The Jazz Foundation of America presented the 13th annual ‘A Great Night in Harlem’ gala concert to benefit their Jazz Musicians Emergency Fund.
Scheduled performers and presenters included Quincy Jones, Bruce Willis, Chaka Khan, Jorge Luis Pacheco, The Heath Brothers (Jimmy & Tootie Heath), Matthew Whitaker, Charles Bradley, Verdine White, Questlove, Buster Williams, Justin Kauflin (from the Clark Terry documentary “Keep On Keepin On”) and more. This year, The Jazz Foundation honord Herbie Hancock with their Lifetime Achievement Award from Quincy Jones. Hancock lead an all-star tribute to beloved trumpeter Clark Terry. Ten-time Grammy Award winner Chaka Khan paid homage to Maurice White of Earth, Wind and Fire with help from special guests.
The Source Magazine was on the scene of course. Read highlights from the evening below!
To warm up the crowd for the main event, 13-year old Apollo organ player veteran Matthew Whitaker started off with Michael Jackson’s “Baby Be Mine” on the keyboard. This boy may be young, but his skill exceeds many older musicians. His sense of rhythm and his style of performance made the audience fall in love with him right out of the gate. He then played “Never Too Much” by Luther Vandross and was just as amazing. Afterwards he performed Sergio Mendez’s “Mas Que Nada” which got the crowd all jazzed up. He then improved a little and then finished his performance with his own piece entitled “Matt’s Blues.” The amazing thing about this young and talented musician is that he is also blind, but that didn’t stop him from giving the performance of his life during this pre-show opening.
The show started off with executive producers of the show Dick Parsons and Mike Novogratz talking a little bit about the foundation and thanking the generous people who donated to this great cause. They were then followed by “Die Hard” actor Bruce Willis. He gave a small speech talking about medical professionals who have donated their time to aiding musicians in need of medical assistance. He then awarded the Medicine for Music Award to Dr. Frank Forte, Michael Pietrowicz, and Tom Senter of Englewood Hospital and Medical Center. These three doctors graciously accepted the award and talked about how important their mission is to help musicians in need.
Afterwards, concert director and creator, Wendy Atlas Oxenhorn spoke about the many people who have donated their money and time to their cause. To this foundation, musicians are the hidden healers of our time due to the fact that music has always been an outlet to express ourselves in the best and worst of our lives. They have many goals one of which is to prevent homelessness and evictions of musicians by paying their rents and mortgages. Another goal is to create dignified works of music by providing instruments to schools to encourage children to embrace their musical talents as well as performing concerts to introduce children to the wonderful world of music. Similarly, they also provide free medical care and operations with the help of their partners at Englewood Hospital and lastly they strive to help musicians with illnesses, who are facing hunger, and who have been affected by accidents and other crisis strikes. They have helped over 1,000 musicians in New Orleans find work and homes after the disaster of Hurricane Katrina struck. Their work has changed the lives of not only musicians but their families and other loved ones as well.
Following that speech, vocal powerhouse Angelique Kidjo performed a stunning tribute to Nelson Mandela. Her voice moved the entire audience and it was a phenomenal way to start off the concert. Following Kidjo was the Montreux Jazz Piano Competition winner who came straight from Cuba, Jorge Luis Pacheco Trio. This was actually their first Apollo performance. They played an original song entitled, “Con El Pache Me Voy,” and this performance was incredible. Pacheco is extremely exceptional when it comes to playing the piano. The sound he was able to draw out from the piano was beautiful and is a piece that can only be described as stellar.
Next, Princess Julie of Luxembourg gave a speech about her experience being a part of the Jazz Foundation. She described the impact that this foundation has made on people’s lives, and her being a major contributor to this foundation, she praised the efforts of all the workers and how dedicated they are to this great cause. After her speech was finished, the audience was treated to a tribute video to the late Little Jimmy Scott, someone who is, without a doubt, one of the greatest jazz vocalists to ever grace the stage. The video let audiences see one of Scott’s last performances on stage, and it was such an amazing experience to be able to witness such a legend do what he does best.
