By Tom Ineck

Eldar Djangirov has been a familiar name and a familiar sound here at the Berman Music Foundation since the BMF covered the inaugural Topeka Jazz Festival back in 1998, when an 11-year-old Djangirov performed to an audience awestruck by this combination of prodigious talent and tender age.

Since then, we have watched him grow into a young man and an even more amazing pianist, performing and recording his own compositions and continuing to exhibit a technique and a confidence well beyond his years. Although he and his family moved from the Kansas City, Mo., area to San Diego, Calif., a year ago, he still is a featured artist at the annual Topeka fest. He also has developed a devoted following here in Lincoln, where he has appeared with his trio at Jazz in June and as featured soloist with the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra. He last performed here in January 2003 with the NJO.

He returns to the Capital City for a June 1 concert in the Jazz in June series at the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery Sculpture Garden. Though still just 17 years old and a junior in high school, he travels extensively when he is able. After a series of phone-mail exchanges, I tracked him down in Washington, D.C., area, where he was rehearsing for a performance with high school and college students as part of Billy Taylor “Jazz and the New Generation” program. From there he was headed to three performances at the Gilmore Piano Festival in Michigan.

When he takes the stage in Lincoln, he will be accompanied by bassist Gerald Spaits and drummer Tommy Ruskin, a slight variation on the trio that for so long featured Todd Strait on drums, both in concert and on Djangirov’s recordings—2001’s “Eldar” and 2003’s “Handprints.”

Almost a year since that last recording, Djangirov said he continues to add to his repertoire. The Jazz in June set list likely will include two new originals, “Point of View” and “Raindrops.” Jazz standards we can expect to hear include “Body and Soul,” “Maiden Voyage,” “Sweet Georgia Brown” and “Caravan.”

“I’ve been learning more tunes, making more music, trying to make progress,” he said. “Handprints,” he said, is a collection of some of his favorite tunes by his favorite musicians, many of them pianists. The 11 tracks feature compositions by Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, Billy Taylor, Bill Evans and Chick Corea. (“Handprints” is reviewed here.)

“We just tried to have fun and create music,” Djangirov said of that recording. “It’s a reflection of many things. It’s a reflection of piano players that I like, and the way I was playing at that point in time, what I was listening to and working on.”

Djangirov doesn’t worry much about the conventional wisdom that says a soloist who achieves fame too early in life may fail to develop a sound of his own, instead merely mimicking the sound of others.

“When players or musicians get together, you never find two musicians that sound alike,” he said. “It’s kind of like saying, ‘Have you ever met two people that are exactly alike?’ I don’t think that’s possible. There might be similar players. There are definitely players in music that are influenced, but the personalities are different, and the personality comes along from the very beginning. It’s just trying to find that trait and getting it to grow.”

As far as having developed a “voice” that is unmistakably his, Djangirov is more philosophical.

“It’s always for the people to decide whether they hear the voice and the musical statement that one is trying to make,” he said. He acknowledges that Oscar Peterson remains his favorite pianist, but “whomever I’m listening to, whether it’s Chick Corea, Brad Mehldau, Benny Green, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Fats Waller, Bill Charlap, Joey Calderazzo, I’m finding something that really appeals about all of them. They’re all just amazing in what they do, and I admire what they do. I try to be influenced, in a good way, by all of those.”

Many of these jazz luminaries—including Billy Taylor, Marian McPartland, Dave Brubeck, Benny Carter and Benny Green—have heaped praise upon the young Djangirov, recognition by his peers that he considers very flattering. But he doesn’t let it go to his head. Rather, he said, he seeks their advice.

The best news for Djangirov fans is that he already has recorded a third CD, to be released as early as August. He was reluctant to discuss details of the as-yet-untitled release, other than the fact that it will be on the Sony label and will feature bassist John Patitucci and drummer Todd Strait. I promised not to reveal the name of a very special guest saxophonist (but his initials are MB). Sorry, Eldar, I couldn’t resist.

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The popular Jazz in June concert series in the Sculpture Garden of the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery in downtown Lincoln returns with five Tuesday evening performances. The free concerts begin at 7 p.m. and generally last until 9 p.m.

As noted in the accompanying story, young pianist Eldar Djangirov returns to the Jazz in June stage June 1, fronting a trio that also features bassist Gerald Spaits and drummer Tommy Ruskin. Originally from Kyrgyzstan in the former Soviet Union, Djangirov was discovered by New York jazz enthusiast Charles McWhorter, who brought him to the United States to attend summer camp at the prestigious Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. He later moved to Kansas City, Mo., and then to his current home in San Diego, Calif.

