Meet The First Five Honorees Of The Jimmie Lunceford Jamboree Festival Legacy Award!!!

R2C2H2 Tha Artivist Presents Memphis Music Legend And Educator Prof. Emerson Able (left) With The First Annual Jimmie Lunceford Jamboree Festival Legacy Award...This award is a lifetime achievement award given to those who dedicated their lives to excellence in music and music education...The other honorees were Mrs. Kathryn Perry Thomas,well known Memphis City Schools Educator And Master of classical piano...She used to practice her classical piano while Jimmie Lunceford rehearsed the band at Manassas High School back in the 1920s; Legendary Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra Alum and jazz great Prof. Gerald Wilson, WHO RECENTLY WON TEACHER OF THE YEAR AT UCLA (2006) where he has taught jazz for 18 years...At almost 90 years of age he still leads his own big band and tours extensively...A gifted arranger and song writer, Prof. Wilson was also commissioned to write the 50th Anniversary Monterrey Jazz Festival theme song; Legendary Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra alum trumpeter Snooky Young who still plays trumpet in Prof. Wilson's band; Jimmie Lunceford Biographer and Jazz-o-phile Eddy Determeyer whose Rhythm Is Our Business (University of Michigan Press, 2005) was the first biography written about Jimmie Lunceford.

Hey Fam,

copyrighted image by r2c2h2

These Are The Honorees Of The First Annual Jimmie Lunceford Jamboree Festival Legacy Award.

The Award Is Given To Those Who Have Led Or Are Leading A Life Dedicated To Excellence In Music And Music Education…This Award Represents The Living Legacy Of Jimmie Lunceford Who Was Not Only An Outstanding Jazz Musician And Band Leader, But Also An Exceptional Teacher Of Music And Life Who Started The First Music Education Program In The Memphis City Schools…

The Following Five People Awarded This Distinction Are As Follows:

1.) Prof. Kathryn Perry Thomas


One Of The Last Three Surviving Members Of Manassas High School Class Of 1932...She Is A Classical Pianist And Was Taught By Jimmie Lunceford...At 92 Years Young She Is The Last Surviving Memphian To Have Played Music With Lunceford!!!

Listen To The Great Kathryn Perry Thomas Getting Interviewed On W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio:
10-21-07
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2007/10/21/tha-artivist-presentswe-all-be-radio

8-26-07
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/blogtalkradio/show_43772.wax

2.) Prof. Gerald Wilson


Joined Mr. Lunceford Orchestra At The Age Of 18 Back In 1939...He Also Went To Manassas High School For A Few Years...He Still Teaches At UCLA At Almost 90 And Won The Teacher Of The Year Award Last Year!!! He's Also A Very Well Known And Respected Jazz Legend In His Own Right...Mr. Wilson Still Leads His Own Very Successful Big Band Which Also Features Lunceford Alum Snooky Young...He Wrote The Theme Song For The Monterrey Jazz Festival...

Jazz Great Gerald Wilson reminisces about being in the legendary Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra
And Jimmie Lunceford's legacy and place in jazz history on W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio:
10-21-07
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2007/10/21/tha-artivist-presentswe-all-be-radio

8-26-07
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/blogtalkradio/show_43772.wax

3.) Prof. Snooky Young

photo by Jim Riggs

Eugene "Snooky" Young (born 3 February 1919) is an American jazz trumpeter. He is known for his mastery of the plunger mute, with which he is able to create a wide range of sounds.

Young was lead trumpeter of the Jimmie Lunceford band from 1939 to 1942. He played with Count Basie (three stints totalling eight years) and Lionel Hampton, among others, and was an original member of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band. His longest engagement was with NBC, where as a studio trumpeter he joined the Tonight Show Band in 1967 and stayed with them until 1992, when the band was replaced by a new, smaller group. He then continued to perform in Los Angeles.

Young recorded only three albums under his own name, and only one (Horn of Plenty, 1979) as sole leader

4.) Prof. Emerson Able


Prof. Emerson Able, Former Legendary Band Director @ Manassas High School And Jimmie Lunceford Advocate...This Is The Man Who Kicked Isaac Hayes Out Of The Band At Manassas High School!!! Able Recorded And Traveled With The Isaac Hayes Movement, Including The Great Wattstax Festival In 1972, And The Infamous Re-Shoot Of The Hayes Set There.

As A Band Teacher In North Memphis, He Cultivated Many Fine Talents Over The Years, And Is One Of The Unrecognized Influences Of The Memphis Sound.

Mr. Emerson Able Is Also A Jimmie Lunceford Fan And Advocate...He Is A Member Of The Honorary Committee For The First Annual Jimmie Lunceford Jamboree Festival.

Listen To Prof. Able Tell Some Of The Untold Stories Of The Memphis Sound:
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/blogtalkradio/show_50278.wax

5.) Bro. Eddy Determeyer


Bro. Eddy Determeyer is a pioneer in jazz scholarship...He wrote the first definitive biography about the life, career and legacy of Jimmie Lunceford.

Buy The Book Rhythm Is Our Business By Eddy Determeyer:
http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=152644

Listen To The Eddy Determeyer Interview Concerning Jimmie Lunceford On W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2007/10/15/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-Radio

Please Visit The Official Jimmie Lunceford Website:

http://www.jimmieluncefordjam.blogspot.com

Also Support The Jimmie Lunceford Scholars Fund For Deserving Memphis City Schools Students:

http://jimmieluncefordjam.blogspot.com/2007/10/help-us-raise-monies-for-jimmie.html