NO GRAMMY FOR MARVIN SAPP?: Grammy Awards official explains the reason 'Never Would Have Made It' wasn't nominated.
*A Brooklyn street vendor is standing in 30 degree weather peddling Hip Hop mix tapes and DVDs from a six-foot table.
Encircled by a variety of CDs of Black motivational speakers and President-elect Barack Obama's acceptance speech, there are some CDs bearing a guy on the cover wearing what resembles a zoot suit.
Referring to the music coming from his speakers the vendor hollers in a New York drawl, almost yawning the vowels: "Got that 'Maaavin Saaapp!'"
Translation: "Marvin Sapp," who is the Pastor of Lighthouse Full Life Center Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan and noted gospel artist. He is the man smiling on the cover of the CD, the voice behind one of the most popular gospel recordings ever. A former member of Detroit-based gospel group Commissioned, the album "Thirsty" is Sapp's 7th musical undertaking in his solo career. The song blasting through the speakers is "Never Would Have Made It," the uber-popular lead single.
In 2008, Marvin Sapp was to music what President-Elect Barack Obama was to politics, a phenomenon. As one of the hottest musical commodities of 2008, the album sat high among the hodgepodge of selections at this make-shift record store, just as it engrossed spins at mainstream urban AC station, KJLH-FM to become the first gospel single to hold the #1 position.
That's only the beginning of the impact "Never Would Have Made It" has had.
The record-breaking track spent over 40 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's gospel radio charts, successfully crossed-over to No. 1 on the urban adult contemporary chart, maintained the No. 1 position in Gospel radio for over 6 months, making it the longest number one song in the history of the Nielsen BDS Gospel Chart, plus the inspiring ballad became the longest running No. 1 single at radio across all genres in the history of Billboard analysis.
(Incidentally, many would argue that this was the top gospel recording of the year, but it never mentioned the words that some say define a song as a gospel song: "Jesus" or "God.")
While its simple refrain, "never would have made it without you," resonated deeply with everyday people who could feel the weight of a suffering economy, a dramatic election competition and a war that seems to have no end in sight, it also touched the hearts of famous rappers Lil' Wayne and Nellie who were moved to lift their hands in worship when Sapp performed the song at the 2008 BET Awards. Sapp was honored with BET's Best Gospel Aryist Award that night and leads the list of Gospel music's Grammy equivalent, The Stellar Awards with a whopping 9 nominations.
Understandably so ... There is something special about this song that brings about a universal connection, although it penetrates on a personal level. I personally hadn't seen nor felt this type of energy from a recording since "We Are the World."
Yet, even with the stream of unprecedented accolades there is a level of honor the song will never attain--the coveted Grammy Award.
"Never Would Have Made It" never made it onto the 2009 Grammy ballot.
Here's how the got nixed:
Unlike any other award show, the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) issues the Grammy award based strictly on peer recognition--it is not a popularity contest or based on chart status or record sales. The basic eligibility requirements are to have nationwide commercial distribution or for digital releases to be available on a Web site other than the artist's personal Web site such as CD Baby, Amazon.com or Itunes.
"Peers" are producers, song-writers, artists etc. who are dues paying members of the organization allowed to vote.
In Sapp's case, "What happened was ... " Bill Freimuth, NARAS Vice President, Awards explains, "It didn't really take off in the public consciousness until this year."
The album was nominated in the Best Traditional Gospel category last year (for 2008) and re-entered for 2008, which is allowed in the allotted 2-year submission window. It was disqualified because continues Freimuth, "The live version was on the album that was entered into the process in the previous year."
Essentially, the song had not peaked in mass popularity and did not receive enough votes the first time around and was disqualified in round 2, although it achieved public acclaim, because it was the same performance of the song according to Freimuth.
It's an unfortunate reality that artists run into all the time, Freimuth says. As another example, "Alternative rock group MGMT, for the album Oracular Spectacular expected that they would be nominated but were disqualified because of a previous entry,” Freimuth stated.
"We live and die by our rules and we publish them to makes sure that everybody making the decisions knows."
The bottomline in Freimuth's opinion is that time was not on Marvin Sapp's side.
Pastor Sapp had not responded to an interview request by press time.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Music Sales Fell in 2008, but Climbed on the Web
Music Sales Fell in 2008, but Climbed on the Web
By BEN SISARIO
Published: December 31, 2008
Sales of recorded music fell sharply in 2008, as consumers continued to migrate away from the CD format, large retailers reduced floor space for music and the recession dampened consumer spending during the critical year-end holiday shopping period.
Skip to next paragraph
Chris Pizzello/Associated Press
Chris Martin and Coldplay had 2008’s No. 2-selling album.
Related
The Top-Selling Albums of 2008 (January 1, 2009)
Music: My Music, MySpace, My Life (November 9, 2008)
Times Topics: Coldplay Lil Wayne
Total album sales in the United States, including CDs and full-album downloads, were 428 million, a 14 percent drop from 2007, according to data from Nielsen SoundScan. Since the industry’s peak in 2000, album sales have declined 45 percent, although digital music purchases continue to grow at a rapid rate.
The year’s biggest seller was Lil Wayne’s album “Tha Carter III” (Cash Money/Universal Motown), which sold 2.87 million copies, followed by Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends” (Capitol), with 2.14 million. “Fearless” (Big Machine), the second album by the 19-year-old country star Taylor Swift, was third, with 2.11 million. (Ms. Swift also scored the sixth-highest seller this year, for her self-titled debut, released in 2006, which sold 1.6 million copies in 2008.)
The music industry has grown accustomed to dismal sales numbers, and this year even the good news comes with disappointment. “Tha Carter III” is the first release in SoundScan’s 17-year history to top the year-end list with sales of less than 3 million.
Sales of digital music continued to rise steeply last year. Just over a billion songs were downloaded, a 27 percent increase from 2007, and some record companies say they are finally beginning to wring significant profits from music on Web sites like YouTube and MySpace.
But analysts say that despite the growth and promise of digital music — in 2003 just 19 million songs were purchased as downloads — the money made online is still far from enough to make up for losses in physical sales.
“As the digital side grows, you get a different business model, with more revenue streams,” said Michael McGuire, an analyst with Gartner, a market research firm. “But do we get back to where the revenue that the labels see is going to be fully replacing the CD in the next four to five years? No.” Gartner recently issued a report urging record companies to put their primary focus on downloads.
Record companies counter that album sales alone do not give a full picture of the complex new economics of the industry. Rio Caraeff, the executive vice president of Universal Music Group’s digital division, eLabs, said other income, like the fees collected when users stream a video online, had become an essential part of the pie. Twenty percent of Rihanna’s revenue, he said, has come from the sale of ring tones.
“We don’t focus anymore on total album sales or the sale of any one particular product as the metric of revenue or success,” Mr. Caraeff said. “We look at the total consolidated revenue from dozens of revenue lines behind a given artist or project, which include digital sales, the physical business, mobile sales and licensing income.”
Even as most of the industry pushes for greater online sales, two of the biggest albums of the year were by artists who have been vocal opponents of downloading. Kid Rock’s “Rock N Roll Jesus” (Atlantic) reached No. 4 with just over 2 million sales, and AC/DC’s “Black Ice” (Columbia), sold through an exclusive deal with Wal-Mart, was No. 5 with 1.92 million.
Neither act sells its music through Apple’s iTunes, the dominant online seller. AC/DC has said that selling individual tracks breaks up the continuity of a full album. But à la carte downloads are also far less lucrative than full CDs.
At least one sector of the music industry has continued to enjoy robust success: the concert business. Ticket sales in North America in 2008 rose at least 7 percent, to $4.2 billion, according to Pollstar, the touring-industry trade magazine. But in keeping with the trend of recent years, slightly fewer tickets were sold for more money: attendance for the top 100 tours dropped 3 percent, but the average ticket price climbed 8 percent, to $66.90.
The record industry has been eager to share in touring’s bull market, and many of the major labels’ new contracts are for so-called 360 deals, which give the company a much wider share in an artist’s income, from touring to merchandising to product endorsements. But those types of contract are still far from the norm.
Despite the growth of online music sales, CDs remain by far the most popular format, although that hold is slipping; 361 million CDs were sold in 2008, down almost 20 percent from the previous year. About 84 percent of all album purchases were CDs, down from 90 percent the year before.
