(Long Island, N.Y.)
On Friday, May 23rd the second graders at the Holliswood School in
Jamaica Estates will be honoring a jazz legend. The
second graders in Ms. Passarella's class have been learning about
different genres of music for the past two years, but have been most
impressed with the work of saxophonist John Coltrane. There will be
many activities that children will be organizing to raise the profile
of the legend. All of this stands on a foundation of teaching
children the joy of philanthropy. The program is a kick off
fundraiser to help in the effort to save the home of John Coltrane. The
home is a landmark in Dix Hills, Long Island waiting to be transformed
into a historic home, but funds are sorely needed to continue this
effort! “
Our task is to restore the home to the way it was when the Coltrane
family lived there and open it to the public as a historic home to
educate children and all people about John and Alice Coltrane and their
life’s mission to be a force for good through their
music,†said Steve Fulgoni the Director of the nonprofit
The Friends of the Coltrane Home. For further information on saving the
home of John Coltrane go to www.dixhills.com. The press is welcome on
May 23rd at 1:00pm in the Holliswood School auditorium, located at
189-10 Radnor Road, Jamaica Estates, Queens.
The children will be singing original lyrics that they wrote to the
sounds of jazz musician Lou Vig, who will be present playing guitar.
The children have been working with his music since first grade in a
multiple intelligences learning environment. The class has been
together for two years in a looped classroom and now will apply all of
their learning in this wonderful project. They also choreographed
dances for the event. First working with ballroom dance teacher Michael
Pagan, the students then interpreted what they learned to create their
own dances in honor of John Coltrane. |
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Dancing In
The Streets Podcast #3
[08-04-06]
In this third episode we interview local R & B and Motown
music mainstay Gary Martin. We discuss the early days of
rhythm and blues on the Chicago music scene, the halcyon days
of the Toronto music scene, and the new Funk Brothers Jr.
music program. We also review a couple cool
tunes.3.
Besides being a genuine R&B
original, Gary Martin plays some of the snappiest rhythm
guitar I've ever heard. His band, "The Heavenly Blues" plays
all those favorite R&B classics such as Mustang Sally,
etc. but with their own high energy signature infused into
the arrangements. If you like to dance, this is definitely
the band for you. Next weekend, check out the Heavenly
Blues!
Catch Gary Martin and The Heavenly
Blues band every Saturday and Sunday at the
Bowness Hotel as well as Sunday night at
Kitt's on 16th. Check local listings for
additional dates, including their upcoming
appearance at the Calgary Blues Festival
featuring blues legend Johnny
Winter.
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Gary's Links (Check 'em
out!)
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People and places
mentioned in this podcast
include:
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The Funk Brothers, Joe Hunter,
Eddie Kendricks, Motown Records,
Freddie King, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Dawkins,
Albert Collins, Cheebacabra, Lou Vig,
Sugar Blue, Kid's Help Line, Hubert
Sumlin, Rick James, Bootsy Collins,
James Jamerson, Blood Sweat and Tears,
Anne Murray, Lenny Breau, Martha
Reeves, The Emotions, Jackson 5, The
Regal Theater, David Clayton Thomas,
Aretha Franklin, The Squeeze, Vertigo
Theater, The Olive Grove, The Rose and
Crown, Kitt's on 16th, The Bowness
Hotel. |
Credits
This show was written and produced by Corey
Milner for Music Calgary. The music used in
this podcast as well for the song reviews, is
"podsafe" audio licensed under a Creative
Commons agreement. Click here for
more on Creative Commons licensing. Click here
to visit podsafeaudio.com. Here are
individual credits for the artists and songs
which appear on this weeks podcast. Please
support them and buy a CD if you can. Because
more music = better world. :)
Mark Scott LaMountain
- Blue Thunder Boogie [web link]
The Cheebacabra - The
Player's Rendezvous [web link]
Lou Vig - Can You Feel It?
[web link]
Punam Verma - The Sweetest
Nectar [web link}
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Civil Rights Hero Ruby Bridges Visits our Kids and Teaches a
Powerful Lesson
Posted by: christineforcoltrane
on:
March 20, 2011
Painting by Norman Rockwell
Ruby Bridges visits the
Holliswood School. In this photo happy students stand with
Principal Mrs. Ambert, Assistant Principal Mr. Chin, Parent
Coordinator Mrs. Corley, and Ms. Ruby Bridges. Photo by their
teacher, Ms. Passarella who felt it was an honor and a privilege to
hear Ms. Bridges tell her incredible story of courage and
determination to the children first hand. The Kids for Coltrane
students gave Ms. Bridges a gift of song when they presented her
with a CD of their precious voices singing an original song written
in her honor. (For more on learning through music, see the
songwriting page.)
