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Thursday, October 15, 2015 For Immediate Release
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Musician's tribute to Joseph 'Smokey' Johnson Friday at Charbonnet-Labat Funeral Home
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Call for musicians; Friday, October 16, 2015 @ 6:00 pm
Charbonnet-Labat Funeral Home, 1615 St. Philip St., New Orleans
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Musical tribute, funeral services announced for Fats Domino drummer Joseph 'Smokey' Johnson
Alison Fensterstock| Special to The Advocate
 NEW ORLEANS - Funeral services and a musical tribute for veteran New Orleans drummer Joseph "Smokey" Johnson, who died Oct. 6 at age 78, were announced Monday.
"Smokey" Johnson, a lifelong resident of New Orleans, was a childhood student of the legendary Joseph S. Clark High School music teacher Yvonne Busch. He went on to provide the beat for "Sugar Boy" Crawford's Cha-Paka Shaweez, Dave Bartholomew, Eddie Bo and most famously, Fats Domino's band, where he occupied the drum stool for 28 years.
Johnson is heard on a laundry list of classic New Orleans R&B tracks, including Earl King's "Trick Bag" and his own enduring composition "It Ain't My Fault," which has become both a local brass band standard and, more recently, a popular source of samples for rappers.
In the early 1960s, Johnson famously accompanied a group of New Orleans musicians, including King, Kidd Jordan, Wardell Quezergue, Johnny Adams and others on a trip to the Motown studios in Detroit.
Music industry lore has long held that though only Earl King was signed as a result of the jaunt, label founder Berry Gordy kept Johnson in Detroit for months to study his singular technique on the drums.
Smokey Johnson was born on Nov. 14, 1936, to the late Joseph Johnson Sr. and Rinda (Pattie) Williams Johnson. He is survived by his wife, Gwendolyn P. Johnson, and children, Sandra J. Jones, Deborah (Barry) Fisher, Baton Rouge; Joy Wooten, Bridget (Tommie) Wiley; Juan (Resa) White and Gizelle (Ryan) Johnson-Banks, as well as stepchildren Darren and Stephen (Cathy) Perkins and Yolanda White.
He is also survived by seven grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Johnson will be honored Tuesday evening, Oct. 13 as part of the neighborhood's Night Out Against Crime celebration, at the Donald Harrison Sr. Mardi Gras Indian Museum at 1930 Independence St.
The event takes place from 5-7 p.m., with free books for adult and children, red beans and rice and a barbecue. A drum tribute to Johnson is scheduled for 5:15-5:30.
A viewing and musical tribute Johnson is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 16 at the Charbonnet-Labat Funeral Home (1615 St. Philip St.) from 6-9 p.m. Funeral services will take place at the Asia Baptist Church (1400 Sere St.) at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, with visitation beginning at 8 a.m.
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Simply Irma: Grammy Award winner Irma Thomas will play herself in this musical production that documents the pitfalls and successes of her dramatic music career. You will sing and dance in the aisles to her many hits, such as
It's Raining, You Can Have My Husband, Ruler of My Heart, I Wish Someone Would Care, Hip Shaking Mama, and many more!
The unrivaled Soul Queen of New Orleans -- a title officially bestowed by local officials is New Orleans' most enduring musical ambassador. "She remains one of America's most distinctive and classic singers, a treasure from the golden age of soul music who remains as compelling and powerful as ever..." says Rounder Records.
HistoryMakers reports, "Blues vocalist Irma Thomas was born Irma Lee on February 18, 1941, in Ponchatoula, Louisiana. She was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and attended New Orleans' McDonald 41 public school. Thomas displayed her early vocal talents as a teen. She sang with a Baptist church choir and a gospel quartet at Home Mission Baptist Church. Her very first recording was a school song, which was recorded at Cosmo's studio with fellow classmates. At the age of eleven, Thomas won The Ritz Theater's talent night and two years later, she auditioned for Specialty Records.