Singer Kendra Shank is joined June 8 by a top-flight rhythm section including pianist Frank Kimbrough, bassist Dean Johnson and drummer Tony Moreno. Shank's crystal-pure tone, powerful musicianship and elastic phrasing have won her rave critical notices and fans worldwide. Born in California to a playwright father and actress mother, she began as her music career a folk and pop singer-guitarist in Seattle. Her jazz recording debut was in 1994 with “Afterglow,” which was followed by “Wish” in 1998 and “Reflections” in 2000.

Bluegrass and jazz acoustic guitarist John Carlini performs June 15 with a band that includes jazz mandolinist Don Stiernberg, who played to an enthusiastic crowd at last year’s Jazz in June. Carlini graduated from the Berklee College of Music, composed and orchestrated music for the 1978 film “King of the Gypsies,” and appeared onscreen performing with jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli. He became a member of the David Grisman Quintet and has recorded with Grisman, guitarist Tony Rice and the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble. The John Carlini Quartet, with Stiernberg, bassist Brian Glassman and drummer Steve Holloway, issued its debut album, “The Game's Afoot!” in 2003.

Trumpeter Ingrid Jensen brings her band, Project O, to Lincoln June 22. Selected by Down Beat magazine as one of the 25 most important improvising musicians of the future and rated in the top three in a number of their critics’ polls for talent deserving wider recognition, Jensen attended the Berklee College of Music. She has an impressive discography, including three CDs of her own on the Enja label and recordings with Big Band leader Maria Schneider, saxophonist Virginia Mayhew, vocalists Chris Connor and Roseanna Vitro, and the all-female band Diva. Her current band features Hammond B-3 organist Gary Versace.

The Nebraska Jazz Orchestra rounds out the five-date season June 29 with a concert certain to include a variety of traditional big band compositions by such jazz masters as Duke Ellington and Count Basie, as well as more modern additions to the jazz repertoire. The NJO has been performing for its many local fans since its formation in 1975 and has seven recordings.

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Concert Preview

BMF returns to Topeka Jazz Festival

By Tom Ineck

After a one-year hiatus from covering the Topeka Jazz Festival, the Berman Music Foundation returns with high expectations for the 7th annual Memorial Day weekend event, May 29-31, with a special outdoor concert kicking off the festivities from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. May 28.

Singer Karrin Allyson, a beloved TJF regular for many years, returns this year to headline the free Friday evening “yard party.” Before she takes the stage for the 7:30 p.m. finale, however, some of the other TJF favorites will mix it up. Singers Lee Gibson and Giacomo Gates will lead the bill, accompanied by pianist Shelly Berg, bassist Jay Leonhart and drummer Joe Ascione. The trio of pianist Bill Mays, bassist Jennifer Leitham and drummer Jackie Williams follows, and a sextet featuring reed master Ken Peplowski, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, guitarist Rod Fleeman, Berg, Leonhart, and Ascione precedes Allyson.

We anticipate hearing some new tunes in the extensive Allyson repertoire. Her upcoming Concord release is called “Wild for You” and features tunes first recorded by Joni Mitchell, Melissa Manchester, Carly Simon, Bonnie Raitt, Carole King, Roberta Flack, James Taylor, Elton John and Cat Stevens.

A trio of piano trios headlines this year’s festival proper, which runs from 10:45 a.m. Saturday to 7 p.m. Monday in the beautiful art deco-style Georgia Neese Gray Performance Hall. Pianist Paul Smith fronts a band with bassist Jim DeJulio and drummer Todd Strait, while bassist Jennifer Leitham is the leader of a trio also consisting of pianist Shelly Berg and drummer Joe Ascione. The 17-year-old piano whiz Eldar Djangirov will be accompanied by bassist Gerald Spaits, with either Todd Strait or Tommy Ruskin filling the percussion chair.

The 2004 festival again features a number of tried-and-true favorites, but one can’t complain about the caliber of such instrumentalists as trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, tenor saxophonist and clarinetist Ken Peplowski, trumpeter Warren Vache, multi-reed player Gary Foster, pianists Bill Mays, Shelly Berg, Tom Ranier and Eldar Djangirov, bassists John Clayton, Jennifer Leitham and Jay Leonhart, and drummers Joe LaBarbera, Joe Ascione and Jackie Williams.

