Art Official Intelligence
LMMF partnered with Joe Langford of Art Official Intelligence in October 2020 to host an Instagram training session. Use of Instagram provides a new medium for LMMF to share information and promote the organization to new supporters. Several attendees who had never used Instagram joined the training and left feeling confident to posting, comment and share posts. There was great excitement to see the power of Instagram. If you would like a copy of the training presentation, send an email request to [email protected]. If you need assistance with social media marketing, please contact our presenter Joe Langford at [email protected] or www.aointelligence.com.
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Dear LMMF Family,
Since our last email correspondence on March 4, the world has literally turned upside down. On March 5, Artistic Director Leslie Drayton and I traveled to Prague in the Czech Republic for an idyllic birthday vacation. We returned home March 12, exactly 24 hours before the ban on international travel was initiated and nothing has been the same since. Like all other arts organizations, LMMF’s activities came to a complete halt. We canceled all events until further notice. We want you to know that we are coping the best that we can and hope that you are too during these difficult times. Through it all, we can find solace in music and art. According to AARP, music really does make life better. More than 70 percent of surveyed Americans age 45 and older say music has helped them through a difficult time in their lives. This is undoubtedly the most difficult time of our lifetime. Let us share music and art that hopefully will give you a few moments of peace and provide a distraction from your daily routine. A FEW MOMENTS OF PEACE I am most excited about this first video as it is a snippet of music from Leslie’s new CD and it is a reference to me! Leslie is our biggest supporter and contributor and I’m happy to share his talents with you. This is a dance created by some of the Ailey company (and their children and pets!). It uses the opening section of Mr. Alvin Ailey’s Revelations. The Alvin Ailey Dance Group, my favorite, was to be in Houston this month but of course, that can’t happen. Please enjoy this video. The final video is art and music from our trip to Prague. It takes a bit of time to load but it is worth the wait. GOING FORWARD Now for the very difficult part of this correspondence. Something that we haven’t needed to do before but now find the need. We ask for your financial support. Our source of funds is from concert ticket sales and our sponsors. Our sponsors are small business owners who have been greatly impacted by this crisis and we won’t have any concerts. Like you, I’m being inundated with requests for financial support from the opera, dance companies, museums, and other organizations. While I can’t support them all, I’m doing what I can. I ask that you do the same and lend support to LMMF. Your investment of $10 in LMMF will have a great impact on our organization. If each person on our list gives, LMMF can meet our upcoming obligations and be ready to start again when the pandemic is under control. Donations can be made on our website or mailed to P.O. Box 11855, Spring, TX 77391. The link will take you to the site. DonateListen to some great music. Read a great book. Stay safe and sure until we can see each other face-to-face. With deep regards, Kathy Drayton Founder & Chairperson Jalen Baker, jazz vibraphonist and percussionist, gave an outstanding performance at Live Music Movement Foundation’s “Live Performances in Unusual Spaces” event on January 26, 2020 at Notsuoh. He also has the distinction of being the first artist to debut LMMF’s “New Artist Series” for 2020.