Her big break came in 1959 when she captured the attention of band leader Tommy Ridgley while she was a waitress at New Orleans' Pimlico Club. Thomas offered to sing with Ridgley and his band against the wishes of her boss, who fired her for singing instead of waiting on tables. Ridgley arranged a recording contract for her with a local label, Ron Records. Her debut single, Dorothy LaBostrie's "You Can Have My Husband, But Please Don't Mess With My Man" hit #22 on the Billboard R&B charts in May 1960. Thomas felt that Ron Records did not pay her the royalties she deserved, so she left them to join the Minit record label. Most of her early 1960s Minit recordings were written and produced by Allen Toussaint and were strong regional sellers. In 1963, Minit was bought by Imperial Records. Thomas' first single with Imperial, "Wish Someone Would Care," was the biggest hit of her career and reached #17 on Billboard's pop charts in the spring of 1964. Thomas released nine singles and two albums during her three-year period with the Imperial label. During the 1960s, Thomas was a popular performer on the Southern college circuit. In 1970, Thomas moved to California where she worked at a department store and as an automobile parts salesperson. During this time, she continued working club dates on weekends and also recorded for several labels, including Atlantic Records in 1971. In the mid-1970s, she moved back to New Orleans where she remained popular as a live performer.
Her comeback as a recording artist started in 1986 when she produced an album,
The New Rules, with Scott Billington of Rounder Records. Thomas received her first Grammy nomination in 1991. She received her second Grammy nomination in 1998 along with Marcia Ball and Tracy Nelson. She has continued to maintain an active recording and touring schedule since. Thomas married her manager, Emile Jackson, in 1977. Together, they owned and operated a night club in New Orleans called the Lion's Den until it was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Thomas has a total of seven children."
The Anthony Bean Community Theater (ABCT) was established in Spring 2000 to meet the growing demands of New Orleans area residents seeking a quality, culturally diverse, performing arts venue. The theater also met the needs of individuals seeking to learn the art of acting, set design and theatre management. In recent years, ABCT has become a vehicle to enter New Orleans' booming "Hollywood South" film industry.
'Simply Irma' opens November 6 - 15 at ABCT. Hurry and order your tickets now! Limited Seats Available! Purchase tickets by calling 862-PLAY or on line at
www.anthonybeantheater.com
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Stephanie Jordan amazed at Katrina 10 Signature Commemorative Event
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| Stephanie Jordan performing 'Home' at Katrina 10 Commemorative |
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By Vincent T. Sylvain, New Orleans Agenda
NEW ORLEANS - Just as she had ten years ago at an event held at Jazz at Lincoln Center dedicated to the victim and survivors of hurricane Katrina, jazz vocalist Stephanie Jordan helped frame the moment of the evening at "The Power of Community: Katrina 10 Commemoration" on August 29, 2015 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
Jordan said "I was honored to have been asked by Mayor Mitch Landrieu to sing the classic tune "Home" from the Broadway musical "The Wiz" during the commemoration. I struggled with the idea of including "Home" on my tribute CD to Lena Horne. But at that time the tune was too emotional for me to sing publicly so chose only to include "Believe in Yourself" and allowed that tune to carry me through my rebuilding efforts.
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| Stephanie Jordan on C-Span |
"During my days of wandering through the streets of my temporary home in Silver Spring, Maryland following hurricane Katrina, I would constantly sing both songs to myself. Vividly recalling how Glinda, the Good Witch of the South (Lena Horne), would sing to Dorothy (Diana Ross); "Believe that you can go home..." and Dorothy closing with the classic "Home."
Here we are ten years later and now I can finally sing the words:
When I think of home
I think of a place where there's love overflowing
I wish I was home
I wish I was back there with the things I been knowing...
If you're list'ning God
Please don't make it hard to know
If we should believe in the things that we see
Tell us, should we run away
Should we try and stay
Or would it be better just to let things be?"
"I hope to convey the spirit and steadfast faith of the people of New Orleans through my music and in particular the message of this song" said Jordan.
Accompanied by Emmy-award winning arranger Mike Esneault on piano, the Stephanie Jordan Big Band included members Marlon Jordan and Bobby Campo on trumpet, Clarence Johnson and Trevarri Huff-Boone on sax, BJ McGibney on trombone, Chris Severin on bass, Charlie Denard on keyboard, drummer Miles Labat, and Rachel Jordan, Amy Thiaville, and Danielle Ryce on violins, she delivered an amazing performance which resulted in the audience responding with a heartfelt standing ovation.
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Stephanie Jordan with President Clinton following her performance,
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During the keynote address, former President Bill Clinton declared his love for this City and particularly his love for jazz. He called for a "new unity" in New Orleans and reminded the audience that "the word 'community' contains the word 'unity.' This community would not be broken. Your heritage runs deep. Thank you for your spirit of resilience. Thank you for being an inspiration to America."