And since CDs remain the record industry’s biggest profit engine, many analysts worry that the industry will be particularly vulnerable to inventory reductions at retail stores. Big-box stores like Wal-Mart and Best Buy account for up to 65 percent of all retail purchases, and many of those stores are sharply reducing the floor space allotted to music, said Richard Greenfield, a media analyst at Pali Research in New York.
“CDs no longer drive somebody into a store on Tuesday,” Mr. Greenfield said, referring to the day new CDs usually go on sale. “So the big risk for 2009 is that you will see even more rapid contraction of floor space, as CDs really go out of sight, out of mind for the consumer.”
The Top-Selling Albums of 2008
Published: December 31, 2008
1. LIL WAYNE, “Tha Carter III” (Cash Money/Universal Motown); 2.87 million
2. COLDPLAY, “Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends” (Capitol); 2.14 million
3. TAYLOR SWIFT, “Fearless” (Big Machine); 2.11 million
4. KID ROCK, “Rock N Roll Jesus” (Atlantic); 2.02 million
5. AC/DC, “Black Ice” (Columbia); 1.92 million
6. TAYLOR SWIFT, “Taylor Swift” (Big Machine); 1.6 million
7. METALLICA, “Death Magnetic” (Warner Brothers); 1.57 million
8. T. I., “Paper Trail” (Grand Hustle/Atlantic); 1.52 million
9. JACK JOHNSON, “Sleep Through the Static” (Brushfire/Universal); 1.49 million
10. BEYONCé, “I Am ... Sasha Fierce” (Music World/Columbia); 1.46 million
Source: Nielsen SoundScan
By BEN SISARIO
Published: December 31, 2008
Sales of recorded music fell sharply in 2008, as consumers continued to migrate away from the CD format, large retailers reduced floor space for music and the recession dampened consumer spending during the critical year-end holiday shopping period.
Skip to next paragraph
Chris Pizzello/Associated Press
Chris Martin and Coldplay had 2008’s No. 2-selling album.
Related
The Top-Selling Albums of 2008 (January 1, 2009)
Music: My Music, MySpace, My Life (November 9, 2008)
Times Topics: Coldplay Lil Wayne
Total album sales in the United States, including CDs and full-album downloads, were 428 million, a 14 percent drop from 2007, according to data from Nielsen SoundScan. Since the industry’s peak in 2000, album sales have declined 45 percent, although digital music purchases continue to grow at a rapid rate.
The year’s biggest seller was Lil Wayne’s album “Tha Carter III” (Cash Money/Universal Motown), which sold 2.87 million copies, followed by Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends” (Capitol), with 2.14 million. “Fearless” (Big Machine), the second album by the 19-year-old country star Taylor Swift, was third, with 2.11 million. (Ms. Swift also scored the sixth-highest seller this year, for her self-titled debut, released in 2006, which sold 1.6 million copies in 2008.)
The music industry has grown accustomed to dismal sales numbers, and this year even the good news comes with disappointment. “Tha Carter III” is the first release in SoundScan’s 17-year history to top the year-end list with sales of less than 3 million.
Sales of digital music continued to rise steeply last year. Just over a billion songs were downloaded, a 27 percent increase from 2007, and some record companies say they are finally beginning to wring significant profits from music on Web sites like YouTube and MySpace.
But analysts say that despite the growth and promise of digital music — in 2003 just 19 million songs were purchased as downloads — the money made online is still far from enough to make up for losses in physical sales.
“As the digital side grows, you get a different business model, with more revenue streams,” said Michael McGuire, an analyst with Gartner, a market research firm. “But do we get back to where the revenue that the labels see is going to be fully replacing the CD in the next four to five years? No.” Gartner recently issued a report urging record companies to put their primary focus on downloads.
Record companies counter that album sales alone do not give a full picture of the complex new economics of the industry. Rio Caraeff, the executive vice president of Universal Music Group’s digital division, eLabs, said other income, like the fees collected when users stream a video online, had become an essential part of the pie. Twenty percent of Rihanna’s revenue, he said, has come from the sale of ring tones.
“We don’t focus anymore on total album sales or the sale of any one particular product as the metric of revenue or success,” Mr. Caraeff said. “We look at the total consolidated revenue from dozens of revenue lines behind a given artist or project, which include digital sales, the physical business, mobile sales and licensing income.”
Even as most of the industry pushes for greater online sales, two of the biggest albums of the year were by artists who have been vocal opponents of downloading. Kid Rock’s “Rock N Roll Jesus” (Atlantic) reached No. 4 with just over 2 million sales, and AC/DC’s “Black Ice” (Columbia), sold through an exclusive deal with Wal-Mart, was No. 5 with 1.92 million.
Neither act sells its music through Apple’s iTunes, the dominant online seller. AC/DC has said that selling individual tracks breaks up the continuity of a full album. But à la carte downloads are also far less lucrative than full CDs.
At least one sector of the music industry has continued to enjoy robust success: the concert business. Ticket sales in North America in 2008 rose at least 7 percent, to $4.2 billion, according to Pollstar, the touring-industry trade magazine. But in keeping with the trend of recent years, slightly fewer tickets were sold for more money: attendance for the top 100 tours dropped 3 percent, but the average ticket price climbed 8 percent, to $66.90.
The record industry has been eager to share in touring’s bull market, and many of the major labels’ new contracts are for so-called 360 deals, which give the company a much wider share in an artist’s income, from touring to merchandising to product endorsements. But those types of contract are still far from the norm.
Despite the growth of online music sales, CDs remain by far the most popular format, although that hold is slipping; 361 million CDs were sold in 2008, down almost 20 percent from the previous year. About 84 percent of all album purchases were CDs, down from 90 percent the year before.
And since CDs remain the record industry’s biggest profit engine, many analysts worry that the industry will be particularly vulnerable to inventory reductions at retail stores. Big-box stores like Wal-Mart and Best Buy account for up to 65 percent of all retail purchases, and many of those stores are sharply reducing the floor space allotted to music, said Richard Greenfield, a media analyst at Pali Research in New York.
“CDs no longer drive somebody into a store on Tuesday,” Mr. Greenfield said, referring to the day new CDs usually go on sale. “So the big risk for 2009 is that you will see even more rapid contraction of floor space, as CDs really go out of sight, out of mind for the consumer.”
The Top-Selling Albums of 2008
Published: December 31, 2008
1. LIL WAYNE, “Tha Carter III” (Cash Money/Universal Motown); 2.87 million
2. COLDPLAY, “Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends” (Capitol); 2.14 million
3. TAYLOR SWIFT, “Fearless” (Big Machine); 2.11 million
4. KID ROCK, “Rock N Roll Jesus” (Atlantic); 2.02 million
5. AC/DC, “Black Ice” (Columbia); 1.92 million
6. TAYLOR SWIFT, “Taylor Swift” (Big Machine); 1.6 million
7. METALLICA, “Death Magnetic” (Warner Brothers); 1.57 million
8. T. I., “Paper Trail” (Grand Hustle/Atlantic); 1.52 million
9. JACK JOHNSON, “Sleep Through the Static” (Brushfire/Universal); 1.49 million
10. BEYONCé, “I Am ... Sasha Fierce” (Music World/Columbia); 1.46 million
Source: Nielsen SoundScan
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Freddie Hubbard, Jazz Trumpeter, Dies at 70
Freddie Hubbard, Jazz Trumpeter, Dies at 70
By PETER KEEPNEWS
Published: December 29, 2008
Freddie Hubbard, a jazz trumpeter who dazzled audiences and critics alike with his virtuosity, his melodicism and his infectious energy, died on Monday in Sherman Oaks, Calif. He was 70 and lived in Sherman Oaks.
Jack Vartoogian/FrontRowPhotos
Freddie Hubbard performing at Iridium in New York last year.
The cause was complications of a heart attack he had on Nov. 26, said his spokesman, Don Lucoff of DL Media.
Over a career that began in the late 1950s, Mr. Hubbard earned both critical praise and commercial success — although rarely for the same projects.
He attracted attention in the 1960s for his bravura work as a member of the Jazz Messengers, the valuable training ground for young musicians led by the veteran drummer Art Blakey, and on albums by Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and many others. He also recorded several well-regarded albums as a leader. And although he was not an avant-gardist by temperament, he participated in three of the seminal recordings of the 1960s jazz avant-garde: Ornette Coleman’s “Free Jazz” (1960), Eric Dolphy’s “Out to Lunch” (1964) and John Coltrane’s “Ascension” (1965).
