Washington, District of Columbia July 21 — The Jazz Community will gather on and off stage to celebrate with entertainer Aaron Myers as he brings in his birthday through music and pool-side fun. Rumors are rampant that other local entertainers, club owners, politicians, and a host of other notables will be in attendance. Starting with a music filled night of Jazz at Mr. Henry’s Restaurant and then a Poolside Bash at Vida Fitness U Street Penthouse, confirmations are reaching capacity for both venues.
“There’s no better way to bring people together than with music and birthdays ,” Myers said. “Celebrating music and life will be theme of this weekend.”
Myers, now Resident Artist at the legendary Mr. Henry’s Restaurant, is known for his jazz concerts, comedy, and activism. Over the last 6 years, Myers has introduced jazz to audiences through his intimate jazz shows, his radio program “The Exchange” and through his charitable efforts.
There will be champagne, great performances, and a great pool over the two day birthday experience. To those who are accustomed to these events, Myers will bring an element of fun over the weekend that will be memorable.
“This Birthday is special to me,” Myers said. “I’m announcing the upcoming release of my new album!” Myers also shared another reason the opening festivities hold a certain sentiment. “For the first time, my Friday night show at Mr. Henry’s will be streamed through a platform that will allow people to view the show from their home computers and mobile devices. This will be the first show my 98 year old Grandmother will be able to see. Due to her health, she has never seen my jazz shows.”
Recently, Myers has added “Writer” & “Film-Producer” to his list of accomplishments. Although the projects are in production, the film, reportedly a documentary about DC Taxi Drivers, has garnered a lot of buzz in the DC community. In addition to this documentary, Myers is also shopping around new the feature film script “Paths at Sunset” while finishing up work on TV Pilot “Half Note.”
“Producing a film is not for the faint at heart,” Myers said with a grin. “Deadlines, can make you or break you, but they do help you stay true to yourself about seeing these projects through to completion.”
Aaron Myers, known as the “Class Act,” is a native Texan who has decided to make Washington DC his home. Through his partnerships with charities, business, and politics, Myers has made an impression on the District that merges art with activism. Visit his website at www.aaron2.me.
Friday Night 7/24: Mr. Henry’s Restaurant 8pm (no cover) // Saturday 7/25: (7pm – Midnight) Vida Fitness U Street (No Cover RSVP to aaronmyers@aaron2.me)
Anytime I see these words, without the added parentheses, starting off an opinion editorial, immediately I am reminded that our forefathers/mothers fought for the freedom of speech. It is also my opinion that in there fighting, they would hope the generations that followed them would strive with even more ferver to have responsibility with this right. Alas, I read the words chosen by Mr. Moyers as he begins a diatribe against a genre of music drenched in self expression…and I drop my head in shame.
The first Jazz album I heard came by accident. While rummaging through some records at the home of my Grandparents, I stumbled upon a record that seemed different from the others. It was thicker, visibly older, worn, and on one side simply read, “Gut Bucket Blues” Little did I know, the sounds that I heard would evoke such emotion 70 years after it was first recorded, and leave such an impression on a 12 year old boy.
Since then my love of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton, Eubie Blake, Jack Teagrden has not only evolved, but aided me in my appreciation of musicians like Wynton Marsalis, Esperanza Spalding, Kris Bowers and Allyn Johnson. Each person represents a snapshot of an era, and through their individual expression, a timeless, ageless story is told that transcends words and in some moments, demands change.
Jazz allows a story to be told in different forms
As a southerner, I appreciate a good story. Some of the greatest stories I remember hearing were told over the Sunday dinner table. Waiting in anticipation of a punch-line or a climax in a tale I had heard countless times from my Grandparents is still one of my fondest memories. With that said, some of my soberest memories come from hearing the same tales, told by a family friend, my mother, or even when passing on the tale to other family members and friends for the first time. Humans are unique, and even reading stories from a printed text, our voices, inflections, and tones differ adding a different flavor to the text. Thus is Jazz.
How awesome it is to have heard Louis Armstrong’s version of “Stardust”! You hear as he takes his trumpet and paints a picture for you with only tones from his instrument. How equally touching is it to hear Mel Torme sing the lyrics of Stardust, in his twilight years, written by Hoagy Carmichael, some 60 years earlier. Jazz gave freedom to artists of all genres to not be afraid to add their “flavor” to a song, not taking away any substance or meaning from the composer/lyricist. If you don’t believe me, ask Aretha Franklin about her cover of “Respect” or Nikki Minaj about the work she put into her mixtapes.
I am so thankful that the history of man did not stop with the discovery of fire. With each generation, this concept was built upon. Likewise it is with music. When improvisation is captured, it allows other musicians to take one persons’ improvised expression, and to build upon it.
With improvisation, a new voice is given to the musician/composer to share his/her expression.
In the legal definition of “evolve” one finds that it also includes “preserving the good characteristics” and that change can be “random, generationally slow, good, bad or deadly.” Evolution takes on different tones, in different times, to different people.
