Celebrations have already begun for drummer, composer, innovator, and civil rights activist Max Roach’s 100th birthday in 2024. Sista’s Place (456 Nostrand Ave.), the small jazz club with a big sound and great jazz musicians to match, will offer a special tribute centennial celebration for Roach on July 15 featuring the Winard Harper Quintet with the leader, drummer and composer; pianist Brandon McCune; trumpeter Philip Harper; tenor saxophonist JD Allen; and bassist Royama Takenaga. One set at 8 p.m.
In this quintet setting, Harper joins forces once again with his trumpeter brother, having played with him over a period of time including in their group The Harper Brothers in the late ‘80s. Anytime Allen joins in, his hard riffs and absorbing harmonic tone add another layer to the performance. Takenaga is the youngest of the group, being the 2022 recipient of the James Moody Jazz Scholarship for New Jersey. He is currently attending the Jazz Studies program at New York University. The pianist Brandon is an experienced multi-instrumentalist with a cross-section of concentrations in jazz, classical, and gospel music, who has also worked with the drummer on a variety of occasions and is a perfect fit for Harper’s cross-genre adventures.
One of Roach’s many accomplishments was the Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet (which included George Morrow, Harold Land , and Richie Powell, the brother of Bud Powell), one of the most creative small groups in jazz history along with the Hot Fives and Sevens of Louis Armstrong and the quintets of Charlie Parker and Miles Davis. During the Civil Rights Movement, he was adamant about vocalizing America’s injustices on and off stage and on his recordings, including his noted album We Insist: Freedom Now Suite (Candid 1960).
Reservations are required; call 718-398-1766.
In the mid-1950s, Roach co-led a pioneering quintet along with trumpeter Clifford Brown. In 1970, he founded the percussion ensemble M’Boom. He made numerous musical statements relating to the Civil Rights Movement.On July 15, VTY Jazz Arts returns to the Cutting Room (44 East 32nd St.), “A Saturday Serenade” Tribute to Jim Harrison, independent jazz impresario, publisher, activist, and mentor. The tribute band for Harrison will include pianist George Cables, tenor saxophonist Craig Handy, bassist Ugonna Okegwo, and drummer Darrell Green. Music is 3 p.m.-5:45 p.m.
Harrison, who transitioned in 2022, is the only non-musician to be honored by VTY Jazz. “Jim started me off in this business,” said VTY founder Arnie Perez. “There are many memories and stories about Jim, and it was all good and never to be forgotten. This is the guy, who gave so many that platform to develop their careers.”Harrison was significant in advancing musicians’ careers and was the personal promoter for such musicians as Frank Foster, Hank Mobley, Betty Carter, Mary Lou Williams, Irene Reid, Jackie McLean, and Charles Tolliver. He is featured in Maxine Gordon’s biography “Sophisticated Giant: The Life and Legacy of Dexter Gordon” (University of California Press, 2018). Harrison’s early jazz publication “Jazz Spotlight News” was the blueprint for today’s Hot House and All About Jazz publications. During his esteemed six-decade career, there was a jazz contingency of musicians and fans who petitioned for Harrison to be nominated as an NEA Jazz Master. Although that didn’t become a reality, Harrison was awarded with Jazzmobile’s Jazzy Award, that same year in 2019, he was honored as a Jazz Hero by the Jazz Journalists Association.
“George Cables and I wanted this tribute to happen in the worst way and we are so happy it is becoming a reality,” said Perez.
Reservations are suggested; call 917-882-9539.
Today, very few music radio shows that are now live-streams offer a varied playlist, crossing genres, mixing it up. The music formats are so categorized…but wait! There is one radio show “Harlem Connection,” the creative child of founders The L.A.W. (L. Ade Williams, creator, co-conductor and chief; co-producer MamaSoul; and DJ Black Icon1). Their show is of Black music in all genres from gospel to jazz, blues, R&B, hip hop, funk, and Black rock fusion.
“The Harlem Connection” boasts one twist and the name is more than apropos—despite the genre, all the music relates to Harlem. “We play Black music from 1920 to the present hits, but it’s all Harlem connected,” said The L.A.W. “For example, we play music by Tito Puente because he was born in Harlem or Nicole Henry, who performed during Harlem Week. We play a block of music and explain what we played and the Harlem connection.”
The trio started the program in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when live music wasn’t an option. “We wanted to play music of the artists, who played a role in catapulting Harlem to the Cultural Capital of the World,” stated The L.A.W. “We wanted to acknowledge the clubs where artists performed like the Shrine, Jimmy’s Supper Club, Apollo Theatre, and Minton’s. We play music from legends like Pops and Ella and local greats like Craig Harris and Claudia Hayden.”
Harlem Connection guests have included the Rev. Al Sharpton, DJ D-Nice, Jazzmobile’s Robin Bell Stevens, and New York Amsterdam News‘ Herb Boyd and (yours truly) Ron Scott.
“I feel there are many forces that attempt to divide us, but we have a lot in common and our show demonstrates how we are connected by the music and Harlem from Bob Marley, his Jamaican roots and performance in Harlem to the spirituals of Mahalia Jackson,” says The L.A.W.
The Harlem Connection is on Fridays 10 p.m.PM – midnight on 99.5 FM (in NYC) & WBAI.org/Listen-Live & RhythmAndSoulRadio.com and on Sundays at 3 am. via 90.3FM (in NYC) & www.WHCR.org and Sundays at 3 p.m. on www.Flava99.com and is always available on demand via https://wbai.org/archive.For more info visit WBAI.