In the 1970s Mr. Hubbard, like many other jazz musicians of his generation, began courting a larger audience, with albums that featured electric instruments, rock and funk rhythms, string arrangements and repertory sprinkled with pop and R&B songs like Paul McCartney’s “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” and the Stylistics’ “Betcha by Golly, Wow.” His audience did indeed grow, but his standing in the jazz world diminished.
By the start of the next decade he had largely abandoned his more commercial approach and returned to his jazz roots. But his career came to a virtual halt in 1992 when he damaged his lip, and although he resumed performing and recording after an extended hiatus, he was never again as powerful a player as he had been in his prime.
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard was born on April 7, 1938, in Indianapolis. His first instrument was the alto-brass mellophone, and in high school he studied French horn and tuba as well as trumpet. After taking lessons with Max Woodbury, the first trumpeter of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, at the Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Music, he performed locally with, among others, the guitarist Wes Montgomery and his brothers.
Mr. Hubbard moved to New York in 1958 and almost immediately began working with groups led by the saxophonist Sonny Rollins, the drummer Philly Joe Jones and others. His profile rose in 1960 when he joined the roster of Blue Note, a leading jazz label; it rose further the next year when he was hired by Blakey, widely regarded as the music’s premier talent scout.
Adding his own spin to a style informed by Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Clifford Brown, Mr. Hubbard played trumpet with an unusual mix of melodic inventiveness and technical razzle-dazzle. The critics took notice. Leonard Feather called him “one of the most skilled, original and forceful trumpeters of the ’60s.”
After leaving Blakey’s band in 1964, Mr. Hubbard worked for a while with another drummer-bandleader, Max Roach, before forming his own group in 1966. Four years later he began recording for CTI, a record company that would soon become known for its aggressive efforts to market jazz musicians beyond the confines of the jazz audience.
His first albums for the label, notably “Red Clay,” contained some of the best playing of his career and, except for slicker production and the presence of some electric instruments, were not significantly different from his work for Blue Note. But his later albums on CTI, and the ones he made after leaving the label for Columbia in 1974, put less and less emphasis on improvisation and relied more and more on glossy arrangements and pop appeal. They sold well, for the most part, but were attacked, or in some cases simply ignored, by jazz critics. Within a few years Mr. Hubbard was expressing regrets about his career path.
Most of his recordings as a leader from the early 1980s on, for Pablo, Musicmasters and other labels, were small-group sessions emphasizing his gifts as an improviser that helped restore his critical reputation. But in 1992 he suffered a setback from which he never fully recovered.
By Mr. Hubbard’s own account, he seriously injured his upper lip that year by playing too hard, without warming up, once too often. The lip became infected, and for the rest of his life it was a struggle for him to play with his trademark strength and fire. As Howard Mandel explained in a 2008 Down Beat article, “His ability to project and hold a clear tone was damaged, so his fast finger flurries often result in blurts and blurs rather than explosive phrases.”
Mr. Hubbard nonetheless continued to perform and record sporadically, primarily on fluegelhorn rather than on the more demanding trumpet. In his last years he worked mostly with the trumpeter David Weiss, who featured Mr. Hubbard as a guest artist with his group, the New Jazz Composers Octet, on albums released under Mr. Hubbard’s name in 2001 and 2008, and at occasional nightclub engagements.
Mr. Hubbard won a Grammy Award for the album “First Light” in 1972 and was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2006.
He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Briggie Hubbard, and his son, Duane.
Mr. Hubbard was once known as the brashest of jazzmen, but his personality as well as his music mellowed in the wake of his lip problems. In a 1995 interview with Fred Shuster of Down Beat, he offered some sober advice to younger musicians: “Don’t make the mistake I made of not taking care of myself. Please, keep your chops cool and don’t overblow.”
Jazz great Freddie Hubbard dead at 70 By JOHN ROGERS – Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Grammy-winning jazz musician Freddie Hubbard, whose style influenced a generation of trumpet players, has died at age 70. Hubbard's manager, David Weiss, says the musician died Monday at Sherman Oaks Hospital in Los Angeles. He had been hospitalized since suffering a heart attack last month. Although he had been in declining health in recent years, Hubbard continued to perform until just a few months ago. Known for both the intensity of his playing, as well as his melodic style, Hubbard's last concert was in June in New York at a party celebrating the release of his final album. He won a Grammy in 1972 for best jazz performance by a group for the album "First Light."
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (7 April 1938 – 29 December 2008)[1] was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 60s and on. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives for modern jazz and bebop.[2]
Hubbard started playing the mellophone and trumpet in his school band, studying at the Jordan Conservatory with the principal trumpeter of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. In his teens Hubbard worked locally with brothers Wes and Monk Montgomery and worked with bassist Larry Ridley and saxophonist James Spaulding. In 1958, at the age of 20, he moved to New York, and began playing with some of the best jazz players of the era, including Philly Joe Jones, Sonny Rollins, Slide Hampton, Eric Dolphy , J. J. Johnson, and Quincy Jones. In June 1960 Hubbard made his first record as a leader, Open Sesame, with saxophonist Tina Brooks, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Clifford Jarvis.
Then in May 1961, Hubbard played on Ole Coltrane, John Coltrane's final recording session with Atlantic Records. Together with Eric Dolphy, Hubbard was the only 'session' musician who appeared on both Ole and Africa Brass, Coltrane's first album with ABC/Impulse! Later, in August 1961, Hubbard made one of his most famous records, Ready for Freddie, which was also his first collaboration with saxophonist Wayne Shorter. Hubbard would join Shorter later in 1961 when he replaced Lee Morgan in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He played on several Blakey recordings, including Caravan, Ugetsu, Mosaic, and Free For All. Hubbard remained with Blakey until 1966, leaving to form the first of several small groups of his own, which featured, among others, pianist Kenny Barron and drummer Louis Hayes.
It was during this time that he began to develop his own sound, distancing himself from the early influences of Clifford Brown and Morgan, and won the Downbeat jazz magazine "New Star" award on trumpet.
Throughout the 1960s Hubbard played as a sideman on some of the most important albums from that era, including, Oliver Nelson's The Blues and the Abstract Truth, Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage, and Wayne Shorter's Speak No Evil.[4] He recorded extensively for Blue Note Records in the 1960s: eight albums as a bandleader, and twenty-eight as a sideman.[5] Though Hubbard never fully embraced the free jazz of the '60s, he appeared on several landmark albums in the genre: Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz, Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch, and John Coltrane's Ascension.
Hubbard achieved his greatest popular success in the 1970s with a series of albums for Creed Taylor and his record label CTI Records. Although his early 1970s jazz albums Red Clay, First Light, Straight Life, and Sky Dive were particularly well received and considered among his best work, the albums he recorded later in the decade were attacked by critics for their commercialism. First Light won a 1972 Grammy Award and included pianists Herbie Hancock and Richard Wyands, guitarists Eric Gale and George Benson, bassist Ron Carter, drummer Jack DeJohnette, and percussionist Airto Moreira.[6] In 1994, Freddie, collaborating with Chicago jazz vocalist/co-writer Catherine Whitney, had lyrics set to the music of First Light.[7]
[edit] Later career
During 1970-1974 Hubbard was the biggest star of the CTI label, overshadowing Stanley Turrentine, Hubert Laws, and George Benson.[8] Columbia's VSOP: The Quintet, album was recorded from two live performances, one at the Hearst Greek Theatre, University of California, Berkeley, on July 16, 1977, the other at the San Diego Civic Theatre, July 18, 1977. Musicians joining the trumpeter for this landmark performance were the members of the mid-sixties line-up of the Miles Davis Quintet (except the leader): Herbie Hancock on keyboards, Tony Williams on drums, Ron Carter on bass, and Wayne Shorter on tenor and soprano saxophones. [2]
In the 1980s Hubbard was again leading his own jazz group, attracting very favorable notices for his playing at concerts and festivals in the USA and Europe, often in the company of Joe Henderson, playing a repertory of hard-bop and modal-jazz pieces. Hubbard played at the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival in 1980 and in 1989 (with Bobby Hutcherson). He played with Woody Shaw, recording with him in 1985, and two years later recorded Stardust with Benny Golson. In 1988 he teamed up once more with Blakey at an engagement in Holland, from which came Feel the Wind. In 1990 he appeared in Japan headlining an American-Japanese concert package which also featured Elvin Jones, Sonny Fortune, pianists George Duke and Benny Green, bass players Ron Carter, and Rufus Reid, with jazz and popular music singer Salena Jones. He also performed at the Warsaw Jazz Festival at which Live at the Warsaw Jazz Festival (Jazzmen 1992) was recorded.
