Western Alumni Round Up 2016 E.T Hawkins High School Forest Ms.

Paul Jackson Jr. Though Paul never got to meet or work with Wes Montgomery, one of his chief guitar influences, he has forged professional relationships with all the others who touched his formative years, including Earl Klugh, George Benson, Ray Parker Jr., Al McKay and Lee Ritenour. Since breaking into the Los Angeles studio scene at age sixteen, he has contributed his multi-faceted guitarisma to the biggest artists of pop,R&B, jazz and rock music: Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson (Thriller, Bad, History), Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, Randy Crawford, Ramsey Lewis, Dave Koz, David Benoit, Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross, Bobby Brown, Steely Dan, Chicago, The Temptations, Anita Baker, Lionel Richie, Barbra Streisand, Elton John, Al Jarreau, and George Duke, Johnny Mathis, Kenny Rogers Barry White and many others. Paul points to his trip with Whitney to South Africa in 1995 as his most spiritual, powerful and soul-energizing project to date. Playing his own signature Gibson model Paul Jackson Jr. ES347, in recent years he also accompanied the Backstreet Boys (on MTV’s Total Request Live) and Destiny’s Child and, bridging his musical and spiritual lives, taught at worship conferences in Korea, Italy, Guatemala and Honduras. Paul says that the most recent highlight for him was his on stage appearance in a tribute to Wes Montgomery featuring guitar notables: Jimmy Bruno, Larry Carlton, Paul Jackson, Jr., Earl Klugh, Chuck Loeb, Russell Malone, and Pat Martino. All played together and each provided solo performances of Wes Montgomery selections. For more information on Paul Jackson Jr. go to www.pauljacksonjr.com Thanks for listening to www.jimaustin.com

Paul Jackson, Jr. is a fusion/urban jazz composer, arranger, producer and guitarist. He was born and raised in Los Angeles. Jackson knew by the age of fifteen that he wanted to become a professional musician. He attended the University of Southern California, majoring in music. In addition to being a recording artist in his own right, Jackson is also highly accomplished L.A. session player, with a career spanning multiple decades. He has supported artists ranging from Michael Jackson(on the albums Thriller, Bad, Dangerous, HIStory and Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix) to the Temptations, Whitney Houston, Alexander O'Neal, Howard Hewett, Thomas Anders, Patti LaBelle and Luis Miguel, to rockers such as Chicago and Elton John, to jazz-oriented players such as George Duke, George Benson, Dave Koz, Al Jarreau, David Benoit, Marcus Miller and Kirk Whalum, and to Christian artists such as Leon Patillo and Don Moen. In 2013 it was revealed he contributed to several tracks on the album, Random Access Memories by Daft Punk and UK based singer songwriter Birdy's second album "Fire Within." He also played guitar on Lisa Stansfield's 2014 album, Seven.

Rachelle Ferrell is unquestionably one of the most dynamic talents in contemporary pop music. Very few vocal artists in the industry have Ferrell’s potent combination of range, phrasing, and musicianship. Ferrell first emerged in the states with her R&B debut Rachelle Ferrell (1992), a solid collection of self-penned originals that featured a striking duet with Will Downing (‘Nothing Has Ever Felt Like This’). It was with the release of First Instrument in 1994 (recorded prior to Rachelle Ferrell) that audiences were really introduced to Ferrell’s jazz sensibilities. Rachelle Ferrell began singing at the age of six, which many speculate contributed to the “development of her startling six and change octave range.” Her range also includes the ability to sing in the whistle register, as stated in an editorial review in which she references her highest notes in “It only took a minute” as “Minnie Riperton-like wailing”. She received classical training in violin at an early age and by the time she was a teen, she was able to play the piano at a professional level. She enrolled in Berklee College of Music in Boston where she honed her musical abilities in arrangement, singing and songwriting. From 1975-90, Ferrell sang backup for Lou Rawls, Patti LaBelle, Vanessa Williams, and George Duke. Ferrell’s debut, First Instrument, was released in 1990 in Japan, five years prior to its US release. Recorded with bassist Tyrone Brown, pianist Eddie Green and drummer Doug Nally, an all-star cast of accompanists also leave their mark on her record. They include trumpeter Terence Blanchard, pianists Gil Goldstein and Michel Petrucciani, bassists Kenny Davis and Stanley Clarke, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter and keyboardist Pete Levin. Her unique take on now-standards like Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me”, Cole Porter’s “What Is This Thing Called Love”, and Rodgers & Hart’s “My Funny Valentine”, captured the hearts and souls of the Japanese jazz buying public… For more information on Rachelle Ferrell go to www.rachelleferrell.com

Rachelle Ferrell (born May 21, 1964, Berwyn, Pennsylvania) is an American vocalist and musician.[1] Although she has had some success in the mainstream R&B, pop, gospel, and classical music scene, she is noted for her talents as a contemporary jazz singer. Ferrell began singing at age six, and developed a six octave range by adulthood. Her range also includes the ability to sing in the whistle register.[2] Ferrell's highest notes in "It Only Took A Minute" (1992) have been described as "Minnie Riperton-like wailing."[2][4] She received classical training in violin and the piano at an early age and was performing professionally on both instruments and as a vocalist as a teenager. After enrolling in the Berklee College of Music, and graduating a year later, having learned arrangement and developing her abilities in singing and songwriting, she secured a position teaching music for the New Jersey State Council on the Arts alongside Dizzy Gillespie.[1] From 1975 until 1990, Ferrell sang backup for Lou Rawls, Patti LaBelle, Vanessa Williams, and George Duke. Ferrell's debut, First Instrument, was released in 1990 in Japan, five years prior to its US release. Recorded with bassist Tyrone Brown, pianist Eddie Green and drummer Doug Nally, several famed jazz accompanists also recorded on her album. They include trumpeter Terence Blanchard, pianists Gil Goldstein and Michel Petrucciani, bassists Kenny Davis and Stanley Clarke, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter and keyboardist Pete Levin. Her take on standards like Sam Cooke's "You Send Me", Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love?", and Rodgers and Hart's "My Funny Valentine", gained her a substantial Japanese jazz audience

Welcome back for Part 2 of Jazz Sojourn with LaDor Frank. We will continue with the music of Bobby Caldwell on Jazz Sojourn.

