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The Augusta News-Review ■ November ,21, 1973 ■ ■Walking M I Ml ■ ■Dignity ■ by Al Irby j JSP B J | ||inrl OCTOGENARIAN EUBIE BLAKE’S MUSICAL COMEBACK BRINGS RETROSPECTION OF HARLEM S RENISSANCE TO 1973. IN 1921 SISSLE AND BLAKE WROTE THE FAME BLACK MUSICAL ‘‘SHUFFLE ALONG”, A SHOW THAT HAD BROADWAY AND THE NATION HUMMING ITS HIT TUNES FOR YEARS. IT WAS THE FIRST EFFORT BY BLACKS TO WRITE, DIRECT, PRODUCE AND PERFORM A BROADWAY SHOW. BLAKE’S COMEBACK TO THE PERFORMING STAGE AT 90 YEARS OF AGE IS JUST SHORT OF A MIRACLE. HE VOWED THEM RECENTLY WITH THE 100-PIECE “BOSTON POPS ORCHESTRA”, ARTHUR FIEDLER, THE CONDUCTOR WAS FLABBERGASTED. “Sometimes I think the people are kidding me”, says the old ex-bordello piano player, vaudevillian, Broadway musical writer, and conductor. I can’t play that good.” But believe it or not, at 90, Eubie Blake is slaying them with his artistry at the keyboards. This year he has performed at the Newsport-New York Jazz Festival at Carnegie Hall, at New York’s Lincoln Center, at the Molde Jass Festival in Norway and with the Boston Pops for old Timers night. Last year he appeared at the Berlin Jazz Festival. The old boy does several performances a month, as many as eight or nine sometimes. He has appeared on the Johnny Carson show three times, on the Mike Douglas show and on “Black Omnibus” with James Earl Jones. Mr. Blake has had many theaters named in his honor, and bundles of honorary degrees bestowed upon him. Baltimore, his home town, has proclaimed a “Eubie Blake Day”. A growing interest in early American is one of the reasons that prompted the old jazz king to forsake his rocking-chair. Jazz is composed of elaborate syncopated rhythms in the melody. It is truly one of the first of the uniquely American styles having become very popular in the late 1800 s. It was exclusively the work of Black entertainers and slaves. Jazz or ragtime has emerged as established concert music; its revival has caught the fancy of young whites, and conservatory -trained pianists even many of them are Europeans. Robert Kimball, a New York music historian, and co-author of “Reminiscing With Sissle & Blake”, a book released in 1973 about Eubie’s early Broadway career with his partner the inimitable Noble Sissle, who, at 84, is retired, living in Florida. “What makes Eubie a jewel is he’s a link with those that went before him” Mr. Kimball stated: “Blake is the only one left to talk about and play music from he turn of the century with the authenticity of a man who was there at the beginning.” Eubie was satisfied with his retirement, playing for a few inquisitive music students and close friends; until John Hammond, vice president for talent acquisition for Columbia Records persuaded him to cut a record. The title was: “86 Years of Eubie Blake.” A two-record album, was his first in 50 years. Mistakenly Blake is currently known as a ragtime piano player, when in truth that type of music represented his early years, when he was a hungry semi-professional. Later in his career, he was better known as a composer, conductor and writer, one of his gems were “Shuffle Along'’, the pioneer of Black showmanship. Old time music lovers will never forget, “I’m Just Wild About Harry”. , , RAGTIME, certainly is his first and lasting love. It s flashy, complicated, and as old as the old hills of Maryland, Eubie Blake’s home state. Max Morath, an entertainer and musical writer of international stature had this to say about the music, that made Blake famous: “Ragtime is difficult to play, particularly for people who haven’t heard it; piano players can play the notes, but the style is another matter. Eubie has the kind of style that few can duplicate.” Ragtime syncopation calls for complex melodies played by the right hand to be accented and contrasted with the steady bass of the left. It’s Eubie’s left hand particularly that makes his playing extemely what the young Black musicians call “Soul”. He plays a reverse boogie bass, sometimes called a wobbling bass. With Wake’s long fingers, he can play with dazzling mastery few can duplicate. His fingers are so long he can play tenths, in fact he spans up to 12 keys, or some 11 inches. Most pianists must settle for nine at best. THANKS HIS MOTHER FOR GOOD HAND MOVEMENTS -Eubie, like all pianists, are mindful of his hands. He says: “My mother made