Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Able & Ready: A Conversion With Mr. Emerson Able, Jr., A Memphis Music Icon


Legendary Memphis Musician, Educator And 2007 Jimmy Lunceford Jamboree Festival Legacy Award Honoree Bro. Emerson Able And R2C2H2 Tha Artivist



Abel & Ready: A Conversion With Mr. Emerson Able, Jr., A Memphis Music Icon
View
Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNVmVE6arF0

Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OBHWnjnkmM

Part 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1ilzWnHu80


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

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