Following a long setback of health problems and a serious lip injury in 1992 where he ruptured his upper lip and subsequently developed an infection, Hubbard was again playing and recording occasionally, even if not at the high level that he set for himself during his earlier career. [9] His best records ranked with the finest in his field.
In 2006, The National Endowment for the Arts honored Hubbard with its highest honor in jazz, the NEA Jazz Masters Award.
On December 29, 2008, Hubbard's hometown newspaper, The Indianapolis Star reported that Hubbard died from complications from a heart attack suffered on November 26 of the same year.[11] Billboard magazine reported that Hubbard died in Sherman Oaks, California.[12]
[edit] Discography
By PETER KEEPNEWS
Published: December 29, 2008
Freddie Hubbard, a jazz trumpeter who dazzled audiences and critics alike with his virtuosity, his melodicism and his infectious energy, died on Monday in Sherman Oaks, Calif. He was 70 and lived in Sherman Oaks.
Jack Vartoogian/FrontRowPhotos
Freddie Hubbard performing at Iridium in New York last year.
The cause was complications of a heart attack he had on Nov. 26, said his spokesman, Don Lucoff of DL Media.
Over a career that began in the late 1950s, Mr. Hubbard earned both critical praise and commercial success — although rarely for the same projects.
He attracted attention in the 1960s for his bravura work as a member of the Jazz Messengers, the valuable training ground for young musicians led by the veteran drummer Art Blakey, and on albums by Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and many others. He also recorded several well-regarded albums as a leader. And although he was not an avant-gardist by temperament, he participated in three of the seminal recordings of the 1960s jazz avant-garde: Ornette Coleman’s “Free Jazz” (1960), Eric Dolphy’s “Out to Lunch” (1964) and John Coltrane’s “Ascension” (1965).
In the 1970s Mr. Hubbard, like many other jazz musicians of his generation, began courting a larger audience, with albums that featured electric instruments, rock and funk rhythms, string arrangements and repertory sprinkled with pop and R&B songs like Paul McCartney’s “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” and the Stylistics’ “Betcha by Golly, Wow.” His audience did indeed grow, but his standing in the jazz world diminished.
By the start of the next decade he had largely abandoned his more commercial approach and returned to his jazz roots. But his career came to a virtual halt in 1992 when he damaged his lip, and although he resumed performing and recording after an extended hiatus, he was never again as powerful a player as he had been in his prime.
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard was born on April 7, 1938, in Indianapolis. His first instrument was the alto-brass mellophone, and in high school he studied French horn and tuba as well as trumpet. After taking lessons with Max Woodbury, the first trumpeter of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, at the Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Music, he performed locally with, among others, the guitarist Wes Montgomery and his brothers.
Mr. Hubbard moved to New York in 1958 and almost immediately began working with groups led by the saxophonist Sonny Rollins, the drummer Philly Joe Jones and others. His profile rose in 1960 when he joined the roster of Blue Note, a leading jazz label; it rose further the next year when he was hired by Blakey, widely regarded as the music’s premier talent scout.
Adding his own spin to a style informed by Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Clifford Brown, Mr. Hubbard played trumpet with an unusual mix of melodic inventiveness and technical razzle-dazzle. The critics took notice. Leonard Feather called him “one of the most skilled, original and forceful trumpeters of the ’60s.”
After leaving Blakey’s band in 1964, Mr. Hubbard worked for a while with another drummer-bandleader, Max Roach, before forming his own group in 1966. Four years later he began recording for CTI, a record company that would soon become known for its aggressive efforts to market jazz musicians beyond the confines of the jazz audience.
His first albums for the label, notably “Red Clay,” contained some of the best playing of his career and, except for slicker production and the presence of some electric instruments, were not significantly different from his work for Blue Note. But his later albums on CTI, and the ones he made after leaving the label for Columbia in 1974, put less and less emphasis on improvisation and relied more and more on glossy arrangements and pop appeal. They sold well, for the most part, but were attacked, or in some cases simply ignored, by jazz critics. Within a few years Mr. Hubbard was expressing regrets about his career path.
Most of his recordings as a leader from the early 1980s on, for Pablo, Musicmasters and other labels, were small-group sessions emphasizing his gifts as an improviser that helped restore his critical reputation. But in 1992 he suffered a setback from which he never fully recovered.
By Mr. Hubbard’s own account, he seriously injured his upper lip that year by playing too hard, without warming up, once too often. The lip became infected, and for the rest of his life it was a struggle for him to play with his trademark strength and fire. As Howard Mandel explained in a 2008 Down Beat article, “His ability to project and hold a clear tone was damaged, so his fast finger flurries often result in blurts and blurs rather than explosive phrases.”
Mr. Hubbard nonetheless continued to perform and record sporadically, primarily on fluegelhorn rather than on the more demanding trumpet. In his last years he worked mostly with the trumpeter David Weiss, who featured Mr. Hubbard as a guest artist with his group, the New Jazz Composers Octet, on albums released under Mr. Hubbard’s name in 2001 and 2008, and at occasional nightclub engagements.
Mr. Hubbard won a Grammy Award for the album “First Light” in 1972 and was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2006.
He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Briggie Hubbard, and his son, Duane.
Mr. Hubbard was once known as the brashest of jazzmen, but his personality as well as his music mellowed in the wake of his lip problems. In a 1995 interview with Fred Shuster of Down Beat, he offered some sober advice to younger musicians: “Don’t make the mistake I made of not taking care of myself. Please, keep your chops cool and don’t overblow.”
Jazz great Freddie Hubbard dead at 70 By JOHN ROGERS – Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Grammy-winning jazz musician Freddie Hubbard, whose style influenced a generation of trumpet players, has died at age 70. Hubbard's manager, David Weiss, says the musician died Monday at Sherman Oaks Hospital in Los Angeles. He had been hospitalized since suffering a heart attack last month. Although he had been in declining health in recent years, Hubbard continued to perform until just a few months ago. Known for both the intensity of his playing, as well as his melodic style, Hubbard's last concert was in June in New York at a party celebrating the release of his final album. He won a Grammy in 1972 for best jazz performance by a group for the album "First Light."
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (7 April 1938 – 29 December 2008)[1] was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 60s and on. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives for modern jazz and bebop.[2]
Hubbard started playing the mellophone and trumpet in his school band, studying at the Jordan Conservatory with the principal trumpeter of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. In his teens Hubbard worked locally with brothers Wes and Monk Montgomery and worked with bassist Larry Ridley and saxophonist James Spaulding. In 1958, at the age of 20, he moved to New York, and began playing with some of the best jazz players of the era, including Philly Joe Jones, Sonny Rollins, Slide Hampton, Eric Dolphy , J. J. Johnson, and Quincy Jones. In June 1960 Hubbard made his first record as a leader, Open Sesame, with saxophonist Tina Brooks, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Clifford Jarvis.
Then in May 1961, Hubbard played on Ole Coltrane, John Coltrane's final recording session with Atlantic Records. Together with Eric Dolphy, Hubbard was the only 'session' musician who appeared on both Ole and Africa Brass, Coltrane's first album with ABC/Impulse! Later, in August 1961, Hubbard made one of his most famous records, Ready for Freddie, which was also his first collaboration with saxophonist Wayne Shorter. Hubbard would join Shorter later in 1961 when he replaced Lee Morgan in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He played on several Blakey recordings, including Caravan, Ugetsu, Mosaic, and Free For All. Hubbard remained with Blakey until 1966, leaving to form the first of several small groups of his own, which featured, among others, pianist Kenny Barron and drummer Louis Hayes.
It was during this time that he began to develop his own sound, distancing himself from the early influences of Clifford Brown and Morgan, and won the Downbeat jazz magazine "New Star" award on trumpet.
