The Moors. Black Rulers of Southern Europe: 711 CE - 1492 CE ( Almost 800 years )
Monday, March 7, 2022
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
Standout panist Garvin Blake jamming on the road with Desperadoes Steel Orchestra J'Ouvert morning 1992 Trinidad
Jouvert 1992 - Despers "Pan is Mih Jumbie" composed and arranged by Robert Greenidge. The skillset and touch of noted musician Garvin Blake on full display.
"My last year playing pan on the road." - Garvin Blake
video by Lloyde George.
Related content
Windward Carriacou - Launching ceremony Reality 2
A launch ceremony is always a big event. We were lucky to be at the right time in Carriacou, which is a Caribbean island, part of Grenada, which is famous for traditional shipbuilding. Beautiful yachts and commercial ships are well known in the Caribbean. This short film was made during the launch ceremony of the 18m cargo ship Reality 2, on the 1st of March 2020, just a few days before Covid-19 blocked the world.
You can read the full story about it on our website http://blog.whitedogsails.com/windwar...
We are the sailing family of three, living aboard, and sailing the world since 2018 on our vintage sailing yacht "White Dog" - Moody 419 from 1985. Check out our website http://www.whitedogsails.com
Monday, February 28, 2022
Dr. Franklin “Frankie” McIntosh marks 25th anniversary of Commemorative Stamp
Dr. Frankie McIntosh’s commemorative stamp.
Brooklyn, New York-based Vincentian musical giant Dr. Franklin “Frankie” McIntosh has begun celebrating 25 years of a Commemorative Stamp in his honor by the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Dr. McIntosh – a pre-eminent Caribbean musician, arranger, composer, musical director and producer – told THE VINCENTIAN exclusively Sunday night that was “difficult for me, in 2022, to describe the emotions experienced 25 years ago, when a commemorative stamp bearing my image was issued by the then government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” under the New Democratic Party (NDP) administration of late Prime Minister Sir James F. Mitchell.
“Neither can I vividly recall all the particulars surrounding its issuance,” said McIntosh, who, in December 2020, was conferred the Doctor of Letters (D. Litt), honoris causa, by the University of the West Indies (UWI).
“Although the government’s gesture was highly valued, I didn’t consider it necessary to proclaim the good word to the general public,” added a very humbled Dr. McIntosh, who was musical arranger, keyboardist, technical producer, pianist, music software programmer and conductor for some of the most prominent Caribbean calypsonians, such as Alston “Becket” Cyrus; The Mighty Sparrow; Explainer; Calypso Rose; Obstinate; Short Shirt; Shadow; Swallow; Lord Kitchener; Crazy; Winston Soso; and Duke; among others.
“Only close relatives and friends were informed,” continued McIntosh of the commemoration. “That remained the case until a few days ago, when my sister, Cheryl, took the initiative to post a photo of the stamp on her Facebook page, thereby triggering a groundswell of congratulatory messages.
“I beg your indulgence in permitting me to extend, via this forum, a heartfelt ‘Thank you’ to all well-wishers,” Dr. McIntosh said.
According to the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Postal Corporation, the Frankie McIntosh Stamp was issued on Jul. 24, 1997.
“‘Good news travels slowly but arrives in the end, thank goodness. Bad news always arrives a day too soon’,”said McIntosh, quoting Halldór Laxness (1960). “Could Mr. Laxness have had foresight of my commemorative stamp, released in 1997, but making news headlines today, 2022?”
He said that it was on a Wednesday, when Cyprian “Cyp” Neehall, the editor of THE VINCENTIAN, called him in New York from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, stating that he was “instructed, by whom I don’t recall, to convey the news that the government had plans to put me on a stamp, but would need a photo by Friday.”
Dr. McIntosh said he rushed to a photo studio close to his Brooklyn residence, “and, in regular home clothes, took a few half-body shots.
“These were sent to Cyp on Thursday,” he said. “I first saw the stamp one year later on a visit back home.”
