The Jazzmobile and the Central Park Conservancy return with one of Harlem’s favorite jazz events – Great Jazz on the Great Hill returns on August 13th in Central Park (West 106th Street). This year’s event will feature the Jimmy Heath Legacy Band, the Antonio Hart Quartet and Chicago singer Tammy McCann (4:00 – 7:00 p.m.).
The late Jimmy Heath, saxophonist, composer and arranger (who passed away in 2020), was a well-known and well-received regular who led his self-styled big band at Great Hill. In recognition of Heath as a longtime contributor to Jazzmobile as a performer and instructor, the Jimmy Heath Legacy Band with Music Director Antonio Hart will continue to preserve his legacy. Saxophonist Antonio Hart, a protégé of Heath, will perform with his quartet.
In a sea of jazz saxophones, Hart has effortlessly managed to find and maintain his unique alto sax voice. He refuses to rest on his laurels and each performance shows a different side of his musicianship. He toured and recorded with his good friend, trumpeter Roy Hargrove for three years. In his 20-year career he has performed and recorded with a variety of musicians from Nancy Wilson to Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner and Dave Holland.
While Chicago vocalist Tammy McCann is no stranger to Apple, having performed at Dizzy Jazz Club and Carnegie Hall, this will be her debut performance for Jazzmobile’s Great Jazz on the Great Hill. She arrives with a reputation that precedes her with a slew of accolades from Chicago to Europe. Her sultry timbre paints pictures and tells stories by fusing classical vocal technique and gospel aesthetics with jazz to create a sound that is all her own.
The concert is free; bring chairs or a blanket for a nice jazz picnic.
HARLEM WEEK began as Harlem Day, the international family event returns for its 48th anniversary August 12-21, for a 10-day live virtual experience celebrating Harlem’s historic culture, its people, arts and entertainment, the mecca of the Harlem Renaissance and the international Black cultural capital of the world.
The first weekend of HARLEM WEEK will close on Sunday, August 14 with “A Great Day in Harlem,” which will include performances and appearances by R&B artist Kenny Lattimore, a salute to 90-year-old Caribbean legend Lord Nelson (known unlike The Soca Daddy ), Uptown Dance Academy, Artz, Roots & Rhythm, Impact Repertory Theater, The Mama Foundation’s Sing Harlem Choir, Isn’t Her Grace Amazing Choir and an Under the Stars Salute Concert for the album “What’s Going On” of Marvin Gaye (51st Anniversary) with Ray Chew and the Harlem Music Festival All Stars.
Centered around the theme, “Inspiration, Impact and Legacy,” this year’s celebration will also commemorate the 75th anniversary of the NBA’s Rucker Park and Harlem legends being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
“All New Yorkers are invited to take part in the HARLEM Week experience from August 12-21 as we pay tribute to key elements of our city. Adults and children alike will be able to celebrate local education, restaurants, technology and theater,” said Lloyd Williams, chairman of HARLEM WEEK. You’ll hear music ranging from jazz, gospel, R&B, hip hop, soca, Latin, Caribbean, Afrobeat, etc. Remember—you haven’t made it in town until you’ve made it high, so make it in Harlem.For more information, visit www.harlemweek.com.
When we discuss jazz, we have to reiterate, hey we’re talking about black music, it matches blues with funk, R&B and gospel up and down the genre tree. The point is, who is MonoNeon? Never heard of it until this morning after getting a link on an Instagram saying, “Is this what Blue Note has come in? Wow.” The link was to a recent Blue Note jazz club performance by MonoNeon, after a band member in a jumpsuit quickly stripped down to his shorts and offered a wild fart tirade while the band played fart notes. Yes, after seeing such a wild video, one would seriously wonder what is not possible at the Blue Note, on the same hallowed stage where Dizzy Gillespie, Carmen McRae, Stanley Turrentine, Oscar Peterson, Roy Haynes and Sarah Vaughan.
So who is this band with the audacity to sprout such banal language on the Blue Note’s popular stage? MonoNeon is the stage name of band leader, bassist, songwriter and singer Dywane Thomas Jr. He is, according to my research, the most impressive electric bassist on the music scene today (Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers referred to Mono as the “f* *king electric bassist”). He recently made his debut performance at the Festival of Jazz in Newport. No, he’s not a jazz musician, but he sure plays some crazy bass, and that’s my opinion after watching a bunch of his YouTube videos. While he wasn’t in Newport, MonoNeon probably gained new fans only based on the earlier success of Snarky Puppy, who infused jazz rhythms into their multi-textured rock and world music sounds.Memphis-born Thomas is an experimental musician, his colorful videos take you back to the days of MTV. His music is a combination of rock, funk, blues and R&B (he comes from a Buddy Miles, Jimi Hendrix, 21st century Memphis thing). He was inspired by his father Thomas Sr., who was the electric bassist for the funk group ut Bar-Kays. In addition to the group’s hits, the group formed the great Memphis sound (studio band) that became the dynamic soul for Stax Records and its many artists.
“I don’t think of myself as a bass player — I just play, this bass calms me down,” Thomas said in his “Try to Blend In” short video. “I just play around and come up with stuff sometimes, I don’t even like it, but it’s part of me, so I let it go. I first started playing stuff from the Bar-Kays, the SOS band, blues and funk.” During his brief stay at Berklee College of Music he studied with David Fiuczynski, who he says was his main influence on experimental microtonality. In 2015, MonoNeon began playing bass with Prince and also became a member of Prince’s Paisley Park After Dark Jam Sessions. In some circles he is called an avant-garde musician. He doesn’t care he just wants to play badass bass music.
Thomas, who has a large online cult following on YouTube, has recorded more than 20 solo albums as a frontman including “Basquiat & Skittles Album” (2021) and “Put on Earth for You” (2022). He is a Grammy Award winner for his participation on Nas’ 2020 album “The King’s Disease.”
“They see me with the hood on and think it’s a gimmick, but it’s me. I wanted to stand out,” says MonoNeon. “Wear a beanie with high visibility and bright colors to be seen from afar. I think bright colors are like a force field for me.” The sock in his bass, he says, was inspired by the artist Marcel Duchamp from a parody painting he did of the Mona Lisa.
Now, we know MonoNeon, but without the crazy bold actions at Blue Note, we wouldn’t be here. And as my friend explained, he can play, it’s Blue Note cheats and acceptance. Perhaps before COVID-19, the young bassist would never have been booked. But aren’t musicians the ones who take us out and run away, it’s the world of social media that isn’t always tasteful or respectful. Maybe being a young cat he just wanted to go into the established Blue Note world just for the laughs and shock of it all. His playing is more refreshing, his riffs sound like he took personal music lessons from Jimi Hendrix. I look forward to seeing him perform, but please no guy in shorts screaming about farts. Go to YouTube and watch him perform “Invisible” or his song “Breathing while Black”, very insightful. It’s MonoNeon, a sound worth checking out.
