news journal delaware online clifford _ de...pdf
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/9/2019 News Journal Delaware OnLine Clifford _ de...pdf
1/3
Mobile: Cell/PDA |Text Alerts |E-News |RSS |Widgets |TwitterNEW! Find it: Jobs |Cars |Real Estate |Apartments |Shopping |Classifieds |Celebrations
SEARCH
ALL
All
Local News Calendar Jobs More
SPONSORED BY:
Home News Weather Sports Entertainment Life Communities Voices Videos/Photos Data Buy/Sell Help
Comment, blog & share photosLog in | Become a member | Search people
Send us your Phillies fan photosPowered by YOU and The News Journal
Entertainment Monday, November 3, 2008
Post a Comment Recommend Pr int this page E-mail this artic le Share
Calendar Dining TV & Movies Music Arts Spark Metromix Crossword Horoscopes Contests
They remember CliffordMusicians, scholars and family gather to examine the life and influence of
a jazz great
BY RYAN CORMIER THE NEWS JOURNAL OCTOBER 31, 2008
When it comes to music legends living in Wilmington, Bob Marley's 1966 stay in the city gets most of the
attention.
The reggae superstar lived there with his mother for a short time, while
working at DuPont and the Chrysler plant. And, yes, the annual People's
Festival in Wilmington pays tribute to Marley each summer.
But behind Marley's large, dreadlocked shadow stands another musical
legend -- one who was actually born in Wilmington and lived there until his
untimely death at the age of 25, Clifford Brown.
The influential jazz trumpeter, who just so happens to have his own
eponymous music festival in Wilmington each year, is even buried in the
city's Mt. Zion Cemetery.
This weekend, the hard bop innovator will get his due, as jazz greats,
scholars and historians converge on Philadelphia with Brown's family for a
multi-day symposium focusing on Wilmington's greatest jazz man.
"My father has been dead for over 50 years," says Clifford Brown Jr., who
was only six months old when his father died in a car accident. "And the
fact that there are so many people that love him, want to pay tribute to him
and recognize his musical genius and what k ind of a person he was -- I
don't have words to describe it. It's simply amazing to me."
The event, which began Thursday, will examine Brown's riveting body of
work and influence, along with his personal life and Wilmington
upbringing. For example, saxophonists Benny Golson, Lou Donaldson and
Jimmy Heath, all of whom played on Brown's recordings, will discussBrown during a roundtable Saturday. And then at night, Donaldson and
Golson will perform at the Merriam Theater in honor of the man
affectionally known as "Brownie."
The event came together thanks in part to Wilmington native Don
Glanden, who has been researching Brown for a dozen years for a
documentary entitled "Brownie Speaks," which will debut at the
symposium.
"The idea is to get an idea of his musical contributions, along with the
sociological situation of growing up on the Eastside of Wilmington and
how that helped shape him," says Glanden, head of the piano department in the Graduate Jazz Studies
program at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, the organizer and host of the symposium.
INTERACTIVE WEATHER
Submitted
Wilmington's greatest jazz legend, Clifford Brown, will be the subjectof a symposium this weekend in Philadelphia.
Submitted
Don Glanden researched Brown for a dozen years for hisdocumentary Brownie Speaks.
SELECTED EVENTS
TODAY
10 a.m. -- Nick Catalano, author of "Clifford Brown: The Life and Art
of the Legendary Jazz Trumpeter"
1 p.m. -- "Brownie Speaks: A Video Documentary" by Don Glanden
remember Clifford | delawareonline | The News Journal http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20088
11/3/2008 1
-
8/9/2019 News Journal Delaware OnLine Clifford _ de...pdf
2/3
Last week, in advance of this weekend's event, Brown was inducted into the Philadelphia Music Alliance's
Walk of Fame. A bronze plaque honoring Brown can now be found on the Avenue of the Arts along with
those honoring performers like Dizzy Gillespie, Chubby Checker and Bill Haley.
At the ceremony, Brown's niece, Michelle Whyte, tearfully spoke of her uncle after a saxophonist
performed Brown's "Tiny Capers" -- a song Brown wrote for Whyte in 1954, just two years before his
death.
Even as he campaigns for the vice presidency, Sen. Joe Biden penned a letter commending Brown, once
he heard about the symposium: "Clifford Brown demonstrated the best of the American spirit through his
extraordinary talent, brilliant mind and love of music. I know I can speak for the rest of the community when
I say Clifford made us proud and we wi ll forever be grateful for h is amazing contributions."
Another well-known figure, radio and television personality Soupy Sales, is participating in the event. On
Thursday, Sales was in Philadelphia to be honored by Brown's devotees. Why exactly? Sales, a jazz fan,
promoted the music on his programs. Brown's two-song performance on Sales' television show in 1956
remains the only preserved television footage of Brown.
A highlight of the festival wil l be Glanden's documentary, which will be shown at 1 p.m. both today and
Saturday. The 85-minute film, which his son Brad helped edit, is culled from more than a decade's worth of
interviews with Brown's family and musical partners.
