Dr. Reagon passed away last Tuesday (7/1/24). She was a renowned composer, historian, musician, and activist. She is also credited with founding Sweet Honey in the Rock, an all-female and all-Black acapella group. Much of her work centers Black identity and social justice and many of her musical projects highlight the Civil Rights Era. Bernice Johnson Reagon was born Bernice Johnson on October 4th, 1942 just outside of Albany, Georgia. Her parents, Beatrice and Reverend Jessie Johnson, raised Reagon and her siblings within the town’s closely connected African American community. Reagon describes this experience as “being raised by a whole community of people” rather than solely by her parents (Reagon 1986). She recalls living in close proximity to her relatives’ homes. Reagon’s schooling started young, and she was in fourth grade by the time she was seven years old. Following primary school, she and her siblings attended an all-Black high school. Full bio, click link
"With Bechet (1997-1959) are Piano: Meade Lux Lewis; Guitar: Teddy Bunn; Drums: Sidney Catlett. Its been released on a numbe of labels at different times and looks to be original recorded in New York, June 8, 1939. According to discogs, Bechet was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist. Bechet's erratic temperament hampered his career, however, and not until the late 1940s did he earn wide acclaim. Bechet's erratic temperament hampered his career, however, and not until the late 1940s did he earn wide acclaim. After World War II, he mostly lived in Paris (where is is buried -- see link)"
"Hashflowers is the genesis collection of 100 generative music compositions, created in collaboration with artist Maxwell Arkin, based on the songs sung by the first 7 block hashes on the Ethereum blockchain. According to Investopwsia>>Ethereum is a decentralized global software platform powered by blockchain technology. It is most commonly known by investors for its native cryptocurrency, ether (ETH), and by developers for its use in blockchain and decentralized finance application development. "
"This hymn was a staple at Sweet Honey in the Rock concerts. The group drew on many traditions, including the Baptist church where BJR and other members of the group were brought up and, often, had their first experience singing publicly (BJR's father was a minister). The group was formed in 1973, growing out a singing worshops Dr. Reagon was giving in Washington DC. Wiki says...the name of the group was derived from a song, based on Psalm 81:16, which tells of a land so rich that when rocks were cracked open, honey flowed from them. Johnson has said that this first song in which four women blended their voices was so powerful, that there was no question what the name of the group should be. Johnson left the group in 2004, and several longtime members continue on with Sweet Honey, singing around the world -- Carol Maillard with sisters Nitanju Bolade Casel and Aisha Kahlil."
Kremer (b: 1947) is a Latvian classical violinist, artistic director, and founder of Kremerata Baltica. Wiki says - Schumann's Symphonic Studies, Op. 13, is a set of études for solo piano (adapted here for solo violin). It began in 1834 as a theme and sixteen variations on a theme by Baron von Fricken, plus a further variation on an entirely different theme by Heinrich Marschner.
"Marian Anderson (1897-1993) was a Philadelphia born singer who had made a great impact on many of the black singers in the past. She was one of the first female African-American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1955. She first came to prominence after her performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939 after she was refused a performance at Washington's Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution because she was black. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt intervened -- resigning from the DAR and helping a new performance venue. In her younger years, she was decllined admittance to the Philadelphia's University of the Arts because of her race. The Kimmel Center, home to the Philadelphia Orchestra, announced in June they were renaming its main performance venue after Anderson. See link for a shot of her home in Philly "
McFerrin (b: 1950) born in NYC to son of operatic baritone Robert McFerrin and singer Sara Copper. Wiki says McFerrin's first recorded work, the self-titled album Bobby McFerrin, was not produced until 1982, when he was 31 years old. Before that, he had spent six years developing his musical style, the first two years of which he attempted not to listen to other singers at all, in order to avoid sounding like they sounded. He was influenced by Keith Jarrett, who had achieved great success with a series of solo improvised piano concerts including The Koln Concert of 1975, and wanted to attempt something similar vocally.