Bobby Caldwell was born in Manhattan to Bob and Carolyn Caldwell, the hosts of Suppertime, an early television variety show. Living in Memphis and, chiefly, Miami (which he has called an influential "dumping ground" for all kinds of music), he took up piano and guitar as a preteen. Forming his own band at 17, he took the group on the road, later recording an album entitled Kathmandu. Caldwell's first performances were more rock-oriented than the bulk of his career would indicate; early dates had him playing Jimi Hendrix and Cream covers in small clubs. Bobby Caldwell was signed to Miami label TK Records, home to many different kinds of musical acts: the pop-disco of KC & The Sunshine Band, the Latin-flavoured funk of Foxy, the down-home soul of George McCrae and his wife Gwen McCrae, and the futuristic, jazzy disco of Peter Brown. For this label, Bobby recorded his self-titled solo album, scoring hits with the singles "What You Won't Do for Love", "My Flame", "Can't Say Goodbye" and, in Britain, "Down for the Third Time." In order to ensure significant airplay on the African American-dominated R&B radio format of the time, Caldwell's management took certain steps – such as portraying the artist only in silhouette on the cover and in advertisements – to hide the fact that he was white. The secret was, for obvious reasons, shattered by his first live appearances.

This week's guest on Jazz Sojourn is the music of Herbie Hancock. He is an American pianist, keyboardist, bandleader and composer. Starting his career with jazz legend Donald Byrd, he shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet where Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound. He was one of the first jazz musicians to embrace synthesizers and funk music (characterized by syncopated drum beats). Hancock's music is often melodic and accessible; he has had many songs "cross over" and achieved success among pop audiences. His music embraces elements of funk and soul while adopting freer stylistic elements from jazz. In his jazz improvisation, he possesses a unique creative blend of jazz, blues, and modern classical music, with harmonic stylings much like the styles of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. Hancock's best-known solo works include "Cantaloupe Island", "Watermelon Man" (later performed by dozens of musicians, including bandleader Mongo Santamaría), "Maiden Voyage", "Chameleon", and the singles "I Thought It Was You" and "Rockit". His 2007 tribute album River: The Joni Letters won the 2008 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, only the second jazz album ever to win the award, after Getz/Gilberto in 1965. Hancock practices Nichiren Buddhism and is a member of the Buddhist association Sōka Gakkai International. As part of Hancock's spiritual practice, he recites the Buddhist chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo each day.[5] In 2013, Hancock's dialogue with Wayne Shorter and Daisaku Ikeda on jazz, Buddhism and life was published in Japanese. On July 22, 2011, at a ceremony in Paris, Hancock was named UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the promotion of Intercultural Dialogue. In 2013 Hancock joined the University of California, Los Angeles faculty as a professor in the UCLA music department where he will teach jazz music. Hancock is the 2014 Charles Eliot Norton Professor of Poetry at Harvard University. Holders of the chair deliver a series of six lectures on poetry, "The Norton Lectures", poetry being "interpreted in the broadest sense, including all poetic expression in language, music, or fine arts." Previous Norton lecturers include musicians Leonard Bernstein, Igor Stravinsky and John Cage. Hancock's theme is "The Ethics of Jazz." Be sure to listen Jazz Sojourn with LaDor Frank every Saturday morning at 9 and on Sunday afternoon at 2pm www.jimaustinonline.com

It's time for another interview with Lador Frank. Today's guest is Ms. Vernestine Sanders Strickland. Thanks for listening LaDor (Harvey) Frank

Bob Baldwin is a New York-born contemporary jazz pianist, music composer, author, and producer, who learned music from his father, Robert (Bob) Baldwin, Sr. Baldwin's career started in 1983, and has earned four SESAC Music awards,[1] initially for his 2002-2003 airplay of "The Way She Looked At Me," followed by one for his 2008 airplay on NewUrbanJazz.com, one in 2010 for his Never Can Say Goodbye: A Tribute to Michael Jackson, and one in 2011 for NewUrbanJazz.com2 / Re-Vibe. He also was awarded the Sony Innovators Award in 1989 selected by Roberta Flack. Prior to launching his first disc in 1989 ("I've Got a Long Way To Go") on Malaco Jazz Records, Baldwin's dabbled with radio career in 1979 when he broadcast as a student jock for the Geneva College station, WGEV. In 1981, he secured an internship at Inner City Broadcasting (WLIB/WBLS), where he learned news reporting and honed other skills under the tutelage of Pat Prescott. In 1984, he briefly covered the Jesse Jackson Presidential campaign in Westchester County for WVIP in Mt. Kisco, NY. In 2004, he was the Music Director WJSJ (Jacksonville, Fl.), and in 2007, he helped to launch KJAZ in Bermuda (Trott Communications). 2007 brought him to WCLK (Clark University), and later in the fall at WJZZ (Atlanta, Ga.) before they folded in early 2009. Baldwin launched NewUrbanJazz Radio in October, 2008 with WJAB, WFSK, WNAA and WVSU as their initial affiliate base

Meet Bishop Carolyn Coleman She is a native of Forest Mississippi. Be sure to click on the photo and find out more information about Bishop Carolyn Coleman and follow LaDor Frank.