Throughout the 1960s Hubbard played as a sideman on some of the most important albums from that era, including, Oliver Nelson's The Blues and the Abstract Truth, Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage, and Wayne Shorter's Speak No Evil.[4] He recorded extensively for Blue Note Records in the 1960s: eight albums as a bandleader, and twenty-eight as a sideman.[5] Though Hubbard never fully embraced the free jazz of the '60s, he appeared on several landmark albums in the genre: Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz, Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch, and John Coltrane's Ascension.
Hubbard achieved his greatest popular success in the 1970s with a series of albums for Creed Taylor and his record label CTI Records. Although his early 1970s jazz albums Red Clay, First Light, Straight Life, and Sky Dive were particularly well received and considered among his best work, the albums he recorded later in the decade were attacked by critics for their commercialism. First Light won a 1972 Grammy Award and included pianists Herbie Hancock and Richard Wyands, guitarists Eric Gale and George Benson, bassist Ron Carter, drummer Jack DeJohnette, and percussionist Airto Moreira.[6] In 1994, Freddie, collaborating with Chicago jazz vocalist/co-writer Catherine Whitney, had lyrics set to the music of First Light.[7]
[edit] Later career
During 1970-1974 Hubbard was the biggest star of the CTI label, overshadowing Stanley Turrentine, Hubert Laws, and George Benson.[8] Columbia's VSOP: The Quintet, album was recorded from two live performances, one at the Hearst Greek Theatre, University of California, Berkeley, on July 16, 1977, the other at the San Diego Civic Theatre, July 18, 1977. Musicians joining the trumpeter for this landmark performance were the members of the mid-sixties line-up of the Miles Davis Quintet (except the leader): Herbie Hancock on keyboards, Tony Williams on drums, Ron Carter on bass, and Wayne Shorter on tenor and soprano saxophones. [2]
In the 1980s Hubbard was again leading his own jazz group, attracting very favorable notices for his playing at concerts and festivals in the USA and Europe, often in the company of Joe Henderson, playing a repertory of hard-bop and modal-jazz pieces. Hubbard played at the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival in 1980 and in 1989 (with Bobby Hutcherson). He played with Woody Shaw, recording with him in 1985, and two years later recorded Stardust with Benny Golson. In 1988 he teamed up once more with Blakey at an engagement in Holland, from which came Feel the Wind. In 1990 he appeared in Japan headlining an American-Japanese concert package which also featured Elvin Jones, Sonny Fortune, pianists George Duke and Benny Green, bass players Ron Carter, and Rufus Reid, with jazz and popular music singer Salena Jones. He also performed at the Warsaw Jazz Festival at which Live at the Warsaw Jazz Festival (Jazzmen 1992) was recorded.
Following a long setback of health problems and a serious lip injury in 1992 where he ruptured his upper lip and subsequently developed an infection, Hubbard was again playing and recording occasionally, even if not at the high level that he set for himself during his earlier career. [9] His best records ranked with the finest in his field.
In 2006, The National Endowment for the Arts honored Hubbard with its highest honor in jazz, the NEA Jazz Masters Award.
On December 29, 2008, Hubbard's hometown newspaper, The Indianapolis Star reported that Hubbard died from complications from a heart attack suffered on November 26 of the same year.[11] Billboard magazine reported that Hubbard died in Sherman Oaks, California.[12]
[edit] Discography
Monday, December 29, 2008
Soulja Boy Apologizes to Parents for Risque Language
Soulja Boy Apologizes to Parents for Risque Language
By The Associated Press
Wed, Dec. 17 2008 04:00 PM EST
NEW YORK – Soulja Boy Tell 'Em is telling parents he's sorry for his vulgar words.
The 18-year-old rapper became a sensation and started a dance craze last year with his Grammy-nominated hit "Crank That (Soulja Boy)."
Some of the language and subject matter in that hit was risque, and on some of his YouTube videos, he's used some naughty words.
So in an interview this week, Soulja Boy apologized to parents and says he is going to try harder to set a positive example for his young fans.
"Over the past few months, I've had a chance to meet a lot of my fans face to face and it made me realize that I got a large fan base of kids that look up to me," he said. "I have a greater responsibility to the kids that want to be like Soulja Boy (and) I need set a positive example for them."
Though Soulja Boy apologizes for his public behavior, he's not quite ready to become the ideal role model for kids.
"I wouldn't say a role model because I think parents or a guardian should be a kid's main role model, but from now on, I'm going to make sure that every kid that looks up to me will get a positive image that the kids and parents can trust," he said.
Soula Boy just released his new CD, "iSouljaBoyTellem," this week.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
By The Associated Press
Wed, Dec. 17 2008 04:00 PM EST
NEW YORK – Soulja Boy Tell 'Em is telling parents he's sorry for his vulgar words.
The 18-year-old rapper became a sensation and started a dance craze last year with his Grammy-nominated hit "Crank That (Soulja Boy)."
Some of the language and subject matter in that hit was risque, and on some of his YouTube videos, he's used some naughty words.
So in an interview this week, Soulja Boy apologized to parents and says he is going to try harder to set a positive example for his young fans.
"Over the past few months, I've had a chance to meet a lot of my fans face to face and it made me realize that I got a large fan base of kids that look up to me," he said. "I have a greater responsibility to the kids that want to be like Soulja Boy (and) I need set a positive example for them."
Though Soulja Boy apologizes for his public behavior, he's not quite ready to become the ideal role model for kids.
"I wouldn't say a role model because I think parents or a guardian should be a kid's main role model, but from now on, I'm going to make sure that every kid that looks up to me will get a positive image that the kids and parents can trust," he said.
Soula Boy just released his new CD, "iSouljaBoyTellem," this week.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Nigeria: Kunle Ajayi, Infinity, Other Gospel Artistes at RCCG's Weekend of Praise..
Nigeria: Kunle Ajayi, Infinity, Other Gospel Artistes at RCCG's Weekend of Praise..
Benjamin Njoku
18 December 2008
Lagos — Famous gospel singer and trumpeter, Kunle Ajayi, Infinity Band, Midnight Crew, Censer of Gold and a couple of other gospel artistes, last weekend, starred at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Milk and Honey Parish's Weekend of Praise.
The programme was the Special Weekend of Praise, yearly organized by the Redeemed Christian Church of Gold, Milk and Honey Parish, Maryland, Lagos.
The 4-day programme, which began on Thursday, December 4 and climaxed on Sunday, December 7, is organized annually as a means to highlight on the imperativeness of anointing of praises. Featuring inspirational songs, praises and worship songs, the programme, as usual, had "Let Somebody Shout Hallelujah" as its theme.
Renowned trumpeter, Ajayi, leading other gospel singers, held the congregation spellbound with his remarkable performance, which invariably earned him standing ovation. Fast rising four-man band, the Infinity, gave a good account of themselves on stage as they treated the congregation to their inspirational songs, even as Bisi Adubarin performed to the stimulation of the spirit-filled congregation.
Speaking on the significance of the programme, the pastor-in-charge, Wale Adeduro, said, the Weekend of Praise, apart from being designed to praise the Maker of mankind, has enabled Christians to put the pressures of the passing year behind and focus on their Maker.
The programme has also become a major social and rallying point, where Christians come together to worship and lift up the name of the Lord." He added that "over the years, it has been a very successfully spiritual and social programme."
According to him, plans are underway to institu-tionalize the programme as it is the desire of the Church to use the avenue to spread the gospel of salvation. This year's edition was the fourth to be organized by the Church.
Aside the ritual of praise and worship that took the centre stage, the four-day spiritual retreat also witnessed provision of free medical services to the Christian brothers and sisters in addition to providing welfare packages in the form of food stuff, which were distributed to the members.
Benjamin Njoku
18 December 2008
Lagos — Famous gospel singer and trumpeter, Kunle Ajayi, Infinity Band, Midnight Crew, Censer of Gold and a couple of other gospel artistes, last weekend, starred at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Milk and Honey Parish's Weekend of Praise.
The programme was the Special Weekend of Praise, yearly organized by the Redeemed Christian Church of Gold, Milk and Honey Parish, Maryland, Lagos.
The 4-day programme, which began on Thursday, December 4 and climaxed on Sunday, December 7, is organized annually as a means to highlight on the imperativeness of anointing of praises. Featuring inspirational songs, praises and worship songs, the programme, as usual, had "Let Somebody Shout Hallelujah" as its theme.
