Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison, an African-American Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, editor and professor.  Known for her novels, The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, and Beloved.  Her novel Beloved was based on an African-American slave in the year of 1873 just after the American Civil War.  Beloved was turned into a film in 1998 which starred Oprah Winfrey and the novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988.

Toni Morrison received her B.A. in English from Howard University in 1953; and received her Master of Arts degree in English from Cornell University in 1955.  Toni Morrison taught English at two branches of New York State University.  In 1989 until her retirement in 2006 she held the Robert F. Goheen Chair in the Humanities at Princeton University.  While at Princeton, Toni Morrison developed the prestigious Princeton Atelier, a program that brings together talented students with world famous artists.

Barnard College has honored her with its highest honor, the Barnard Medal of Distinction. Oxford University and Rutgers University has awarded her an honorary Doctor of Letters degree.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP6umkgMRq4

The Blue's B.B. King Style

What is the Blues?  The Blues is the name given to the musical form and the music genre that originated in African-American communities in the Deep South at the end of the 19th century.  The Blues originated from spirituals, work songs, shouts and chants that would rhyme ballads.  B.B. King is an African-American Blues guitarist, singer and songwriter; he has been ranked No. 3 by Rolling Stone  magazine's list of 100 greatest guitarist of all time.  At the age of 12, B.B. King purchased his first guitar and after hearing T-Bone Walker play, B.B. King stated that he knew he had to have an electric-guitar for hisself.  In 1956 B.B. King had a record breaking year with 342 concerts booked; that was the year that he founded his own label.

B.B. King won a Grammy for his hit "The Thrill is Gone;" it is listed on Rolling Stone  magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time; he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and in 2004 he was awarded the Polar Music Prize.  From 1971 to the present, B.B. King has been awarded with several Grammys, Honors, Medals, and Achievement awards.  Here is a copy of a commerative pick honoring "B.B. King Day" in Portland, Maine.  Attached for your listening pleasure is "The Thrill is Gone," which he won a Grammy for best R&B Vocal Performance and a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fk2prKnYnI&ob=av2e

Miles Davis

Miles Dewey Davis III was an African-American jazz musician, trumpeter, composer and bandleader.  Along with his musical groups, Miles Davis was at the forefront of several major developments in jazz, cool jazz, jazz fusion, modal jazz, and hard bop.  Miles Davis is regarded as one of the most innovative, influential and respected figures in the history of music; and has been described as “one of the great innovators in jazz.” 
His album Kind of Blue is the best selling album in the history of jazz music and was praised by the United States House of Representatives to “pass a symbolic resolution honoring the masterpiece and reaffirming jazz as a national treasure.”

In Miles autobiography he stated that he wanted to make music for the young African-American audience; his album On the Corner was a blend of funk with traditional jazz styles.  “He Loved Him Madly” was a tribute to Duke Ellington and “Calypso Frelimo” was Miles most lauded pieces from the era; it was also the last studio album of the 1970’s.  As an innovative composer and band leader, Miles Davis has influenced many notable musicians and bands from various diversity.  Since 1955, Miles Davis has been awarded with several Grammy Awards, Down Beat awards, and a Lifetime Achievement Award just to name a few.  In 1986 he was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the New England Conservatory.  As a tribute to Miles Davis a statute is located in Kielce, Poland.  Here is a link to "Kind of Blue."   

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEC8nqT6Rrk

  

                                                                             

 

Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong, nicknamed "Satchmo", was an all-time African-American trumpet and cornet player.  Known for his deep, raspy singing voice he was the first African-American to "cross-over".  As a privately strong supporter of the Civil Rights Movement, Louis Armstrong rarely publicized his race.  Louis Armstrong's vocals served as a foundation for jazz art vocal interpretation; he was also well-known for his scat-singing which is vocalizing using sounds and syllables instead of actual lyrics.

During his time era, Louis Armstrong was widely accepted by White society, on and off stage; members of the African-American community would criticize him for playing in front of segregated audiences and would often label him as an "Uncle Tom."

In 1972 Louis Armstrong was presented with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award; his recordings were also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.  Duke Ellington has been quoted saying, "If anybody was a master, it was Louis Armstrong."

"Hello Dolly" is one of his most recognizable performances.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmfeKUNDDYs

Duke Ellington's Jazz as African-American Literature

What is Jazz?  Jazz is one of the most accelerated art movements in history. Beginning with slavery, jazz developed in a state of constant strife and turmoil.  Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist and a big band leader.  Duke Ellington is known as the "Greatest Composer" that has ever lived.  Duke Ellington's career spanned over 50 years which included his leading his orchestra, composing an inexhaustable songbook, playing in movies, and composing stage musicals; he led his band until the time of his death in 1974.  His music has become a cornerstone for American heritage and culture; and it has been said that he elevated the perception of jazz into an art form along with other traditional genres of music.  Duke Ellington was also an important figure of the Harlem Renaissance.

In 1914 Duke Ellington wrote his first composition, "Soda Fountain Rag."  Duke Ellington was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1966, The Presidential Medal of Freedom Award in 1969 given by President Nixon, an Honorary PhD from the Berklee College of Music in 1971, and the Legion of Honor by France in 1973.  He also won an Academy Award as the best musical short subject for "A Rhapsody of Negro Life," in which Billie Holiday was first introduced.  Duke Ellington won 12 Grammy Awards from 1959 to 2000.  "Take The A Train" was Duke Ellington's signature song for his orchestra; it is one of his most famous compositions.  Attached you will find a link to "Take The A Train."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb2w2m1JmCY

Alex Haley

Alex Murray Palmer Haley was an African-American writer.  His novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family is a story about an African from the 18th century, Kunta Kinte, that was sold into slavery in the United States.  Although the book was geared as fictional, it is said the Alex Haley traced back his family roots as far as seven generations and was therefore the great-great-great-great-grandson of Kunta Kinte.

Alex Haley attended Alcorn State University at the age of 15; after dropping out of college he enlisted in the Coast Guard.  During his tenure in the Coast Guard, Alex became the Chief Journalist.  Upon his 20-year enlistment, Alex Haley became the senior editor for Reader's Digest; he also conducted the first interview for Playboy magazine.  After Alex Haley's interview with jazz legend Miles Davis, Alex had a different tone for the magazine which included interviewing Martin Luther King Jr., Sammy Davis Jr., American Nazi party leader George Lincoln Rockwell; he also completed a memoir of Malcolm X weeks before his assination.  Alex Haley's first book to be published, The Autobiography of Malcolm X was published in 1965. 

Alex Haley earned the Pulitzer Prize for his novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family and the mini-series won nine Emmys and a Peabody award.  Although the book spent 22 weeks on The Times Spot and 46 weeks total, it was later determined that certain adaptations was plagiarized by a previously written novel The American written by Harold Courlander.

Alice Walker's, The Color Purple

African Americans literature is derived from their slave roots which consisted of slave stories and fables. Generally the slaves would view their stories in the same way as they viewed their music. Their literature and music spoke about their culture, racism, and oppression that they faced during this time era.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker was a fictional novel which was based on black female lives in the 1930s.  The book won a 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction award.  Later The Color Purple was made into a film and a musical.  Alice Walker, a previous student of Spellman College in the 1960s, credits Martin Luther King Jr. for her return to the south and becoming an activist for the Civil Rights Movement.  Although Alice Walker is best known for her novel The Color Purple, she has also written numerous short stories and poetry.  Attached you will find a clipping of the musical production The Color Purple which was produced by Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones.  The musical opened on Broadway in 2005 and began touring in 2007.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF3p2FLArhY&feature=related