March 30, 2007

MARION Q. ROZELLE


Marion Q. Rozelle aka PoeticLovette, was born in Columbus, Ohio on May 19th, 1950. She attended and graduated from East High School; afterwards she attended Columbus State College for a degree in Law Enforcement.

She has been employed with the State of Ohio for twenty-two years and as an Entrepreneur for fourteen years. Marion is the Union’s Chief Steward, Board Member Association and Volunteered Liaison within the prison system.

She married at a very young age and was blessed with five wonderful children who have blessed me again with several wonderful grand-children. Marion is currently a widow.

Her greatest fear is God.

Poeticlovette is artistic, intelligent, amusing, self-disciplined and enthusiastic. Besides poetry, she loves music, computers, motorcycles, and ventures away from home.

Marion was introduced to poetry at the age of eleven. I was listening to an old 78 record that belonged to my grandmother and a man was reciting a poem with music in the background. It captivated me so much that I wrote the poem down; I had to restart it over and over to get all the words, but I accomplished the task and to this day I can still narrate that poem from memory. Thus begin my journey into writing poetry.

In regards to music Marion is a devoted listener of jazz and old school.
The jazz artists that she enjoys listening to are Cannonball Adderly, Noel Pointer, Mary Stallings, and Roy Ayers.

The correlation between jazz and poetry is that they can be used in consistency with one to the other or as stimulation for one to the other.
Rhythm, tenor, and lyricism are the property of both and share the nuance of creativeness. Our culture is rich in the history of poetry and jazz, thus making it important to continue that trend. As well as being entertaining, they are a learning and teaching tool for our next generations to come.

VINCENT HERRING



Vincent Herring has developed into a virtuoso with a voice that is uniquely intense and vigorous with energy and direction. He is considered one of the premier saxophonists of his generation.

Vincent first toured Europe and the United States with Lionel Hampton’s big band in the early 1980’s. As he developed his musicianship he began to work with Nat Adderley a liaison that continued for nine years. Along the way he worked and / or recorded with Cedar Walton, Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Hayes, Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, Horace Silver Quintet, Jack DeJohnette’s Special Edition, Larry Coryell, Steve Turre, The Mingus Big Band, Kenny Barron, Nancy Wilson, Dr. Billy Taylor, Carla Bley, and John Hicks. Other special concert and projects have included special guest soloist engagements with Wynton Marsalis at Lincoln Center. Vincent also appeared as a guest soloist at Carnegie Hall with John Faddis and The Carnegie Hall Big Band.
While amassing these impressive credentials, Vincent continues to develop his own voice and style. In addition to the legends and peers he has worked with Vincent is inspired by a collage of diverse musical influences. Which is reflected in his original band called Earth Jazz Agents.
Vincent is also involved in Jazz education. He is currently on staff at William Patterson University as well as conducting master classes and jazz workshops at Juilliard. Vincent has also conducted master classes on jazz improvising at Duke and Cornell Universities.
Vincent has recorded 15 CD’s as a leader and can be heard on over 200 as a sideman.

March 29, 2007

DONALD BYRD



Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II was born December 9, 1932 in Detroit, Michigan. He performed with Lionel Hampton before finishing high school. After playing trumpet in a military band during a term in the United States Air Force, he obtained a bachelor's degree in music from Wayne State University and a master's degree from Manhattan School of Music. While still at the Manhattan School he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, replacing Clifford Brown. After leaving the Jazz Messengers in 1956 he performed with a wide variety of highly regarded jazz musicians, including John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, and Thelonious Monk.

In the 1970s, he moved away from his previous hard-bop jazz base and began to record jazz fusion, Jazz-funk, soul-Jazz, and rhythm and blues. Teaming up with the Mizell Brothers, they produced Black Byrd, which was enormously successful and became Blue Note Records' highest-ever selling album. The Mizell Brothers follow-up production albums for byrd, Places and Spaces, Steppin' Into Tomorrow and Street Lady were also big sellers, and have subsequently provided a rich source of samples for hip-hop artists such as Us3.

