Lighthouse Arts + Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Lighthouse Arts has been a jazz informational series hosted at The Heid House in Aspinwall. Tom Wendt and his associate spun vinyl and showed clips as part of the November 11th installment entitled “Swing to Bop.” Next time, Mensah Wali of Kente Arts Alliance will lecture on Rahsaan Roland Kirk on December 9th; check the Concert Calendar at soulshowmike.org for details.
In sync with Mensah’s talk, note that on the previous day there will be Kente’s presentation of the James Carter Quintet, with a “Tribute to Rahsaan Roland Kirk.” This is an opportune time to do your big homework on RRK.
Guardians of Sound
In addition to providing safe haven for displaced and exiled writers, City of Asylum is a best-kept secret for great musical performances and features. On November 15th, Guardians of Sound presented the Acoustic Hip Hop Ensemble. This was such a treat. A prominenr guest vocalist commented that in all of his years, he had never before worked with a live orchestra. Hiphop economics don’t always accommodate a big group of musicians, but there can be magic when it happens.
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Light Up Night 2018: Clara Kent and Tony Campbell
Several months ago, I decided to introduce a local-artist feature to The Soul Show on WYEP 91.3fm. It’s called “Three Rivers at Three,” and it has spotlighted acts like Lyndsey Smith, Kinetic and Funky Fly Project. One of the positive outcomes of this project is that I have become more active in seeking out talent to feed the feature. When I asked a young mover/shaker to recommend some of her peers for 3R@3, she said “Clara Kent” without hesitation.
I reached out to CK, and she is in the process of bundling tracks for my use on the show. In the meantime, I finally had a chance to see her live at Light Up Night 2018. Wonderful presence and energy with her Tribe Eternal! The piece presented here is short because of that Allegheny River misty cold.
Tony Campbell was the next, and warmer, stop. I didn’t capture it on vid, but he played a beautiful piece from Grover Washington’s “Winelight” that I hadn’t heard in ages.
I missed Elias Khouri earlier in the evening, but he’ll be back for New Year’s Eve downtown.
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A few more things:
- Frankie Beverly & Maze were just announced – see the Concert Calendar at soulshowmike.org
- The Betty Davis film returns for the Sembene Film Festival at City of Asylum. Sign up for your free ticket right away!
- Pitt ethnomusicologist Danielle Maggio informs me that Betty Davis is writing music again. This is great news.
- August Wilson Center’s “Jazz at the Café” series just announced Butcher Brown for early 2019:
See you soon. Next up: Lou Hill of Water Seed (in New Orleans), Adrian Younge & The Midnight Hour