James Thompson, president of the Manassas High School Alumni Association, accepts the Walk of Fame brass note for Jimmie Lunceford on Beale Street on Sunday. 7/19/2009
Tha Artivist Says: I Stumbled Across This Video While Doing My Purpose…I am glad that the efforts of many not named in this presentation, including yours truly, has lead to this moment of clarity this past summer, 7/19/2009, on Beale Street...I would have been there but I was en route driving back to Memphis from Knoxville and missed it by 30 minutes…The weird thing was it was hard to tell that a ceremony took place at all…When I talked to the folks and vendors in the vicinity they acted like I was from Mars and said nothing took place…However, one art vendor told me recognition for the late great Jimmie Lunceford was long overdue…Indeed…Also it is strange that some of the folks present were not active in helping me resolve the issue over two years ago when I sought them out…The Lord works and moves in mysterious ways and you can’t always tell what is in the hearts and minds of men…But there is so much be done…Jimmie Lunceford is truly a legacy of visionary activism not of stagnation or static…Rhythm not awards was his business! He was constantly on the move trying to innovate the music while at the same time trying to elevate his audience…The Jimmie Lunceford Jamboree Festival Movement represents some of the best of that legacy as we are actively trying to get Jimmie Lunceford’s legacy off of life support and back in the arena of honor in the hearts, minds and everyday lives of the people as it deserves to be…Will you join in this ensemble for progressive change?
"Jimmie Lunceford has the best of all bands. Duke [Ellington] is great, [Count] Basie is remarkable, but Lunceford tops them both." -- Legendary Swing Band Leader Glenn Miller
“The music still sounds good, and it still inspires me, you know. I just think that band had everything. It was just one helluva band.” - Jazz Great Horace Silver - "Manassas had the first orchestra of any school in the city with Mr. Lunceford. He was a good disciplinarian, a good teacher, and the students just had a fit over him. Lunceford played sophisticated jazz. I used to practice with them." -Beloved Memphis Educator & Manassas High Class of 1932 Kathryn Perry Thomas
To All Those Hep Cats & Swing Fans Out There… The Jimmie Lunceford Jamboree Festival Would Like You To Help Us Help You Pay Homage To The True King Of Swing & His Tremendous Legacy…
We need those out there interested in this great man, visionary and humanitarian’s legacy to help us secure the funds necessary to continue the work that was begun by Mr. Lunceford over 80 plus years ago…The JLJF needs funds and sponsorships to carry out events and programs dedicated to introducing new fans to the genius of Lunceford as well as giving diehard fans another reason to promote the timeless quality of the Luncefordean Sound!
Please Take Advantage Of The Following Opportunities To Show Solidarity:
• Donate To The Jimmie Lunceford Jamboree Festival Via PayPal: Anything At All Is Better Than Nothing At All!
• If Snail Mail Is Your Thing Then Please Send Your Donations (monies, checks or money orders) to the following address: Ronald Herd II/R2C2H2 Tha Artivist P.O. Box 752062 Memphis,TN 38175
Thanks in advance and keep the music pulsating because rhythm is our business! Jazznocracily yours, Tha Artivist M.B.A. Founder Of The JLJF http://www.jimmieluncefordjam.blogspot.com
Who Is Emerson Able, Jr.? Just want to provide a history note of legendary Memphis music educator and practitioner Mr. Emerson Able, 2007 Jimmie Lunceford Legacy™ Awardee. He comes from a family of entertainers: his grandmother was a piano player and great friend of blues great Alberta Hunter and one of his uncles was a tap dancer in the groundbreaking Hallelujah! The first talkie Hollywood movie with an all Black cast filmed in Memphis...
He was the high school band instructor of Isaac Hayes and eventually kicked him out of the band due to him not taking it seriously. When Isaac recorded at Staxx, he hired Mr. Able to compose his music along with playing tenor saxophone in his band. Mr. Able is also one of the greatest Band instructors in Manassas’ and Memphis City Schools’ history, a position pioneered and started by Mr. Jimmie Lunceford, Memphis City Schools’ first high school band instructor.
As a student at Manassas High School, Mr. Able used to perform in the Manassas Rhythm Bombers Band…On occasion the band received encouragement and instruction from the great Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra when they visited Memphis.
This is just a small contribution that Mr. Able has given to music be it Jazz, Blues, etc. He has thousands and thousands of legacies who have learned from him or been impacted.
I heard him play at the Jimmie Lunceford Wreath Laying Ceremony in June and what a sound he has!
