Jazz & Blues Florida June 2023 Issue

Grammy winner, two-time Emmy nominee, and 2020 USA

Artists Fellow Dr. Dom Flemons is known as The American Songster.® With a repertoire covering more than 100 years of American roots music, Flemons is a songwriter, multiinstrumentalist, music scholar, actor, slam poet and recording archivist. He is considered an expert player on the banjo, guitar, harmonica, jug, percussion, quills, fife and rhythm bones. Last year, he received a degree as a Doctor of Humane Letters from his alma mater Northern Arizona University. After representing Northern Arizona as a slam poet at the national level in 2002 and 2003, Flemons graduated NAU with a degree in English in 2005. He began his musical journey by co-founding the Carolina Chocolate Drops with Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson, honoring the legacy of their mentor Joe Thompson and the traditional string band music of North Carolina. The Drops recorded songs for the feature film The Great Debaters (in which Flemons played a juke joint musician), which was produced by Oprah Winfrey and directed by Denzel Washington.

They won a Grammy in 2010 for their album Genuine Negro Jig, and its followup, 2012’s Leaving Eden was also nominated. Flemons toured with the group until officially leaving to pursue his solo career in 2014. Four years later, Flemons’ solo album Dom Flemons Presents Black Cowboys – part of the African American Legacy Recordings series co-produced with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. – sparked a worldwide phenomenon, bringing the black contributions to country music and western history to the forefront of popular culture. It peaked at No. 4 and spent more than 55 weeks on the Billboard Bluegrass Charts. Also in 2018: Flemons made his solo debut on the Grand Ole Opry, he was included in the American Currents Class of 2018 exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame Exhibit alongside the likes of Reba McEntire and John Prine, he received two Emmy nominations (for the PBS Episode: Songcraft Presents Dom Flemons and for the

co-written song “Good Old Days” with Ben Arthur), and was the first Artist-in-Residence at the “Making American Music Internship Program” at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

In 2020, Flemons was selected for a USA Fellowship Award for the Traditional Arts category, and he released the two-CD solo reissue album Prospect Hill: The American Songster Omnibus. Tyler Childers invited him to collaborate and perform on his Grammy-nominated Long Violent History album. Flemons also collaborated with guitarist Steve Cropper and Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band for a cover of Elmore James’ classic “Shake Your Money Maker,” and on the track “Skip, Skat, Doodle-do,” produced by Branford Marsalis for the soundtrack to Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

In 2022, Flemons’ American Songster

Radio Show moved from public radio to Nashville’s country music radio station 650 AM WSM for season three. The hour-long

FLEMONS

monthly program presents selections from his personal music collection, along with conversations with guests like Bobby Rush, Mickey Guyton, Billy Strings, Steve Martin and Branford Marsalis.

Flemons has been invited to speak at Harvard, Stanford, Vanderbilt and Princeton Universities, the Library of Congress, and Berklee School of Music, among others. He has served on the Board of Directors at the Steve Martin Banjo Prize, Folk Alliance International, Music Maker Relief Foundation, and was elected as a Governor on the Board of Directors for the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the Recording Academy.

As a solo artist, Flemons has covered more than a

million miles across the U.S., including the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman, the Kennedy Center, and the opening ceremony for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. He has toured Canada, Ireland, the U.K., Spain, France, Germany, Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia and Malaysia. Flemons has also performed and/or recorded with hundreds of artists from around the world. His songwriting prowess takes the spotlight with the original songs on his seventh CD, 2022’s Traveling Wildfire. Flemons’ compositions reveal his love of Americana, blues, country, western, blues, bluegrass and folk music, capped off with a cover of Bob Dylan’s 1964 demo “Guess I’m Doing Fine.” This event is part of the Lincolnville Museum’s Juneteenth celebration. More at theamericansongster.com

