For decades a respected but somewhat eccentric figure even within the jazz scene, the pianist and composer is at the peak of his influence as he reaches his centennial this month.
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Diana Ross to Receive American Music Award of Lifetime Achievement at 2017 AMAs | Billboard
Diana Ross will receive the American Music Award of Lifetime Achievement at the 2017 American Music Awards, Dick Clark Productions and ABC announced Wednesday (Oct. 18).
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Watch: This African American folk legend won her first Grammy at age 90 | Timeline
Elizabeth Cotten played her guitar upside down
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Lionel Richie to Produce Biopic About Curtis Mayfield’s Extraordinary Life | The Root
Lionel Richie just secured the rights to bring Curtis Mayfield’s life to the big screen.
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A Revolution in Jazz? An Avant-Garde Festival Makes History, but Not Community | The New York Times
PHILADELPHIA — From Thursday through Sunday, audiences at FringeArts in this city’s historic district heard a saxophone distorted through six effects pedals squealing at peak volume, surrealist absurdism from a heritage jazz ensemble, atonal electric harp, and solo flute played in vehement gusts over a track of looming electronics.
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Bunny Sigler, Who Helped Create 1970s Philly Sound, Dies at 76 | AFRO
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Walter “Bunny” Sigler, a singer, songwriter and producer who helped create “The Sound of Philadelphia” in the 1970s, has died.
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The Wright Museum to celebrate jazz legend Thelonious Monk | Michigan Chronicle
The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (The Wright Museum) presents an event-filled weekend Oct. 13-14 to commemorate the centennial of jazz legend Thelonious Sphere Monk.
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(2011) Art Porter Jr.’s 50th Birthday Celebration
Aug. 3 would have been Little Rock-born jazz musician Art Porter Jr.’s 50th birthday. The saxophonist died in a boating accident in Thailand in 1996, not long after performing at a festival celebrating the reign of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
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5 Reasons Why You Need To Experience Sweet Honey In The Rock | Affinity
The ensemble is an a cappella group, rooted in African American culture with songs concerning the ideas of freedom, love, and protection of the earth and of each other.
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Melina Matsoukas to adapt ‘A Brief History of Seven Killings’ for Amazon — book on race, class & politics in Jamaica | Shadow & Act
She’s direct videos for Beyonce and Rihanna, Issa Rae’s Insecure — and now she’s heading up a much needed-to-be-told story for Amazon Studios.
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