promoting jazz, he was also promoting himself.  Thelonious Monk even went to jail for Bud Powell to prevent Bud from being barred from playing in New York, because Monk knew that Bud was good for jazz. But today the attitude seems to be, “I got mine, so you’re just gonna to have to struggle like I did.” Many even go so far as to HIDE possible connections - and then we wonder why our traditions are disappearing. So the very last thing we should want is for someone like Rita Edmond to be a secret, because she’s not just another singer; she’s without a doubt one of the most significant jazz divas alive in the world today.
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As Black people, we’ve  got to start recognizing our priorities. This is our CULTURE we’re talking about here, and the failure to promote it whenever, and however, we can only serves to diminish it. Yet, many Black people fail to support the very best in who we are. Rita has only one stumbling block - when it comes to the Black culture, the American media has conditioned us to fixate on only one thing, the booty-shacking frivolity of entertainment. I’m not criticizing entertainment, but a culture has to be recognized for more than just shaking their booty to gain and maintain the world’s respect. It was the dazzling technical abilities of people like Dizzy, Bird, Monk and Miles that made the world begin to recognize that there was much more to Black people than the slow-minded Stepin Fetchit-like people in which we had previously been portrayed. Thus, it was the seriousness of jazz as an art form that brought the Black culture into the modern world, and musicologists at universities and conservatories all over this planet are still scratching their heads and trying to figure out what Bird was doing over 60 years after his death. 
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In that regard, people in nations as far flung as Russia and Thailand have thrown flowers at Rita’s feet, fans have come to Thailand from as far away as Japan just to hear her sing, and when she was leaving Russia people met her at the train station with roses, and a young piano prodigy (whose father brought him to several of Rita’s performances) ran up and hugged her. These people gave her that kind of love because they recognize and appreciate excellence, and they know that Rita is a part of a great tradition. But most importantly, these people haven’t been subjected to the Hillbilly mentality of America’s attitude towards Black culture. So they see this woman for what she is - a world-class talent. Rita Edmond is not just an entertainer . . . she’s an artist - and one of the world’s greatest.  Check her out for yourself:
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Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree
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Presenting Ms. Rita Edmond - Meet The Contemporary Face of True Jazz Royalty

http://wattree.blogspot.com/2016/08/presenting-ms-rita-edmond-meet.html

.

Presenting Ms. Rita Edmond - Meet The Contemporary Face of True Jazz Royalty

.

If you’re a jazz lover and want to look upon the contemporary face of jazz royalty, take a moment to go check out Ms. Rita Edmond on Youtube. She's the jazz world's best kept secret.  She's currently working on her third CD, but even on her first CD, she made it abundantly clear to this writer that she hit the ground fully seasoned as one of the greatest jazz singers alive today. I know, that's a mighty lofty claim to heap onto the shoulders of a relatively new artist, but I'm not given to hyperbole, so I fully intend to back up my assertion with the contents and attachments to this piece.

.

Ms. Edmond moves between sultry sophistication, hard driving swing, and childlike innocence without any effort at all. There are many great singers out there , but from the very first bar of anything Rita does, she clearly distinguishes herself as one of those rare individuals who was born to do exactly what she’s doing, and nothing else. She swings with the effortless grace of a Sliver Shadow cruisin' down Pacific Coast Highway, and her ballads are lush with sultry passion, personal depth, and individuality.

.

You can't "learn" to sing like Rita Edmond. You either have it, or you don't, and there's only one or two lucky few in a generation who do - but Rita, like Ella and Sarah, is one of those lucky few. But don’t just take my word for it, go check her out for yourself and I’m sure you’ll agree with me that she’s a once in a generation talent, and clearly the heir apparent to some of the greatest divas that jazz has ever known.

.

Along with this piece I'm attaching three links to make my point - ‘Here’s to Life,’ ‘Embraceable You' (Live at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art) , and ‘It Might As Well Be Spring’ - and each tune shows a different side of her tremendous, and still growing, musical personality.

.

‘Here’s to Life’ is a beautiful ballad that’s been done by some of the greatest singers who’s ever lived, yet Ms. Edmond’s version is as good or better than any version of this tune that’s ever been recorded. The soaring passion that she brings to this tune makes it almost impossible for anyone who’s ever had to struggle through life’s adversities to listen to with a dry eye.  Artie Butler - the multi-Grammy Award winning composer (and Barbara Streisand's musical director) - said of Ms. Edmond, "Rita Edmond knows exactly what to do with a song like 'Here's To Life.' She brings the listener into the music as she sings, making you feel she's singing just for you. That's indeed a gift."