Jalen became acquainted with Live Music Foundation when he and LMMF’s Founder Kathy Drayton met at an event where he was performing and the rest is history. Born in Washington DC, then raised in Houston, Texas, Jalen decided he wanted to pursue music professionally as a teen and has never looked back. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Jazz Studies from Columbia College in Chicago and his Master of Music in Jazz Studies from Florida State University. Jalen has been featured at the Notre Dame, Elmhurst, and Arcevia jazz festivals, performed with the Jarrard Harris and Dod Kalm Quartets, and had the honor of being chosen by the Chicago Jazz Institute to be a member of the Chicago Next Gen Allstars. He established the band Musiki Tano that played several venues in Georgia and Northern Florida. Jalen also recently performed with the Savannah Jazz Orchestra. LMMF was able to catch up with Jalen after the event and get some additional details about his music and what he’ll be doing in the future. LMMF: Which famous musicians do you admire? Why? JB: Some of the musicians that I admire most are Stefon Harris, Ambrose Akinmusire, Warren Wolf, Walter Smith, Kendrick Scott, and Ulysses Owens just to name a few. The reason why I enjoy these musicians so much is because they all seem to have found their own voice on their respective instruments which can be a tough thing to do with so many great musicians in the world. Also, everyone that I look up to has an incredible work ethic that is second to none and I aspire to be like that. LMMF: What is one of your fondest musical memory? JB: About four years ago, I was able to play a gig at Houston’s Cafe 4212 with two of my best friends Jalon Archie and Paul Cornish. This particular performance sticks out for me because I have always looked up to Paul and Jalon musically and getting the chance to play with them outside of school sort of validated my hard work. LMMF: When did you first realize you wanted to pursue music professionally? JB: I think I’ve always known that I wanted to pursue music. The thing that was tricky for me was what type of music. I’d say around my junior year of high school while taking lessons with Chase Jordan I pretty much knew that I wanted to play Jazz. LMMF: What will you be doing as far as music is concerned in a year? Five years? JB: This year I’m planning on recording my first album and seeing what comes of that. In five years, I’m not really sure. I try not to think that far forward and just concentrate on what I can control during the here and now. LMMF: Why is music important to you? JB: Music has pretty much given me everything. Education, friends, family, money, and most importantly joy. I’m at my happiest when I’m playing and creating and I hope that comes across in my music. LMMF: The first tune you played at Notsuoh was a very interesting arrangement of a famous tune recognized by a guest. Would you give the name of the tune and something on how/why the arrangement? JB: That was actually an original of mine called “’Twas” but it definitely resembles some other classic Jazz pieces like Bobby Timmons “Dat Dere.” LMMF: A favorite tune of the performance was your original composition of Obey/Disobey. Would you recount the story behind it? JB: So that tune came about when a professor of mine, Dr. Cliff Madsen, challenged the class with the question of would we obey an unjust Law. On the surface this seemed like a very easy question to answer but as I thought more and more about it I realized that it wasn’t. I began thinking about things such as the American civil rights movement and how so many African Americans had to live in a world where they either obeyed the laws that were created to keep them down or die. Everybody lives with a different set of circumstances so people with families and other lofty emotional obligations might not be as able to be on the front lines of fighting oppression because of the terrible consequences that come with that. In my opinion, it takes just as much bravery, courage, and maturity to step back and allow your brothers and sisters who might be better equipped for a specific situation to lead while you support from the background with whatever they need you to do. Everybody plays a role and every role is important. LMMF: Jazz has been noted as the music of protest and of life. Obey/Disobey fits in nicely with those thoughts. We are excited to know that you plan to record your first album by the end of 2020 as it will allow many more people to experience your contribution to jazz music. Additionally, Jalen shared that “The Live Music Movement Foundation is a great organization that is very much needed in the city of Houston and we all need to try our best to come together to help grow the live music scene in Houston.” Thank you, Jalen. We hope to see you at our next live music event to experience the talent of outstanding musicians in the Houston area. Please sign up for updates from Live Music Movement Foundation and get involved. In keeping with the theme “Live Performance is in Unusual Spaces” and continuing the “New Artist Series”, the Live Music Movement Foundation will present Vocalist Daria Savannah at Notsuoh Bar. The musical performance will take place on Sunday, February 23, 2020, 5:00pm to 8:00pm at 314 Main St., Houston 77002.
In keeping with the theme “Live Performance is in Unusual Spaces” and kicking off the “New Artist Series” for 2020, Live Music Movement Foundation will present Vibraphonist and Percussionist Jalen Baker on Sunday January 26, 5-8pm at Notsuoh Bar, 314 Main St., Houston 77002. Tickets are available at www.bownpapertickets.com.
The LIVE MUSIC MOVEMENT FOUNDATION will host the first event for the new year with Down Home Day! 2020. This is a family-friendly event with free admission. DHD is Saturday, January 18, 2020 from 5-8pm at Hoot’s Smokehouse, 7648 Canal St., Houston 77012.
In 2019, the Live Music Movement Foundation presented several musical events that explored the theme of ‘Live Performances in Unusual Spaces.’ These events were hosted at Notsuoh and Hoot’s Smokehouse.
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