me that way. As a kid she would always make me double up my hands as a constant exercise; if anything ever happened to my hands, 1 would have been finished.” But there’s more to Eubie’s comeback than his superb playing, experts say his best year was 1907. Nowadays naturally, he forgets passages and make s up something to fill in as he goes along. He says other musicians and even critics are kind to him. Eubie says when he is on stage, he is another person altogether, he never gets tired. Blake is a true artist, he always waits until he is inspired before he begins his concerts. Before go ng on for a performance, he usually sits off stage with his wife and manager. He keeps his hands folded in his lap, like his mother would have wanted, and he talks slowly and quietly. He turns his head to one side to favor his right ear because his left ear is not so good. When it’s time for his entrance, he walks to the edge of the stage with the help of a friend. All of a sudden, he straightens up and steadies himself. Then he is transformed, suddenly the doddering Eubie Blake becomes the inspired professional, and he literally sprints to the piano with his hands clasped above his head. As this old master begins to play, he relives his beloved Harlem in all of its renaissance splendor. His audience is composed of his old friends of the past, such as Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, Walter White, George Schuyler, E. Franklin Frazier, J.A. Rogers, Charles Gilpin, Alain Locke, Gwendolyn Bennett, W.E.B. Dubois, Paul Robeson, Abbie Mitchell, Josephine Baker, Florence Mills, Roland Hayes, Louis Armstrong, Bill Robinson, Duke Ellington, A. Philip Randolph, Jean Toomer and the beloved Ethel Waters. This type of imagery audience brings back all the dash and artistry of his youth, and he plays like the master of 1927. Eubie is not exactly sure why he came back to relive his life die second time around. His audiences are nearly all white. But he’s proud of the fact that his contributions are being appreciated by so many, and that he will not be forgotten, just because he s Wark Retirement is simply out of his mind, this time around. “I’ll keep performing,” he says, “until one day while I’m on stage, the man upstairs says nine, ten-you’re out. J. LESTER FURMAN JEWH.ER 214 Bth Street Authorized ouLOVA Dealer Sales and Service on Ladies' & Mens Accutrons Phom: 722-2932 We De* Bvt Never Clew MNeur > t-r-fr Jack Dempsey OMc»%«w l nTl>o4 118 Ninth St. Page 4 TOBE EQUAL /jOBI , BY VERNON E. JORDAN, JR. h NF NP.W RF 'RP WWRPNFRP RP W SFsrWw wP BALLOTING SHOWS ENCOURAGING TRENDS An encouraging feature of the recent election was the defeat of many candidates around the country who campaigned on the old broken record of law and order. In New York City’s mayoralty election, for example, the two candidates who made crime the focus of their campaign barely polled a quarter of the votes between them. ‘ I think this may be due to two factors. First, people are finally beginning to realize that promies of more cops on the beat - and on the city payrolls - won’t stop crime. They fell for the “law ‘n order” line before and wound up with still higher crime rates, so now people seem more willing to vote for candidates who recognize that creating more jobs and equal opportunities is a more rational way to tackle the crime problem. Another reason is the overflow from the Watergate sewer. When you see the nation’s number one “law ‘n order” supporter plead guilty to a felony and observe other hardliners under indictment or under a swelling cloud of suspicion, it becomes harder to accept the proposition that they have the comer on the issue. Another encouraging sign in this election was the continued success of Black mayoralty candidates. In addition to Black mayors of Los Angeles and Atlanta, elected earlier this year, Coleman Young won in Detroit, James McGee in Dayton, Rev. Lyman Parks in Grand Rapids and Clarence Lightner in Raleigh, N.C. The growing ranks of Black mayors are important not only because they are symbolic of Black participation in politics and Black acceptance of the responsibilities of citizenship, but also because the greater the demonstration of Hack political muscle the greater the possibilities are for constructive change in our society. But too many commentators have been carried away by the uncommon spectacle of Blacks in mayor’s