.

'Embraceable You,' (featuring Harold Land, Jr. on piano) demonstrates the ease in which she can establish the mood of a song and captivate an audience. It also shows an artist who is so comfortable in serenading an audience that it seems like she was born on stage. And after the piano solo, notice the effortless spontaneity in which she throws in a lick that's so exquisite that it sounds like it should have been written into the tune. You won't be able to miss it because the audience places an exclamation point of approval immediately afterward, as she casually, and routinely, moves on to the next phrase, as though it's all in a night's work. 

.

Rita Edmond and Phil Woods Protégé
and International

Jazz Great, Robert Anchipolosky

Finally, she does ‘It Might As Well Be Spring,’ a tried and true jazz standard. Not everyone can do this tune well, because it’s such a jazz staple that it’s hard for a singer to put their personal stamp on it, and whenever they try, they either over sing or under sing the tune.  But Rita swings through it effortlessly and makes it her own. King Pleasure himself would smile at her rendition.

.

I also wanted to add Ms. Edmond's rendition of ‘This Can’t Be Love’ as an attachment, but unfortunately, it's not available on Youtube. Nevertheless, it deserves a mention. On that tune Ms. Edmond displays yet another part of her musical vocabulary - her growing chops as a scatter and her ability to swing with the best of them. In this case, she scats in unison with yet another powerhouse, tenor sax player Ricky Woodard, and they’re pushed forward by the hard driving rhythms of Albert ‘Tootie’ Heath of the illustrious Heath Brothers on drums - and when it comes to the aristocracy of jazz, they don’t come any more blue-blooded than Tootie. She's also regularly accompanied by Nancy Wilson's keyboard player, Llew Matthews, who has also played with legendary jazz giants such as Jackie McLean and Woody Shaw, and the sweet-struttin' Edwin Livingston on bass.  So Rita is regularly being tested by fire, and she literally dances through the flames with blissful abandon.

.

Earlier this year Ms. Edmond toured Russia, bringing the house down with the late Phil Woods' protégé, Robert Anchipolosky, and at this writing she's wrapping up a three month gig at  the luxurious Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, where she's doing her part to show jazz lovers, politicians, and  ambassadors from all over the world what we bring to the table.  She's also just completed a project with  her good friend and fabulous sax player, Dale Fielder, "Resiliance,"on the Clarion Jazz label that's monstrous. While very contemporary in it's concept, the quality of musicianship is a throwback to the way the big boys used to do it. 

.  

Ms. Edmond approaches jazz like she's been here before; it's like she walked on stage fresh from 52nd Street. For that reason, whenever I hear her sing it makes my eyes moist, because I can here Ella and Sarah whispering softly in the background, "Show 'em how it's done, baby girl." And she has a natural musical kinship to Dexter Gordon, whether she's singing a ballad or swinging, and when you're as familiar with Dexter Gordon's music as I am (his family lived two blocks away from my grandparents, and my mother went to Jefferson High School with him), it's a scary thing to watch. Her approach to phrasing and the feeling she evokes is the exactly the same kind of feeling that Dexter had on his tenor.  I played Dexter for her doing "You've Changed," and she said, "Hey!  He sounds just like me!"  I had to laugh. I told her, "No, Rita, You sound like HIM."

Rita with the former Australian Ambassador,

Ireland Ambassador, and the

Portuguese Ambassador

But in spite of her talent, Ms.  Edmond is a very innocent sort whose emotions are always very close to the surface - I think that may be the key to the beauty of her musicianship, but in spite of her unassuming manner, when she picks up a mic someone else emerges.  Just the touch of a mic seems to transform her. It gives her a  tremendous confidence, and a unique sense of individualism that serves to produce a flawless musical delivery - a delivery that seems to say, “There’s a new diva in town,” and I say, it’s about time!
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PS: Something just happened that made my blood run cold. I didn't know whether or not it was appropriate to mention it in the context of this article, but it was such a coincident that I feel that I would be remiss if I didn't say something about it.  As I was writing about the kinship of the music of Dexter Gordon and Rita Edmond - before I posted - I received a contact. It was from Dexter's wife, Maxine Gordon (or as Dex would call her, "Lady Gordon").  She sent me a friend request.  My last contact with her was over two years ago, so that was one hell of a coincident . . . or was it?  