More than a decade later, Dr. McIntosh said his Boys’ Grammar School (secondary school) comrade, Dr. Ralph E. Gonsalves, incumbent Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, personally recommended him for a diplomatic passport and a UWI honor.
“These gestures made it clear to me that both governments, like the people of SVG (St. Vincent and the Grenadines), valued my work on its own merits and not because of the color of my T-Shirt,” he said. “I am profoundly grateful and proud of this. It speaks well for SVG that artists were being recognized for such honors decades before the practice became fashionable in the region.”
Dr. McIntosh said none of his forebears was born with the proverbial “gold spoon,” stating that they all “worked hard to achieve whatever they accomplished, and I have tried to follow their example.”
He said while the commemorative stamp bears his image, it represents his family, friends, supporters and associates.
“It represents my musical influences from SVG, Trinidad, the USA and elsewhere – the support of the general public, my immediate family, musical associates and other friends,” Dr. McIntosh said.
“Once at Kennedy Airport (John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York) a customs officer became overwhelmed on examining my passport and discovering a stamp which I had placed inside,” he added. “He had ‘never met anyone on a stamp before’
“As my contemporaries pass on, the inevitability of death becomes a stark reality,” Dr. McIntosh continued. “However, I feel gratified that legacy of this stamp, and other honors, will tell the story to my descendants that their ancestors did something in life, which was appreciated by others.
“Through music, he imparted joy and love to the world, at least in some small measure,” he said, speaking about himself. “And, perhaps, that would serve as an inspiration.”
One of McIntosh’s arrangements, Becket’s “Calypso Disco”, became the soundtrack of the movie “The Deep.”
The UWI said, during the conferral, that Chalkdust’s 1989 Calypso Monarch-winning “mellifluous Chauffer Wanted”, another classic musical arrangement by McIntosh, “underscored the brilliance, as well as the versatility of this Vincentian and Caribbean virtuoso.”
“What is amazing, nay, beguiling, is not only his musical genius, but his courage and ability to maintain a ‘professional’ disposition and straight face while arranging Winston Soso’s ‘How Some Men Love They Women’; or Mighty Swallow’s ‘Fire in the Back Seat’ and ‘The Man with the Pepper Sauce is Boss’; or Becket’s ‘Teaser’ and ‘Coming Higher’; and, indeed, The Mighty Sparrow’s ‘Don’t Back Back on me,’” the UWI said.
It said that McIntosh – a classically-trained jazz musician, with the BA degree in music from the Brooklyn College of the City University of New York (CUNY), MA degree in Jazz Performance from the New York University (NYU) School of Education and a licensed teacher from the NYC Board of Education – has made “an indestructible mark on authentic Caribbean music and, ipso facto, bona fide Caribbean culture.”
“He was not constrained by nationality or other parochial interests in the deployment of his talent,” the UWI said. “With a totally Pan-Caribbean and Diasporic sensitivity, he found the time for teaching and assisting younger performers, arrangers and musicians, not just the big popular names.
Dr. McIntosh’s mentors and teachers were world renowned and iconic, like John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet; Zenon Fishbein, a Chopin proponent; and Robert Starer, noted US composer.
Dr. McIntosh, a former member of the travelling group, “The Wonderful World of Charlie Brown and Yvonne,” backed up groups such as The Shirelles; Jay and the Americans; The Platters; and Inkspots.
His particular arrangement of “Betcha” by Golly Wow fame caught the attention of the legendary Phyllis Hyman, who later recorded her own version of it.
The UWI said the subject of a 1991 Class Magazine article by Trinidadian Les Slater, a Brooklyn resident, summarizes Dr. McIntosh’s awards and citations over the years: “Frankie McIntosh: Master Musician.”
“And so does his receipt of a diplomatic passport from the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and his induction into The Sunshine Awards Hall of Fame NYC in 2015, to name but a few of his well-deserved accolades,” the UWI said.