Jazz legend Quincy Jones then gave a speech about how important the Jazz Foundation is and why people should donate to this amazing cause. He also gave note about how the passing of Little Jimmy Scott was such a tragedy but at the same time spoke about his accomplishments and how he changed the way jazz music was seen. The speech he gave was short but sweet and really helped the audience understand how jazz music is such a vital part of American culture.
After Jones’ speech, director Alan Hicks gave a preview of his new film called, “Keep On Keepin’ On,” which is a film based on a true story. It follows the life of a blind piano prodigy, Justin Kauflin, and his legendary mentor Clark Terry. This film touched audiences by the way it depicted the way that Terry gave hope to Kauflin after he lost his sight. Due to health issues, Terry was also left physically impaired. This film shows how the power of music and love can change people’s lives and it fit perfectly into the evening and reminded guests the importance of this foundation’s work.
After those touching speeches, the audience was treated to a performance by all-star jazz legends in tribute to trumpeter Clark Terry which featured Jimmy Heath, Tootie Heath, Buster Williams, Herbie Hancock, and Wallace Rooney who all played the song “Gingerbread Boy.” Each performer gave a terrific solo where each instrument was given the spotlight. After each person performed their solo the band all came together in what can be considered one of the greatest jazz performances that has ever graced the Apollo theater stage.
Questlove then came on stage to introduce what was one of the most anticipated performances of the night. Chaka Khan and Verdine White performed to pay homage to Maurice White of Earth, Wind, and Fire with help from Ray Parker Jr., Angelique Kidjo, Questlove, Steven Jordan, and Paul Shaffer. They performed the song “Earth, Wind, and Fire” in tribute of the band and this performance was exceptional. Chaka Khan was better than ever and Verdine White being the band leader made things even more exciting. After they finished their song, the crowd cheered for more and so they gave an encore performance of “Shining Star” by Earth, Wind, and Fire. It was so intense that mostly everyone in the crowd got up out of their seats and danced along. After Verdine was done speaking on Maurice’s behalf, Wendy Oxenhorn presented Verdine with his own Lifetime Achievement Award, to which he graciously accepted. “It’s a great night. All the great people are here, all of the musicians are here, so it’s great. Jazz is America’s pastime and it’s a great thing,” Verdine told us.
Charles Bradley, the veteran soul man, performed his song, “The World” and it was just as great as the performance before him. The amount of soul and heart he put into his performance is one that needs to be commended the most. His performance was intense but in the best way possible.
Next on the list was a tribute to star backup singer Babi Floyd. A video of him was shown during his last performance before he passed away, which was actually a year ago on this exact stage for this same event. The video also cut to one of his signature performances which was an excellent touch to the tribute video. His son then spoke about Babi and all the help that the Jazz Foundation did to support him in his time of need. They gave him all the company in the world and made his final moments one of the happiest of his life.
Next up was a performance from 10 year old pianist Joey Alexander to which Bruce Willis also introduced. Joey was discovered by none other than Herbie Hancock and Herbie has been an influence on Joey for most of his musical career. Joey Alexander performed the song “Round Midnight” to which Joey played so well that even Herbie was amazed at how well he was playing. Needless to say, the audience was in awe to how skillful this 10 year old boy was. After Joey’s performance was over, actor Bruce Willis presented Herbie with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Herbie gave a speech about how his life has been changed by music and how great this Foundation’s cause is to the community. Upon accepting his reward he reunited his infamous band, Mwandishi, for the first time in 50 years to play the song, “Toys.” The performance was fantastic. The sound was amazing and it was a once in a lifetime kind of performance. Right after, Herbie and the Headhunters performed the hit song, “Chameleon” to which the entire crowd was struck with excitement. Once Herbie left the stage, the concert was finished off with Susan Tedeschi playing the blues, and the calming sound was the perfect way to finish off the concert and the night.
Needless to say, The Jazz Foundation has taken on a noble cause and deserves all the support it can possibly get.
-Vinesh Vora