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Embraceable You (Live) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4SZXO9-jrc

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It Might As Well Be Spring

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVXzYTrrCVE
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You Don't Know What Love Is
https://youtu.be/RKPY2gA24PI?t=18

Eric L. Wattree

wattree.blogspot.com

Ewattree@Gmail.com

.
Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

Sphere: Related Content

Rita Edmond - And How The American Music Industry Is Dumbing Us Down

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

RITA EDMOND - AND HOW THE AMERICAN MUSIC INDUSTRY IS DUMBING US DOWN

.

Robert Anchipolovsky standing in
front of Rita Edmond advertisement in Russa 

In the interest of the journalistic demand of full disclosure, I want to preface this article by admitting that Rita Edmond is one of my very closest friends. So yes, some may feel (as she does) that I'm prejudice. But while I might be a charter member of the dime-a-dozen club as a musician, I'm a lifelong musician, and an objective journalist, so I'll place my ears up against the ears of Quincy Jones - and those ears tell me that Ms. Rita Edmond is one of the greatest singers in the world today. I held that opinion before we ever met. In fact, that's how we met, after I wrote an article for the Los Angeles Sentinel saying exactly what I'm saying here.  But you don't have to just take my word for it - take a minute to listen for yourself.  I've provided three examples of her excellence at the end of this article.

.

But the music industry seems to be  blocking her out.  I'm almost sure that's because they don't want the people to hear what she has to say. Rita could easily set a standard of excellence that, if the world gets used to, could prevent them from accepting a lot of the mediocrity the music  industry is making billions of dollars off of promoting as the best the Black community has to offer.   If they allow Rita to set a new standard of excellence, where are they going to find more than a handful of singers to match it?

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But 700 THOUSAND Russians firmly disagree with the industry's efforts - and that's at just one festival; she's doing several, along with virtuoso jazz saxophonist Robert Anchipolovsky. They're killing them over there. So why does she have to struggle just to get her product out and stay employed over here?

.

Presenting Ms. Rita Edmond - The Contemporary Face of True Jazz Royalty
.

If you’re a jazz lover and want to look upon the contemporary face of jazz royalty, take a moment to go check out Ms. Rita Edmond on Youtube. She's the jazz world's best kept secret.  She's currently working on her third CD, but even on her first CD, she made it abundantly clear to this writer that she hit the ground fully seasoned as one of the greatest jazz singers alive today. I know, that's a mighty lofty claim to heap onto the shoulders of a relatively new artist, but I'm not given to hyperbole, so I fully intend to back up my assertion with the contents and attachments to this piece.

.

Ms. Edmond moves between sultry sophistication, hard driving swing, and childlike innocence without any effort at all. There are many great singers out there, but from the very first bar of anything Rita does, she clearly distinguishes herself as one of those rare individuals who was born to do exactly what she’s doing, and nothing else. She swings with the effortless grace of a Sliver Shadow cruisin' down Pacific Coast Highway, and her ballads are lush with sultry passion, personal depth, and individuality.

.

You can't "learn" to sing like Rita Edmond. You either have it, or you don't, and there's only one or two lucky few in a generation who do - but Rita, like Ella and Sarah, is one of those lucky few. But don’t just take my word for it, go check her out for yourself and I’m sure you’ll agree with me that she’s a once in a generation talent, and clearly the heir apparent to some of the greatest divas that jazz has ever known.

.

Along with this piece I'm attaching three links to make my point - ‘Here’s to Life,’ ‘Embraceable You' (Live at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art) , and ‘It Might As Well Be Spring’ - and each tune shows a different side of her tremendous, and still growing, musical personality.

.

‘Here’s to Life’ is a beautiful ballad that’s been done by some of the greatest singers who’s ever lived, yet Ms. Edmond’s version is as good or better than any version of this tune that’s ever been recorded. The soaring passion that she brings to this tune makes it almost impossible for anyone who’s ever had to struggle through life’s adversities and then managed to survive to continue to fight the good fight, to listen to with a dry eye.

.