New to this frequent festivalgoer are saxophonist Brent Jensen, trombonist John Allred, pianist Jon Mayer, bassist Jim DeJulio and singers Giacomo Gates and Lee Gibson, but we’re looking forward to making their acquaintance. Of course, Kansas City’s finest will also be in good supply, including guitarist Rod Fleeman, pianists Joe Cartwright, Paul Smith, bassists Bob Bowman and Gerald Spaits and drummers Todd Strait and Tommy Ruskin.

Once again TJF Artistic Director Jim Monroe booked all the artists and scheduled all the elaborately “choreographed” sets, with three or four sets in each of the four sessions on Saturday and Sunday and three sessions on Monday. Musicians rotate on and off the stage throughout the day, playing in formats ranging from solo piano to sextet (including a set with six basses!) and all-too-often confined to familiar Swing Era melodies. It is a complicated schematic that makes the Topeka festival unique, though its rigidity occasionally stifles creativity.

It remains to be seen just how the Topeka Jazz Festival, its music and its aging audiences will evolve after this year’s festival, Monroe’s last hurrah as artistic director. In 2005, Butch Berman takes the reins and refashions the festival in his image, tapping his considerable intuition and the long list of jazz artists with whom he has worked since forming the Berman Music Foundation in 1995.

Ticket info for 2004 Topeka Jazz Festival

Admission for a single set is $25, while a reserved-seat pass for all three days (11 sets) is $225. Single-set tickets are available through Ticketmaster, but three-day passes and VIP festival packages are available only through the Topeka Performing Arts Center at (785) 234-ARTS.

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Concert Preview

Berman Jazz Series begins in September

By Tom Ineck

The first Berman Jazz Series will include five concert beginning in September and continuing until next March at the Topeka Performing Arts Center in Topeka, Kan. The premiere series is primarily a showcase for prominent Kansas City-based musicians.

For a printable pdf version of the series schedule and order form, click on the image to the right.

The Dan Thomas Quintet kicks off the series with a Sept. 19 performance. The group’s extensive repertoire consists of tunes from the early swing era to bebop and beyond. Thomas’ new CD is “City Scope.” A performer and educator, Dan hails from Canada, and has been in the United States for nearly a decade. He was a regular on the West Coast jazz scene. Thomas currently is professor of jazz studies in the music department at the University of Missouri—Kansas City.

The Doug Talley Quartet performs Oct. 24. Talley is a familiar face throughout the Midwest as a jazz performer and educator. Formed in 1995, the Doug Talley Quartet has performed throughout the region, including Oklahoma City, Okla.; Dallas, Texas; Elkhart, Ind.; Lincoln, Neb.; and, of course, the band’s home base, Kansas City, Mo. The rest of the band consists of pianist Wayne Hawkins, bassist Tim Brewer and drummer Keith Kavanaugh. The Doug Talley Quartet has three CDs, “Town Topic,” “Night and Day” and the latest release, “Kansas City Suite.”

The Russ Long Trio is scheduled for Nov. 14. Pianist Russ Long is a favorite in the Kansas City area, performing for many years in the city’s jazz venues. His recording “Never Let Me Go” was released in late 2001. Also featured in the Russ Long Trio are bassist Gerald Spaits and drummer Ray DeMarchi.

Luqman Hamza and Lucky Wesley will appear Feb. 13, 2005. Pianist-singer Luqman Hamza is a much-loved presence in Kansas City. Recent recordings include “With This Voice” and “When a Smile Overtakes a Frown.” Bassist and singer Lucky Wesley also has been well-known to KC jazz fans for many years.

George Cables will perform a solo piano concert March 13, 2005. Equally skilled as a leader, a sideman or in solo performance, Cables helped to define modern mainstream jazz piano of the 1980s and '90s. He gained recognition during his stints with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson and Freddie Hubbard. He was with Dexter Gordon during the tenor's successful return to the United States in the late 1970s, and became known as Art Pepper's favorite pianist. With more than 20 recordings as a leader, Cables most recent releases are 2002’s “Shared Secrets” and 2003’s “Looking for the Light.”

Tickets for the entire series are $75 through June 30. To order by phone, call (785) 234-ARTS. To order by fax, dial (785) 234-2307. To order by mail, write Topeka Performing Arts Center, 214 SE Eighth Ave., Topeka, KS 66606.

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Concert Review

Trumpeter Claudio Roditi appears with NJO

By Bill Wimmer

The Nebraska Jazz Orchestra and the Berman Music Foundation presented Brazilian trumpeter Claudio Roditi on March 16 at the Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln.