JUNE 17 WITH BAD DOG MAMA THE WATERWORKS ST. AUGUSTINE

Ephraim Owens

One of the most highly-regarded jazz musicians on the Austin, Texas scene, trumpeter Ephraim Owens has been the bandleader at Austin’s Continental Gallery since 2006. But he has also been touring and recording with the blues-focused, Jacksonville-based Tedeschi Trucks Band since 2015. Owens says that when he heard then-senior Roy Hargrove play trumpet, “That was it,” and he has credited Hargrove as his most direct influence. After attending the famed Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, and two years of community college, Owens left for Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos. He joined the University’s jazz band, and in 1994 the band played at both the North Sea and Montreux Jazz Festivals. Owens relocated to Austin in 1996 to pursue his career full time, and soon became an area fixture, with then-Mayor Bruce Todd proclaiming June 14, 1997, as Ephraim Owens Day. Owens has toured and recorded across a range of genres. In a 2016 interview, he named Sheryl Crow, Mumford & Sons, and Patty Griffin as artists with whom he particularly enjoyed collaborating. In 2015, Owens joined the Tedeschi Trucks Band, and appears on the band’s albums Live from the Fox Oakland, I Am the Moon. Owens’ Austin Music Awards include: Best Horn Player in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017; Austin Music Hall of Fame induction in 2017; and Best Performing Band (Jazz) in 2018 and 2020. Find him on Facebook.

Sheba The Mississippi Queen

Born Martha Booker in Sunflower, Mississippi, Sheba the Mississippi Queen’s father was a gospel singer who traveled the South. But as sharecroppers barely getting by, the family moved to Florida in search of opportunities. Since that fateful day, Sheba’s career has taken her to New York City and back to Florida, where she gained fame as a uniquely talented singer and performer. Sheba had been singing with the Wild Rob Moore Blues Band, which led to a gig at the Ft. Lauderdale Blues Fest. There Sheba met Ken Minahan, who liked her voice so much he put a band behind her. Sheba and The Rhythm Kings toured from the Florida Keys all the way back to Mississippi. After five years and one Sheba-produced CD, Miss Good-n-Plenty, the group disbanded, and Sheba launched her solo career. Her 2009 solo debut Butter on My Rolls led to a steady career delighting audiences with her powerful and passionate voice, and the ability to thrill and chill equally. Sheba can skillfully straddle the line between blues and gospel, but her immense range includes jazz as well. She formed the band Sheba the Mississippi Queen & the Bluesmen in 2018, and they were International Blues Challenge semifinalists in 2019. Sheba’s albums are almost entirely made up of original material, written from years of pain and hard times, but also about transcending those experiences, as evidenced on her sophomore release, 2017’s A Real Good Woman and her latest, 2021’s This is the Blues. More at shebathemississippiqueen.com.

WITH DR. JULES

A. QUINN

JONES CENTER GAINESVILLE

Marcus Click

It was during his 13 years serving honorably in the U.S. Navy that Marcus Click grew to love jazz, listening and learning from the likes of the late Grover Washington, Jr., David Sanborn and Kirk Whalum. Working diligently as a musician (replacing earlier aspirations of a pro football career), he received encouragement from famed percussionist Sheila E., fellow sax ophonists Nelson Rangell and Najee, and his sax mentors: Joe Yorio and Mel Holder. Click’s 2005 album Movin’ featured 11 self-penned tunes, topped the charts in its first week, and received praise from smooth jazz stations, critics and listeners. In 2019, he won the AMG’s Instrumentalist of the Year Award. This led Click to drop several successful singles, including “Sound the Alarm” and “Together We Stand.” His diverse, exotic and percussively progressive album Brand New Day (2023) is a spiritually minded collection with contributions from Mel Holder, Roger Ryan, William Green, Ben Parris (Grammy winner for Emerging Artist), Madoca Kawahara, Jonathan Fritzen, Bob Baldwin and Alissia Benveniste. The compilation serves as a brief summary of Click’s journey – just follow the song titles, which carry a message. The title track debuted in the top spot for the most spins (first week in rotation) for Billboard Smooth Jazz radio stations. This event is part of the Lincolnville Museum’s Juneteenth celebration. More at marcusclick.com.

Mahoganee

Renowned vocalist, songwriter, visual artist and poet Mahoganee describes herself as a music cultural preservationist. In her work as a Gullah/Geechee lowcountry creative, Mahoganee’s unique style of indigenous soul music is a blend of southern soul, funk, jazz, blues, hip-hop with African, Native Indian and Caribbean influences – or as she calls it: Funky Organik Soul. This music that ignites the senses and lyrics that spark the soul is created by Mahoganee and her husband, music producer André Amigér. With more than 30 years of experience in her field and national credits to her name, Mahoganee’s sultry vocals, commanding stage presence, and four-octave range have earned her a loyal following by an ever-growing fan base. The“Sea Island Songbird” has performed at festivals and events including the Annual Black Family Reunion for the National Council of Negro Women in Washington, DC, and the Black Heritage Festival in Savannah, GA. She has been a member of the recording academy (Grammys) for several years and a GrammyU mentor. Mahoganee is also a volun teer for District Advocate, the biggest grassroots advocacy program serving as a voice for music makers in shaping policies impact ing the music community. This advocacy helped lead to the passage of the CASE Act, providing billions in COVID relief for music makers and businesses in 2020. Her current release, and fourth studio album, is 2021’s selfreleased Textures of a Southern Soul. More at mahoganee.com

