Sunny Adé and African Beats come to Lincoln

By Tom Ineck

LINCOLN, Neb.—The new decade has barely begun, and already we at the Berman Music Foundation look ahead with great excitement and anticipation to Sunday, April 18, when King Sunny Adé and His African Beats will bring their unique and infectious “juju music” to the Bourbon Theatre, 1415 O St. in downtown Lincoln.

The 6 p.m. concert promises to be the music event of the year. Doors open at 5 p.m. Click on the poster to the right for ticket information.

The BMF is a principal sponsor of the benefit concert, which will raise funds to support programming at KZUM Radio (89.3 FM), Nebraska’s only non-profit community radio station. Local Cuban and salsa band Son Del Llano will perform as the opening act.

Born to a Nigerian royal family 63 years ago, Adé has been honored with titles like “Chairman of the Board” and “Minister of Enjoyment” in his home country, and his highly influential music and crossover popularity earned him billing as “the African Bob Marley.”

Adé is the undisputed king of juju music, a dance-inspiring hybrid of western pop and traditional African music with roots in the guitar tradition of Nigeria. Described by the Boston Globe as “mellow, shimmering, large-band party music,” juju emerged in the 1970s from a combination of Yoruba drumming with elements of West African highlife music, calypso, and jazz. Juju is a hypnotic blend of electric guitars, pedal-steel guitar, synthesizers and multi-layered percussion.

Adé and His African Beats created a worldwide sensation in the early 1980s with three recordings on Mango Records—“Juju Music” (1982), “Synchro System” (1983), and “Aura” (1984). He was the first African to be nominated twice for a Grammy Award, first for “Synchro System” and most recently for “Odu,” a 1998 collection of traditional Yoruba songs. In July 2009 he was inducted into the Afropop Hall of Fame. He has recorded more than 100 albums.

In the mid-1990s, Adé founded the King Sunny Adé Foundation, an organization that includes a performing arts center, state of the art recording studio and housing for young musicians and performers on a five-acre tract donated by the Lagos state government. Adé and His African Beats have been featured in three films—“Juju Music” in 1988, “Live at Montreux” in 1990 and “Roots of Rhythm” in 1997. His music also is featured in the 1983 film “Breathless,” starring Richard Gere, and the 1986 comedy “One More Saturday Night,” and he acted in Robert Altman’s 1987 comedy “O.C. and Stiggs.”

With 16 pieces, African Beats rarely tours on American soil, making the appearance here in the heartland even more momentous. During its brief U.S. tour, the band also will perform at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

The April 18 Lincoln concert is made possible by Star City Blog with generous support from the Berman Music Foundation, Southeast Community College, Dietze Music, U.S. Bank, The Holiday Inn Downtown, and the Parthenon Greek Taverna and Grill. Net proceeds will be donated to KZUM.

Tickets went on sale Jan. 11. General admission is $25 per person. Reserved seats are available for $50 per person. Discounts are available for groups of five or more. To purchase tickets, visit Star City Blog at www.starcityblog.com.

To qualify for the group rate, send an email to ksa2010@starcityblog.com, specifying the number in your party, a mailing address, and a daytime phone number.

top

BMF helps restore "Fiddler" session tapes 

By Gerald Spaits

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—While working on a recent recording project at Soundtrek with guitarist Rod Fleeman, we learned of an old session we were involved in with Claude “Fiddler” Williams and Russ Long. Ron Ubel, head of Soundtrek, remembered the session and was confident he could locate this lost recording.

Russ Dantzler, Claude’s manager at the time, encouraged Claude to get in the studio and record on a regular basis. In 1992, Claude put together some of Kansas City’s finest jazz musicians and did a session at Soundtrek. Included on the session with Claude on violin and vocals are Russ Long, piano; Tommy Ruskin, drums; Rod Fleeman, guitar; and myself on bass. Claude also invited Tommy’s wife, Julie Turner, to join in with vocals on a couple to tunes. I do remember some rehearsals at Russ’s house and Russ doing nearly all of the arrangements.

Needless to say, I was encouraged to hear from Ron only a few days after learning about the session. He had found the tapes from the session and was happy to make a copy for me to review. I had never heard the recording and barely remember what songs we had recorded. What I do remember was the efficiency of getting into the studio and accomplishing the entire project in one day, most of the tunes in a single take.

Upon listening to the CD from Ron, I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard. It brought back some great memories. What really knocked me out was the overall “feel.” That Kansas City swing that Claude and Russ played so well came through, and with Tommy and Rod the whole thing swung hard. I’m not sure why it was never released in the first place.

Together with Ron and his engineer, Justin Wilson, we spent several weeks in the studio mixing, mastering and preparing a CD for future release. With blessings from Claude’s widow, Blanche, and assistance from the Berman Music Foundation, I feel fortunate to have discovered this historic recording.

It is historic because Claude and Russ are no longer with us. Claude and Russ played together in the early 1960s with the legendary Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson in Kansas City. Claude and Russ played numerous gigs together over the years, but this is the only recording I am aware of with the two together.

Claude Williams died in April 2004, and Russ Long died in December 2006.