chair. The reality is that Black political power as reflected in office-holding is still far below what reasonable parity demands. Blacks still make up one percent of the U.S. Senate, three percent of the Congress, two percent of judges, and less than one-half of one percent of all elected officials in the country. We have come a long way just a decade ago when few Blacks were allowed to vote at all in some parts of the country. Now there are Black office-holders, though not enough, and Black voters are showing considerable maturity in their voting, including sophiscated ticket-splitting and a good feel for the time-honored “reward your friends and punish your enemies” ballot booth behavior. But there is a fly in the ointment. When a Black candidate is in the race, or when there is a local issue of special interest to Blacks, the Black vote is high. But when there is neither of these conditions obtains, it is relatively low - and that spells trouble ahead. A just-released census report shows that Black voting last year was down, with less than 55 percent of eligibles voting. And the participation rate for Hispanic voters was much lower still. A big part of the problem is the structural barriers that keep people from registering and make it harder for low-income and working people to register. Spanish-speaking citizens face vivious discrimination as well, since few areas provide for Spanish ballots. Unless Black people and other minorities are willing to settle for a few mayoralty offices and accept second-rate status, it is necessary to begin now to organize voter registration drives, to keep minority citizens informed of the candidates and issues, to break down the system that prevents many from voting, and finally, to get out the vote in overwhelming numbers on Election Day. Only in this way will the latent political power of minorities become a force for change and not just symbolic power in some places. THE AUGUSTA NEWS-REVIEW PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY Mallory K. MUlandar Editor and Publisher Mailing Addraw: Box 953 Augusta, Ga. Phone 722-4655 Second Claw Postage Paid Augusta, Ga. 30901 SUBSCRIPTION RATES Payable in Advance One Year in Richmond County ..... $5.00 tax incl. 6 Months • • $2.50 tax incl. Ohe Year elsewhere $6.00 tax incl. ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Classified Advertising Deadline 12 noon on Tuesday 1 Display Advertising Deadline 12 noon On Tuesday News Items Printed Free INCOME OF BLACK Ssjoooooaooaoo I AMERICANS IN 1V72 " )nc o m e op BLACK AMERICA 1972 J MAS SI BILLION I DOLLARS, SAID DR. £ ANDREWS BRIMMER, ' BLACK MEMBER OF £ FEDERAL RESERVE / Tm* S BOARD. ,f/»W 8 BLACKS RETICENCE «■' •«} £ TO SEIZE THE Z . x /.ttt ‘W i INITIATIVE TO ORGANIZE ~" r1 d THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES IS MUB4 g A MAJOR FACTOR AND J important factor J CONTRIBUTING TOOUR COMMUNITIES UNDER- - DEVELOPMENT.. -IBWSSfe W DOUGLAS C. GLASGOW, Ij DEAN OF HOWARD ~ university school 4 = OF SOCIAL WORK. >=■ h 1 BLACK COMMUNITIES MUST BE ORGANIZED < E-. ’J LETTERS TO tUi fOR | RESPONSE TO “JAMES BROWN” EDITORIAL Dear Editor: 1 read with some misgivings as well as pride your “Editorial” on “James Brown Loves Augusta”. I agree with you that he does have one of the greatest sucess stories ever and he does love Augusta. I write this because I knew him as a poor waif on the streets of Augusta and as one who did things which he never should have done, also. I taught him and found him to be a very brilliant student and tried to encourage him to further his education while counseling him many times into the right direction. He always accepted such with due respect, but he as others, had a mind of his own and with it he had talent. I don’t think his critics really know the man. They see only one side of the story. I’m wondering if they helped to make him the man that he is today, regardless of what his type or “shortcomings”. If “James Brown” gave financially to everyone who asked it of him, he would be without a dime when he retires, then would come the “laughs” and the “I told you 1 Attention 1 {To have the! ■News-Review! {delivered to 1 | your door | I Call I j 722 4555 | ■Register ■ ■ And ■ ■ Vote ANNOUNCEMENT Want to Adopt a Black Child ? Call the NAACP Adoption Project Ask For Miss Joyce Tutt 722-5951 or visit Tabernacle Baptist Church 1224 Gwinnett Street