Renowned trumpeter, Ajayi, leading other gospel singers, held the congregation spellbound with his remarkable performance, which invariably earned him standing ovation. Fast rising four-man band, the Infinity, gave a good account of themselves on stage as they treated the congregation to their inspirational songs, even as Bisi Adubarin performed to the stimulation of the spirit-filled congregation.
Speaking on the significance of the programme, the pastor-in-charge, Wale Adeduro, said, the Weekend of Praise, apart from being designed to praise the Maker of mankind, has enabled Christians to put the pressures of the passing year behind and focus on their Maker.
The programme has also become a major social and rallying point, where Christians come together to worship and lift up the name of the Lord." He added that "over the years, it has been a very successfully spiritual and social programme."
According to him, plans are underway to institu-tionalize the programme as it is the desire of the Church to use the avenue to spread the gospel of salvation. This year's edition was the fourth to be organized by the Church.
Aside the ritual of praise and worship that took the centre stage, the four-day spiritual retreat also witnessed provision of free medical services to the Christian brothers and sisters in addition to providing welfare packages in the form of food stuff, which were distributed to the members.
Botswana: The Year That Was in the Arts
Botswana: The Year That Was in the Arts
Ephraim Keoreng and Maureen Odubeng
19 December 2008
The arts industry in Botswana has been growing by leaps and bounds. The Botswana Musicians Union (BOMU) is an organisation founded to protect the rights of musicians.
In the past it was known for its annual awards ceremonies, but it has proved to be more than that. It has become a strong organisation that speaks for artists, especially on issues like piracy and recognition of artists as contributors to the country's economy.
It is recognised by government and has worked with organisations like Mascom Wireless and others on a partnership basis to advance the lot of artists.
Despite its milestones, BOMU had its shortfalls this year. It has been unable to run the office efficiently due to maladministration and lack of resources, among others. This situation even affected the awards ceremony slated for the end of the year, something, which has upset many artists. For them the awards are very important. They use the awards as a grading system to measure the quality of their work.
BOMU executive member, Seabelo Modibe, believes the music industry is one key area in which government should invest. There is a lot that government should do. "If you look at the amount of billions invested in agriculture year in year out and the returns on that investment, looking at how prone Botswana is to lack of rainfall then maybe we need to focus elsewhere while developing new agricultural means through introducing technology in farming among small farmers. Botswana is the only country in Southern Africa without a national arts council," he says.
There are no facilities in this country, no public entertainment centres, no public swimming pool, no cultural village - nothing. "I feel as a union we should work hard and change the mindset of our leaders because diamonds are not forever. Arts, culture and sport should take the centre stage, as one key economic area of investment looking at 2009 Confederations Cup, 2010 World Cup, 2011 Rugby World Cup in South Africa and other international events in that country," he said.
Artists
Art is very important in that it does not only help in entertaining people, but most importantly it helps document the heritage of a people for future generations to look back and say "this is the arts of our forbearers". Botswana music, especially traditional has proven to be one of the best and most liked by tourists and even people outside Botswana.
We have seen groups like Culture Spears being invited to play for former South African president Thabo Mbeki. It is a fact that Botswana artists have been busy, both in the national and international arena. They were not just hogging the limelight but also most importantly making money for themselves. Artists like Culture Spears, Dikakapa, Socca Moruakgomo, Ndingo Johwa, Lister Boleseng, Franco, and Vee, to name but just a few, have been grabbing headlines with their amazing shows. Most of Botswana artists' works have even penetrated the southern African market in countries like Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Dikakapa even had itself nominated for the Kora awards this year.
Piracy in Botswana
Piracy in Botswana is very high. Government has been on the forefront to fight this war.
Experts were invited from the United States and South Africa and lately a Kenyan Microsoft manager was also invited to Botswana to address stakeholders like the police, artists and journalists on the issue of piracy.
The war against piracy has not been subtle, especially on the part of artists. At the beginning if the year, some went on the rampage, picking on shop owners who sell pirated goods and confiscating their merchandise (the pirated CDs and DVDs). There was one instant where an artist was involved in a fist-fight with a Chinese shop owner and ended up in jail over his pirated CD. Some of the cases went to court where it was also realised that the offending shop owners got away easily as they were fined negligible amounts.
"There has not been any significant progress in the fight against piracy and intellectual property infringement due to the fact that we don't have an independent copyright office. There are about five copyright officers manning the whole country all based in Gaborone. If you can make an assessment of what has happened since the Act was passed in 2005 you will be shocked at the slow pace of its implementation," observes Modibe.
President's Day - Celebration of Culture
Promotion of arts and culture is slowly improving in the country with government playing an active role in establishing support systems for the arts industry to start enjoying growth experienced in other sectors of the economy.
In previous years artists used to complain that government was indifferent, as it did not give any support to the arts. But it is slowly changing as it has been evidenced by not only the growth of the industry but also the increase in number of artists more particularly musicians, comedians and visual artists who are now able to support themselves through their trade.
This year's President's Day celebrations marked yet another milestone in government efforts to assist local artists to promote their works.
The President's Day holidays celebrated under the theme Towards Artistic Excellence by 2016 were dedicated to arts and July was set aside as the National Heritage Month, with the Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Gladys Kokorwe, explaining that the aim of dedicating July as National Heritage Month was to encourage Batswana to celebrate their heritage and culture, as well to appreciate the things that make them a nation. The holidays saw a number of competitions in different forms of art, including among others traditional music and dance, contemporary music, drama and comedy.
The finalists were selected from 12 mini festivals that were staged throughout the country and it is a step in the right direction in encouraging excellence in the arts. The long holiday also included the National Basket and Craft Exhibition.
There were many different winners who not only got cash prizes but also won recognition for their work. Drama, comedy and poetry competitions were held at Maitisong, while contemporary music competitions were staged at Tsholofelo Park. The traditional song and dance competitions were held at Sir Seretse Khama Barracks in Mogoditshane.
The government should, of course, be commended for this, and urged to continue doing more. The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture is also doing its part, having set up a number of structures that work with artists to give them support in marketing and promoting their products. The ministry, through its Department of Culture and Youth, has a fund set aside for sponsoring art related activities, which include exhibitions, and cultural festivals.
Miss Botswana
While other forms of arts and entertainment seem to be on the right track, one of the most prestigious pageants in the country, the Miss Botswana pageant, seems to be sinking with each passing year. The pageant has continuously failed to live up to expectations. Last year, the then Miss Botswana Malebogo Marumoagae went for the Miss World show held in Sanya, China, without a chaperone and did not have money to pay for accommodation and ended up seeking shelter away from the hotel where other beauties were housed.
This year was not any different as the reigning queen, Itseng Kgomotso, left for Johannesburg, South Africa, without a chaperone, and one would have thought since South Africa is closer, money would not be too much of an issue.
Botswana Council of Women (BCW), who are the Miss Botswana licence holders, should up their game if Botswana is to continue to send contestants to pageants like the Miss World pageant.
Countries serious about sending their queens to the Miss World contest mean real business in that they groom their queens and offer them support all the way.
The Miss Botswana organisers always complain that some of their plans are hindered by lack of sponsorships, but with enough hard work, Miss Botswana should be one of the easiest events to source sponsorship for. BCW would do well to mobilise resources to revamp Miss Botswana and take it where it is should be - among the best.
Ephraim Keoreng and Maureen Odubeng
19 December 2008
The arts industry in Botswana has been growing by leaps and bounds. The Botswana Musicians Union (BOMU) is an organisation founded to protect the rights of musicians.
In the past it was known for its annual awards ceremonies, but it has proved to be more than that. It has become a strong organisation that speaks for artists, especially on issues like piracy and recognition of artists as contributors to the country's economy.
It is recognised by government and has worked with organisations like Mascom Wireless and others on a partnership basis to advance the lot of artists.
Despite its milestones, BOMU had its shortfalls this year. It has been unable to run the office efficiently due to maladministration and lack of resources, among others. This situation even affected the awards ceremony slated for the end of the year, something, which has upset many artists. For them the awards are very important. They use the awards as a grading system to measure the quality of their work.
BOMU executive member, Seabelo Modibe, believes the music industry is one key area in which government should invest. There is a lot that government should do. "If you look at the amount of billions invested in agriculture year in year out and the returns on that investment, looking at how prone Botswana is to lack of rainfall then maybe we need to focus elsewhere while developing new agricultural means through introducing technology in farming among small farmers. Botswana is the only country in Southern Africa without a national arts council," he says.