Please take the time to listen. We must learn our history in order to grow from it. It doesn't make any sense to start from scratch when you can learn from others. To Learn More About Mr. Emerson Able and Jimmie Lunceford please visit http://www.jimmieluncefordjam.blogspot.com
R2C2H2 Tha Artivist, the founder of the Jimmie Lunceford Jamboree Festival and an integral part of the Jimmie Lunceford Renaissance currently taken root in the Memphis, TN, area, immersed himself into the role of a swinging lifetime….The versatile Artivist brought Jimmie Lunceford back to life for several generations of fans as well as for the uninitiated and unaware at the 4th Annual Elmwood Cemetery Costume Twilight Tour…According to Elmwood Cemetery, more than 800 people attended the 4th Annual Costume Twilight Tour which made it the largest turnout ever…The real Jimmie Lunceford, arguably jazz’s greatest swing band leader, has been buried at Elmwood Cemetery for 62 years after dying under mysterious circumstances while signing autographs at a record shop before a concert engagement on July 12, 1947, in Seaside, Oregon…
R2C2H2 Tha Artivst assisted by Memphis music great Emerson Able and a small band of dedicated others , has been involved in an almost Herculean effort the last two years to get Memphis’ first true high school music band director better recognized in ‘the city of good abode’ where he started music education in the Memphis public city schools back in the 1920s at Manassas High School…This school by coincidence has been featured heavily in jazz and American music history and lore, producing a plethora of all time great musicians as diverse as Isaac Hayes, Booker Little, George Coleman, Hank Crawford and Vera Little…
Aided with trumpet, a snappy hep cat suit, a winning smile, limitless enthusiasm and encyclopedic knowledge of his subject, Tha Artivist was able to entertain a steady and large appreciative audience for three consecutive hours…Many audience members commented on how exceptional Tha Artivist captured the essence of the man as well as the spirit of the times…This was Tha Artivist first time doing this popular tour and this was Jimmie Lunceford's life story first time being included on the tour which included life stories of several other noted and famous Memphians buried in the historic and aesthetically acclaimed cemetery founded in 1852…
Longtime Memphis music patron, Luncefordphile, jazz aficionado and civic leader Dr. Vasco Smith moves the crowd with his emotional plea on why it is important to remember the genius of Jimmie Lunceford and why it is necessary to celebrate our other heroes and heritage.
Video: Dr. Vasco Smith Featured With Tha Artivist In Memphis City Schools Documentary "Jimmie Lunceford: A Memphis Legend":
I did not know Dr. Vasco Smith long, but I knew his kind well...Dr. Vasco Smith was not only a true public servant in the greatest meaning of the phrase, but he was a true Jazz head, a swinging cat who couldn’t blow per se, but who could blow your mind with what he knew and had to say, especially when it came to jazz…
Dr. Vasco Smith, who was married to Memphis civil rights legend Maxine Smith, was a student of the beautiful Crystal Tulli Lunceford, Jimmie Lunceford’s wife and a former English teacher at Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis,TN…
His jazz hero of course was the one and only James Melvin Lunceford a.k.a. Jimmie the true King Of Syncopated Rhythm and the Memphis Music Legend that time and people forgot, except for a few…Dr. Vasco Smith had a special connection to the Jimmie Lunceford legacy and story…Not only was he a diehard fan of the music of the great Mr. Lunceford, but he was also taught by the revered band leader’s beautiful wife Crystal Tulli Lunceford…For a time Mrs. Lunceford taught English at legendary Booker T. Washington High School, another Memphis City Schools’ fountainhead of creative genius and daring that shaped the cultural landscape of America and the world at large with its exceptional progeny with Dr. Vasco Smith counted among them…
When I first talked to Dr. Vasco Smith on the phone over a year ago it was truly a pleasant experience…I looked up his phone number in the white pages a.k.a. the phone book (this guy is truly old school…only real pillars of the community and public servants put their number in a place where they are accessible so that they can be reached and present on the scene when things are going both good and bad…take a note young people)…He also was a true feminist because the wife whom he beautifully supported & encouraged for 50 plus years, Memphis Civil Rights Legend Maxine Smith, was listed as the contact person in the phonebook…What impressed me most of all was Dr. Smith’s humility...In spite of all of his awards and accomplishments he just wanted me to call him Vasco…He did not like to put barriers between himself or others regardless of race, creed, age or socioeconomic background…Even though he was 89 years old when he died, he had the youthful vigor and curiosity of someone half or dare I say two thirds his age…
So needless to say it was a joy to finally meet him this June for the wreath laying tribute and ceremony for Jimmie Lunceford on the observation of his 107th birthday…He was both truly happy to see overdue homage finally being paid to this great man in the “city of good abode” where he started his legendary career, but he was also sad that more weren’t in attendance to give this man his just due in a city he immensely contributed to by starting music education in the public schools through his own means and initiative…He was fighting back tears as he spoke of how I should be commended for doing this service for our community…He described me as a Gabriele-like jazz trumpeter trying to call our people back home to our rightful place where they can understand who they were and are…
What strucked me the most was the comment my mom made to him during his talk about us not acknowledging and appreciating our history and heritage…My mom made reference to his and his wife’s incredible shared legacy of social justice and told him bluntly that if a man like Jimmie Lunceford can be forgotten then we can surely forget about their contributions as well because it is not being taught…Dr. Vasco Smith had a speechless, frozen and haunted look on his face as if he chillingly and vividly saw the future of what she prophesied flashed before his eyes…
Thinking about that unforgettable look now and his passing only a few months later lets me know that we all got a lot of work to do…
Bro. Vasco may you rest in peace knowing that you did all you possibly could with what you had…Thanks for passing the torch…Tell Mr. Lunceford to keep it swinging, tight, light and right…
See Also...