He has taught music at Rutgers University, the Hampton Institute, New York University, Howard University, and Oberlin College. In 1974 he created the Blackbyrds, a fusion group consisting of his best students. They scored several major hits, including "Walking In Rhythm" and "Blackbyrds Theme

STEPHANE MOORE



Stephane Moore aka Brownskinpoetic is a soul child of the sixties who exited his mother’s womb with creativity on his mind had all of the influences of that era. Born on February 8, 1962 in the Deep South, he would see and hear a lot during his childhood that would fertilize his creative being. The civil rights movement was in full gear. The war in Vietnam was rolling right along, the Cuban missile crisis had everyone on edge, and the word assassination seemed to be a part of the international fabric. In other words, these were exciting times for creative types. With influences all around him, Brownskinpoetic took full advantage of what he read, saw, and heard on the evening news. Writing would become his sounding board and music was his muse. The likes of Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Willie Hutch, T.S.O.P., Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway, and many others gave him fuel and loads of ammunition to write fire onto his pages,

With the help of his extended family of uncles and aunts, Brownskinpoetic was introduced to many genres of music from jazz, hard rock, blues, gospel, funk, and a whole lot of soul. During his early adulthood, brown decided to take his love for music into his other artistic passions. Photography soon became something he could not resist. Painting and sculpting would soon follow. Yes, a renaissance man in the making. While listening to a late night radio show one night, brown was introduced to the voice of Gil Scott Heron. This was his first taste of spoken word infused with jazz. The last poets came next and this is where the preverbal rubber met the road. He began looking for venues where he could dig these vibes on a real level and discovered Club Kalunba in Atlanta, a local spot where free spirits would vibe with musicians and deliver their poetry to the world.

Later on in life, brown would be introduced to pal talk, an interactive chat site where a friend named Sherykah hosted a poetry chat room. She would talk about her dreams of starting a poetry radio station on the internet which was right down brownskin’s alley. He quickly jumped on board as a radio host with a show called, POETICSOUL. Soon after, he created HOT BUTTA SOUL and ECLECTIC SOUL. This lead to brownskin getting into producing tracks for other poets as well as few singers he knew from doing collaborations.

Where does he find all of this time to be creative? And why do you think a show like Spotlight on Jazz & Poetry is so important?

He responded “My motto is if you can’t find time to do what you love, then you are wasting oxygen and SOJP will show the relationship that exists between poetry and Jazz and start the construction process of building bridges that will fill the gap that exists between generations.


This brother truly breathes art.

March 10, 2007

LAMONT CAREY


Lamont Carey was born in the heart of Southeast, Washington, DC. He is a businessman and entertainer. On stage he is a powerful performer with a delivery so electric that he has the ability to present an issue in such a way that it alters audiences’ perspective.

He has featured as an actor in the 2005 DC Hip Hop Theater Festival in the stage reading of HiddenPages. He has even appeared in several independant films as well as being featured on the HBO Hit cable series "The Wire".

Lamont is also an outstanding spoken word artist. He has featured in such places as the world renowned Lincoln Theater, Smithsonian, The Nuyorican Poets Café, The French Embassy, The Cuban Embassy, and the National Cathedral. He has toured in NC and the Virgin Islands. He has won several poetry slams and poet of 2005 by Dream In motion.. Lamont was even nominated at the NUSPA (National Underground Spokenword Poetry Awards" in the catagory "Why Didn't I think of that Piece" for "I Love My Son".

He continues to leave his mark in spoken word arena with his debut CD” IMAGINE”. This is 14-tacks of pure energy and mind traveling that listener can’t help but to brace themselves for the next emotional rollercoaster that are sure to erupt with the next track.
Lamont Carey can also diving into radio personality. He co-host a show called "Freestyle Friday" along side Marck Thompson on XM satille radio Channel 169 The Power.

