Press Release LOUISIANA MEMORIAL JUNETEENTH JAZZ & ARTS FESTIVAL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (10/20/10)
Contact: Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Artistic Director
Louisiana Memorial Juneteenth Jazz & Arts Festival
National Association of Juneteenth Jazz Presenters (NAJJP)
National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF)
662-247-3364
e-mail: JuneteenthDOC@yahoo.com
web sites:
www.JazzLouisiana.net
www.JuneteenthJazz.com
www.ChristianJazz.net
www.Juneteenth.us
Sadie Roberts Joseph
Louisiana State Director
National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF)
225-343-4431
e-mail: mourningsaturday99@gmail.com
web site: www.NationalJuneteenth.com
Louisiana Memorial Juneteenth Jazz & Arts Festival
Honoring Alvin Batiste
Baton Rouge Late Jazz Legend Alvin Batiste
Honored on His Birthday
(Baton Rouge, Louisiana) - Baton Rouge's rich jazz heritage and legacy will be celebrated during the
Louisiana Memorial Juneteenth Jazz & Arts Festival, hosted by the
National Association of Juneteenth Jazz Presenters (NAJJP) and the
National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF). The festival will take place on
Sunday, November 7, 2010, in honor of the late legendary jazz clarinetist,
Alvin Batiste and will include an art exhibit and
jazz concert.
Born in 1932, November 7th is the birthday of
Batiste, who would have been 78 years old. A preeminent music educator and influential
clarinetist, his impact will be with us as long as jazz is performed. From his founding and leadership of the
Jazz Institute program at Southern University in Baton Rouge to his current work with the New Orleans Center for
the Creative Arts, clarinetist
Alvin Batiste has influenced three generations of musicians. His students are among
today's most recognizable working jazz artists.
His students are presently very prominent in the world of music today as celebrated jazz musicians, composers, recording
artists and educators. A limited list includes Randy Jackson, Antonio York, Roland Guerin, Troy Davis, Donald Edwards, George
Fontenette, Herman Jackson, Henry Butler, Branford Marsalis, Kent Jordan, Chris Severan, Willie Singleton, Herlin Riley,
Reginald Veal, Kent Jordan, Yolanda Robertson Windsay, Ernest Jackson, Margeret Valet, Jonathan Bloom, Coco York, Wes
Anderson, Julius Farmer, Dennis Nelson, Kirk Ford, Al Rodriguez, Charlie Singleton, Monty Seward, Betsy Braud, Micheal Ward,
Raymond Harris, John Gray, Quamon Fowler, Maurice Brown, and many more.
Former students, bassist Harry Anderson, Director of the Southern University
Alvin Batiste Jazz Institute, drummer Herman Jackson, Asst. Director of the
Alvin Batiste Jazz Institute and vibraphonist Charles Allen, will be among
the featured performers at the festival.
In an effort to preserve the great historic jazz legacy of the African American community, the
National Association of Juneteenth Jazz Pesenters (NAJJP) sponsors a series of Juneteenth Jazz Legacy
Concerts, Juneteenth Art Exhibits Art Exhibits, lectures and jazz workshops throughout the country. In partnership
with the African American Jazz Caucus (AAJC), many events occur in June which is
Black Music Month and the month Juneteenth Independence Day is
celebrated across America.
Known as "June is Black Music Month!" - CELEBRATING JUNETEENTH JAZZ - "Preserving Our African American Jazz
Legacy!", the Louisiana Memorial Juneteenth Jazz & Arts Festival,
is part of a series of annual events that include the historic jazz cities of Kansas
City, Missouri and Omaha, Nebraska. Celebrated all across America
and around the world, June is
Juneteenth African American Jazz
Legacy Month.
The NAJJP and the
AAJC are also
"Celebrating HBCU Jazz Education in America!" by recognizing
Alvin Batiste as an alumnus of Southern
University, as well as other noted jazz masters who attended HBCU's, as the college and university
institutions of higher learning that founded jazz education in America. A
NAJJP/AAJC Jazz Educators Wall of Fame has also been
proposed to acknowledge the significant contributions of historic African American jazz educators, including
Alvin Batiste, to students and educational institutions across America.
Juneteenth commemorates the day when slaves in the last geographic area in America where slavery existed learned of
their freedom. This took place on June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, when Union General Gordon Granger read
General Order #3, announcing that "all slaves are
free" by Proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln. The
Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, and issued on January 1,
1863. It took over two and a half years for the news to travel to southwest Texas. The
National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign continues to work to establish
Juneteenth as a national holiday observance in America.
Juneteenth is also officially recognized as a state holiday observance in Louisiana, joining a total of 36 states,
the District of Columbia and the U.S. Congress in the recognition of America's 2nd Independence Day.
The festival's featured special guest artists will be "bassist extraordinaire" and noted jazz educator,
Dr. Larry Ridley, Executive Director of the
AAJC, master jazz guitarist Manty Ellis and
accomplished jazz saxophonist
Dwayne Armstrong.
Also performing will be accomplished jazz pianist and trumpet player,
Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., who composed and performed many original
compositions with
Batiste while completing his residency in Family Practice at Earl K. Long Hospital in Baton Rouge.
A modern day renaissance man, Dr. Myers is a minister, physician and jazz musician. Myers credits
Batiste for providing
needed inspiration and encouragement when he founded of the
Fellowship of Creative Christian Jazz Musicians (FCCJM) and accepted the appointment as the first
Chaplain of the
AAJC.
As the leader of the
"Modern Junetenth Movement" in America, Myers appointed
Batiste as the first historic pioneering Chairman of the
National Juneteenth Jazz Commission in 2001. Myers performs at
Juneteenth Jazz events across the country as the
National Juneteenth Jazz Artist.
Myers will be joined by members of his "Juneteenth Jazz Praise Ensemble" including Cuban percussionist,
Earlton Battles Manley,
percussionist and National Juneteenth Spoken Word Artist Eddie
Dunn and drummer, percussionist and featured visual artist
Aye Aton, formerly with the legendary Sun Ra Akrestra.
A Juneteenth Art Exhibit, in honor of the late National Juneteenth Jazz Artist and Bogalusa, Louisiana
native,
Alvin Carter, will present for public viewing, the magnificent art work of
Aye Aton.
Art exhibit opening reception will begin at 6:00pm and will be followed by a jazz concert at 7:00pm. These events will take
place in the Dubose Recital Hall, located in the Music Building on the campus of
Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
There is no cover charge. Donations to the
Alvin Batiste Jazz Institute and the
AAJC/HBCU Student Outreach Program will be greatly appreciated. Suggested ticket donation in $20.00.
Information about the festival can be found at www.JazzLouisiana.net
or www.JuneteenthJazz.com. Also contact Sadie Roberts Joseph at
225-343-4431; e-mail:
mourningsaturday99@gmail.com or
Dr. Myers at 662-247-3364; e-mail Juneteenthdoc@yahoo.com.
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