There are no facilities in this country, no public entertainment centres, no public swimming pool, no cultural village - nothing. "I feel as a union we should work hard and change the mindset of our leaders because diamonds are not forever. Arts, culture and sport should take the centre stage, as one key economic area of investment looking at 2009 Confederations Cup, 2010 World Cup, 2011 Rugby World Cup in South Africa and other international events in that country," he said.
Artists
Art is very important in that it does not only help in entertaining people, but most importantly it helps document the heritage of a people for future generations to look back and say "this is the arts of our forbearers". Botswana music, especially traditional has proven to be one of the best and most liked by tourists and even people outside Botswana.
We have seen groups like Culture Spears being invited to play for former South African president Thabo Mbeki. It is a fact that Botswana artists have been busy, both in the national and international arena. They were not just hogging the limelight but also most importantly making money for themselves. Artists like Culture Spears, Dikakapa, Socca Moruakgomo, Ndingo Johwa, Lister Boleseng, Franco, and Vee, to name but just a few, have been grabbing headlines with their amazing shows. Most of Botswana artists' works have even penetrated the southern African market in countries like Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Dikakapa even had itself nominated for the Kora awards this year.
Piracy in Botswana
Piracy in Botswana is very high. Government has been on the forefront to fight this war.
Experts were invited from the United States and South Africa and lately a Kenyan Microsoft manager was also invited to Botswana to address stakeholders like the police, artists and journalists on the issue of piracy.
The war against piracy has not been subtle, especially on the part of artists. At the beginning if the year, some went on the rampage, picking on shop owners who sell pirated goods and confiscating their merchandise (the pirated CDs and DVDs). There was one instant where an artist was involved in a fist-fight with a Chinese shop owner and ended up in jail over his pirated CD. Some of the cases went to court where it was also realised that the offending shop owners got away easily as they were fined negligible amounts.
"There has not been any significant progress in the fight against piracy and intellectual property infringement due to the fact that we don't have an independent copyright office. There are about five copyright officers manning the whole country all based in Gaborone. If you can make an assessment of what has happened since the Act was passed in 2005 you will be shocked at the slow pace of its implementation," observes Modibe.
President's Day - Celebration of Culture
Promotion of arts and culture is slowly improving in the country with government playing an active role in establishing support systems for the arts industry to start enjoying growth experienced in other sectors of the economy.
In previous years artists used to complain that government was indifferent, as it did not give any support to the arts. But it is slowly changing as it has been evidenced by not only the growth of the industry but also the increase in number of artists more particularly musicians, comedians and visual artists who are now able to support themselves through their trade.
This year's President's Day celebrations marked yet another milestone in government efforts to assist local artists to promote their works.
The President's Day holidays celebrated under the theme Towards Artistic Excellence by 2016 were dedicated to arts and July was set aside as the National Heritage Month, with the Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Gladys Kokorwe, explaining that the aim of dedicating July as National Heritage Month was to encourage Batswana to celebrate their heritage and culture, as well to appreciate the things that make them a nation. The holidays saw a number of competitions in different forms of art, including among others traditional music and dance, contemporary music, drama and comedy.
The finalists were selected from 12 mini festivals that were staged throughout the country and it is a step in the right direction in encouraging excellence in the arts. The long holiday also included the National Basket and Craft Exhibition.
There were many different winners who not only got cash prizes but also won recognition for their work. Drama, comedy and poetry competitions were held at Maitisong, while contemporary music competitions were staged at Tsholofelo Park. The traditional song and dance competitions were held at Sir Seretse Khama Barracks in Mogoditshane.
The government should, of course, be commended for this, and urged to continue doing more. The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture is also doing its part, having set up a number of structures that work with artists to give them support in marketing and promoting their products. The ministry, through its Department of Culture and Youth, has a fund set aside for sponsoring art related activities, which include exhibitions, and cultural festivals.
Miss Botswana
While other forms of arts and entertainment seem to be on the right track, one of the most prestigious pageants in the country, the Miss Botswana pageant, seems to be sinking with each passing year. The pageant has continuously failed to live up to expectations. Last year, the then Miss Botswana Malebogo Marumoagae went for the Miss World show held in Sanya, China, without a chaperone and did not have money to pay for accommodation and ended up seeking shelter away from the hotel where other beauties were housed.
This year was not any different as the reigning queen, Itseng Kgomotso, left for Johannesburg, South Africa, without a chaperone, and one would have thought since South Africa is closer, money would not be too much of an issue.
Botswana Council of Women (BCW), who are the Miss Botswana licence holders, should up their game if Botswana is to continue to send contestants to pageants like the Miss World pageant.
Countries serious about sending their queens to the Miss World contest mean real business in that they groom their queens and offer them support all the way.
The Miss Botswana organisers always complain that some of their plans are hindered by lack of sponsorships, but with enough hard work, Miss Botswana should be one of the easiest events to source sponsorship for. BCW would do well to mobilise resources to revamp Miss Botswana and take it where it is should be - among the best.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Soul Bearers Levi Stubbs | b. 1936; Dee Dee Warwick | b. 1945
Levi Stubbs b. 1936; Dee Dee Warwick b. 1945
Soul Bearers
By ROB HOERBURGER
Published: December 24, 2008
You weren’t supposed to hear the struggle. At least that was the idea with most Motown artists during those breadbasket years of the ’60s, post-J.F.K., pre-Tet, more AM than FM. The plan, as dreamed up by Motown’s founder and the architect of its sound, Berry Gordy Jr., was not so much to make black music safe for a white audience but to make it colorblind, to get black and white kids out on the dance floor together without their having to think about it too much. And so his writers, producers and most of his marquee singers — Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross — sifted out the rougher parts of the blues; there was heartache, sure, but it was at the service of finger-snapping, hip-swaying joy. It was sexy, suave, sweetly spun soul. But when it came to Levi Stubbs, the lead singer of the Four Tops, the pain proved insoluble.
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James J. Kriegsmann/Associated Press
Destiny's Children Dee Dee, in 1969, just missed the spotlight.
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CBS/Photofest
The Tops shared it on TV in '66.
Stubbs had one of those big, load-bearing voices that hold up the weight not just of a musical style but also of an entire era’s moods. His booming, pleading baritone exploded into every line of every song, so that even as banal a phrase as “Sugar pie, honey bunch” packed waves of wallops. Perhaps because the Tops were a little older than most Motown acts and had sung together for nearly 10 years, Gordy decided not to tamp Stubbs down but instead had his writers and producers push him the other way. The tracks behind him, still the steady, trademark Motown 4/4, became a bit more martial and urgent, and Stubbs was encouraged to grab high-hanging fruit beyond his range; and he didn’t just grab, he lunged.
Think of the galloping thunder of “Reach Out, I’ll Be There,” which thanks to Stubbs’s alternating grunts, chants and exhortations encapsulated all of the passion of the ’60s: civil rights, the sexual revolution, the war; or the skittering paranoia of “Shake Me, Wake Me,” whose Hitchcockian piano and strings were just a backdrop for Stubbs’s thrashing night sweats. In “Bernadette,” Stubbs sang of love not as a teenage crush but as an Othello-like obsession; the a cappella howl of her name near the end of the song was the sound of a man in the throes of sex or death, and of car radios going tilt. (According to the Motown historian Adam White, during the session, the prideful Stubbs was having trouble nailing a note, and the producers, Holland/Dozier/Holland, called over a few young women from an adjoining studio; Stubbs got the note on the next take.) Maybe the most devastating of all was “Ask the Lonely,” in which, as the notes surge higher and higher, Stubbs sings about “a story of sadness, a story too hard to believe.” This was as heavy as Motown got then, but heavy didn’t mean bogged down; the Tops were probably the only act of their time who could get the kids on “American Bandstand” dancing to a song called “Seven Rooms of Gloom.” (More than a decade later, new-wave nihilists like the Smiths had nothing on the Tops.)