Related content
Thursday, February 17, 2022
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
Monday, February 14, 2022
Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show: Time Lapse Of Stage Construction Before Dre And Snoop Hit It
See how the field at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood was converted from football to concert settings in quick order at Super Bowl LVI. Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg perform with Mary J. Blige, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar.
𝗠𝘂𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗱 𝗔𝗹𝗶 & Malcolm X
"Turning my back on Malcolm was one of the mistakes that I regret most in my life. I wish I'd been able to tell Malcolm I was sorry, that he was right about so many things. But he was killed before I got the chance. He was a visionary ahead of us all. Malcolm was the first to discover the truth, that color doesn't make you a devil. It is the heart, soul, and mind that define a person. Malcolm was a great thinker and an even greater friend. I might never have become a Muslim if it hadn't been for Malcolm. If I could go back and do it over again, I would never have turned my back on him." —𝗠𝘂𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗱 𝗔𝗹𝗶
Sunday, February 13, 2022
Saturday, February 12, 2022
Pan giants Len "Boogsie" Sharpe and Anthony Williams - A Moment in Black
Pan giants Len "Boogsie" Sharpe and Anthony "Tony" Williams. Two of the most revolutionary artists in steelband history. -- Garvin Blake
Photo by Garvin Blake
Relevant content
- Prometheus of Pan
- Meet Anthony Williams - Master Steelpan Innovator and Leader - UpClose!
- Anthony Williams - 1963, 1964 - Champion Panorama Arranger
- Pan Am North Stars Steel Orchestra on the Ed Sullivan Show
- Len “Boogsie” Sharpe - Champion Panorama Arranger
- Boogsie Sharpe: The Legend - Trapped Between Reason and Reality
#SteelpanMusicExcellence #BlackHistoryMonth
Friday, February 11, 2022
The oldest photographs taken in Barbados of a Bajan, this image captures Nancy Daniels
Excerpts from Bygone Barbados by Ann Watson Yates
Said to be one of the oldest photographs taken in Barbados of a Bajan, this image captures Nancy Daniels. The picture is believed to have been taken in the 1850s, either at a studio in Bridgetown by the photographer Campion or at the house where she worked as a domestic servant.
Nancy was born either in 1751 or 1755 in West Africa, believed to be modern day Nigeria as it was thought she was of Igbo ethnicity. Her real name is unknown and it is believed she came to Barbados in her teens or as a young woman. Even though Nancy would have grown up in West Africa, survived the Middle Passage and being sold into slavery, the devastating Bridgetown Fire of 1766, the destructive hurricane of 1780, the Bussa revolt of 1816 as well as Emancipation and Apprenticeship, little is known of her life.
She is known to have lived in Bridgetown at Synagogue Lane and worked for the Daniels family as a domestic servant, for whom she worked for many years, first as an enslaved women and later as a domestic servant after Emancipation. At her death her age is officially recorded as 116 years, dying and buried on September 24th, 1871, but oral sources from the family put her age at 120 years old. She is one of the oldest people to have lived in Barbados, achieving super centenarian status.
#bazodeemag #history #oldbarbados #tbt #throwback #throwbackthursday #tb #historical #historicphoto #historicphotography #nancydaniels #igbo #igbokwenu #igbohistory #igbowomen #nigeria #bridgetown
Miles Davis & Trumpeter Howard Mcghee in 1947
Miles Davis at the age of 21 carefully studying Trumpeter Howard Mcghee in 1947.. (Repost Jazzman1108) Photo :William P. Gottliebil
Thursday, February 10, 2022
Lebron hired his friend Rich Paul to be his agent with no experience or degrees in sports related fields
After graduating from high school, Paul bought his first house at 19 and was mentored by Distant Replays owner Andy Hyman on selling vintage jerseys. ... In 2002, he met LeBron James at the Akron–Canton Airport, where James was impressed by Paul's authentic Warren Moon throwback jersey.
Paul’s agency, Klutch Sports Group, is a part of United Talent Agency and represents LeBron James, Ben Simmons, John Wall and Anthony Davis, among other NBA players. Rich Paul is known for driving hard bargains for star clients, giving them new power in the N.B.A.
