Recent Stories
Joey Alexander and Cecile McLorin Salvant shine at NJMH benefit concert
Pianist/composer Randy Weston, upon accepting his award at The National Jazz Museum in Harlem annual benefit concert Wednesday at Hunter College, said, “I only have two words: Joey Alexander.”
The medical Northcross family of Detroit
Among the many untold Black stories in Detroit’s history is the phenomenal contributions made by doctors, and especially by African-American physicians.
Cuba sí, Trump no!
When The Nation magazine in a recent announcement assured those interested in taking its tours to Cuba that everything was all right, it spelled out President Trump’s new restrictions on the constitutional rights to travel to Cuba.
Mae Mallory, an often ignored militant activist
When a good friend reminded me that Mae Mallory was a participant at the Sixth Pan-African Congress in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in 1974, I dove into my memory bank to recall her presence there.
Curtis Mayfield, a socially conscious singer and composer
“A few would-be biographers have tried to tell my father’s story; none have done it well,” wrote Todd Mayfield with Travis Aria in “Traveling Soul—The Life of Curtis Mayfield” (Chicago Review Press, 2017).
Comey to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee
President Trump announced Monday that he will not invoke executive privilege to block former FBI Director James Comey from testifying on Capitol Hill Thursday.
Comey’s testimony revealed
Wednesday, a copy of former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee was released.
New Orleans musician Herb Hardesty, Fats Domino’s sax man
Herb Hardesty may be best remembered for his half-century of performing in the studio and in concert with Fats Domino, but many music lovers first heard his melodic tones on Lloyd Price’s “Lawdy Miss Clawdy.” It was clearly a rhythm and blues song, but you could hear shades of jazz in Hardesty’s brief solo.
Josephine Baker, the ‘Bronze Venus’
The recent death of Jean-Claude Baker, while a sad occasion, is an opportunity to renew our acquaintance with his “mother,” Josephine Baker, famously known as the "Bronze Venus".
Shirley Horn, an unforgettable voice and superb pianist
Most fans of vocalist/pianist Shirley Horn were probably seduced by her recordings and concert engagements toward the end of her career, with her rendition of “Here’s to Life,” her signature song. But there’s plenty more to Horn’s remarkable journey and legacy that began May 1, 1934 in Washington, D.C., where she was born and raised—and continued to live for most of her life.
Recent Photos