Hopefully, this lost tape will be lost no more and materialize in the near future. Stay tuned.

Editor's Note: Gerald Spaits is a consultant for the Berman Music Foundation.

top

By Tom Ineck

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Tempus fugit, as they say. The last time we were in this city was a spring-like weekend in March. Suddenly, it was December and we decided to head south again for a Christmas holiday, complete with live music at Jardine’s, a stop at the American Jazz Museum and a concerted effort to stimulate the sluggish economy with shopping sprees in the Country Club Plaza and the quaint shops of the Brookside neighborhood just south of the Plaza.

Again, we booked a room for two nights at the conveniently located Hotel Phillips, 12^th and Baltimore. Service there is always superb and prices remain reasonable for an historic hotel in downtown Kansas City, starting at $119 for a double room. The lobby was all decked out in Yuletide trimmings, a huge lighted Christmas tree and even life-sized manikins dressed as carolers and perched in the balcony above the front desk. Nice touch.

With the day to ourselves, our first stop was World’s Window, a Brookside store specializing in ethnic and contemporary folk art, clothing, and jewelry since 1984. Owners Jan and Lonnie Buerge purchase merchandise from fair-trade organizations and from wholesalers “invested in enhancing the lives of those who work with and for them.” Its hand-crafted merchandise, casual ambiance, warm and inviting staff and sense of mission make this shop a great place for browsing and buying.

As always around this time of the year, the Plaza was strung with lights and bustling with holiday shoppers. We joined them for a couple of hours, eventually taking respite at Balsano’s Gelato Café at 428 Ward Parkway, where I relaxed with a seasonal eggnog latte and Mary Jane had a mocha gelato cone.

Our next destination was the area of 18^th and Vine streets, where the American Jazz Museum had recently opened the John H. Baker Jazz Film Collection, a permanent exhibit celebrating jazz on film with a collection of more than 5,000 titles totaling 700 hours and spanning the years 1927 to the early 1970s. Visitors can view many rare film clips and historic movie posters depicting three themes—“Big Bands,” “African American Dance in Early Films” and “Women in Jazz Films.”

Through Feb. 21, the museum also houses “Jam Session: America’s Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the World,” a collection of photos and documents chronicling the tours of American jazz legends as they traveled the globe on behalf of the U.S. State Department from the mid-1950s through the 1970s. Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and others are featured, and the exhibit is included in the $8 museum admission.

We had already reserved a table for the evening of Dec. 12 at Jardine’s, anticipating an early dinner and a 6 p.m. performance by the Angela Hagenbach Quintet. As the venerable jazz bistro at 4536 Main St. has limited seating, a reservation is always a good idea.

Our reason for wanting to see Hagenbach was two-fold. The sultry singer has an excellent new CD, “The Way They Make Me Feel,” celebrating the music of Johnny Mandel, Henri Mancini and Michel Legrand, and her group will perform at the 2010 Jazz in June series in Lincoln. The Jardine’s show was a good opportunity to hear her on her home turf.

Trumpeter Stan Kessler, pianist Chris Clark, bassist Steve Rigazzi and drummer Doug Auwarter kicked off the early show with a couple of instrumental, including Cedar Walton’s “Bolivia,” on which Kessler blew a lyrical, effortless flugelhorn. Hagenbach took the stage for “You Turned the Tables on Me” and a samba rendition of “The Street of Dreams,” before turning to the sounds of the season with “Let It Snow.”

Mandel’s “Quietly There” was the sole tune from the new release and it was a stunner, with languorous phrasing and supple tones by Hagenbach and a gorgeous flugelhorn solo by Kessler. The mood turned to the blues with Bobby Troup’s “Baby, Baby All the Time,” allowing each musician a solo spotlight.

Hagenbach’s improvised a cappella intro to “The Sweetest Sound” had her bandmates quizzically searching for their entrance cue. She introduced a yet-unrecorded original, “On the Road Eastward Into Dusk,” on which Kessler cleverly interpolated “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.”

“Just You, Just Me” employed some tricky stop-time phrasing, expertly carried off by the whole band. Hagenbach finished the set with a breezy “I Thought About You,” with Kessler again inserting a holiday snippet, this time from “Joy to the World.”

Joy, indeed!

top

By Tom Ineck

LINCOLN, Neb.—In keeping with its mission to promote American music, support artists’ creativity and increase appreciation for music “in all its forms and hues,” the Berman Music Foundation is embarking on several projects that will deliver on that promise with upcoming performances and educational opportunities for students, teachers and musicians of many different styles.

Little more than a year since Ember Schrag launched Clawfoot House as a performance venue in Lincoln’s Everett neighborhood, it has become one of the most vibrant, imaginative and prolific presenters of artists who work on the edge, in media ranging from bluegrass to classical and avant-garde music, and from dance to performance art and the visual arts.

With a $2,200 grant from the BMF, Schrag will present Seattle-based singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Amy Denio in a series of three appearances during Women’s Week at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, March 10-11. A special edition of the monthly Clawfoot Salon will feature Denio in a lecture and performance 7-10 p.m. March 10 at the UNL Student Union, 1400 R St. The free salon will begin with a poetry reading by Sandra Hochman, followed by a jam session and time to share new work, with Denio participating.