"Reagon joined her first and only gospel choir when she was 11 years old, which was organized by her sister at the Mt. Early Baptist Church. She and the choir would listen to the local radio station WGPC to learn black gospel for the choir to recite. As a child, the Five Blind Guys was her favorite quartet. Reagon stated that her role models in terms of music are Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and Bessie Jones, because they assisted her understanding of traditional singing and the fight for justice. - wiki"
"I attending a public radio conference with Dr. Reagon set as the opening keynote speaker. As turned out, the Rodney King verdict came down the day before and her remarks were mostly extemporaneous, responding to the roiling response to the Not Guilty verdict handed down by the jury for the police officers who were involved (and caught on camera). It was the start of what's come to be known as the LA Riots. I was able to. get ahold of a recording just afterwards -- a company was recording all the sessions at the conference -- and on the plane-ride home, I transcribed the speech and mailed it to her office. She followed up with a note to thank me, and let me know she'd been fretting that she didn't have her speech written down when -- voila -- my transcript ararived in the mail! "
Moore is a founding member of the Talea Ensemble which regularly gives premieres of new works at major venues and festivals around the world. Ms. Moore is a member of the award-winning wind quintet, The City of Tomorrow, Boston’s new music Sinfonietta Sound Icon, and bass clarinet ensemble Improbable Beasts. She is also the principal clarinetist for the Boston Philharmonic and Boston Landmarks Orchestra. She teaches at Boston Conservatory and Bard's Longy School of Music
"Hemphill (1923-2006) was a 4th generation musician. ..electric guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist specializing in the North Mississippi hill country blues traditions of her family and regional heritage. Her gr grandfather wasa Choctaw fiddler and her grandfather was Sidney Hemphill, the patriatch of the hill coutnry blues. She played drums for 4 years in Napoleon Strickland's fife and drum band..This cut demonstrates her skills with the foot tambourine & ankle bells common with Choctaw dancers. She spent most of her musical life playing for family picni cs and local community parties. - liner notes. "
The McIntosh County Shouters are the principal, and one of the last, active practitioners of one of the most venerable African American song and movement traditions — the "shout," also known as the "ring shout." The ring shout, associated with burial rituals in West Africa, persisted among African slaves and was perpetuated after emancipation in African American communities, where the fundamental counterclockwise movement used in religious ceremonies integrated Christian themes, expressed often in the form of spirituals. First written about by outside observers in 1845, and described during and after the Civil War, the shout was concentrated in coastal areas of South Carolina and Georgia. They were awarded an NEA Heritage Fellowship in 1993 = arts.gov
Zap Mama was founded by Marie Daulne. Marie sings in French, Swahili and Wolof, harmonizing with Pygmy bushmen, and free styling in Brooklyn slang. Born in the former Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) to a Belgian father and a Zairian mother, Marie Daulne fled the country at the age of three when war broke out. After taking shelter with a tribe of Pygmies, her family eventually made their way to Brussels. Marie’s mother was introducing her to the sounds of the rainforest, teaching her the unearthly singing of the Central African Pygmies. But Marie preferred to listen to Stevie Wonder and early hip-hop from the United States: “Our mother would make us learn the polyphonic singing, but at the time we thought it was boring because it was traditional.” Instead, Marie developed her vocal skills through imitation of the sultry voice of Roberta Flaclk among others -- worldmusiccentral.org
"More from Dr. Reagon's 1992 conversation with me and Fahamisha Shariat Brown, host of Black Perspectives on WMBR. See link for her obituary in the NYTimes. "
From a compilation organized by horse hair harpist Rhodri Davis (see link),Brìghde Chaimbeul (b: 1998) olays the Scottish smallpipes and is a leading purveyor of experimental Celtic music. Her piping has earned her a BBC Young Folk Award and a BBC Horizon Award. The Scottish smallpipes, with their double-note drones, were in danger of falling into obscurity before Brìghde (pronounced Bree-chuh) Chaimbeul, a native Gaelic speaker from the Isle of Skye, became part of their more recent revival. She says she's always led by the drone...to be a piper, you must have a natural attraction to drones. That's the minimalist aspect, she says...the atmosphere it creates rather than a rhythm. n The other side is melody, one or two of them in a tune, repeating them so it becomes trance-like, and getting lost in them a wee bit. - bandcamp