The event was hosted by award-winning journalist Soledad O'Brien and held on the official anniversary of Katrina's landfall, at the Smoothie King Center. In addition to the Stephanie Jordan Big Band, musical and cultural performance included Multi-Grammy nominated R&B and jazz recording artist Ledisi; Grammy winners Rebirth Brass Band; John Boutte; Tonya Boyd Cannon, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux; Warren Easton Charter High School Marching Band and Dumpstaphunk.
Other speakers included Louisiana's Congressman Cedric Richmond, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California), and a host of faith leaders and advocates who over the last ten years helped the City recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
Earlier during the day, more than 10,000 volunteers took part in volunteer projects throughout the city. Among those in attendance were former Louisiana Governor, Kathleen Blanco, former US Senator Mary Landrieu; Representatives Shelia Jackson Lee and Maxine Waters; Councilmembers Susan Guidry, Jared Brossett, and James Gray; Jefferson Parish President John Young, Plaquemines Parish President Amos Cormier, Tangipahoa Parish President Gordon Burgess, and a number of other New Orleans area elected officials.
Stephanie Jordan, whom critics have placed in the company of Diana Krall and Dianne Reeves, began to receive noted prominence following the national televised Jazz at Lincoln Center Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert for victims of Hurricane Katrina. "On that memorable night; none sang with greater authority or emotional resonance than Stephanie Jordan, who enthralled the packed house and a national PBS NPR audience of millions with an ascendant reading of "Here's To Life."
Bill Milkowski of JazzTimes magazine continued, "Stephanie Jordan, a standout here, was the real discovery of the evening. Her haunting rendition of this bittersweet ode associated with Shirley Horn was delivered with uncanny poise and a depth of understated soul that mesmerized the crowd and registered to the back rows. Singing with a clarity of diction that recalled Nat "King" Cole . . ."
Recognized internationally, the Sud Ouest French publication calls her "unbelievably superb." The Washingtonian Magazine labeled her "JAZZHOT." Audix Microphones has dubbed her "Lady Jazz!"
Jordan is the fifth performer to emerge from a family of New Orleans bred musicians. As the daughter of saxophonist Sir Edward "Kidd" Jordan, Stephanie's musical roots run deep. Her siblings include flutist Kent, trumpeter Marlon, and classical violinist Rachel Jordan. A graduate of Howard University, Stephanie is also a certified fitness instructor and creator of the exercise technique known as Jazz Pilates.
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AUDIX MICROPHONES:
Meet Lady Jazz - Stephanie Jordan
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| Stephanie Jordan on the Audix OM6 at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2015 (Photo credit: Eric Waters). |
AUDIX MICROPHONES (June 2015) - Stephanie Jordan is a powerhouse of dynamic musicality, a modern and unique voice shining through the long, storied history of jazz music. In performance as well as one-on-one she is humble but strong, gentle but full of power-a dichotomy that makes its way into her own performance, carefully crafted over many years of many audiences.
Stephanie grew up in the rich musical environment of New Orleans, in a family who played a variety of instruments-yet she describes herself as an "accidental singer," someone who wanted to sing, but didn't think she could. That changed one night on her birthday, at a club where her brother was playing. He asked her to sing a song with him, and her career was born.
Her philosophy on singing comes from many hours of listening to the radio, when radio was great-singers like Chaka Kahn, Gladys Knight, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and many R&B groups in the 70s. "When I would listen to the radio," she says, "you had to really sing to be played. Nowadays, you can go record an album and they can doctor your voice up in the studio. Back in the day, that didn't happen-people had to sing." Though she loved R&B, she was surrounded by New Orleans jazz, and jazz is what got into her blood.
She is said to be true to the jazz tradition, but she is also willing to take chances. "It doesn't have to be a 'jazz song' for me to sing it. If I can hear jazz in a song-if it's a good song, and if I can feel it in my heart-I just want to sing it."
Stephanie has forged her path steadily, with a career spanning nearly 25 years. "When you're a jazz singer, it doesn't happen overnight. I've been a lot of places, I've done a lot of singing, but I had to grow up in the music." Her configuration has evolved along with her show, starting as a duo, then a trio, then with quartets and quintets behind her. Now she has an entire ensemble-a five-piece horn section, and a quartet of piano, bass, drums, and guitar.