'Embraceable You,' (featuring Harold Land, Jr. on piano) demonstrates the ease in which she can establish the mood of a song and captivate an audience. It also shows an artist who is so comfortable in serenading an audience that it seems like she was born on stage. And after the piano solo, notice the effortless spontaneity in which she throws in a lick that's so exquisite that it sounds like it should have been written into the tune. You won't be able to miss it, because the audience places an exclamation point of approval immediately afterward, as she casually, and routinely, moves on to the next phrase, as though it's all in a night's work. 

.

Finally, she does ‘It Might As Well Be Spring,’ a tried and true jazz standard. Not everyone can do this tune well, because it’s such a jazz staple that it’s hard for a singer to put their personal stamp on it, and whenever they try, they either over sing or under sing the tune.  But Rita swings through it effortlessly and makes it her own. King Pleasure himself would smile at her rendition.

.

I also wanted to add Ms. Edmond's rendition of ‘This Can’t Be Love’ as an attachment, but unfortunately, it's not available on Youtube. Nevertheless, it deserves a mention. On that tune Ms. Edmond displays yet another part of her musical vocabulary - her growing chops as a scatter and her ability to swing with the best of them. In this case, she scats in unison with yet another powerhouse, tenor sax player Ricky Woodard, and they’re pushed forward by the hard driving rhythms of Albert ‘Tootie’ Heath of the illustrious Heath Brothers on drums - and when it comes to the aristocracy of jazz, they don’t come any more blue-blooded than Tootie. Also on hand is Nancy Wilson's longtime keyboardist, Llew Matthews on piano.  So here, Rita is being tested by fire, and she literally danced through the flames with blissful abandon.

.

So in spite of Ms. Edmond’s unassuming manner, whenever she picks up a mic, her tremendous confidence, individualism and flawless delivery seems to say, “There’s a new diva in town” - and I say, it’s about time! 

.

.

Related Post
.
Rita Edmond: A Glance At Destiny
(Article)
http://wattree.blogspot.com/2011/11/ms-rita-edmond-glance-at-destiny.html
.
Embraceable You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4SZXO9-jrc
.
It Might As Well Be Spring
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVXzYTrrCVE
.

Eric L. Wattree

wattree.blogspot.com

Ewattree@Gmail.com

.
Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

Sphere: Related Content

Presenting Ms. Rita Edmond - Meet The Contemporary Face of True Jazz Royalty

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

Presenting Ms. Rita Edmond - Meet The Contemporary Face of True Jazz Royalty
.

If you’re a jazz lover and want to look upon the contemporary face of jazz royalty, take a moment to go check out Ms. Rita Edmond on Youtube. She's the jazz world's best kept secret.  She's currently working on her third CD, but even on her first CD, she made it abundantly clear to this writer that she hit the ground fully seasoned as one of the greatest jazz singers alive today. I know, that's a mighty lofty claim to heap onto the shoulders of a relatively new artist, but I'm not given to hyperbole, so I fully intend to back up my assertion with the contents and attachments to this piece.

.

Ms. Edmond moves between sultry sophistication, hard driving swing, and childlike innocence without any effort at all. There are many great singers out there , but from the very first bar of anything Rita does, she clearly distinguishes herself as one of those rare individuals who was born to do exactly what she’s doing, and nothing else. She swings with the effortless grace of a Sliver Shadow cruisin' down Pacific Coast Highway, and her ballads are lush with sultry passion, personal depth, and individuality.

.

You can't "learn" to sing like Rita Edmond. You either have it, or you don't, and there's only one or two lucky few in a generation who do - but Rita, like Ella and Sarah, is one of those lucky few. But don’t just take my word for it, go check her out for yourself and I’m sure you’ll agree with me that she’s a once in a generation talent, and clearly the heir apparent to some of the greatest divas that jazz has ever known.

.

Along with this piece I'm attaching three links to make my point - ‘Here’s to Life,’ ‘Embraceable You' (Live at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art) , and ‘It Might As Well Be Spring’ - and each tune shows a different side of her tremendous, and still growing, musical personality.

.

‘Here’s to Life’ is a beautiful ballad that’s been done by some of the greatest singers who’s ever lived, yet Ms. Edmond’s version is as good or better than any version of this tune that’s ever been recorded. The soaring passion that she brings to this tune makes it almost impossible for anyone who’s ever had to struggle through life’s adversities to listen to with a dry eye.  Artie Butler - the multi-Grammy Award winning composer (and Barbara Streisand's musical director) - said of Ms. Edmond, "Rita Edmond knows exactly what to do with a song like 'Here's To Life.' She brings the listener into the music as she sings, making you feel she's singing just for you. That's indeed a gift."

