(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
The Cheebacabra - The
Player's
Rendezvous
link]
Lou Vig - Can You Feel It?
Punam Verma - The Sweetest
Nectar
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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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