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Press Releases For Immediate Release: 01/04/05 | Click here for PDF version Harlem Speaks JAZZ SERIES RESUMES IN 2005 ·
Larry Ridley (January 13) New York, NY (January 3, 2005) Swing into the New Year with The Jazz Museum in Harlem and four standard bearers who keep the legacy of jazz alive! The Harlem Speaks series, designed to give due recognition to musicians and others of great value to Harlem jazz, continues on alternate Thursdays with bass great, Larry Ridley on January 13, 2005, followed by a discussion with one of the country's most accomplished architects, Harlem's own Max Bond, on January 27th. This set of four honorees is rounded out by saxophonist Willie Mack of the New Amsterdam Musical Association on February 10th and trumpeter Joey Morant on February 24th. Larry Ridley, a Schomburg Center artist-in-residence, was originally scheduled to appear in Harlem Speaks in October 2004, but a brief ailment caused a postponement. The Jazz Museum in Harlem is pleased that Mr. Ridley, one of the top jazz educators in the nation, will now engage Executive Director Loren Schoenberg in a wide-ranging discussion on his career and the future of jazz in Harlem and elsewhere for the first session of 2005. Early in his career, Ridley gigged with Freddie Hubbard and Wes Montgomery back home in Indiana; then, in the1960s, he moved to New York, where he served as bassist for Thelonious Monk, and many other top professionals. He currently leads the Jazz Legacy Ensemble. Architect Max Bond is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished African-American architects of the 20th century. After attaining a bachelor's and master's degree from Harvard in Architecture, Bond worked in Paris on buildings designed by the famed Swiss-born designer, Le Corbusier. He has designed in Ghana and Zimbabwe; laid out the designs for the Martin Luther King Center memorial; and his firm, Davis Brody Bond, will serve as the associate architects to bring the World Trade Center memorial project's "Reflecting Absence"to realization. A jazz aesthetic informs Bonds' approach to life and architecture. Last year, the New Amsterdam Musical Association (NAMA), originally conceived as a union for black musicians, celebrated its one hundredth anniversary. Today, after a revitalization movement by a dedicated group of volunteer members, NAMA offers jam sessions, free performances, space for rehearsals and fundraisers, and music lessons for all ages, all in Central Harlem. Willie Mack, 72, is the group's premier teacher, and practices what he preaches on the tenor saxophone. Mr. Mack will share lessons learned over the years and comment on the future of the music. Joey Morant, trumpeter and member of the Harlem Blues & Jazz Band, has been hailed for his ability to capture the light and serious sides of "Pops," Louis Armstrong, yes; yet he is as well known in Harlem, especially at Showman's, where he's a regular, for playing a bent horn in the manner of Dizzy Gillespie. The 2003 Harlem Jazz & Music Festival Instrumentalist of the Year, Morant was recently featured on vocalist Lainie Cooke's recording, Here's to Life, for his own flavorful styling. He'll discuss his life in the music, from Harlem to Paris, and share rich anecdotes for a live audience and the museum's archives. The series, co-produced by the Jazz Museum in Harlem and Greg Thomas Associates, will be held at the offices of the Jazz Museum in Harlem, located at 104 East 126th Street, between Park and Lexington Avenues, from 6:30pm-8:00pm, on alternate Thursdays, beginning on January 13, 2005 until February 24th. The series is free to the public. Please call for reservations: |
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