Mississippi Teachers at Nora's Ark Workshop

What a pleasure and honor it was to work with Mississippi Teachers at the Whole Schools Institute in Meridian, Mississippi July 19, 20 and 21.   3 hours a day for 3 days we worked on the workshop version of Nora’s Ark, the jazz musical by myself and Clifford Carlson.  Some folks started out with a lot of experience such as Karen, singer and music teacher from Nora Davis Magnet School in Laurel.  But there were others who never did anything like this before.  Most hands went up at the end of the 3 days when asked, “Who feels like they could put on a jazz musical like this with their class?”  So now we can’t wait to see how things unfold.  Where will the next Mississippi production of Nora’s Ark take place?  Thanks to Sonya Robinson, my partner teaching artist.  We couldn’t have done it without you.  And thanks to the Mississippi Arts Commission.  I’m honored and thrilled to be a part of this great gathering of teachers and artists!

Evan Christopher, clarinetist from New Orleans, and I had a ball playing a duo concert in the historic Riley Center.  What a hall…look Ma…no microphones!

Eli at Blues Alley, Washington DC, June 15, 2010

We had a great quartet gig at Blues Alley on June 15 with Todd Williams on saxophone, LaFrae Sci on drums and Amy Shook on bass.  As it turned out, the performance was exactly one year after my first trip to the White House for the White House Jazz Studio Event.  It’s been an incredible year and I thought I’d share my reflections excerpted from a piece I wrote for Maja Popovic’s Jazz Bulletin at the Cultural Center in Podgorica, Montenegro.  Most of the events I mention are covered elsewhere in the blog with photos and all…

….As I write this I am returning home from a one-month tour of Brazil and Chile with my blues band.  Like last May in the Balkans, we spent the month giving concerts and workshops, sharing our love of the blues, and passing along the great healing power of the music.  This year we met students from a favella in Brazil studying percussion and soon found ourselves collaborating with them in performance on an old ballad from the United States called “John Henry.” The song had terrific power with the traditional “maracatou” drums played by focused and talented youngsters.  In Chile, we visited 3 towns most impacted by the great Earthquake of 2010.  In Talca, Chillan and Curico, we saw homes passed down for generations in heaps of rubble.  And whereas thousands are still homeless, we couldn’t help but be incredibly inspired by the will and determination of the people to rebuild.  These places have evidence of the earthquakes devastating power everywhere, and at the same time are engaged in constant human movement towards regeneration and renewal.  We played blues by Robert Johnson, Taj Mahal and Elizabeth Cotten and played a song in Spanish by the Cuban composer Silvio Rodriguez called “Rabo de Nube,” which means “Tail of the Tornado.”  It is a song about new beginnings and people sang it with us.

Of course, we always close our show with the song I wrote with Clifford Carlson, “Healing Song.  By the end everyone sings the chorus together, “It’s not just a song for me.  Take a breath…and you will see.  Why the blues has the power to be.  A healing song.  A healing song.”  I remember when we sang that song in the workshop at the Cultural Center in Podgorica last May.  I remember the young people coming up to the microphone one by one to share their interpretation.  I loved how each voice was unique.  I loved the enthusiasm.  I loved the expression.  I remember how we all stood in the pit and did the “stomp/clap.”  It’s a tool from African American culture that has been used to get through very hard times and times of celebration.  I remember how quickly everyone made it their own and this became the basis of the rest of the work we did together.  I remember the smiles and enthusiasm of the young people at the end of the workshop.  This is the best attitude to embark on study.  Serious enthusiasm leads to serious inquiry and application.  Enthusiasm is a supreme motivator to face obstacles.  Joy is a great friend of true discipline.