Having arrived fashionably late, I missed most of the first song, which I was assured later was not one of the highlights of the evening. Now warmed up, the band played an arrangement of Ellington's “Prelude to a Kiss.” The opening ballad section featured trumpet in the melody, before switching to a waltz, with Bob Krueger taking a turn on flugelhorn and Tom Hartig taking a quick one on alto.

Guest artist Roditi was brought out to play “Samba de Orfeu,” featuring Claudio with NJO Music Director Ed Love. The trumpeter began his solo jaunt by immediately belting out beautiful melodies with that fat, rich tone, and Dave Sharp followed with a nice statement on soprano. Percussionist Joey Gulizia, who shined all night long through the ensemble, dueled and propelled Roditi to close out the tune.

The NJO really sounded good, but they were really hurt sonically by poor balance of the instruments. The bass, while very solid and sounding great, was just too loud all night long. Predictably, whenever one rhythm section member is so loud it interferes with the balance and blending of other instruments. Although the piano, the usual victim of any soundman, was really undermiked, what really suffered was Peter Bouffard's guitar, which could have helped provide more intensity and authenticity to the sambas and bossa novas featured all night long. The band played “A Felicidade” next, a beautiful Jobim line with a chart penned by Dave Sharp. Things went well, but during the solos, the band began to drag a little. Sensing this, Roditi picked up a shaker and helped Gulizia and drummer Greg Ahl get the band back into the groove. A big band dragging on a samba can get old really quick. Sharp kept the best of this tune until the end, with his scoring and harmonies surprising and well crafted.

Next up was “Groovin’ High,” the Dizzy Gillespie take on “Whispering.” Sharpon alto and Roditi were featured, with Roditi soulful and hitting all the right notes. Dave and Claudio then traded four-bar phrases that were woven nicely into the arrangement.  Another Dizzy tune, a medium bossa named “Tanga,” featured Ed Love with Roditi.  Claudio is so tasteful and warm. He is capable of great fireworks, but seemingly incapable of overplaying or exploiting them. This one also gave Joey Gulizia and Greg Ahl to demonstrate how much heat they can generate as they were given a workout at the end of the song.

On a Don Menza arrangement of a plagiarized Miles Davis blues called “Gravy,” Scott Vicroy was given a rare chance to solo on bari sax, and he made the most of it. Bassist Andy Hall followed, pulling out all the stops-and all the double stops in his fine exploration of this blues. Peter Bouffard's chart on “Danny Boy” started as a ballad, with Sharp taking the lead on soprano. Nice solos by Sharp, who played well all night in solo spots, Peter on guitar and a nice sax soli section were also highlighted on this one.

Roditi returned for a nice working of “Secret Love,” with a catchy opening vamp. Roditi played a beautiful solo, followed by Bouffard, who really was hard to hear in the mix.  Claudio finished a nice out section with another tasty cadenza. On “Desafinado,” another Bouffard arrangement, Roditi took the mike and sang the melody, his enthusiasm and authenticity more than making up for any shortcomings on intonation. After writing that exact line during the song, imagine my delight at Claudio's assertion immediately following the applause at the end of the song: “My God, even when someone sings out of tune in Portuguese it sounds good.” Honesty is so refreshing.

Before the closer, “A Night in Tunisia,” Roditi paid a nice compliment to the NJO, noting the kindness, respect and professionalism that he and his wife, who books him, experienced dealing with the band. “Tunisia” was led off by Bob Krueger on trumpet, followed by Scott Vicroy's great tone and booting lines on bari. This guy’s too good a soloist to be buried in the section all night long! Roditi finished up the solos as only he could, with a cadenza leading to the big send-off.

The band did and encore impromptu “Bag’s Groove,” with Claudio coaxing some of the more reticent (I didn't say timid) members up to the mike to solo. This was a great show that probably deserved a larger crowd. Roditi is a really fine musician and a beautiful man, who seems to exude the same warmth off stage as when he plays. It is also a tribute to the NJO and the Berman Music Foundation for bringing a guy like Claudio Roditi to Lincoln.

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Concert Review

Newport Jazz Festival celebrates 50th year

By Tom Ineck

TOPEKA, Kan.—Impresario George Wein’s 1954 Newport Jazz Festival was the first all-jazz festival ever presented. Its inaugural performances featured Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, Errol Garner and Gerry Mulligan.