Dr. Vasco Smith: The Quiet Warrior...R.I.P.
For the best information about the great Jimmie Lunceford on the information highway go to the official Jimmie Lunceford website: http://www.jimmieluncefordjam.blogspot.com
Also view the great documentary “And Rhythm Was His Business: Jimmie Lunceford...A Memphis Music Legend” in three parts on the W.E. A.L.L. B.E. TV YouTube Channel:
From the Greatest Generation to the latest generation…From BeBop to Hip Hop…From Ebony to Ivory…From Congressman to everyman…From the young to the young at heart…From the uninformed to the initiated…All were represented and present on June 6, 2009, for the 107th Life Affirmation Day Celebration & Wreath Laying Tribute to jazz music great Jimmie Lunceford @ The Lord’s Chapel in historic Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis,Tn…It was a glorious sunny Saturday afternoon both literally and metaphorically for a man who is considered the Willie Mays of Swing, a five tool player who could do it all in terms of music and showbiz presentation…
Jimmie was not only a master showman, but also a master teacher because he assembled quite arguably the greatest jazz swing orchestra in history with the help of his former high school music students from Manassas High School in Memphis,TN, along with former college buddies from Fisk University…As a matter of fact Jimmie Lunceford was the first high school band director in Memphis City Schools history, but he wasn’t hired to be a music teacher…
Jimmie’s epic life story reads like a feature length movie with a Denzel Washington type-personality in the lead role produced by Walt Disney…It began June 6, 1902, in the cotton fields of Fulton, Mississippi (not Fulton, Missouri as so many articles and websites featuring his bio wrongly pass off as fact)…He is raised in the mountainous and atmospheric air of Denver, Colorado, where he is personally trained by master teacher Wilberforce Whiteman, Denver Schools Music Superintendent & the father of popular band leader Paul Whiteman the self-proclaimed King of Jazz…It is also evident that Jimmie is a naturally gifted athlete…He excels in football, track, baseball, basketball and boxing…However, his passion and legacy will be his music…
Since that time in the 1920s the seeds that were planted by the singular will and the creative force known as James Melvin Lunceford has produced successive crops of legendary musicians that have serenaded and marinated the world with their artistic genius…This list of greats from Manassas High include but are not limited to Isaac Hayes, Emerson Able, Hank Crawford, Frank Strozier, Harold Mabern, Booker Little, Charles Lloyd, George Coleman, Howard Grimes, Phineas Newborn, opera great Vera Little and a host of others worthy of any music hall or walk of fame…
Manassas High School has been recognized as a Jazz Mecca by many included jazz titan Miles Davis who had several key sidemen (saxophonists Frank Strozier, George Coleman & pianist Harold Mabern) come from the fabled school… In his autobiography Miles Davis wrote, “Before I left New York I had had tryouts for the band and that’s where I got all those Memphis musicians–Coleman, Strozier, and Mabern. (They had gone to school with the great young trumpet player Booker Little…and the pianist Phineas Newborn. I wonder what they were doing down there when all them guys came through that one school?)”…Many of these jazz greats were taught by legendary Manassas High School Band Director Matthew Garrett the father of jazz diva Dee Dee Bridgewater…
Before the King of Pop was put in the Guinness books for his generous efforts or even born for that matter, the true King of Swing, Jimmie Lunceford, was a well known philanthropist who gave large sums of money to start music education programs throughout the country…A true social worker and teacher to the end, he thought music could eliminate rampant juvenile delinquency and keep dropout rates low…When he came to Memphis to perform sold out concerts at the famous Robert R. Church Auditorium, he would also visit his old stomping grounds of Manassas High School to give free concerts and master classes to the eager & star strucked students…As matter of fact future music educator & Memphis music legend Emerson Able can recall vividly and fondly playing and listening to the greatly revered Lunceford Orchestra as a member of Manassas High School’s music group known as the Rhythm Bombers...Lunceford also wanted to start a retirement community for musicians and was looking for ways to invest his and interested band members’ monies so that they can live comfortable when they got older…
Being a true Renaissance man, Jimmie Lunceford owned and flew his own planes at a time when Blacks were not allowed to attend flight schools in America…