It’s extraordinary to me how music unites us all over the world and especially blues and jazz.  In Santiago I befriended a 79-year old pianist named Giovanni Cultrera.  He told me “jazz is the most important cultural contribution to the world.”  I asked why and he replied, “Because it is universal expression.”  “It came from the human pain of the slaves.  And everyone experiences this pain sometimes.  Jazz offers a way to let it out and express it.”  I think Giovanni is correct and I saw it in Montenegro at the Cultural Theatre in Niksic.  When we performed “John Henry” there, I said, “John Henry represents man against the machine.  John Henry was a strong man.  Like a Montenegrin man.”  Sure enough I found a willing volunteer seated in the front row.  As he stood and unraveled himself upward we were quite a sight.  His stature about twice mine, together we led the audience to pick up their imaginary hammer and strike it with a deep sound from our center. “Ugh.”  Before long the whole room was vibrating.  This pulse, this heartbeat, ever present in the work songs, the spirituals and the blues has become great comfort to people all over the world, rich and poor, all colors, all religions, and undergoing many different varieties of stress. When we tune into the pulse of each other with feeling, we have a basis for continuity.  Everything that is perplexing, overwhelming, unsettling, may not have an immediate answer.  But when you put it in a song supported by this pulse and then expanded by a wail and a moan, before long, you have alchemy.  The atmosphere is changed.  Your body feels different.  You have new found hope and you feel it all around you.

Last June I was invited to the first White House Jazz Studio hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama.   In the Diplomatic Reception Room where our President hosts foreign heads of state, I conducted a 1-hour workshop with 45 students from several community music schools from Washington DC.  Again, we focused on the shuffle, the communal and personal expression of the blues.  We were all so blown away to have this experience in the home of the President of the United States and his family.

In December, I was invited back to the White House to perform in the East Room for several holiday parties.  It was the first time a jazz quintet such as mine was invited to play for these occasions.  You could see the look of delighted surprise as people came into the room.  We played Silent Night with a New Orleans beat, Duke Ellington Songs, my swing and bebop tunes and a whole lot of blues.  I was thrilled to see how well the music resonated in there.  One of the waiters, Ramses, was working his last week after 50 plus years of service.  He smiled ear to ear as we honored him with an original blues created in the moment with his name sung as swinging riff. “Ramses, Ramses, Ram (tu-tun) BAM.”  We met the President, First Lady, and many other honored guests.  In this White House, there is a clear sense that it’s all us that make our country what it is.  We make the most of the opportunities and challenges that come our way.

In college I learned about Duke Ellington and how after 10 bands declined the job, he happily accepted the “opportunity” to bring his band into the Cotton Club in Harlem to play for dancers in funny costumes.  Other bands didn’t want to be relegated to such a role.  Duke found the opportunity in it, created his so-called “jungle music” sound combining vulgar sounds with sublime, and ended up with weekly national radio broadcasts which later enabled him to tour and become a world renown composer and bandleader.

In my late 20’s I had my Cotton Club moment.  I was playing jazz gigs and musically directing the spring musical at the Louis Armstrong Middle School in Queens, NY, near the historic adult home of Louis Armstrong.  We did classic musicals like Guys and Dolls, Snoopy and Pajama Game.  It was fun, but something was missing.  These stories were from a different time and not relevant to our students.  And, even though it was the Louis Armstrong Middle School, the students didn’t know very much about jazz.  A teacher at the school named Clifford Carlson and I found the opportunity in this and started writing original jazz musicals for the kids to perform.  We wrote stories the kids could relate to and all the music was blues, bebop and swing.  The kids loved it and we mounted 9 original musical productions in 9 years.  With 50 kids on the stage dancing, singing and acting, and pit orchestras of students and adults playing together-sometimes as many as 19 strong, it was an extraordinary run.  Now we have a non-profit company to support the work called The Jazz Drama Program (www.thejazzdramaprogram.org), using the language of jazz to tell stories relevant to children’s lives.  So far we’ve had over 18 productions around the U.S. of our musicals and we just recorded our show, Nora’s Ark, with singers from the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, New York City’s leading training choir.

I can see it.  I can feel it.  I can hear it.  Young people all over the world singing the blues, sharing jazz language with each other.  They are singing, dancing, acting, playing instruments, writing songs, and challenging each other and themselves to go deeper.  Creating music of the moment.  Creating music that heals.  Creating music and experiences that bond us together.   These efforts eradicate loneliness, activate the imagination and create long lasting friendships.  Jazz is precious language of the spirit and non-denominational.  It is timeless and it is for all human beings everywhere.  When we feel that swinging, shuffling beat.  When we let out a cry and a moan in a song we are connected again.  Connected to each other.  Connected to our history and to the promise of the future.

