Jazz Hall of Fame names next inductees: 8 high notes of music
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| Harmonious Monk plays at Tulsa International Mayfest 2003. The group will be inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. |
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By MATT ELLIOTT World Scene Writer
4/26/2007
Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame organizers announced Wednesday that eight people will be inducted into the hall of fame at the organization's annual gala in June.
Chief Executive Officer Chuck Cissel announced the inductees at a press conference outside the hall's future home, downtown's former Union Depot, an art deco-style train station constructed in 1931 and now being renovated.
The inductees are Frank Wess, a flutist and saxophonist; Billy Taylor, a veteran musician and composer; Conrad Herwig, a trombonist; Leona Mitchell, an opera singer; James "Ace" Moreland, a blues guitarist; the Tulsa jazz band Harmonious Monk; James Goodwin, the co-publisher of The Oklahoma Eagle; and Michael Johnson, the senior vice president of Williams Cos.
"We are so blessed to honor both Dr. Billy Taylor and Frank Wess," Cissel said. "These legendary artists will receive our highest honors."
The group will be honored in a banquet and ceremony June 20 at the Doubletree Hotel Downtown, 616 W. Seventh St.
Billy Taylor
Considered the "ambassador of the jazz community," Billy Taylor has spent a lifetime playing, composing, writing about or lecturing about jazz. He will receive the Jay McShann Lifetime Achievement Award.
Taylor, 85, has been a piano recording artist, a composer of more than 350 songs ("I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free"), a broadcaster and educator. He first performed at a keyboard when he was 13.
Taylor got his start after college performing with Ben Webster's Quartet. He went on to perform with such jazz luminaries as Charlie Parker of Oklahoma, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis.
He received his master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He is a Duke Ellington Fellow at Yale University.
Taylor is the recipient of two Peabody Awards, a Grammy, an Emmy, the National Medal of Arts and the Tiffany Award.
Although retired from performing and recording, Taylor continues to be an educator.
Frank Wess
Frank Wess, a renowned saxophonist and flutist who grew up in Sapulpa, will receive the Living Legend award.
Wess, who started his professional music career with big bands at 19, is probably best known for his 1954-'63 stint playing in Count Basie's orchestra.
He worked on a variety of TV shows and telethons, was a member of Clark Terry's band from 1967 into the '70s and played with the New York Quartet with Roland Hanna.
He performed with such stars as Rufus Reid, Billy Taylor, Mel Torme, Ernestine Anderson, Louie Bellson, Howard Alden, Dick Hyman and Byron Stripling.
Wess was named an NEA Jazz Master this year by the National Endowment for the Arts and was honored at Juilliard Jazz' Tribute to Jazz Legends.
Conrad Herwig
Conrad Herwig, this year's jazz inductee, began his career with the Clark Terry Big Band in 1980. The trombonist from Altus joined the Buddy Rich Orchestra for tours of the U.S. and Europe.
He performed with Slide Hampton's World of Trombones and Mario Bauza's Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, as well as with the bands of Miles Davis, Quincy Jones and Frank Sinatra.
Herwig received a Grammy nomination in 2005 for his work on the album "Another Kind of Blue -- The Latin Side of Miles Davis."
James "Ace" Moreland Jr.
The late James "Ace" Moreland is this year's inductee representing the blues. A native of Miami, Okla., Moreland began playing guitar at age 5 and by 12 was good enough to be in a band.
He worked with artists such as the Cate Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd before forming Ace Moreland's West Side Story. He released his last album in 2003 -- the same year he died at age 50. He was noted for his deep, soulful vocals and sharp, clean guitar work.
Leona Mitchell
Leona Mitchell won international fame as an operatic soprano, performing for 18 consecutive seasons with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, making historic recordings, such as the first complete stereo recording of Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess." She's even shared the stage with each of the "Three Tenors."
However, she is also being honored for her work in gospel music, which was the foundation of her artistry. She began singing as a child in Enid at Antioch Baptist Church, whose pastor was her father. She was the host last year of the first Leona Mitchell Music Camp for underprivileged youths in her hometown.
Harmonious Monk
This local jazz quartet, which is to receive the Legacy Tribute Award, mixes in everything from funk to Latin and hip-hop, drawing influences from artists including Charles Mingus and Weather Report.
The group consists of Andy McCormick on saxophone, Andrew Bones on drums, Nigel Frye on bass and Sean Al-Jibouri on guitar.
The remaining honorees -- James Goodwin , a lawyer and the publisher of Tulsa's oldest black newspaper, and Michael Johnson , the senior vice president and chief administrative officer for Williams -- will receive the Maxine Cissel Horner Spirit of Community Excellence Award.
Matt Elliott 581-8366
matt.elliott@tulsaworld.com
By MATT ELLIOTT World Scene Writer
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