Unfortunately Jimmie died much too young…On July 12, 1947, he dropped dead while signing autographs at a record shop in Seaside, Oregon…Some believed that he was poisoned by a racist restaurant owner who had a problem serving Blacks…
In spite of all his fame and success (he was true jazz royalty and lived on Edgecombe Ave. in Harlem, New York’s fabled Sugar Hill neighborhood), Jimmie thought enough of his adopted hometown a.k.a. ‘The City Of Good Abode’ to be buried there…Unfortunately, the city did not think too much of her adopted native son and so his extraordinary legacy was somewhat buried alongside him for 60 plus years in a city better known for the blues, racial polarity and the premature deaths of kings (MLK & Elvis)…
With that said here are some highlights or rather high notes from our Jimmie Lunceford 107th Life Affirmation Day Tribute & Wreath Laying Ceremony @ the Lord’s Chapel in historic Elmwood Cemetery :
Alongside the art of the Renaissance Man known as R2C2H2 Tha Artivist is a beautiful designed and heavenly floral wreath by that Memphis floral institution known as Henley’s Flowers http://www.henleysflowers.com/…The establishment’s founder, the late Ms. Henley, was a true pioneer in the florist industry in Memphis as well as the wife of Jimmie Lunceford’s former music student and influential swing band drummer, Jimmie ‘Crawl’ Crawford…Talk about coming full circle!!!
The phenom known as PNut, Memphis rap’s version of a young Mozart, woos his longtime and new fans alike with his amazing free style and stage presence…Not too shabby for a 6 year old!!! Check out more from this freestyling prodigy on his MySpace and YouTube pages respectively:
http://www.myspace.com/pnutrappin http://www.youtube.com/user/pnutrappin
Memphis music icon & Luncefordphile No. 1 Emerson Able makes Beale St. talk with his beautiful tenor sax and his invaluable recollections of Jimmie Lunceford and Memphis music history from the African American perspective…
Longtime Memphis music patron, Luncefordphile, jazz aficionado and civic leader Dr. Vasco Smith moves the crowd with his emotional plea on why it is important to remember the genius of Jimmie Lunceford and why it is necessary to celebrate our other heroes and heritage.
Dr. Vasco Smith, who is married to Memphis civil rights legend Maxine Smith, was a student of the beautiful Crystal Tulli Lunceford, Jimmie Lunceford’s wife and a former English teacher at Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis,TN…
Working in the true Luncefordean tradition of excellence in music and music education, prolific gospel literary & performing artist Gloria McGhee and her youth group PADA (People Against Drug Abuse) http://www.freewebs.com/padaministries/ provides food for thought & the soul with their spirited gospel infused vocal ensemble performances…Church!!!
At Jimmie Lunceford’s earthly remains resting place with wreath and horn in hand, R2C2H2 Tha Artivist sums up the importance of memorializing Jimmie Lunceford not only as a great musician and teacher, but also as a fallen civil rights leader and visionary who used music to teach the world that there was a better way for us to live, thrive and jive together…Furthermore, R2C2H2 Tha Artivist encourages those at graveside to continue to make Jimmie Lunceford’s legacy a living one by promoting the teaching of African American history as well as sustaining the arts and the arts education in a community and city which is arguably America’s cultural crossroads!!!
He ends by playing a classy, brassy and jazzy swinging taps in the rendition of Jazz Cat No. 1, Louis Daniel ‘Satchmo’ Armstrong!!!
Special Thank Yous!!! Without the assistance of these folks and entities there wouldn’t have been a Jimmie Lunceford Wreath Laying Ceremony & Life Affirmation Celebration to speak of!!! In addition to those exceptional people mentioned in the summary above, The Jimmie Lunceford Jamboree Festival would like to extend a special thanks to the following:
* Elmwood Cemetery & Staff for providing us access to their exceptional beautiful chapel and cemetery free of charge!!!
http://www.elmwoodcemetery.org
* Bro. Grover Mosley for sharing his enthusiasm and collection of Jimmie Lunceford memorabilia.
* Bro. Kelvin Butler for his invaluable camera work in helping capturing history.
* Also everybody who took the time to just show up to be a part of not only history, but community we thank you all from the sincerest and greatest of places…In the words of the great Duke Ellington, “We Love You Madly!!!”
For the best information about the great Jimmie Lunceford on the information highway go to the official Jimmie Lunceford website: http://www.jimmieluncefordjam.blogspot.com
Also view the great documentary “And Rhythm Was His Business: Jimmie Lunceford...A Memphis Music Legend” in three parts on the W.E. A.L.L. B.E. TV YouTube Channel:
