The history and culture of jazz will be given a platform July 24 (tonight) at 7 p.m., when the Abyssinian Jazz Vespers, in association with the 2014 Harlem Music Fest, presents “Post ’50s Jazz, the Artists, the Culture, the Cool.” It will be an informative music perspective on the developmental seeds of “modern jazz” in Harlem featuring a panel of well-versed musicians, including trumpeter, composer and arranger Charles Tolliver; vocalist Eunice Newkirk; pianist and composer Onaje Allan Gumbs; and bassist and composer Mickey Bass.
The discussion will be moderated by Amsterdam News writers Herb Boyd and yours truly. This free event will take place at Abyssinian Baptist Church (132 Odell Clarke Place at 138th St.) in the vestry.
When Donald Byrd ascended to the heavens last year (Feb. 4, 2013), he left behind a legacy that defied jazz categorization. He played, composed and arranged good music. He didn’t assign his tunes pigeonholes.
July 29, Byrd’s former student and leader of the Blackbyrds, Kevin Toney, will carry on his tradition with the “Donald Byrd Acoustic and Electric Sessions” at the Zinc Bar (82 W. Third St.), with two shows at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. The pianist and composer will feature special guests, along with his daughter Dominique Toney, who will supply the vocals.
“With Donald, we created a history of the music. It was groundbreaking,” said Toney. “We played everything, from fusion jazz to R&B. We were on the forefront of that moment. It was more than academics. On any given weekend, we would be on the bill with Herbie Hancock, Parliament-Funkadelic or Stanley Turrentine. It was the opportunity of a lifetime.”
After Byrd’s forming of the Blackbyrds, a group of his students at Howard University in 1973, they recorded a string of hits, including the album “Places and Spaces” (1975) and Toney’s Grammy-nominated “Unfinished Business” and “Rock Creek Park,” which became a Washington, D.C., anthem and was sampled by hip-hop artists Nas and Public Enemy.
“Musicians have never said they are about just jazz, they are about excellence and freedom of expression,” stated Toney. “This concert is about Donald’s music, which has always been subjective to move freely.”
Toney’s latest CD is “New American Suite” (K-Tone Enterprises) and features bassist Michael Bradford and drummer Chris Coleman. The trio runs the scales from acoustic to electric, crossing the sounds of Afro-Cuban to Brazilian, swing and a little jazz Americana with Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer.”
The Detroit native, who attended the Cass Technical High School, has served as the conductor and arranger for such productions as “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “Five Guys Named Moe,” “Sophisticated Ladies” and “Harlem Suite.”
“It’s time to take the categories off music because it limits musicians and fans,” said Toney.
The recent performance of Vinx at the Zinc Bar transformed me into an addicted fan, one who will now see him anytime he performs in the Big Apple. Vinx is an uninhibited singer, songwriter, percussionist and solo artist on a mission to make sure he never becomes mundane. Oh, he also has a quick-witted, humorous side to keep you laughing out loud.
Vinx is a solo jazz improvisationalist from the outer limits. He opened the show with a sound check singing “Summertime” a cappella, immediately exposing his smooth, bold timbre as he scatted the saxophone and bass harmony using a reverb box. He also sang “My Funny Valentine” while playing the conga. It was the African version of the well traveled ballad that took a definite detour from the usual road.
For “Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone,” Vinx went heavy on the harmony, adding serious scats, hand percussions and boastful vocals with a little reverb, sounding like a hip vocal group. For humor, he added his original “I Can’t Stand Your Ugly Face, No More.” He said this song works best for Valentine’s Day as you walk out the door. On “Moon Dance” and a few originals like “One Pearl,” he invited guitarist Andre Vasconcelos for accompaniment. “Tell My Feet” was burning with African rhythms.
He humorously noted that as the first Black president, Barack Obama should have his own theme song and that Vinx would happily be his hype man. “Every time President Obama steps off Air Force One, you hear the music and big introduction as he walks out giving everyone a fist bump,” said Vinx. He improvised a rapping presidential theme song that reflected Obama’s hip strut.
The Zinc Bar wasn’t crowded, but those present were cult followers who called out requests for their favorite songs.
Let’s face it, jazz musicians don’t go by single names (well, maybe Miles). That is usually reserved for the likes of Pink and Prince, and then there is Stew, who lives on the West Coast and whose musical objectives and humor share Vinx’s DNA. Yet it was the single-named Sting who gave the Kansas City native his start by signing him to a record deal for his debut album, “Rooms in My Fatha’s House” (1991).
Cassandra Wilson and Stevie Wonder have both recorded on his various albums. In 1996, Vinx formed Jungle Funk with former Living Colour members drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish. On his current CD, “Love Never Comes Too Late” (Dreamsicle Arts & Entertainment Group), Vinx De’Jon Parrette offers 15 original love songs complimented by his velvet baritone vocals. His vocals and band take you back to those days of balladeers like Alexander O’Neal, Issac Hayes, Arthur Prysock and Jimmy Rushing. He keeps it popping with lively arrangements and stimulating vocals that never lose potency.