Roger O Green

Lydster: Dancing Many Drums

Kykunkor

My daughter worked on two papers about people portrayed in the book Dancing Many Drums: Excavations in African American Dance, edited by Thomas F. DeFrantz.

The first was about Kyundor, or the Witch Woman: An African Opera in America, 1934. Maureen Needham writes: “Versatile, multitalented as an opera and concert singer, dancer and choreographer, and teacher of African culture, the great but virtually forgotten Asadata Dafora made a huge contribution to the birth of African dance and musical drama in the United States.”

John Perpener wrote several dance biographies for Jacob’s Pillow. Of Dafora, he notes the performer was born in Sierra Leone in 1890 and moved to NYC in 1929.

His breakthrough was Kykunkor or the Witch Woman, “which opened in May 1934… Sparked by a positive review by John Martin of the New York Times, impressive audiences began to attend the dance-opera at the Unity Theater, a small performance space on East Twenty-Third Street in New York City. Martin effusively described Kykunkor as ‘“one of the most exciting dance performances of the season’ Not only did his critical imprimatur stimulate interest in Dafora’s work, it also forwarded the artist’s objective—to prove that the art and culture of Africa was equal in importance to that of the world’s other cultures.”

On YouTube, you can find videos of others honoring Dafora’s works, such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater showing the dance of Awassa Astrige or the Ostrich, Dafora’s 1932 work.

Check out the Wikipedia page for this innovator who died in 1965. I was unaware of this man.

KCH

My daughter’s other topic was Katherine Dunham (1909-2006). From the Institute for Dunham Technique Certification page: she “was a world-famous dancer, choreographer, author, anthropologist, social activist, and humanitarian.

“She translated her vision of dance in the African diaspora, including the United States, into vivid works of choreography that show a people’s culture. During her ‘World Tours’ period (1938-1965), her company was one of the few major internationally recognized American dance companies that toured six continents. The success of the dance company was also due to her artistic collaboration with her brilliant designer husband, Canadian John Pratt, who was the costume and set designer for the Katherine Dunham Dance Company.

“However, during this period in her own country, she also encountered many instances of racial discrimination, both in accommodations for her company and in segregated theaters where blacks were either relegated to the back row balcony or not allowed in at all. Dunham always fought against this racial discrimination, bringing several lawsuits and using her celebrity to bring attention to the African American plight. During this period, she created a repertoire of over 100 ballets for concert, Broadway, nightclubs and opera.”

The book features a chapter by Constance Valis Hill: Katherine Durham’s Southland: Protest in the Face of Repression. Read about this production in the LOC and Dance Magazine. The piece was performed in 1951 abroad, but not in the United States until 2012.

Check out a page in the LOC page, which shows videos of her work, as well as Wikipedia and the IBDb. I knew about her from the 1983 Kennedy Center Honors she received.

Vaudeville

Nadine A. George wrote about “Dance and Identity Politics in American Negro Vaudeville: The Whitman Sisters, 1900-1935.” She’s also written the book The Royalty of Negro Vaudeville. She’s quoted here that “these four Black women manipulated their race, gender, and class to resist hegemonic forces while achieving success. By maintaining a high-class image, they were able to challenge the fictions of racial and gender identity.”

The LOC notes that the sisters, ” Mabel Whitman (1880-1942), Essie Whitman (1882-1903), Alberta Whitman (ca. 1887-1963) and ‘Baby’ Alice Whitman (ca. 1900-1969), comprise the family of black female entertainers who owned and produced their own performing company, which traveled across the United States.. to play in all the major cities, becoming the longest running and highest-paid act on the T.O.B.A. circuit and a crucible of dance talent in black vaudeville.”

Besides Wikipedia, there’s a lot about these siblings here. Here’s a brief audio essay.

While my daughter did not write about them, they were fascinating performers and entrepreneurs who influenced many. I did not know of them.

The Last Of James Fennimore Cooper

The 19th Amendment

In due course, we’ll get to The Last Of James Fennimore Cooper (by a Mohican).

The next item at our Albany Symphony Orchestra’s American Musical Festival was the composer talk moderated by ASO conductor David Alan Miller on Saturday, June 8 at 6:30 pm. All four composers were present. It’s always entertaining.

In answer to a question from the audience, both of the women composers noted that they absolutely hate hearing their compositions the first time it’s being played. Until then, it’s all in their ears, in their heads. As they listen to more often, they think, “Well, maybe it’s not so bad. Perhaps I don’t have to change it substantially.” This was a fascinating glimpse into the minds of music creators.

At 7:30, the concert began with 1920/2019 by Joan Tower, who has had a sixty-year career. In the talk beforehand, in response to Miller’s emphasis on playing living composers, she joked about her mortality. When asked what the piece was about, she often quips, “About 15 minutes.”

1920 was the year of the 19th Amendment allowing women the right to vote. 2019 was amid the Me Too Movement. Here’s a recent recording of 1920/2019 by the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic, conducted by David Alan Miller.

Albany High, again

Michael Gilbertson created his Flute Concerto, a world premiere, based on the famous Rudyard Kipling poem If. The flutist was Brandon Patrick George, who was very good. Gilbertson worked with the Albany High School Chamber Choir, who were excellent.