JUNE 16

LINCOLNVILLE MUSEUM AND CULTURAL CENTER ST. AUGUSTINE

CAP All-Star Jazz Ensemble Reunion Big Band

The Community Arts Program (CAP) with its 2023 Summer Concert Series is thrilled to present the CAP ALL-STAR Jazz Ensemble Reunion Big Band. The Ensemble began in 2009 to provide Miami-Dade County youth with a professional experience in ensemble jazz playing, including big band. The experience sharpens sight reading, style, technique, improv, rhythm, recording studio skill, college prep, career development, and team building. All of this through the practical study and performance of works that span jazz standards and contemporary works to its recent engagement of a curriculum that presents newly-composed works by Ensemble members. This event presents Ensemble members from 2009 to its most recent 2023 graduate. June 8 promises a fun and energetic evening with big band charts of the giants like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Neal Hefti, and others. In recent years, the ensemble has appeared at Jazz at Lincoln Center as part of its Essentially Ellington and South Miami Dade Cultural Arts Center as part of its concert series. Highlights also include opening for the Preservation Hall Jazz Band (twice), Count Basie Orchestra and Doc Severinsen, among others. The CAP All-Star Jazz Ensemble is one of four CAP performing groups, three CAP Creative Strings ensembles and the CAP Jazz PREP Band. Each is part of the CAP after-school Conservatory and Miami Jazz Institute. More at communityartsprogram.org.

Donald Harrison

New Orleans-born saxophonist Donald Harrison is a musician/composer with a mastery of every era of jazz, soul and funk… and he is also a composer of orchestral classical music. In the HBO drama Treme, Emmy-winning director David Simon created two characters to portray how Harrison innovated new styles of music. Harrison has appeared as an actor/ musician in 9 episodes of Treme, Spike Lee’s When The Levees Broke documentary, and Marvel’s Luke Cage. Harrison has played with Art Blakey, Dr. John, Lena Horne, Miles Davis, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and The Notorious BIG, among many others. He has performed with more than 200 jazz masters and created three influential styles of jazz. At age 19, Harrison created a modern jazz take on the New Orleans second-line tradition and introduced his composition “New York Second-Line” to the jazz world in 1979. By the mid-’80s, he created Nouveau Swing, a distinctive blending of the swing beat of modern jazz with hip-hop, funk and soul music. In the ’90s, Harrison recorded hits in the smooth jazz genre. He began exploring music through the lens of quantum physics in 2000, moving music from a two- to a fourdimensional state with quantum jazz. Harrison has been a mentor to artists including Jonathon Batiste, Christian Scott, Trombone Shorty and Esperanza Spaulding. Additionally, Harrison is the recognized Big Chief of Congo Square in Afro-New Orleans culture and was made a Chief in 2019 by Queen Diambi Kabatusuila in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa. More at donald harrison.com.

Ronnie Bell

While deeply rooted in the traditions of old-school classic soul, Ronnie Bell’s music brings a fresh vibe to the genre. Drawing inspiration from Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Al Green and Marvin Gaye, Bell also incorporates contemporary influences from the likes of Usher and The Weeknd. The result is a sound that is both familiar and innovative, with a raw energy and emotional depth that is all his own. No stranger to the road, Bell has toured extensively and performed in front of large crowds across the country. Raised in Walker, Louisiana, roughly 20 miles east of Baton Rouge, Bell started singing in choirs as a youngster. During his teenage years, he performed with the family group George Perkins & the Voices of Harmony, and then with Kenneth Mitchell & the Voices of Praise. After two years of attending Delta State University, during which he played on the school’s Division II championship-winning football team, he transferred to Southern University and joined the Southern University Concert Choir. Bell also opened on-campus gigs headlined by the likes of 112 and Erykah Badu. A self-titled three-song 2012 EP served as Bell’s solo debut. Several singles such as “Cotton Candy” followed during the next few years and led to a longer EP, #BBMyself, in 2015. I’ll Pay the Shipping Cost arrived in 2016. His latest is Ronnie Bell 365, and the single “The Party Ain’t Ova” is currently in rotation. More at reelentgroup.com.