He launched the agency in 2012, with Forbes reporting that Klutch received over $1 billion in contract values and the company’s football division represented two of the first three players who were drafted in 2020.
See what happens when you sometimes give people a chance to prove their worth and put your friends in a position to win!! Uplift each other!
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
Enslaved Chef Created Mac and Cheese, Thomas Jefferson Gets Credit For It
*Did you know that an enslaved chef named James Hemings created Mac and cheese but Thomas Jefferson, third president of the U.S., often gets credit for it?
The story, passed down through the generations, goes that while traveling in Europe in the late 1700s prior to becoming president, Jefferson first tried a European version of macaroni pasta and cheese. He brought the recipe back when he returned to Virginia. But what is left out of that lore is that Jefferson was traveling with a slave who was his chef, and it was Hemings who came up with a version of mac and cheese for Americans’ taste. But Jefferson and his wife, Martha, took the credit.
To Sir With Love as A tribute to Sir Sidney Poitier
The video production is set to the theme song of the British film bearing the same title, To Sir With Love, in which Sir Sidney played the leading role. The song was also released the same year as the film in 1967, and was sung by Scottish singer and actress, Lulu Kennedy-Cairns. A recipient of the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) award, Lulu starred alongside Sir Sidney in the movie. The song and movie became a number 1 hit that year on US charts.
#BlackHistoryMonth #SidneyPoitier #AcademyAwards
Monday, February 7, 2022
The Bombing of Move
On May 13, 1985, at approximately 5:28 p.m., two, one-pound bombs were dropped onto a house at 6221 Osage Avenue. The bombs were dropped from about 60 feet above the house by a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter. It was recorded, that the 500+ police officers at the scene, fired approximately 10,000 rounds of ammunition in the direction of the house in 90 minutes. This act of terrorism caused the deaths of 11 people (6 adults and 5 children) and destroyed 61 houses in the predominately Black neighborhood of West Philadelphia.
The city police department was locked in an ongoing feud with a group called MOVE. Founded by John Africa in 1972, the MOVE Organization was a Philadelphia-based Black liberation group that preached revolution and advocated a return to a nature lifestyle. They lived communally and vowed to lead a life uninterrupted by the government, police, or technology. They were passionate supporters of animal rights and members adopted vegan diets. Members also adopted the surname “Africa.” Often times they would engage in public demonstrations related to issues they deemed important for black people
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
The Slap - Sidney Poitier - In the Heat of the Night
CLIP DESCRIPTION: When Endicott (Larry Gates) slaps Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) for implicating him as a suspect in the murder, Tibbs slaps him right back. FILM DESCRIPTION: The winner of the 1967 Oscar for Best Picture (as well as four other Oscars), In the Heat of the Night is set in a small Mississippi town where an unusual murder has been committed. Rod Steiger plays sheriff Bill Gillespie, a good lawman despite his racial prejudices. When Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), a well-dressed northern African-American, comes to town, Gillespie instinctively puts him under arrest as a murder suspect. Tibbs reveals himself to be a Philadelphia police detective; after he and Gillespie come to a grudging understanding of one another, Tibbs offers to help in Gillespie's investigation. As the case progresses, both Gillespie and Tibbs betray a tendency to jump to culture-dictated conclusions. Still, the case is solved thanks to the informal teamwork of the two law officers. Based on the novel by John Ball, In the Heat of the Night inspired two sequels, both starring Poiter as Virgil Tibbs. In 1987, a TV series version of In the Heat of the Night appeared, with Carroll O'Connor as Gillespie and Howard Rollins as Tibbs. CREDITS: TM & © MGM (1967) Cast: Larry Gates, Jester Hairston, Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger Director: Norman Jewison Producer: Walter Mirisch Screenwriters: Stirling Silliphant, John Ball
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-
Jazz, R&B and ‘sophistifunk’: James Mtume’s greatest recordings From his Afrocentric jazz with Miles Davis and Lonnie Liston Smith to h...
