5/20/21
Tony Miceli
Tony Miceli is one of those characters who, if they didn’t exist, he would have had to create: a musician as deeply into big rock as he is intimate jazz, a man who built a funky foundation upon the least likely of soulful instruments—vibraphone and marimba, and a serious leader and sideman with a rich sense of humor whose finicky focus has jumped from Monk and Mingus to Mozart and Bach in the past, leaving room for so much more in the future.
5/13/21
Coltrane Watch
The Strawberry Mansion Community Development Corporation (SMCDC) issued a press release on the status of the Coltrane House on May 3, 2021, and I called Tonnetta Graham, President of the SMCDC, the next day to get some clarity on a few things.
5/13/21
Dr. Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon
There’s a lot you can do with a sense of rhythm, a way with words, and a knack for telling a good story, but you have to be willing to persevere. Allow Dr. Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon’s story to illustrate.
5/6/21
Suzanne Cloud
4/29/21
Trapeta Mayson
As Philadelphia's fifth Poet Laureate, Trapeta Mayson merges her love of art with her love of community through words often accompanied by jazz music. Her poems often reflect her life story: born in West Africa, raised in North Philly, and now a licensed clinical social worker residing in Germantown.
4/29/21
Tyrone Brown
4/22/21
Shirley Scott
4/22/21
Hasaan Ibn Ali
4/22/21
Jonathan Whitney
4/15/21
Arturo Stable
4/14/21
Michelle Lordi
4/8/21
Yesseh Furaha-Ali
4/8/21
Sonia Sanchez
4/8/21
Jymie Merritt
3/25/21
Coltrane Watch:
There have been questions from some quarters about why there is such renewed interest in the Coltrane House, which can be roughly summarized with, “Where was the jazz community all the time the historic home was slowly deteriorating?”
3/18/21
Coltrane Watch:
Questions surrounding how any person or business gets a demolition permit for a building are rampant in the jazz community, especially when it concerns the John Coltrane House at 1511 North 33rd Street, or in this case, the house at 1509 North 33rd Street, which is attached to the historic home site. The owners of 1509 have applied for, but not yet received, a demolition permit.