A rant here: back when my daughter was entering school, someone I knew thought allowing her to attend Albany public schools was tantamount to child abuse. But many Albany High kids thrived, attending Ivy League schools, becoming name performers, et al. Earlier this month, the AHS band was the only US high school represented at D-Day+80.

After the intermission, the next piece was On the Bridge of the Eternal by Christopher Theofandis. This was his contemplation of time, impacted unsurprisingly by the pandemic. I thought the best part was the extraordinary vocalise section based on a short text from St. Augustine’s Confessions, performed by the Tantalus Chamber choir. The music followed from the vocal setup.

Finally, Brazilian-American Clarice Assad‘s world premiere of Flow, for she also played piano, a small percussion instrument, and even plucked the piano strings briefly. It may have been the most entertaining of the pieces.

Finally

On Sunday, June 9 at 4 pm, we went to the Sanctuary For Independent Media in Troy. It uses “art, science, and participatory action to promote social and environmental justice, and freedom of creative expression.” A lot of cool stuff is taking place there.

Brent Michael Davids “(Mohican/Munsee-Lenape) is an internationally celebrated Indigenous composer and music warrior for Native equity and parity.” He explained the complicated legacy of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community, of which he is a member, as his ancestors were driven from their lands.

He read several sections of an essay that Mark Twain wrote about James Fenimore Cooper, including the paragraph starting with “Cooper’s gift in the way of invention was not a rich endowment,” which discusses the dry twig ruse, ridiculously magical resourcefulness by the white settler, and the inane and physiologically impossible actions off the Indians.

Then, he narrated The Last Of James Fennimore Cooper (by a Mohican) as a string quartet played. It’s occasionally very funny. Here’s a performance with Davids from 2022.

A person from the Sanctuary interviewed Davids and David Alan Miller. Then guides conducted a tour of how the Sanctuary has helped the neighborhood to be revived. It was a VERY full weekend.

I must note that I saw at least two dozen people I knew at the various events over the three days, many of them more than once.

Movie review: Inside Out 2

perceptive

For Father’s Day, my wife, daughter, and I went to a matinee of the new Pixar film Inside Out 2 at the Spectrum Theatre. This marks one of the few times I’ve gone to a movie on the opening weekend. My family saw the original film in 2015 and I was a big fan.

Things are going swimmingly for the now-13-year-old Riley, who is playing hockey with her two besties. Then they attend a specialized camp at the same time she hits PUBERTY. Her existing emotions don’t realize the significance until Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), Paul Walter Hauser (Embarrassment), and especially Anxiety (Maya Hawke) arrive, turning the OG emotions’ well-oiled machine upside down.

I enjoyed it a lot. Moreover, only recently having been the parent of a teenager, it rang true. It was also quite funny, especially the appearance of a fifth emotion, and two other characters who show up.

More than that, I note that Pixar took great care in getting the emotions correct by using consultants in the field. From TIME: “Dr. Dacher Keltner is a Stanford grad, Berkeley professor, and co-director of the Greater Good Science Centre, with a sweet side gig as part of the Inside Out consulting team, alongside psychologists Paul Ekman and Lisa Damour.”

Reviews

The critics, who were 91% positive, tended to complain that it wasn’t as good as the original. In this camp are a few who thought it was too much of an educational endeavor. I think that was precisely the point, helping teens and their parents negotiate new terrain without being preachy.

I get the feeling that some of these folks have forgotten how difficult puberty is, and it’s certainly more so than when they (and I) were growing up. Sequels are more difficult beasts, but I thought it was very impressive.

This piece from Variety is spot on. “‘Inside Out 2’ is a transporting fable about the desire to fit in, to be validated by the Cool Culture that is, more and more, our collective seal of approval and success. And while the movie is an enchanting animated ride of the spirit…, it may also be the most perceptive tale of the conundrums of early adolescence since ‘Eighth Grade,’” another movie I enjoyed.

“The film isn’t always as uproariously funny as the first ‘Inside Out,’ because it lacks that primal surprise factor. Yet it’s full of moments of delicious effrontery. “

Recommended. And it did boffo box office.

Sunday Stealing: Catalyst quartet

99X

Here’s another Sunday Stealing. But before that, I want to plug the Catalyst Quartet, a barbershop quartet in my area. I got to see the relatively new group perform on Friday at my church. They were cool even though the room was rather warm. You can see the program on their Facebook page for June 21, 2024.

They recently qualified for this year’s international barbershop quartet competition in Cleveland, OH and they are thrilled. The competition is in the first week of July and between hotels, travel costs, and registration fees, the expenses are adding up. So they have a GoFundMe campaign.

I should note that two of these guys are regulars in my church choir and a third has sung there occasionally.

Here are a couple of their tunes I found on YouTube from the 2023 NextGen Varsity Finals:

Good Luck Charm

Surfer Girl

I’ll admit to be enough of a sucker for barbershop that I attended the Sweet Adelines competition in New York in April 1976.

Now back to our regular quiz.

1. Are you double-jointed?

No.

2. Are you ticklish?

Decreasingly so.