Denio's leadership luncheon presentation from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 11 at the Student Union will focus on “Music and Social Change.” Maggie’s Veggie Wraps will provide a free vegetarian wrap for those who call the Women's Center (472-2597) in advance. At 9 p.m. that evening Denio will headline a bill at Clawfoot House that also will include The New Music Agency and Seeded Plain. Clawfoot House is located at 1042 F St. Admission is $7 at the door.

The Denio appearances are collaborations between Schrag and the UNL Women’s Center in what promises to be a fruitful relationship for both parties.

The BMF continues its support of the UNL Honor Jazz Weekend with a $7,000 grant. The second annual event, March 26-28, will gather Nebraska high school musicians for a comprehensive playing and learning experience, including master classes with UNL faculty and guests. This year’s featured guest artists are the Matt Wilson Quartet, who will perform a free public concert at 2 p.m. March 28 at Kimball Recital Hall. Drummer Matt Wilson has gained a wide reputation as a leader in a series of excellent recordings on the Palmetto label since his debut in 1996. The grant also will pay expenses for five Berman Music Foundation Jazz Fellows—high school educators who will participate in the entire weekend of activities. An additional $5,000 will support the UNL Summer Jazz Camp. You can read about last year's BMF collaboration with the UNL School of Music in the April 2009 online news.

A $3,000 grant will fund general project support for the Northeast Family Center and its Academy of Rock program, which provides Lincoln youth with the opportunity to explore their musical and artistic interests in the hope that they will become strong leaders and outstanding team members in the community, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or income. After Butch Berman’s death in January 2008, the BMF awarded a $1,000 grant and donated many of Butch’s musical instruments to the Academy of Rock program. You can read about it in the January 2009 online news.

top

By Jesse Starita

LINCOLN, Neb.—When the door swings opens at the Zoo Bar, there’s a certain feel, an elemental feeling. A dense air merges sound and smell: rollicking guitars, musty playbills, propulsive drums and stale paint. To my delight, as I pulled open the door on a recent Tuesday evening, a jazz twist pierced that dense air.

The Jazzocrazy, the Zoo Bar’s Tuesday night jazz ensemble, were riding a December hot streak. A new, improved time slot, a slew of guest musicians and an ensemble of holiday visitors enlivened their second set, as they dug into the Miles Davis standard “All Blues.”  Bryan Morrow, Jazzocracy’s commander-in-chief, barked and growled soulful lines on his tenor sax. Bassist Shawn Murphy and drummer Andrew Tyler secured the beat, while erstwhile Lincolnite and alto saxophonist Chris Steinke crafted vigorous high-register runs. Trombonist Tommy Van den Berg employed rapid-fire slurs, tempered by bluesy embellishments. And Lincoln East High School senior Bryan Stewart turned in a shred-heavy, Yngwie Malmstein-inspired solo.

Later numbers resembled the contents of a classic jazz jukebox—Sonny Rollins’ “St. Thomas,” Thelonious Monk’s “Well, You Needn’t,” and John Coltrane’s “Mr. P.C.” At times, the sheer familiarity was a detriment, the solos overly subservient to the beat. Perhaps it’s a mirror image of democracy, individual voices striving to cleave the steady drumbeat of the status quo. In any case, they succeeded in creating that certain feel. And for a moment during the peppy calypso “St. Thomas,” I left the dense, cold winter air of Lincoln for a warm, sultry Aruban beach.

The Jazzocracy play every Tuesday night from 6-9 p.m. at the Zoo Bar, 136 N. 14^th St. There is no cover charge, but tips are encouraged.

top

New Acquisitions

BMF continues to expand music library

B.B. King and Buddy Guy in Council Bluffs

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa—Blues guitar icons B.B. King and Buddy Guy will close out an extensive tour Feb. 22 at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluff, Iowa.

King isn't letting his recent 84th birthday slow him down as he continues a fall and winter itinerary featuring a mixture of solo shows and co-headlining dates with the younger Guy, who is 73. The legendary bluesman worked his way along the West Coast through early December, followed by a New Year's Eve performance in Tulsa, OK. After a month-long hiatus, he hit the road with Buddy Guy for a theater run that spans at least 13 cities.

King, a 14-time Grammy winner, scored the highest-debuting solo album of his nearly 60-year career with his latest release, "One Kind Favor." The set, which was released in August 2008, debuted at No. 37 on The Billboard 200 chart. Produced by T-Bone Burnett (Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Roy Orbison), "One Kind Favor" features covers of old blues songs that inspired King as a young man, and was made to sound like it was recorded in the '50s. Players include Dr. John on piano, Nathan East on acoustic bass and Jim Keltner on drums.

Before their arrival in Iowa, King and Guy will perform together in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Washington, D.C., New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Michigan, Missouri and Minneapolis.
 

Reserve tickets for the Feb. 22 show are on sale through Ticketmaster. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m.

top

Editor’s Note: At your request, we will mail a printed version of the newsletter. The online newsletter also is available at this website in PDF format for printing. Just click here: Newsletter