Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Winard Harper was born Hiram Winard Harper on June 4, 1962 in Baltimore, Maryland and started beating on cans at age three and his natural affinity was encouraged by his father. By age five he was making guest nightclub appearances with his older brother Danny’s band. It was his hearing of the Clifford Brown/Max Roach recording that sealed his inspiration to play jazz.
Harper’s first major gig was in 1982 with Dexter Gordon, followed by Johnny Griffin and then spent four years with Betty Carter. It was with the later that he learned much about the music business, preparing him to be a bandleader and giving him the inside track on bookings. This experience gave him the foundation to launch The Harper Brothers along with his brother Philip, and a few of the hottest young talents of the Nineties – Justin Robinson, Javon Jackson, Walter Blanding, Kioshi Kitagawa, Stephen Scott, Kevin Hayes, Michael Bowie and Nedra Wheeler.
The Harper Brothers recorded four albums prior to the dissolution of the band and Winard went on to record seven albums to date as a leader. He has played the sideman to Avery Sharpe, Ray Bryant, Abdullah Ibrahim, Pharoah Sanders, Clifford Jordan, Steve Turre, Joe Lovano, Frank Wess, Jimmy Heath and Wycliffe Gordon. Since the turn of the century the drummer, composer and bandleader continues to perform, tour and record with his own sextet.
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ALLAN HARRIS
250 Years of Black Music: From Spirituals to Soul
The evening is a journey through the sounds that carried us through slavery, Reconstruction, jazz, blues, gospel, civil rights, soul, and beyond. These songs are more than entertainment. They are history lessons, survival codes, prayers, love letters, protest marches, and declarations of humanity.
Cover: Free | Tickets Required
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QUATRE
Bassist Joel Powell, drummer Chris Burroughs, pianist Tyrone Jackson and trumpeter Joe Gransden take to the stage on a Sunday evening of jazz at the Red Light Cafe.
These four musicians have been individually holding down the jazz scene in Atlanta and the metropolitan area for more than thirty years. They have played off and on with one or more in different configurations and come together as a quartet for a one night only performance.
Cover: $15.00 advance | $20.00 at door
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LAVIE & ALLEN PAUL TRIO
C
aribbean vocalist LaVie performs alongside pianist Allen Paul for an outdoor concert on Ocean Drive as part of the Promenade Sunday Concert Series.
Known for her expressive vocals and stage presence, LaVie blends elements of soul, pop and inspirational music, while Allen Paul brings a background in composition, arranging and live performance shaped by his work as a musical director and educator in South Florida. Together, the performance offers a mix of familiar songs and original material in a relaxed, open-air setting.
Cover: Free
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Pops Foster was born George Murphy Foster on May 19, 1892 on a plantation near McCall in Ascension Parish outside Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When his family moved to New Orleans he started playing cello at age 10 but then switched to string bass.
Foster was playing professionally by 1907 working with Kid Ory, Jack Carey, Armand Piron, King Oliver and other prominent hot bands of the era. In 1921 he moved to St. Louis and joined the Charlie Creath and Dewey Jackson bands, in which he would be active for much of the decade. He would rejoin Kid Ory in Los Angeles and acquire the nickname “Pops” because he was far older than any of the other players in the band.
By the end of the Roaring Twenties he was back in New York City playing in the bands of Luis Russell and Louis Armstrong till 1940. From that point he would gig with Sidney Bechet, Art Hodes and other various New York bands along with regular broadcasts on the national This Is Jazz radio program.
He toured widely during this period throughout Europe and the United States and was well loved in France. He would return to New Orleans and California regularly. Through the 50s and 60s he played with Jimmy Archey, Papa Celestin, Earl Hines and the New Orleans All-Stars. Bassist Pops Foster, who also played tuba and trumpet, passed away on October 29, 1969 in San Francisco, California. His autobiography was published two years later.
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