Eli Yamin catches the spirit. Photo by Melissa Morano

Why do I LOVE the blues so much?

It’s the universal language of the heart. It brings people together and makes them happy. It’s full of passion, spirit, harmony, melody and rhythm.  So much RHYTHM!

We spent the final week of the tour giving workshops and concerts in Santiago and around Santiago.  What a gas it was connecting with all the jazz and blues people.  Here are a handful of our new friends.  Te quiero con locura!

Eli Yamin gives workshop at Pro Jazz, Santiago, Chile

Eli Yamin Blues Band Workshop becomes a Hootenany!

Bob Stewart sheds light on the blues at workshop at Pro Jazz, Santiago, Chile

Kate McGarry goes for deep soul at Pro Jazz, Santiago, Chile

LaFrae Sci activates the shuffle at Pro Jazz, Santiago, Chile

Eli Yamin with George Abuhele Bus, Director of Pro Jazz, Santiago, Chile

We had an equally ecstatic time at our workshop and concert at Universidad Mayor in Santiago, Chile.  These young people are so receptive for blues rhythm.  There was so much joy in the room.  Check it out…

Click here to view the embedded video.

South America's leading jazz and blues aficionado, Jose "Pepe" Hosiasson in his Attic Jazz Laboratory

My new friend from Santiago, 79-year old pianist Giovanni Cultrera, told me, “jazz is the most important contribution to world culture.”  When I asked him why, he replied, “because it’s universal expression.  It comes from the mental pain of the slaves.  Everyone one experiences mental pain sometimes and jazz provides the release.”

Giovanni Cultrera jamming in his home with Eli Yamin, Santiago, Chile

Bob Stewart, Kate McGarry, LaFrae Sci, U.S. Ambassador to Chile Paul Simons and his wife-Victoria Cardenas Simons, Eli Yamin

This band was a dream to be on the Rhythm Road with.  Such high artists.  Teachers, Players.  Always embodying the full spirit of the music.  The month was manna from Heaven.  Thank-you Bob Stewart, Kate McGarry and LaFrae Sci.  May our musical offering resound through the spheres and bring happiness and understanding in it’s path.  May our friendships create lasting growth and support throughout the years to come.  I love you madly!

Eli Yamin Blues Band in Chile-Bob Stewart, LaFrae Sci, Eli Yamin, Kate McGarry

Municipal Theatre, Hemicicio Plaza, Central Square, Iquique, Chile

After our show in Curico, we headed North to Iquique, Chile.  Our concert was on the in front of the Municipal Theatre in Hemicicio Plaza, Central Square.  It was organized by the great jazz and blues enthusiast, Alvaro Gomez.

Eli Yamin and Alvaro Gomez

We met many eager young musicians after the show and of course, invited them to an impromptu workshop/jam session at the hotel.

Eli Yamin and youngsters in Iquique, Chile

LaFrae and young drummer in Iquique, Chile

LaFrae with young drummer at soundcheck in Iquique, Chile

Bob Stewart at soundcheck in Iqiuque, Chile

Eli Yamin, LaFrae Sci schoolin' some youngsters on the blues after the show in Iquique, Chile

LaFrae Sci, Eli Yamin, Kate McGarry and young musicians in Iquique, Chile

So do we and Fishin’ Blues is perfect for the occasion.  The message of the song is “many fish bite if you’ve got good bait.”  We love singing this song as much as we love PESCADO FRITO!

Here are two clips from Southern Chile.  The first is a performance live on the radio in Chillan and the second is from concert performance at the library in Curico.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Bob Stewart in Curico

Curico was also hit hard by the Earthquake.  We can only imagine how unsettling this is to the residents here.