3. Cookies, cakes, or donuts?

Well, it depends on the item at hand. Oatmeal raisin cookies. Carrot cake. Donuts are okay, but I liked them more as a kid. Specifically, Spaulding Krullers. The linked post is one of this blog’s most popular ever.

But the choices do not include the OBVIOUS answer, which is PIE. It is well documented that PIE rules.

4. Did you go to prom?

I went to two proms, as noted here.

5. Do you bite your nails?

No, but I used to.

6. Do you enjoy dancing?

There are rare periods when I do. Most don’t even involve alcohol.

7. Do you forgive easily?

Yes. But I rarely forget. There are people I keep at arm’s length because they’ve so wounded me decades ago. I suppose forgetting involves apparent remorse on their part, and the people I’m thinking of unfortunately don’t appear to be capable of that.

8. Do you prefer to bathe or shower?

I haven’t taken a bath in this millennium.

9. Does your name have any special meaning?

Roger means spearbearer. I think it’s Germanic. Green is a color, which I’m sure I wrote about several times, including here. I found a guy named Owen for his interpretation of his name.

10. Have you ever gone camping?

Yes. Hated it.

I am a winner!

11. Have you ever won something?

Back in the days of calling into radio stations to win prizes, I had a pretty good track record. I’ve gotten several LPs; Hunky Dory by David Bowie, with Changes immediately comes to mind.

When I lived in NYC in 1977, I was the ninth caller with the phrase “99X is my radio station,” and I had to name the last song played which was She’s Gone by Hall and Oates; I received twice my age, so $48, and I’m pretty sure I took my sister Leslie to a New York Mets game.

In the early 1980s, I scored tickets to see Judy Collins in Glens Falls, NY.

The only trophy I ever won was for racquetball.

I ‘ve been on a trivia team that once was victorious. Oh, and there’s that JEOPARDY thing.

12. What did you last eat?

Red grapes.

13. What’s your longest relationship so far?

The person I’ve known the longest is my sister Leslie. If we’re talking romantic relationship, that’d be my wife. Interestingly, both are born in July and are left-handed.

14. Have you ever been on a diet?

I’m often on a diet. That’s why I’m eating grapes.

15. Do you enjoy DIY or crafts?

Let’s say no.

The 1954 #1 rhythm and blues hits

Guitar Slim

What was the top #1 1954 rhythm and blues hit? It depends on how you measure it.

Like in pop and country, there were charts for Best Sellers (BS), beginning in May 1948; JukeBox (JB), starting in January 1944; and Jockeys (JY- radio play) starting in December 1949. This is how one ended up with 71 weeks of #1 hits in 1954.

The record that spent the most time on one of these charts is The Things I Used To Do by Guitar Slim and his Band, with Ray Charles on the piano, at 14 weeks. But that’s 14 weeks JB but only 6 as BS, which arguably is more significant.

Hearts of Stone by The Charms spent nine weeks atop the BS list, more than any other recording but only two weeks each on JB and JY.

Honey Love by The Drifters featuring Clyde McPhatter was #1 for eight weeks on both BS and JB. It was co-written by McPhatter. I’m sure I have this track on some Atlantic Records compilation. Per Wikipedia: “According to Rolling Stone, the Drifters were the least stable of the great vocal groups, as they were low-paid musicians hired by George Treadwell, who owned the Drifters’ name from 1955, after McPhatter left. The Treadwell Drifters line has had 60 musicians, including several splinter groups by former Drifters members (not under Treadwell’s management). These groups are usually identified with a possessive credit such as ‘Bill Pinkney’s Original Drifters,’ ‘Charlie Thomas’ Drifters.'”

You’ll Never Walk Alone by Roy Hamilton was #1 for eight weeks BS, five weeks JB. Yes, this is the Rodgers and Hammerstein song from Carousel.

Oh What A Dream by Ruth Brown And Her Rhythmakers was #1 for eight weeks JB and four weeks BS.

More of ’54

Work With Me Annie by The Midnighters was #1 for seven weeks BS, four weeks JB. Group member Hank Ballard wrote it. The record notes “Formerly known as The Royals.” They changed from the Four Falcons to the Royals and later to The Midnighters to avoid confusion with other groups’ names. You should read the Wikipedia page about the group, specifically about Dick Clark and the Twist, written by Ballard (and perhaps others).

The Charms, The Drifters, Hamilton, and The Midnighters might have outsold Guitar Slim.

Hurts Me To My Heart by Faye Adams was #1 for five weeks BS and JB.

Shake, Rattle, And Roll by Joe Turner and his Blues King was #1 for three weeks JB. This I have on multiple compilations.

Annie Had A Baby by The Midnighters was #1 for two weeks BS. Interestingly, it was NOT written by Hank Ballard.

You Upset Me Baby by B.B. “Blues Boy” King and His Orchestra was #1 for two weeks JB, written by King.

Mambo Baby by Ruth Brown And Her Rhythmakers was #1 for a single week in both BS and JB

I’ll Be True by Faye Adams with the Joe Morris Orchestra was #1 BS for a week

When these charts consolidated into one in October 1958, fans were much less confused.