Conversations About Jazz & Other Distractions

Conversations About Jazz 

Spotlights The Young Guns on October 15 

Hammonds House Digital invites you to join us for Conversations about Jazz & Other Distractions hosted by former jazz radio host and founder of Notorious Jazz, Carl Anthony. Every other Thursday, Carl takes audiences on a unique journey through the world of jazz music with artist talks, workshops, and listening sessions. 

On October 15 at 7:30 pm (EST), Conversations about Jazz features some of today’s Young Guns. Carl’s guests will be bassist Endea Owens; and multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, and engineer Morgan Guerin. This program is for the jazz novice and jazz head alike. It is free and will stream live on Hammonds House Museum’s Facebook and YouTube.

Lincoln Center’s Emerging Artist of 2019, recent graduate of the Julliard School, and Detroit native Endea Owens, is a vibrant up and coming bassist. She has been mentored by the likes of Marcus Belgrave, Rodney Whitaker, and Ron Carter. She has toured and performed with Jennifer Holliday, Rhonda and Diana Ross, Jazzmeia Horn, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Steve Turre, and Lea DeLaria from the Netflix Original Series “Orange is The New Black.’  Endea has performed around the globe including from Europe to India and Australia. She is the house bassist for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

New York City-based and New Orleans native multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, and engineer Morgan Guerin has achieved much in his young, burgeoning career. Dubbed a “wunderkind saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist” by The New York Times, Guerin is skilled in bass, saxophones, electronic wind instrument (EWI), drums, and keys. In 2016, the Huffington Post named his debut album, “The Saga,” one of the best Jazz albums of the year. In 2017, Stereogum highlighted his sophomore album, “The Saga II,” as one of the best new albums. He was featured on Terri Lyne Carrington & Social Science’s award-winning album, “Waiting Game.” He was a songwriter and co-producer of Esperanza Spalding’s 2019 Grammy-winning record, “12 Little Spells.”  His third album, “The Saga III,” was released on September 18, 2020.

Hammonds House Museum is generously supported by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, Fulton County Arts and Culture, the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, AT&T and WarnerMedia.

Hammonds House Museum’s mission is to celebrate and share the cultural diversity and important legacy of artists of African descent. The museum is the former residence of the late Dr. Otis Thrash Hammonds, a prominent Atlanta physician and a passionate arts patron. A 501(c)3 organization which opened in 1988, Hammonds House Museum boasts a permanent collection of more than 450 works including art by Romare Bearden, Robert S. Duncanson, Benny Andrews, Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, Hale Woodruff, Amalia Amaki, Radcliffe Bailey and Kojo Griffin. In addition to featuring art from their collection, the museum offers new exhibitions, artist talks, workshops, concerts, poetry readings, arts education programs, and other cultural events throughout the year. 

Located in a beautiful Victorian home in Atlanta’s historic West End, Hammonds House Museum is a cultural treasure and a unique venue. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they continue to observe CDC guidelines, but look forward to welcoming in-person visitors soon!  For more information about upcoming virtual events, and to see how you can support their mission, visit their website: hammondshouse.org. MEDIA: For more information, contact Karen Hatchett at Hatchett PR, karen@hatchettpr.com

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Owen Joseph “Sonny” Igoe was born on October 8, 1923 in Jersey City, New Jersey and grew up in Ridgewood, New Jersey. He attended Ridgewood High School when he got his start after winning a Gene Krupa drumming contest. His playing was initially influenced by Krupa, but he soon drew upon elements of Max Roach and others, which eventually developed into an exuberant and individual style.

From the mid-1940s to 1988, Sonny performed on over 79 recordings with bands and artists, including The Buddy Stewart Quintet, Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, Woody Herman and His Orchestra, Frances Wayne with Neal Hefti and His Orchestra, Rita Moss with the George Williams Orchestra, Charlie Ventura, Tony Bennett, Billy Maxted and His Manhattan Jazz Band, The Chuck Wayne Quintet, The Don Elliott Quintet, Joe Wilder, Phil Napoleon and His Original Memphis Five, Sammy Spear, Pee Wee Erwin, Joe Williams, Marlene Ver Planck, Savina Hartwell, Dick Meldonian, and Doctor Billy Dodd.

In the 1960s, Igoe was a member of the NBC Television Orchestra and then the CBS Television Orchestra, where his credits included The Ed Sullivan Show and The Jackie Gleason Show.

Drummer Sonny Igoe, who toured with the orchestras of Tommy Reed, Les Elgart, Ina Ray Hutton, Benny Goodman, and Woody Herman, passed away on March 28, 2012 in Emerson, New Jersey where he was a longtime resident.

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Three Wishes

The Baroness inquired of the three wishes that Edgar Bateman would desire and he responded with: 

1. “To create all the time, master drums, and to make a contribution to drums and music.”
2. “To have a loving and truthful wife whom I love.”
3. “For everyone to be at peace and be happy.”

*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats ~ Compiled and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Rashid Bakr was born Charles Downs on October 3, 1943 in Chicago, Illinois but grew up in Bronx, New York from the age of four. His decision to become a musician came from the profound influence of John Coltrane had on him, along with his uncle, drummer Papa Jo Jones. As a child surrounded by jazz musicians growing up, he was given his first set of sticks by Art Blakey and was soon sitting in with his uncle in a Dixieland band.

He attended Queens College studying chemistry and psychology and on to Brooklyn College grad school gaining a degree in clinical psychology. While in college he never missed a Coltrane or Miles Davis performance and his father bought him his first drum set.

During the Seventies, after college and a stint in the Army saxophonist Bobby Zankel took him to an auspicious audition for him with Cecil Taylor, becoming part of his big band. He was active in the New York City loft jazz scene, performing at venues such as Rashied Ali’s Ali’s Alley and Sam Rivers’ Studio Rivbea. He was a member of Ensemble Muntu with Jemeel Moondoc, among others.

In 1976, Bakr performed in a production of Adrienne Kennedy’s A Rat’s Mass directed by Cecil Taylor at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in the East Village of Manhattan. Also in the production were Jimmy Lyons, Andy Bey, Karen Borca, David S. Ware, and Raphe Malik. Taylor’s production combined the original script with a chorus of orchestrated voices used as instruments. 1981 saw him with Taylor touring Europe for three years before returning to New York City.

Free jazz drummer Rashid Bakr is a member of Other Dimensions in Music with Roy Campbell, Daniel Carter, and William Parker.

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Three Wishes

When Nica asked Louis Hayes if he had three wishes what would they be he said his three wishes would be: 

1. 1. “To stay here until I get tired of being here.”

   2. “To be free.”

   3. “To be loved.”

*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats ~ Compiled and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter

More Posts: baroness,drums,history,instrumental,jazz,music,pannonica,three,wishes