Furthermore, Lamont is a true entrepreneur. He is CEO and founder of CONTACT VISITS a nonprofit organization that assist ex-offenders transition back into our communities as productive members of society. He is also the president of .SERVINGNTIME. This is an internet based business that lists profiles of current prisoner. His goal is to help them keep positive ties to the community and support systems in place so that they can find employment, housing, etc. Finally, he is the president of LaCarey Entertainment, LL.C. This is his management company where he has already assisted clients appear in several movies, TV, and plays. He also does improvisational workshops, poetry performance workshop, and teaches acting.

Yes, Mr. Carey is making an impact in our communities by working for the community.
For more info or booking contact him personally at lacareyentertainment@yahoo.com.

March 09, 2007

YUSEF LATEEF

Yusef Lateef was born William Emanuel Huddleston in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In 1925, Lateef and his family moved to Detroit, Michigan where would begin Lateef's musical career. Throughout his early life Lateef came into contact with a number of accomplished jazz musicians including Milt Jackson, Paul Chambers, Elvin Jones, and Kenny Burrell. Lateef was a proficient saxophonist by his graduation from high school at age 18, at which point he launched his professional career and began touring with a number of swing bands. In 1949, at age 29, Lateef was invited by Dizzy Gillespie to tour with his world-renowned orchestra.

Lateef first began recording as a leader in 1956 for Savoy Records, which released a number of albums under his name in the following year. By 1961, with the release of Eastern Sounds, Lateef's distinctive sound had matured. His "Eastern" influences are clearly audible in these recordings, while they remain within the bounds of approachability for most Western ears. Lateef's sound has been claimed to have been a major influence on the saxophonist John Coltrane, whose later period free jazz recordings contain similarly "Eastern" traits.

In 1992, Lateef founded YAL Records, his own label for which he records today. In 1993, Lateef was commissioned by the WDR Radio Orchestra to compose The African American Epic Suite, a four part work for orchestra and quartet based on themes of slavery and disfranchisement in the United States. The piece has since been performed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Lateef has expressed a dislike of the terms "jazz" and "jazz musician" as musical generalizations. As is so often the case with such generalizations, the use of these terms do understate the breadth of his sound. For example, in the 1980s, Lateef experimented with new age and spiritual elements. His 1987 album Yusef Lateef's Little Symphony won the Grammy award for Best New Age Album. His core influences, however, are clearly rooted in jazz, and in his own words: "My music is jazz." [1]
In 1950, Lateef returned to Detroit and began his studies in composition and flute at Wayne State University. It was during this period that Lateef converted to Ahmadiyya Islam and changed his name to the form it holds today.

In 1960, Lateef again returned to school. At the Manhattan School of Music in New York, Lateef pursued further studies in flute. He received a Bachelor's Degree in Music in 1969 and a Master's Degree in Music Education in 1970. He taught courses in autophysiopsychic music at the school from 1971, and from 1972 was an associate professor at the Borough of Manhattan Community College.

In 1975, Lateef completed his dissertation on Western and Islamic education and earned a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Lateef has written and published a number of books including a novella entitled A Night in the Garden of Love and the short story collections Spheres and Rain Shapes. Along with his record label YAL Records, Lateef owns Fana Music, a music publishing company. Lateef publishes his own work through Fana, which includes Yusef Lateef's Flute Book of the Blues and many of his own orchestral compositions.

March 04, 2007

Happy Birthday BigTrigger! (March 4, 2007)


Now this is the plan:

Stop by his webpage at 360.yahoo.com/Bigtrigger3458 OR send him greetings at sojp@nalradio.com ! (He's working tommorow and we want to make his day special...)

Happy Birthday BigTrigger -- may this year be the best year ever!

From the teams of
Spotlight On Jazz and Poetry
National Artist League Radio and
Unlimited Vision Productions!