Since then, headlining artists have included Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Nina Simone, Charles Mingus, Frank Sinatra, Mahalia Jackson, Dave Brubeck, Herbie Hancock, Diana Krall, Cassandra Wilson, Pat Metheny and Roy Hargrove. Known since 1984 as the JVC Jazz Festival Newport, R.I., the event still is regarded by many as the most important event of the jazz year.

When you can’t go to the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island, it’s nice to know that some of its best players may come to a venue near you—especially during the festival’s 50^th anniversary year.

Such was the case Feb. 27 in Topeka, Kan., where seven of today’s mightiest jazz players met to celebrate the landmark occasion with a 2½-hour concert at the Topeka Performing Arts Center. Headlining the group was legendary saxophonist James Moody, but his compatriots were also among the jazz elite—saxophonist James Carter, trumpeter Randy Brecker, guitarist Howard Alden, pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Lewis Nash.

Musicians entered and exited the spotlight as the size of the ensemble shifted to feature certain players and exploit the array of talents, personalities and group dynamics.

All seven appeared on stage as the concert began with a fast-paced Cedar Walton tune, assuring that everyone was warmed up, players and audience alike. Walton then fronted a piano trio in a gorgeous rendition of “Over the Rainbow,” cleverly interpolating “When You Wish upon a Star.”

Carter and Alden made it a quintet, with Carter on baritone sax muscling his way through “Moten Swing” as a tribute to the classic Kansas City jazz tradition represented by the tune’s composer, bandleader Bennie Moten. Trumpeter Brecker took the spotlight on Benny Golson’s “Stablemates,” while Walton, Washington and Nash bonded in rhythmic synchronicity.

Moody finally appeared for his first feature, a duo version of “Body and Soul,” coupling the 78-year-old veteran’s tenor sax with Washington’s impeccable bass lines. Accompanied only by bass and drums, guitarist Alden attacked Barney Kessel’s “64 Bars on Wilshire” with a furious drive, never dropping a note. The whole band returned for the obligatory “C Jam Blues,” featuring Moody and Carter taking idiosyncratic tenor solos and trading fours.

Dizzy Gillespie’s “Groovin’ High,” a warhorse for the classic bebop quintet, was a perfect vehicle for Moody, Brecker, Walton, Washington and Nash. The drummer was especially noteworthy for his virtuosic—but tasteful—playing throughout the evening. Again the stage was turned over to a Walton-led trio, this time for his up-tempo composition “Midnight Waltz.”

Duke Ellington’s songbook yielded a pair of winners. Carter, on soprano sax, and Alden first took a turn on the maestro’s “Don’t You Know I Care?” The whole band wailed on Juan Tizol’s “Caravan,” but it was Nash who truly excelled on the tune’s familiar, exotic rhythms.

In mutual admiration, the featured players frequently called for applause for their bandmates. Moody was especially generous with praise for Nash, telling the audience that the drummer’s skill was largely due to his vegetarianism.

Something would have been missing if Moody had not vocalized, and he met our expectations with a typically outrageous rendition of “Moody’s Mood for Love,” complete with a “rap” finale.

Walton’s memorable composition “Firm Roots” served as the concert closer for the full ensemble, allowing everyone a final statement but featuring Moody on tenor and Carter on baritone. Called back for an encore, they sent us home with Gillespie’s “Birk’s Works.”

About 500 people attended the concert in the 2,500-seat Georgia Neese Gray Performance hall, which has earned many fans over the last seven years as the comfortable venue of the annual Topeka Jazz Festival.

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Tomfoolery

Neon Violin Quartet expands to five-piece

By Tom Ineck

LINCOLN, Neb.--Fiddling phenomenon Dave Fowler’s latest musical venture is a winner. He’s assembled a Lincoln-based group of talented and like-minded musicians who want nothing more than to spread the swinging, acoustic gospel of “gypsy jazz” legends Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli.

With typical, wide-grinning enthusiasm, Fowler first told me of his plan to form a band patterned after Reinhardt and Grappelli’s historic Quintet of the Hot Club of France back in early March. He had recently returned from a gypsy jazz festival in Europe and was anxious to carry on the tradition here in America’s heartland.

It was fortunate for Fowler that other Lincoln musicians, with the high-level of technical ability needed to perform this music, also were looking for an opportunity to play. Young classically trained violinist Sam Packard had the urge to play a jazzier style, so Fowler took him under his wing. Rhythm guitarist Mike Herres, like Fowler a veteran of local bluegrass bands, wanted a new musical challenge. Bassist Dave Boye, perhaps best known for his longtime association with Lincoln rocker Charlie Burton and also with the band Shithook, signed on to play the upright bass.