.

'Embraceable You,' (featuring Harold Land, Jr. on piano) demonstrates the ease in which she can establish the mood of a song and captivate an audience. It also shows an artist who is so comfortable in serenading an audience that it seems like she was born on stage. And after the piano solo, notice the effortless spontaneity in which she throws in a lick that's so exquisite that it sounds like it should have been written into the tune. You won't be able to miss it because the audience places an exclamation point of approval immediately afterward, as she casually, and routinely, moves on to the next phrase, as though it's all in a night's work. 

.

Rita Edmond and Phil Woods Protégé
and International

Jazz Great, Robert Anchipolosky

Finally, she does ‘It Might As Well Be Spring,’ a tried and true jazz standard. Not everyone can do this tune well, because it’s such a jazz staple that it’s hard for a singer to put their personal stamp on it, and whenever they try, they either over sing or under sing the tune.  But Rita swings through it effortlessly and makes it her own. King Pleasure himself would smile at her rendition.

.

I also wanted to add Ms. Edmond's rendition of ‘This Can’t Be Love’ as an attachment, but unfortunately, it's not available on Youtube. Nevertheless, it deserves a mention. On that tune Ms. Edmond displays yet another part of her musical vocabulary - her growing chops as a scatter and her ability to swing with the best of them. In this case, she scats in unison with yet another powerhouse, tenor sax player Ricky Woodard, and they’re pushed forward by the hard driving rhythms of Albert ‘Tootie’ Heath of the illustrious Heath Brothers on drums - and when it comes to the aristocracy of jazz, they don’t come any more blue-blooded than Tootie. She's also regularly accompanied by Nancy Wilson's keyboard player, Llew Matthews, who has also played with legendary jazz giants such as Jackie McLean and Woody Shaw, and the sweet-struttin' Edwin Livingston on bass.  So Rita is regularly being tested by fire, and she literally dances through the flames with blissful abandon.
.
Earlier this year Ms. Edmond toured Russia, bringing the house down with the late Phil Woods' protégé, Robert Anchipoloski, and at this writing she's wrapping up a three month gig at  the luxurious Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, where she's doing her part to show jazz lovers, politicians, and  ambassadors from all over the world what we bring to the table.  She's also just completed a project with  her good friend and fabulous sax player, Dale Fielder, that's monstrous. While very contemporary in it's concept, the quality of musicianship is a throwback to the way the big boys used to do it.   

.

Ms. Edmond approaches jazz like she's been here before; it's like she walked on stage fresh from 52nd Street. For that reason, whenever I hear her sing it makes my eyes moist, because I can here Ella and Sarah whispering softly in the background, "So 'em how it's done, baby girl." And she has a natural musical kinship to Dexter Gordon, whether she's singing a ballad or swinging, and when you're as familiar with Dexter Gordon's music as I am (his family lived two blocks away from my grandparents, and my mother went to Jefferson High School in Los Angeles  with him), it's a scary thing to watch. Her approach to phrasing and the feeling she evokes is the exactly the same kind of feeling that Dexter had on his tenor.  I played Dexter for her doing "You've Changed," and she said, "Hey!  He sounds just like me!"  I had to laugh. I told her, "No, baby. You sound like HIM."

But in spite of her talent, Ms.  Edmond is a very innocent sort whose emotions are always very close to the surface - I think that may be the key to the beauty of her musicianship, but in spite of her unassuming manner, when she picks up a mic someone else emerges.  Just the touch of a mic seems to transform her. It gives her a  tremendous confidence, and a unique sense of individualism that serves to produce a flawless musical delivery - a delivery that seems to say, “There’s a new diva in town,” and I say, it’s about time! 

.

.

Related Post

.

Rita Edmond: A Glance At Destiny

(Article)

http://wattree.blogspot.com/2011/11/ms-rita-edmond-glance-at-destiny.html

.

Embraceable You

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4SZXO9-jrc

.

It Might As Well Be Spring

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVXzYTrrCVE

.