Now, a few years after her latest release, Yesterday When I Was Young: A Tribute To Lena Horne, she's ready to head back to the studio again, this time with original music as well as interpreting other women composers such as Joni Mitchell, Abby Lincoln, Erykah Badu, Nina Simone. "I'm examining compositions by women because I think it's important that women's voices are heard and that we tell our own story. A lot of jazz songs, which are great songs, are really written by men. And women singers have made a lot of those songs really famous-like Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, some of the greatest composers of jazz, their music would have been an obscurity because the songs really aren't that hip without the interpretation of those women. But I think right now, jazz today has to be about women writing their own songs."
She speaks of unique challenges in the world of jazz music that women face today. "Jazz is a very male-dominated industry.... But women have to understand that when you're a singer, you have to get out there and just create your own way."
A way that she chooses to keep fresh and relevant, finding the balance between pleasing a jazz audience with "jazz standards," but also reaching out and cultivating a new audience, drawing younger people into the music. "That's how the music is going to stay alive. You can't just keep doing the same old stuff in the same old way and expect your audience to grow."
Stephanie has been using the Audix OM6 for her vocals since she first was introduced to the mic at the Jazz Fest in New Orleans several years ago. "The first time I used an Audix mic, I immediately noticed-'Wow, something's different. What is this microphone?!'" After talking to her sound technician, she knew she had found the mic she had been waiting for. The issues she had run into before-feedback, lack of clarity-were not a problem with the OM6. "When I have my Audix mic, the show is just effortless. It picks up everything...I don't have to push. I even love what I hear in the monitor, and that makes a big difference in how you perform. Some microphones just have to do too much to get what you want...when I'm using my Audix, I get the sound I want."
In her performances, she ranges from very controlled, quiet notes, but her voice also grows to a powerful intensity. The OM6 can handle all of it. "I like a microphone that can really switch up and do that for me, and allow me to go from zero to 100 at any moment if I want to. I love the flexibility of this mic."
"As a singer, and as a human being, I just have a whole lot to do! It keeps you moving, always a new project. You gotta keep moving."
AUDIX MICROPHONES
StephanieJordan.com
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Najee Travels The Globe Creating New Album,
"Me, You & Forever"
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By Roland Martin, NewsOne Now
Jazz saxophonist
Najee recently joined
Roland Martin on
NewsOne Now to talk about his career in music and his new album,
Me, You and Forever.
From spine-tingling slow jams ("Butterfly Girl," the waltz and wedding-ready titile track) to the giddy, improvisational tracks "Spectrum" and "Jannah" (the latter is so off-the-cuff that you can hear them cracking on one another at the end), Najee's
You, Me and Forever will slip into the playlist as easily as any of its predecessors and become a grown and sexy summer staple for 2015. In an era where the music industry seems to cannibalize the vets in favor of the newbies, Najee has little to worry about: after all, his skill-set is well-honed, the crown is well-earned and the legacy will endure...Forever.
Najee told Martin this album differs from his other musical masterpieces by way of the creative process he went through for the project. "I did this record all over the world," he said.
"I went to London, recorded over there. I went to New York, I went to Dallas, Los Angeles ... Honestly, it was just a lot of fun - just took some chances, really - that's what it was. [I] collaborated with different people I hadn't worked with and had known for many years, and this is probably the first record that I don't have a major superstar, like a Eric Benet, or somebody like that."
In lieu of superstars, Najee said he was seeking different sounds and introduced "people who happened to be in the industry like
Andrea Wallace, who's worked with
Kirk Franklin and the Family." The longtime soprano saxophonist made mention of vocalist and guitarist Chuck Johnson, who has toured with him for seven years, as another artist that he introduced on
Me, You and Forever.
Watch Roland Martin and jazz saxophonist Najee talk about his new album
Me, You and Forever in the video clip above.
Don't miss Najee playing a little sumpin' sumpin' at the end of his chat with Martin.
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The Multi-Platinum & Multi-Grammy Nominated Instrumentalist is back with his new album "YOU, ME, AND FOREVER" featuring "soulful vocalist" Frank McComb, "Pieces of A Dream" James Lloyd and "producer" Robert Damper.
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