The expression of Jazz at one time was only regulated to speakeasies, gin joints, and back rooms. Then, only in Dance Halls. Festivals captured Jazz for a while, and then it stayed in school auditoriums or during special performances by Jazz originators. Now you find Jazz, again, in small clubs and intimate venues, but this time with the invention of new instruments and tools to, again, express Jazz in a different or an “evolved” manor.
There were 8 recorded lynchings, not sure if there were others undocumented, in 1937 when the poem “Strange Fruit” was written. When Billie Holiday recorded this with added music to the poem, the number of lynches had decreased to 3, but this terrible act was now introduced through the expression of Jazz to the world. The honesty of the pain, disappointment and fear Holiday felt towards her country due to its lack of inaction and the continuation of the practice of lynching was, and is, overwhelming. Her 1939 recording of this, in time, became her biggest selling record.
This courage has been adopted by other artists to use Jazz to speak up, out, and against injustice of people throughout the world. “Mushy” is not the first or last word that comes to mind when I, and many others, try to describe Jazz.
5. Jazz is Re-emerging and Local
When I moved to Washington DC in 2008 I was surprised at the classic venues located here in the district that offered Jazz. More venues have now opened their doors to Jazz. The Capitol Jazz Festival now offers “Jazz in the Hood” showcasing the hundreds of local Jazz musicians in the District of Columbia. You will find new festivals starting up every year across the country, and globe, to also showcase the growing number of jazz musicians, that bring with them the influence of their time along with new technology.
Trends have been adopted and thrown away. In the future we will view the fads and technology of today as we now view leisure suits, hoop-skirts, and the “View-Master”. Jazz has not and shows no sign of being dead or on life support. To borrow from Mark Twain, Rumors of its demise has been greatly exaggerated!
If you do not believe me, walk into a local restaurant or small venue and ask for their live music schedule. You will be surprised just how “alive” Jazz is, and will continue to be!
(Jazz Recording Artist Aaron Myers will perform his 125th Show as Resident Artist at the Black Fox Lounge in Washington DC. )
Washington, DC, April 14, 2014 – Jazz/Neo Soul Recording Artist Aaron Myers will hit a milestone this week. Friday, April 18th at 9:30pm when he dawns the stage, it will be his 125th show as Resident Artist at the Black Fox Lounge in Washington DC.
Myers, originally from Texas, moved to Washington DC in 2008 following his nine month stint on the Barack Obama Campaign. After working as the National Director for the Global Family Program, he returned to his first love of Entertainment, and made Washington DC his home. “I believe DC has a live music scene that can compete with NYC, Chicago, or LA any day of the week! I love the music community here, and I feel privileged to be at a venue that appreciates its artists!” he said when asked about the upcoming show.
In 2013, Myers released “Leo Rising” a Jazz/Neo Soul Album, and was recognized locally with 3 Wammie Nominations (Washington Area Music Association) and was voted Runner Up in two categories, Best Singer & Best Performance Artist, in the recent 2014 “Best Of Poll” sponsored by the Washington City Paper.
Black Fox Lounge is a well-thought-out repose located two blocks north of Dupont Circle, in the Northwest section of Washington DC. Opened in 2009, the Black Fox Lounge now offers live entertainment 7 days a week. Mr. Myers started with the Black Fox Lounge at the very beginning. “My relationship with the Black Fox Lounge has grown over the years. I started there every Saturday night which wore me out; now I’m there every first and third Friday of the month” he said. When asked what has kept him there for so long he stated, “The Black Fox has been so supportive of me, especially as I have hit major milestones. From the loss of my father, to the release of my first album, they’ve been right there with me!”
Mr. Myers is currently working on his sophomore album “The Lions Den” and his fall tour that will launch at Blues Alley September 2nd. Be sure to check out the 125th Show of Black Fox Lounge’s Resident Artist Friday, April 18 from 9:30pm to 12:30am. There is no cover for this event.
The Black Fox Lounge is a contemporary lounge in the Dupont Circle area of Washington DC offering live music 7 days a week to its patrons. Reviewed by several blogs and the Washington Post, the Black Fox Lounge will be adding a new twist to it’s Friday Night Music Lineup!!
Friday February 18th (and every 1st and 3rd Friday of the Month) Aaron Myers accompanied by a Jazz Trio will team up with local Spoken Word Artists to offer a night of Jazz and Spoken Word. “It’s all about self-expression” said singer Aaron Myers, “When I think of Jazz almost immediately my next thought goes out to the poets who helped define the Harlem Renaissance”.
The show starts at 9:30pm and runs to 12:30am, however the shows have been running clear into the 1am hour due to the popularity of the Jazz Show! A patron commented to the Washington Post that, “My parents were native Washingtonians, and they tell me about going to cocktail lounges with live music in the ’40s and ’50s. You don’t have that anymore. But this place is bringing it back.”
See you there!! Below is Aaron Myers in an impromptu composing session!
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