Gail Jhonson

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Gail Jhonson

By Ken Capobianco

KEYBOARDIST GAIL

JHONSON is a longtime stalwart on the jazz scene. She’s worked with numerous jazz luminaries, including as musical director for Grammy-winning guitarist Norman Brown. She also founded the all-woman powerhouse group Jazz in Pink, and released five stellar solo records on her own label, Philly the Kid Records.

And, as a Black woman in a white male-dominated industry, she thinks we are watching the beginning of a new era in American life.

“This is a definite time for change,” she said. “Everything must change eventually. But I do think this is different and a moment in history. I never thought that Nelson Mandela would have been released after 27 years in prison and become the president of South Africa.

“That was absolutely phenomenal, and we never could have imagined it, so real change is possible. I certainly didn’t expect a Black president in the United States in my lifetime. I knew it was possible, but I didn’t think it would be that soon. This could be another one of those moments.”

The Los Angeles resident, who was born in Philadelphia, thinks it’s going to take a village to turn the course of history and bring about racial equality. “It’s going to take everyone,” she said. “Since the civil rights movement, it’s taken every man, woman and child to make things happen.

“We used to think that people were just following Dr. King and watching him march, but people were doing the little things in their neighborhoods, schools, churches and homes, so it was all of their collective work that brought the civil rights movement. And, that’s what we’re going to need now.”

She looks to the younger generations to be the real engines of reform. “I applaud the young people who are getting out there now. And they are looking back at history and religion and sexism and making the connections to race. The paradigm is changing—not just in America but all across the planet.”

Jhonson’s son tragically passed away earlier this decade. And, she is also the mother of a 26-year-old daughter, whom she voiced concern about during this tumultuous time. “I worry about her future—how she can handle the obstacles and all the things going on. So, I have to prepare her, be a friend and listen. She needs to participate and be proactive and be part of the change. You can’t wait for the party to start. You have to initiate and do what you know is right.”

Exuding positivity and grace, Jhonson discussed how everyone can contribute to the solution, and why white people need to have empathy for the Black community’s struggle to help produce true change.

“I’d say to white people to believe what is going on. Systemic racism is real. My son used to get so many

Photo: LaSalle Barnes Photography

“We used to think that people were just following Dr. King and watching him march, but people were doing the little things in their neighborhoods, schools, churches and homes, so it was all of their collective work that brought the civil rights movement. And, that’s what we’re going to need now.”

parking tickets that we decorated the tree with them. It was ridiculous. I’m a conservative driver, as is his dad, and we taught him, but for some reason that boy kept getting stopped every time he went to Hollywood. The police were always singling him out.

“I wish they took a minute to get to know how funny, nice and cool my son was, then they wouldn’t come at him like that, but it was just profiling.”

The problems, she explained, extend far beyond the policing system. “The image is that all the white kids are not smoking pot or doing bad things—they ignore the white boys smoking at country clubs or wherever, but they catch the brother on the corner. And we get it—a lot of different people make mistakes or hang out with the wrong crowd, but with the criminal justice system, if a white boy gets caught with coke, he gets a year probation, but a Black kid gets 25 years for weed possession.”

The superb keyboardist is using her art to bring some light to the world and uplift the community. “I’m writing a symphony now called ‘Requiem for Sonless Mothers,’” she said.

“I have my themes and my three movements, and Karen Briggs is going to help me with the string arrangements. She’s great at it. I also have a slide show I’m organizing now. I have a song called ‘Hands Up’— I wrote it five years ago. I have friends and family send me some pictures with their hands up. It’s going to be my contribution as an artist to chronicle the times.” The slide show, called “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot,” is on her social media platforms.

Jhonson said her own experiences with racism within the industry also extend to sexism—the issues are intersectional. “I have more concerns with being underpaid as a woman than for the racial component. We have a problem with so many white executives.

“They are signing rappers to their contracts if they keep making their nasty records that fit a certain stereotype. You know those executives don’t want their girls half-naked in videos and their sons spreading extremely vulgar, sexist stuff, but they are using young Black rappers and monetizing them.”

She paused as if fatigued by the thought. “I know artists who have said, ‘I have some really cool, clever rhymes,’ but they are told ‘No-go, put some curses with them.’ No doubt there’s an audience for that, but there are people like me, my mom and my daughter, who would listen to hip-hop if it had cool, smart lyrics and great beats. But some of this mess that degrades women? No thanks. Of course, everyone has to eat and pay the bills, so I understand the rappers’ decisions, but at the root, it’s the power structures that need to change.”

Jhonson’s video for her song “Hands Up” can be viewed at https://youtu.be/vgytTvqupPE. For more information on Jhonson, visit https://gailjhonson.com.