A Brush With Immortality: Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, and Jackie Mclean

http://wattree.blogspot.com/2015/03/beneath-spin-eric-l.html

.

Eric L. Wattree

wattree.blogspot.com

Ewattree@Gmail.com

.
Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

Sphere: Related Content

Who Am I, Who Has the Audacity to Criticize the Illustrious Cornel West?

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

Who Am I, Who Has the Audacity to Criticize the Illustrious Cornel West?

I'm a Simple Black Man, Who Tills the Soil

.

A few diehard Cornel West supporters seem to have taken great exception to my article, "A Portrait of Cornel West - The Liberace of Faux Intellectualism." They asked, who am I who has the audacity to criticize the illustrious Dr. Cornel West, and what have I done for the Black community?
.
In response, I can only say, I’m a simple urban farmer who tills the soil. So I must admit, I’ve done very little, at least, that meets the eye. But beneath the surface, everything I do is designed to move my people forward.  But like most urban farmers, I have to tend my crop and look at the long game, so I don’t have the time to concern myself with fame, fortune, and adulation. My job is to focus on harvest time, and patiently await my crop to come in.
.
You see, we all have a role to play in this society, and I see mine as helping to educate our people - not at Harvard, or Princeton, because that's not the field where my crop resides. My crop was planted in urban America, so that's the field that I tend.
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I’m the product of a very unique family of farmers. We’re not famous, or world shakers, but we’re, literally, one of a kind in the United States. There's only one Wattree family in America, so anyone one with the last name "Wattree" is related to me. We immigrated to the United States from France after the Civil War, and as a family, we have ALWAYS been involved in educating, and tilling the soil of our people.
.
My Great uncle, Richard Wattree, started the "Wattree School" in Louisiana to teach Black people to read and write back when there was very little education to be had for poor Black people, and we've carried on that tradition over the years in one way or another every since. Some of us teach elementary and secondary school in various cities and states across this country, others, like my daughter and niece, work in administrative positions in various colleges and universities, and still others are artists, who depict  our people's journey within this country over the centuries:

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SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal

Jubilee To Showcase The Art Of Claiborne Parish

"African American artist, Alma Lennear of Minden, will be exhibiting her works as well as selling her paintings Saturday at the Claiborne Jubilee. She comes from a long line of educators who have lived in and around Claiborne Parish since the days her great-grandfather, Richard Wattree, founded the Wattree School using the Bible as the reading book. A self-taught artist, Ms. Lennear's work features both portraits of historic figures as well as Biblical scenes. Come to the Jubilee and visit with a most interesting woman!"
.

Writing is my forte. I'm also a Jazz musician and a poet, so I help to pass along pride in our Black tradition through those mediums. My good friend, Rita Edmond, is undoubtedly one of the greatest jazz singers in the world today, and as we speak, I'm writing music for her and passing along my knowledge of music theory in order to ensure that she'll be prepared to carry on the tradition of Ella, and Sarah, and Dinah Washington in a fashion that befits their memory, and her own.

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When I got married (when I was 21 years old, and my late wife, Valdie, was 19 ), I sacrificed my own ambition to be a professional musician, to stay at home and try to become the kind of father that could ensure that my kids and grandchildren would grow up to be better than myself - and they are. So while there are a handful of people who may think I’m formidable, they haven’t seen nothin' yet. My greatest contribution to our people still lies dormant, feeding, growing, and absorbing knowledge within their cocoon.
.
So when my crop comes in, you’ll no longer have to ask, who am I. You'll know who I am - one hell of a farmer, but a simple farmer, who tills the soil to ensure the viability of his people.
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LEGACY
.
Neither scholar nor the head of state,
The most common of men seems to be my fate;
A life blistered with struggle and constant need,
As my legacy to man I bequeath my seed.
.
More fertile, more sturdy, these ones than I,
This withered old vine left fallow and dry;
The nectar of their roots lie dormant still,
But through their fruit I'll be revealed.

.

.

Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
.
Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

Sphere: Related Content

They Called Him Chuck - A Magnificent Old Swinger

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

We tend to give politicians all the credit for who we are as Americans. But the fact is, politicians with all their self-serving agendas more often than not stifle the American spirit rather than enhance it. It is the Average American, doing what they do in their daily lives, that makes us who and what we are. So as a tribute to those Americans, I’m launching this series called "A Tribute to American Diversity." 