There were calmer moments: one, a post-Motown hit, “Sweet Understanding Love,” showed the rare perky side of the Tops, but when Stubbs sang the line “You made me a winner,” his credibility was untarnished, because you could still hear all the bruises and battle scars. And by this time it was clear that Stubbs could have been singing as much about the Tops as about any romance. The original group stayed together more than 40 years; Stubbs had only one solo singing gig his entire career, as the voice of Audrey II in “Little Shop of Horrors,” and split his income with the rest of the group; there was never any thought of renaming the act “Levi Stubbs and the Tops.” Their legacy was so strong that of all the Motown legends, their songs have not produced any big hit remakes. And you get the feeling that’s because Stubbs’s voice, supported by the Tops’ fraternal harmonies and the grooves of the Motown studio cats, said: No need to look any further; I can carry you.
Dee Dee Warwick had a different burden to bear. Like Stubbs, she had a big whomp of a voice and got to work with some of the best producers and writers in the business. While she was still a teenager, she was among the most in-demand backup singers on the New York studio scene. She had a strong musical pedigree: her mother was the founder of a well-respected gospel group, the Drinkard Singers, which also included her aunt Emily, who went on to become Cissy Houston, the mother of Whitney. But she also had a big sister who happened to be the most successful female solo artist of the post-British Invasion ’60s, and that came to be a yoke, one she could never quite shake.
But, oh, how she kept trying. She recorded the sassiest version of “You’re No Good” with no less than Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who produced Elvis and the Drifters, only to see it become a bigger hit later, not just once but twice: first in the ’60s for Betty Everett and then in the ’70s for Linda Ronstadt, who took it to No. 1; she had first dibs on “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me,” but it was the silkier version by the Supremes and the Temptations that scored. Dee Dee even had a crack at “Alfie,” and delivered a rafters-shaking performance, but it was her sister Dionne’s lither, more reflective version that hit big. As Dionne’s hits piled up, “Dionne’s sister” practically became a prefix to Dee Dee’s name, and Dee Dee’s performances grew growlier, almost as if she were expressing her frustration at her relative anonymity. (By the mid-’70s, she was making most of her money singing backup at Dionne’s concerts, and one night bizarrely demanded to perform her own show.) Dee Dee would perhaps be a better subject than Bill Gates or the Beatles for Malcolm Gladwell’s recent book, “Outliers,” but as a study of why success didn’t happen: she had the talent, the support, the material; what deeper meanings and causes were there to her failure to connect with a mass audience? Maybe it was just as simple as the fact that, as one D.J. proposed the week after she died, “the right payola never got paid.”
Whatever the cause, Dee Dee ended up as one of pop’s hidden gems. She continued to record, and picked up a couple of Grammy nominations along the way, ever the insider’s favorite, keeping the music at a high level even when it was clear that the big break wasn’t going to come. She ended her career earlier this year singing on Dionne’s latest album, the musical bond between the sisters unbroken, just like the bond among the Four Tops. She may not have had gold records, but she had plenty of musical integrity to hang on her wall.
Soul Bearers
By ROB HOERBURGER
Published: December 24, 2008
You weren’t supposed to hear the struggle. At least that was the idea with most Motown artists during those breadbasket years of the ’60s, post-J.F.K., pre-Tet, more AM than FM. The plan, as dreamed up by Motown’s founder and the architect of its sound, Berry Gordy Jr., was not so much to make black music safe for a white audience but to make it colorblind, to get black and white kids out on the dance floor together without their having to think about it too much. And so his writers, producers and most of his marquee singers — Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross — sifted out the rougher parts of the blues; there was heartache, sure, but it was at the service of finger-snapping, hip-swaying joy. It was sexy, suave, sweetly spun soul. But when it came to Levi Stubbs, the lead singer of the Four Tops, the pain proved insoluble.
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Destiny's Children Dee Dee, in 1969, just missed the spotlight.
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The Tops shared it on TV in '66.
Stubbs had one of those big, load-bearing voices that hold up the weight not just of a musical style but also of an entire era’s moods. His booming, pleading baritone exploded into every line of every song, so that even as banal a phrase as “Sugar pie, honey bunch” packed waves of wallops. Perhaps because the Tops were a little older than most Motown acts and had sung together for nearly 10 years, Gordy decided not to tamp Stubbs down but instead had his writers and producers push him the other way. The tracks behind him, still the steady, trademark Motown 4/4, became a bit more martial and urgent, and Stubbs was encouraged to grab high-hanging fruit beyond his range; and he didn’t just grab, he lunged.
Think of the galloping thunder of “Reach Out, I’ll Be There,” which thanks to Stubbs’s alternating grunts, chants and exhortations encapsulated all of the passion of the ’60s: civil rights, the sexual revolution, the war; or the skittering paranoia of “Shake Me, Wake Me,” whose Hitchcockian piano and strings were just a backdrop for Stubbs’s thrashing night sweats. In “Bernadette,” Stubbs sang of love not as a teenage crush but as an Othello-like obsession; the a cappella howl of her name near the end of the song was the sound of a man in the throes of sex or death, and of car radios going tilt. (According to the Motown historian Adam White, during the session, the prideful Stubbs was having trouble nailing a note, and the producers, Holland/Dozier/Holland, called over a few young women from an adjoining studio; Stubbs got the note on the next take.) Maybe the most devastating of all was “Ask the Lonely,” in which, as the notes surge higher and higher, Stubbs sings about “a story of sadness, a story too hard to believe.” This was as heavy as Motown got then, but heavy didn’t mean bogged down; the Tops were probably the only act of their time who could get the kids on “American Bandstand” dancing to a song called “Seven Rooms of Gloom.” (More than a decade later, new-wave nihilists like the Smiths had nothing on the Tops.)
There were calmer moments: one, a post-Motown hit, “Sweet Understanding Love,” showed the rare perky side of the Tops, but when Stubbs sang the line “You made me a winner,” his credibility was untarnished, because you could still hear all the bruises and battle scars. And by this time it was clear that Stubbs could have been singing as much about the Tops as about any romance. The original group stayed together more than 40 years; Stubbs had only one solo singing gig his entire career, as the voice of Audrey II in “Little Shop of Horrors,” and split his income with the rest of the group; there was never any thought of renaming the act “Levi Stubbs and the Tops.” Their legacy was so strong that of all the Motown legends, their songs have not produced any big hit remakes. And you get the feeling that’s because Stubbs’s voice, supported by the Tops’ fraternal harmonies and the grooves of the Motown studio cats, said: No need to look any further; I can carry you.
Dee Dee Warwick had a different burden to bear. Like Stubbs, she had a big whomp of a voice and got to work with some of the best producers and writers in the business. While she was still a teenager, she was among the most in-demand backup singers on the New York studio scene. She had a strong musical pedigree: her mother was the founder of a well-respected gospel group, the Drinkard Singers, which also included her aunt Emily, who went on to become Cissy Houston, the mother of Whitney. But she also had a big sister who happened to be the most successful female solo artist of the post-British Invasion ’60s, and that came to be a yoke, one she could never quite shake.
But, oh, how she kept trying. She recorded the sassiest version of “You’re No Good” with no less than Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who produced Elvis and the Drifters, only to see it become a bigger hit later, not just once but twice: first in the ’60s for Betty Everett and then in the ’70s for Linda Ronstadt, who took it to No. 1; she had first dibs on “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me,” but it was the silkier version by the Supremes and the Temptations that scored. Dee Dee even had a crack at “Alfie,” and delivered a rafters-shaking performance, but it was her sister Dionne’s lither, more reflective version that hit big. As Dionne’s hits piled up, “Dionne’s sister” practically became a prefix to Dee Dee’s name, and Dee Dee’s performances grew growlier, almost as if she were expressing her frustration at her relative anonymity. (By the mid-’70s, she was making most of her money singing backup at Dionne’s concerts, and one night bizarrely demanded to perform her own show.) Dee Dee would perhaps be a better subject than Bill Gates or the Beatles for Malcolm Gladwell’s recent book, “Outliers,” but as a study of why success didn’t happen: she had the talent, the support, the material; what deeper meanings and causes were there to her failure to connect with a mass audience? Maybe it was just as simple as the fact that, as one D.J. proposed the week after she died, “the right payola never got paid.”
Whatever the cause, Dee Dee ended up as one of pop’s hidden gems. She continued to record, and picked up a couple of Grammy nominations along the way, ever the insider’s favorite, keeping the music at a high level even when it was clear that the big break wasn’t going to come. She ended her career earlier this year singing on Dionne’s latest album, the musical bond between the sisters unbroken, just like the bond among the Four Tops. She may not have had gold records, but she had plenty of musical integrity to hang on her wall.
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