"Doumbia (b: 1961) has a career that's lasted for over four decades, is an important musician in the development and definition of Wassoulou music, the popular music from her area of Southern Mali, which in turn had a great influence on Mali's musical culture.Doumbia was born into a caste of blacksmiths and so wouldn't have been allowed to sing, but broke that taboo. Her career got started after she won a contest on the French-language radio station Radio France Internationale.Scholar Lucy O'Brien mentioned her as one of the women who created a music that gave voice to female expression, and praised her ""high-tech poetry and metaphor"" in a study of women in popular music.- wiki"
"The form of music is Taksim, which refers to the improvisation of melody comprised of various sections, has a rich historical background in the Middle East, where it was a prominent form of improvisation in traditional music. In Greece, the taximi is linked to the traditional music of the Roma people and Greeks who resided in Turkey and the Balkans during the Ottoman Empire era. The custom of taksim continues to be practiced today by the Romani community in Turkey, as well as by Greek and Turkish musicians who perform traditional music.The taksim holds significant importance in Arabic music as it provides a platform for the musician to express themselves improvisationally and demonstrate their skills. To go deep, click the link. Greek-born Manos Achalinotopoulos is considered by critics, composers, and musicologists to be the best clarinet exponent of his generation. He started playing the flute and clarinet at a very early age, and now travels extensively throughout the world to collaborate with composers and performers, and to perform in concerts and at festivals."
"The Abayudaya (Abayudaya is Luganda for ""People of Judah"")[3][4] are a Jewish community in eastern Uganda, near the town of Mbale. They are devout in their practice, keeping kashrut and observing Shabbat. There are several different villages where the Abayudaya live. A community that converted to Judaism in the 20th century, most community members are affiliated with the Reform and Conservative movements of Judaism...The Abayudaya's population is estimated to number between 2,000 and 3,000; like their neighbors, they are subsistence farmers..The group owes its origin to Muganda military leader Semei Kakungulu. Originally, Kakungulu was converted to Christianity by British missionaries around 1880. He believed that the British would allow him to be king of the territories Bukedi and Bugisu, which he had conquered in a battle for them. However, when the British limited his territory to a significantly smaller size and refused to recognize him as king as they had promised, Kakungulu began to distance himself from them. In 1913, he became a member of the Bamalaki sect, which followed a belief system that combined elements of Judaism, Christianity, and Christian Science, most notably, a refusal to use western medicine (based on a few sentences taken from the Old Testament) -wiki"
"Recorded by Alan Lomax (1915-2002) in Sledge, MS on 8/15/42. Hemphill (1876-1963) was Misissippi born blues player and band leaderand son of a slave fiddle player. He crafted instruments and was blind.having never commercially recorded any of his songs for release in his lifetime. Nonetheless, his two field sessions with Lomax were made more accessible by the release of the compilation album The Devil's Dream in 2013. Other members of the Hemphill family also became musicians, including his daughter Rosa Lee Hill, and his paternal granddaughter, Jessie Mae Hemphill, a pioneering guitarist (see above). - wiki "
Dr. Reagon was kicked out of Albany State (her hometown college) after being arrested for participating in a SNCC demonstration. Reagon would later go on to receive her undergraduate degree from Spelman College and her doctorate from Howard University. See above for more.
Time:
5:23
Artist:
Mountain Movers [Dan Greene Author: Kryssi Battalene Author: Rick Omonte Author: Ross Menze]
Member of this New Haven Group, Dan Greene Author: Kryssi Battalene Author: Rick Omonte Author: Ross Menze, have been playing together for over a decade now, making their recorded debut on a slew of singles released from 2011-2013, but it wasn’t until 2015’s “Death Magic” (released on New Haven label Safety Meeting) that the potential of that iteration of the group became clear.... -bandcamp
"She was asked whether she'd met MLK when he was in was arrested with hundreds of others in 1961 while visiting Albany, GA..on charges of obstructing the sidewalk and parading without a permit. Shes said, no she hadn't met him because she was already in jail. "