On March 16, 2011 the Holliswood
School had a special guest speak with the students. Civil rights
hero Ruby Bridges came in from New Orleans to present her life
story to the children. Students in grades two through five were
present at this unique assembly in which Ms. Bridges asked critical
thinking questions engaging the audience filled with students,
teachers and administrators All of the classes prepared themselves
by learning the story of her journey, and read the books she had
written. Meeting Ms. Bridges was a personal dream of mine. Every
year as I teach another group of children about Ms. Bridges, I have
learned something more about her life, and my understanding has
grown deeper. I always connect the history lessons learned in her
story to our character education lessons. This year I decided to
write a song in honor of Ms. Bridges and her teacher Ms. Henry. My
students were able to express the emotions of what they were
learning about Ruby by singing what she has meant to our country. I
asked musician Louis Vignapiano who is a champion of the Kids for
Coltrane Project in Education to write a tune for us. After
studying her life, he was moved on a deep level and wrote a
touching tune that resembled the sounds in a music box. He called
it "A Child of Ours". It was perfect for what we were feeling about
Ruby and her teacher Ms. Henry. I proceeded to write the lyrics
which were connected to the lessons I taught the children about
little Ruby.
In 1960, when Ruby was six years old
her actions helped change the world. There was still segregation in
some states in the country, and although the law had been changed
through the case Brown v Board of Education there were still some
people who did not want desegregation. With the help of the Supreme
Court, President Kennedy, and determined American citizens, change
did in fact occur. Ruby was one of the first African American
students put into this position of change in her community. Her
family had the incredible courage to send little Ruby into a
situation which was very dangerous, but they knew change must
happen for justice and liberty for all. For many months this little
girl was escorted into the school building with armed United States
marshals for her protection. Ms. Bridges told the audience a white
mob would scream at her every day for a year. They even had a real
child's coffin with a doll in it, and one woman showed her a rope
to represent hanging. It was very hard to hear. I could not hold
back the tears as she presented the story. But it was also a story
of amazing hope. Her Caucasian teacher Ms. Henry stood by her. She
made learning fun, and loving each day, even though for many months
Ruby was alone in the school building. Eventually the white
children came back to school, and the mob went away. Some of the
white families had wanted to send their children earlier but were
threatened by the mob.
Today the schools in this country
are desegregated and offer children equal opportunities. Ms.
Bridges told the children to give each other a chance. She
connected her words to those of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who
wanted people to judge one another by the content of their
character. Ms. Bridges spoke for two hours and told her story in
details that shone a light on the harshness of racism. And she
brought us to a place of hope by example. One of my students
Kennedy gave her a bouquet of flowers. Kennedy who is a Haitian
American, told her dad if it wasn't for Ruby her class which is
made of many races couldn't have been together. Her dad told me she
picked out her outfit a month before so she could look just right
for meeting such a special lady. We also gave her a CD of my
students who are nicknamed "the Kids for Coltrane" singing "A Child
of Ours". Kids for Coltrane are… Kids for
caring, curiosity, and creativity. It was wonderful to hear that
Ms. Bridges and Ms. Henry are still great friends. They were
brought back together on the Oprah Winfrey show after many years
and remain very close. I want to thank my principal Mrs. Ambert for
valuing my request to bring Mrs. Bridges to our school. With the
support of the administration, parents, teachers and students this
incredible learning experience was realized at the Holliswood
School. We know that the children will always keep in mind Ruby's
words to give one another a chance. We are grateful to Ms. Ruby
Bridges for making her way to our school to help our children learn
a lesson that they will never forget. For more on Ruby go to my
links section and click on her official page.
By Ms. Passarella
Drawing by Louis
Vignapiano
The House unanimously
passsed H.Res. 894, honoring the 50th anniversay of the Miles Davis
recording Kind of Blue and reaffirmed jazz as a national
treasure. Leading this effort was Representative John Conyers Jr.
of Michigan. This album brought jazz into the mainstream and
influenced musicians all over the world. Miles Davis recorded this
masterpiece with his sextet which consisted of John Coltrane,
Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and
Jimmy Cobb. I called Representative Conyers office to thank him for
his dedication to jazz and tell him about the Kids for Coltrane. To
help celebrate this special honor, I plan on going to see and hear
Jimmy Cobb at the Iridium in New York City this weekend. I will
certainly share Kind of Blue with my young
students.
Louis Vig and the Debut Band playing
John Coltrane songs for the children. The children were treated to
an exquisite jazz performance.
The Kids for Coltrane and the
Holliswood school community enjoying the sweet sounds of
jazz.
It was such a treat for me and the
Kids for Coltrane to hear master guitarist Louis Vignapiano perform
live on this spectacular evening. During the year the children and
I write lyrics to his instrumental songs as we explore different
ways to write a story.
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