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They Called Him Chuck -
A Magnificent Old Swinger

I’d like to take a moment to give a little something back to a magnificent old swinger. Being from the old school, and born and raised in Los Angeles, jazz has always been a major force in my life. So when Chuck Niles, of radio station KKJZ left this Earth, it represented the eternal silence of yet another force that went into molding what I think of as me.

In my mind, jazz, Chuck Niles, and who I am today are all a part of the same continuum. Rahsaan called us "Eulipians"- a brotherhood of writers, poets, musicians, and uncommon drunks, who thrive on a riff, and passionately embrace the proposition that man’s innate thirst for knowledge will someday overwhelm his passionate lust for stupidity.

I can't begin to describe the impact that this grand old cat has had on my life over the years. I first came across him when I was a kid listening to "The Knob"- Radio station KNOB. I’ve heard people talk about how tough KBCA was, and indeed it was a powerhouse of jazz, but nobody in the history of radio swung it like The Knob. Then when Then when KNOB went classical, its swingers moved - almost as a group - to KBCA, and they didn't drop a bar. They had people like Jai Rich, Rick Holmes, Tommy B, Tollie Strode, Stevo, and of course, the ever swingin' Chuck Niles - "Bebop Charlie."

Man, those cats swung it 24-7 like it was their last day on Earth, and every one of them had an encyclopedic knowledge of jazz. So there was never a lull in the music - Bird, Monk, Miles, Dexter Gordon, Jackie McLean, one after the other, all day, and all night long. I mean, these guys would be smokin’, and every time you thought they couldn't possibly get any tougher, they'd kick it up a notch. As a youngster, I couldn’t live without them, but even back then I understood the meaning of sacrifice - so I’d sleep on Tuesdays.

Chuck and his cohorts at The Knob not only provided me with a Ph.D. in the world of Jazz, but they also laid a foundation for a way of life that has served me quite well over the years. By the time I was 16 I had gained a wealth of knowledge into the beauty of what contributed directly to who I am. Jazz became a hook upon which I could hang other knowledge - both historic and political. I became curious about such things as what kind of political environment led to the development of a Charlie Parker or Thelonious Monk. That, in turn, led me to consider the realities of my own political environment.

Then later in life, during those moments when life became funky, I'd only have to consider my roots to know that I had what it took to carry on. The love of jazz, and the cultural message it related, taught me to take pride in my ability to deal with hardship. It also taught me to never have more respect for anyone else’s ability to think than I had for my own. It put a swagger in my outlook that has stood up to the most severe adversity, and a love and respect for knowledge, creativity, and achievement that has allowed me to truly overcome. After all, any group of people who could navigate the chord progressions of any tune ever written, and at breakneck speed, couldn't possibly be inferior - and I was one of those people. So I never felt the need to convince the world that "I am somebody" - thanks to people like Chuck, I simply knew it.

So these cats didn't just spin records, they were educators. They provided a foundation and a philosophy of life upon which many young cats like myself have based our entire lives. And at the same time, they also promoted a tradition that assured the viability of modern jazz - an unassailable tradition, that stands as a monument to the creative genius of Black people.

Chuck Niles, even though he had white skin, was as dedicated to that proposition as any Black man I've ever known, and he continued to stoke the flame right up to his final days, with a new generation of believers at KLON (now KKJZ) on the campus of Cal. State Long Beach (a listener supported station that’s always in dire need of our support).

Today we live in a world of hip hop, Nikes, and jogging suits. But Chuck represented a different world - a world of bebop, Florsheims, and Brooks Brothers suits. His was a world of unspoken class, magnificent ladies, and shinny new Cadillacs glistening against the Moonlight; of Ray Brown's sweet bass struttin' down uncharted avenues of the blues; of Charlie Parker's bittersweet serenade to the angels; and of course, a passionate young Miles with his muted horn, sweetly brooding to Stella By Starlight into humid Summer nights.

When I think of Chuck, I think of beautiful days and sweeter nights; a time when the promise of tomorrow was more tantalizing than the chilling passion of the night before. So the passing of this swingin' old warhorse also represented the passing of a magnificent era; an era reminiscent of an elegant lady - a lady that Chuck now, lovingly, escorts into the mist.

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But the beat goes on . . .

Eric L. Wattree

http://wattree.blogspot.com/
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)

Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

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