Cracked wall in Curio

Crumbled roof in Curico

Church in Curico

After taking this all in we arrived at the Library where our concert was to take place.  Next door to the library was a building full of music…

Fundacion de Orquestas Juveniles, Curico, Chile

We were surprised to find students in the First Lady of Chile’s Program, Fundacion de Orquestas Juvenile.  Modeled after El Sistema in Venezuela, young people all over the county are studying strings.  We were especially touched when the students came by our soundcheck to play us a couple of songs including a soul stirring Chilean folk song.  Here’s a clip of these amazing young people.  The importance of their music making in the wake of the earthquake couldn’t be more clear…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Talca, Chile, hardest hit by Earthquake of 2010

Talca, Chile May 2010

Talca, Chile May 2010

We arrived here Wednesday and saw many devastated buildings.  The only place the concert could be held was in an art gallery.  The gallery was gorgeous, decked out with super-fine works of art both modern and classic.  Again, Chileans blew us away with their resilience.  Life is incredibly vibrant here.  And the will of the people is strong.  The concert was a circle of strength and joy in our community together in music!

Kate demonstrates kazoo in Talca

Talcans blowing the blues away!

Eli sharing the blues with Mical Marchant, a talented student from Universidad Autonoma.

Talca Audience

Jennifer Viau and Sandra Perroni, our great support team from the U.S. Embassy in Santiago

Hold up your hammer, it is time to build again!

Eli Yamin Blues Banner in Talca, Chile

Pablo Neruda's House, Santiago

Arrived in Chile last Saturday.  Had a day to visit Pablo Neruda’s house in Santiago then headed South to the area hardest hit by the Earthquake in late February.  We have been blown away by the warmth of the people down here.  Chileans LOVE the BLUES!

Eli Yamin at Municipalidad de Chillan, Our concert was the first since the earthquake. Over 400 people turned out. Hats off to the resilience of Chileans!

LaFrae Sci at Municipalidad de Chillan

Audience in Chillan at Municipalidad de Chillan

Eli after concert with piano student

Click here to view the embedded video.

HEALING SONG, from the jazz musical, Message From Saturn

by Eli Yamin and Clifford Carlson

Portuguese translation by Edvaldo Amorim

“It’s not just a song for me
Take a breath and you will see
Why the blues has the power to be
A healing song, a healing song.”

“Não é só uma canção prá mim
Respire e você vai ver
Porque o Blues tem o poder de ser
Uma canção… que nos cura.”

Eli Yamin Blues Band Press Conference in Manaus, Brazil

We arrived in Manaus to a press conference in the airport and what do you know, these reporters were prepared with good questions.  I’ll scan the articles when I can.  Thing is, you’ll need to read Portuguese to understand them.  We love the headline, “O JAZZ COMO PODER DE CURA.” “Jazz is able to be a cure.”

We played 2 concerts and gave 2 workshops at the ICBEU center.  We also took a boat trip into the Amazon.  What an extraordinary place!

Eli Yamin Blues Band in the Amazon

King of Amazon

We made new friends at ICBEU including Tiago and Paoula, who I invited along with a guitarist to help us teach the audience “Freight Train” by Elizabeth Cotten.  This is the song that got in my bones when I was a child, and never left.  It’s why I’m here today.  Hats off to Elizabeth Cotten.  You have literally taken me around the world!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Eli Yamin Blues Band at ICBEU in Manaus with Tiago and Paula

Eli Yamin and friends teach the audience "Freight Train" in Manaus, Brazil

As the concert picked up the pace, we were so knocked when our friend “Hoochie” and others started dancing…

Audience dancing in Manaus

Eli Yamin Blues Band in Manaus, Brazil

We could not have wished for a better send off from Brazil.  We sure will miss this place.  Many thanks to everyone who supported our workshops, concerts and traveling including Mercia Preto, Cultural Coordinator at ICBEU, Manaus, Conradu Blasi, Cultural Affairs Assistant and Tara Rougle, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Embassy, Brasilia.

Eli Yamin and Mercia Preto, Cultural Coordinator ICBEU, Manaus, Brazil

Eli Yamin Blues Band with Tara Rougle, U.S. Embassy