<i>Jazz Hall Hosts 20th Annual Induction Gala</i>
The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame’s inductees for 2008 have been announced and the sparkling special music celebration will be held at the new Jazz Depot on Wednesday, Oct. 22 with a 6 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. dinner and 8 p.m. awards and music entertainment. The Joint will truly be Jumpin’.
Board Chair-man, Steve Alter acknowledged, “We are pleased to announce that our Honorary Chairpersons for this year’s anniversary Gala are the founder of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame Senator Maxine Horner (ret.) and CEO and entertainer Chuck Cissel. It is quite appropriate for Senator Horner to serve in this capacity and especially on this special occasion, given her all-out support of the Jazz Hall from its inception to this very day.”
Jazz Hall board member Mac Finlayson adds, “The Jazz Hall of Fame is her vision for honoring Oklahoma greats in the jazz, blues and gospel art forms.” Senator Horner formed the Jazz Hall in 1988 after meeting with OU Professor William Savage, author of “Singing Cowboys and All That Jazz.”
I came to the Jazz Hall in 2000 from New York City, and have worked diligently to raise the Jazz Hall’s profile over the past eight years, not only in Tulsa and throughout the state of Oklahoma, but nationally and internationally. I was also a player in the Vision 2025 Project and led the charge to secure the Jazz Hall’s new home in the historic landmark, Tulsa’s Old Union Depot Train Station. Both Sen. Horner and I are committed to the Jazz Hall becoming an international destination for visitors around the world to visit and for Oklahomans to learn of Oklahoma’s rich jazz, blues and gospel history. The Jazz Hall cornerstone mission is the music arts programming for the youth and making a commitment to expose them to the arts.
The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame Honorary Co-Chairs for 2008 are Mr. and Mrs. Doug Collins of Collins and Associates. The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame Board Co-Chairs are Steve Alter, Chairman of the Board, and Attorney Mac Finlayson, Preservation Committee Chair.
The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame’s 20th Annual Induction Banquet Gala will be held in the Great Performance Hall of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. The black-tie fundraiser begins at 6 p.m. with a reception, 7 p.m. dinner and 8 p.m. Awards Ceremony and entertainment. Music for the Gala will be provided by Tulsa’s own Jazz inductee, Donald Ryan with Arthur Thompson on drums, Tracy Kouns on bass, special musical guests, fiddlers Jana Jae, Rick Morton, Shelby Eicher and the Salsa Rhythm Project. Honorees Pam Van Dyke Crosby, Ray D. Rowe and Annie Ellicott will also perform. One can purchase tickets by calling the Jazz Hall at (918) 596-1001. Again, the Joint will truly be Jumpin’!
This star-studded night of music and glamour is a highlight of the year for the Jazz Hall, and for many in the community, this event is the most entertaining of the year. For 2008, the Jazz Hall will honor the illustrious Latin Jazz and salsa icon Eddie Palmieri, artist, pianist, recording artist, writer/composer, bandleader and statesman. Mr. Palmieri is the distinguished international ambassador of the Latin jazz community and a nine-time Grammy Award Winner. He will receive the Jay McShann Lifetime Achievement Award for 2008, for his astounding career and outstanding musical contributions to jazz in America and around the world.
Also to be honored is legendary jazz artist Slide Hampton, an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. He was a 1998 Grammy Award winner for “Best Jazz Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s),” as arranger for “Cotton Tail” performed by jazz vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater. In 2005, the National Endowment for the Arts honored Slide Hampton with its highest honor in jazz, the NEA Jazz Masters Award. A masterly arranger and gifted trombone player, Hampton’s career is among the most distinguished in jazz.
We are so blessed to honor both Eddie Palmieri and Slide Hampton, and it is especially significant since we get to celebrate our anniversary with these jazz masters. These legendary artists will receive our highest honors.
The Oklahoma Jazz Hall Of Fame will also pay tribute to the 2008 Jazz Inductee, Bill Maxwell, who was born in Oklahoma City, but now resides in Los Angeles, Calif. Bill started playing drums professionally at the age of twelve. One of his first bands was with legendary blues guitarist and Oklahoma Jazz Hall inductee, Jesse Ed. Davis. Bill was a member of “The Third Avenue Blues Band” whose album was produced by T. Bone Burnett in 1969. Bill moved to Los Angeles in 1972 as a member of Andrae’ Crouch and the Disciples. He has produced eight Grammy winning recordings for The Winans, Andrae’ Crouch and others. Maxwell also formed the jazz group “Koinonia” with his dear friend Abraham Laboriel. Bill was the music director for the television shows, “The Jamie Foxx Show,” “Martin”, “Living Single,” “For Your Love,” “Amen” and many more. Bill has recorded with Cassandra Wilson, T. Bone Burnett, Ray Charles, Billy Preston, Quincy Jones, The Crusaders, The Nappy Roots, Freddie Hubbard, Anita Baker, Luther Vandross and many more. Bill worked as a music producer and musician with the Coen brothers on their films “The Ladykillers” and “Romance and Cigarettes”, and worked as a featured musician on the film “Walk The Line”. Bill is thrilled to be a member of the new group “Open Hands” with Abraham Laboriel, Justo Almario and Greg Mathieson.
Also on tap is one of Tulsa’s great blues singers, Ray D. Rowe, who will be honored as the Blues Inductee for 2008. Mr. Rowe was an original member of the GAP Band and has grown into one of Oklahoma’s top blues vocalists. SPOT Music Award-nominee and one of Tulsa’s top jazz vocalists, Annie Ellicott will receive the Legacy Tribute Award for 2008, while jazz vocalist and Tulsa Jazz Society President, Pam Van Dyke Crosby, will receive the first ever Director’s Award for her outstanding contributions to the jazz scene in Tulsa. Glenda Love, executive director of the Ronald McDonald House, will be honored with the Maxine Cissel-Horner Spirit of Community Excellence Award.
Special thanks to the corporate sponsors of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame: Greater Tulsa Reporter Newspapers, Oklahoma Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Clear Channel Broadcasting, Fox 23 News, SpiritBank, TulsaPeople Magazine, Osage Casino, Williams, American Airlines, Oklahoma Eagle Publishing Co., Oil Capitol Limousine, ONEOK, Inc., Performance Stage, Preview Magazine, Stem’s Flowers, Upper Crust Catering, VIP Limousine, Maxine & Jack Zarrow Family Foundation, Anne and Henry Zarrow Family Foundation, Tulsa Technology Center, The Carson Foundation, The Kerr Foundation, Sharna and Irvin Frank Foundation, The Oxley Foundation, The Hille Family Charitable Foundation, The Grace and Franklin Bernsen Foundation, The Charles & Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, The Kerr Foundation, Inc., Ruth Kaiser Nelson Foundation, the Ronald McDonald House Charities, Inc., and The Raymond and Bessie Kravis Foundation. The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame is a statewide 501© 3 organization dedicated to inspiring creativity and improving the quality of life for all Oklahomans through preservation, education, and performance of jazz, our uniquely American art form.
Updated 10-23-2008
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