Although Fowler’s group is called The Neon Violin Quartet, it has expanded to include the guitar work of Lincolnites Tom Martin and, most recently, a young flash named Greg Gunter. Months ago, Gunter placed an ad in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s newspaper The Daily Nebraskan, looking for fellow gypsy jazz fanatics.

If the Neon Violin Quartet’s April 18 performance at The Mill coffeehouse in downtown Lincoln is any indication, the group may soon have to change its name to accommodate Gunter’s auspicious arrival. The five-piece ensemble convincingly locked into the gypsy jazz groove and swung with energy and conviction, despite the fact that the chord changes and solo transitions still need a little work. For a new effort just getting off the ground, these guys played with fire and a rare camaraderie.

Most of the tunes were familiar, including “These Foolish Things,” Gershwin’s “Lady Be Good” and Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If it Ain’t Got That Swing),” but they also included the Reinhardt originals “Nuages,” “Minor Swing,” and “Djangology.” The fiddles of Fowler and Packard are beautifully matched, often harmonizing on unison passages. The guitar rhythms were suitably “chunky” and the solos were spirited, especially Gunter’s extraordinary slurring runs and fleet octaves that seemed to channel Reinhardt’s idiosyncratic style.

The swinging “Limehouse Blues” was one of the evening’s highlights, a tune that never fails to excite when played with appropriate gusto. Likewise, “Sweet Georgia Brown” yielded superb solos by Fowler and Gunter and a series of traded statements between Fowler and Packard. The ballad “Coquette” received a lovely reading with unison fiddles and a luscious guitar solo.

Packard also proved a competent vocalist with spirited renditions of “All of Me” and “Honeysuckle Rose.”

The Mill is a perfect venue for a small acoustic swing combo like The Neon Violin Quartet (plus one). Its low ceiling and cozy wood-paneled interior lend just the right blend of ambient sound to the mix, making amplified instruments and microphones unnecessary and making the audience of 40 or so people feel as though they are lounging in someone’s living room.

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Performance Review

Oscar Micheaux film gets live accompaniment

By Tom Ineck

Oscar Micheaux is widely recognized as a pioneer film-maker and author, despite the fact that he was a black man working in a white-dominated entertainment medium in its infancy.

Beginning his career in 1918 on a financial shoestring, Micheaux managed to produce some 40 films, including 25 silent movies and 15 “talkies,” making him the only black film-maker to make the transition to sound. Living in South Dakota, he worked throughout the Plains states in the early decades of the 20th century and continued to make films until the late 1940s.

Emphasizing racism’s injury to the community and to the society at-large, Micheaux’s films also illustrate the power of black pride, personal dignity and independence to free blacks from the yoke of racism. Like Malcolm X, he also preached against the hazards of underclass black urban life.

The new Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center in Lincoln, under the direction of longtime Lincoln art film impresario Danny Lee Ladely, recently gave Micheaux the respect he deserves, screening the 1925 masterpiece “Body and Soul,” starring Paul Robeson, the 1920 film “Within Our Gates,” and the award-winning documentary on Micheaux and race movies called “Midnight Ramble.” The films were presented with introductory comments by Pearl Bowser, a renowned scholar of Micheaux studies, and Thulani Davis, scholar and writer of works for the theater, journalism, fiction and poetry.

For the Feb. 6 special screening of the silent film “Within Our Gates,” Ladely arranged for Kansas City jazz pianist Luqman Hamza to provide a live, improvised “soundtrack,” much as local musicians did in the movie houses of the silent era. Hamza’s keyboard contribution was invaluable, adding dramatic impact to an already dramatic story line.

In “Within Our Gates,” Evelyn Preer, the first black film star, plays Sylvia Landry, the illegitimate daughter of a white plantation owner in Mississippi. Following the tragic death of her adopted parents at the hands of a lynch mob, Sylvia devotes her life to the education and uplift of her centerpiece for Micheaux's controversial drama on race in America.

Hamza tastefully accompanied the film on the Ross theater piano, weaving well-known melodies throughout the narrative and flawlessly segueing from one scene to the next. Among the tunes he used to illustrate the story line were “Taking a Chance on Love,” Gershwin’s “Summertime,” “Blues in the Night,” the Depression-era “Pennies From Heaven,” Ellington’s “In a Sentimental Mood,” Billie Holiday’s “God Bless the Child,” and Gershwin’s classic “I Got Rhythm.”

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