"I have three criteria for judging the historical importance of a jazz musician and you can see it in the
video," says Glanden, whose jazz trio performs at Sullivan's Steakhouse in Brandywine Hundred every
Thursday night at 6 p.m. "It's the three I's. Influence -- the level of influence they had on the idiom and the
players that came after. Individuality -- can you tell it's them if they only play four or five notes? And
innovation -- did they bring something new? I want to tell the biographica l story in a compelling way, but I
want the viewer to look at Clifford in the light of those three criteria."
"I think Don knows more about my dad than I do," said Clifford Brown Jr. "I'm on the edge of my seat
waiting to see that. After years and years making it, it's finally time to see it."
Brown, who was lauded by greats like Gillespie and Duke Ellington, has always had the support of his
home city. The annual Clifford Brown Jazz Festival is 20 years old.
That support has not gone unnoticed by Brown's family.
"Wilmington and the people who live there have done an astounding job keeping my father's memory and
music alive," says Clifford Brown Jr., 52, who is the program director and operations manager at San
Francisco radio stations 1640 KDIA-AM and 1190 KDYA-AM, and host of a jazz program on San Mateo's
Jazz 91.1 KCSM-FM. "The jazz festival bearing his name is a big, big deal. But it's not just the older people
who might remember him. There are people who are my age and younger who have gone out of their way
to find out who Clifford Brown was. It's really something."
In your voice
READ REACTIONS TO THIS STORY
You must be logged in to leave a comment.Login | Register
1000 characters left
2:30 p.m. -- Jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard Q&A
4 p.m. -- Phil Schaap, jazz DJ and curator of Jazz at Lincoln Center,
"Clifford Brown: The Wilmington Years." Guests: David Clark,
Geneva Griffin, Kenyon L. Camper and Clifford Brown Jr.
8 p.m. - - Terence Blanchard Quintet performance, Gershman Hall.
Tickets: $20-$7.50
SATURDAY
10:30 a.m. -- Lewis Porter, jazz pianist and director of the Master's
Program in Jazz History and Research at Rutgers University: "The
Development of Brownie's Style"
1 p.m. -- "Brownie Speaks: A Video Documentary" by Don Glanden
2:30 p.m. -- Jazz saxophonists and Brown collaborators Benny
Golson, Lou Donaldson and Jimmy Heath discussion and Q&A3:45 p.m. -- Panel discussion: "Family and Friends of Clifford
Brown"
6:30 p.m. -- Teleconference with jazz critic and historian Nat Hentoff
7 p.m. -- Lou Donaldson Quartet and Benny Golson Quartet
performance, Merriam Theater. Tickets: $35-$10
Warren D. Fowler
From left: Richie Powell, Brown, George Morrow and Max Roach.
Submitted
Brown was just honored with a plaque on Philadelphia MusicAlliances Walk of Fame.
Don Glanden researchedBrown for a dozen years forhis documentary "BrownieSpeaks." From left: RichiePowell, Brown, GeorgeMorrow and Max Roach.Brown was just honored witha plaque on PhiladelphiaMusic Alliance's Walk ofFame.
Warren D. Fowler
IF YOU GO
"Brownie Speaks"
A symposium celebrating the legacy of jazz trumpet legend Clifford
Brown
WHEN: Today and Saturday
WHERE: Caplan Center for the Performing Arts, 211 S. Broad St.,
remember Clifford | delawareonline | The News Journal http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20088
11/3/2008 1
-
8/9/2019 News Journal Delaware OnLine Clifford _ de...pdf
3/3
ADS BY PULSE 360 Get Listed Here
Philadelphia, and other venues nearby
COST: Daytime events are free, but nighttime performances are
ticketed
INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION: www.uarts.edu
RELATED NEWS FROM THE WEB
Rubber-Plastics
Manufacturing
Dupont E I Nemours
Clifford Brown
Benny Golson
Theater
Arts
Entertainment
Jazz
Chemicals
Powered by Topix.net
More Entertainment headlines
New music, movies
Sounding the drum
Rogen the antithesis of his popular roles
'La Boheme' is rich, emotional
'High School Musical 3' stays at head of class
Latest headlines
Manufacturing sector contracts in October
College sports blog:
Rehoboth film festival starts Wednesday
Plan advances for casino at Philly mall
Dover police charge 4 with selling counterfeit goods (0)
Oprah's "Superfood of the Year!"
Detoxify and Lose Weight with AcaiPure - Click Here for FreeTrial
www.acai-pure.com
Forget To Take The Pill?
Forget taking the Pill every day. Think once a month birthcontrol.
www.once-a-month.com
Losing Over 50 LBS Was
The Best Thing to Every Happen For Me. Read How I LostWeight!
MyFatLossDiary.com/Finally
Partners: Jobs: CareerBuilder.com Cars: Cars.com Apartments: Apartments.com Shopping: ShopLocal.com
Home | News | Weather| Sports | Entertainment | Life | Communities | Voices | Videos/Photos | Data | Buy/Sell | Help | Site Map
Terms of Service |Privacy Policy |Contact Us |About Us |Work for Us |Subscribe
Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy , updated March 2007.
remember Clifford | delawareonline | The News Journal http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20088
11/3/2008 1