Augusta, Georgia so’s”. At his pace he cannot < keep up his type of entertainment much longer. He must keep that in mind. ; When he tried to get his j Radio Station WRDW he was : fought then even by some I Blacks, as well as Whites. As for his supporting the Republican Party, there are some other very outstanding Blacks in Augusta who also ’ support the same Party, what about them? Isn’t that a man’s priviledge too? One cannot say he was an undistinquished person even before he became world widely known, for many reasons. Now that he has left so sharp an impression internationally, in that he has stretched his potentials so far, he is so disliked. It, perhaps, is because he has shown so much of his extraordinary quality to stretch himself much further toward his capacity to entertain than some other Augustans. He gives to the poor from whence he came, and asks nobody for the things that he has earned for himself. He should be given some credit, or at least some consideration, for selecting his mate within his own race. He does possess a great deal of integrity and pride enough to bring her to his home city of Augusta to live and have what he wants where at one time he was too poor to have what he needed. I wonder sometimes if all successful Blacks in Augusta have contributed more or even as much to his home city as “James Brown” has? There happens to be well known persons in Augusta whom he has helped in time of need that the public does not know about. Why is he not a “humanitarian”? He gives to those who appreciate him. Can one blame him for that? He gave 3,000 dollars to Paine College Alumni Association. $ 1,000 of which was presented by me. The ones who are so critical of the man should not always look from the standpoint of a hand-out but at other things he has done. Remember “Beau Jack” and what became of his earnings. What about some other Augustans have they forgotten that Augusta is home. They too have done quite well. I’m wondering also about that person who was formerly employed by “James Brown” who scys he is an “Exploiter of Black People”. I was at one time employed by him to do “Black History” on Radio Station WRDW and found him to be quite OK. As the editorial says, “Money cannot buy affection nor respect. Both must be earned.” There are many Augustans who are jealous of each other. There are many Augustans of the past who give their all for their home city. They too, were Black but one never hears their names mentioned in any way or any place. They love Augusta also and money did not buy affection nor respect for them. I’m sure they earned it. Respectfully, Laura L. Garvin 950 Hopkins St. 30901 ! GIVE A UNIQUE GIFT | y THE M | NEWS-REVIEW t i The AUGUSTA NEWS-REVIEW is the gift that is remembered week ft J after week. Send it to your friends and family. fii E Enclosed is $ » ts Send to: Name S 8 Address- & 5 CityStateZip V 6 From: Your Name & J 6 Months $2.50 ( ) 1 Year ( ) $5.00 £ g No additional cost to servicemen. W £ AUGUSTA NEWS-REVIEW & P.0.80x 953 X Augusta. Georgia 30902 Speaking! Out | I By Rooaevdt Greta, Jr. ][ ... ». ■, ULaww F 3 SPEAKING OUT By Roosevelt Green, Jr. The American consumer is once again a victim of greedy capitalists as it relates to the so-called energy crisis. The consumer is expected to make sacrifices while the major oil companies and others involved increase their profits but not their oil production. Our economy is the victim of political and economic fat cats with the federal government looking on in approval. It is not difficult to see how our current presidential administration is unable to regulate corporate rip-offs when you remember the large and often illegal contributions to the last presidential campaign. The lack of energy is not only due to fuel shortages, but also the result of a lack of commitment to a sound democracy. The current president and Congress show a tremendous lack of energy in this area. We could probably warm this country with a lot of the hot air that is coming from the White House and Congress. A number of large corporations have agreed to cut off some of their energy needs but certainly not their profit taking what inflates the economy. Their patriotism warms your heart while it bums your pocketbook. The sad thing about our economy is that so many Blacks and whites on low survival fixed incomes have to pay higher prices for food like everybody else. It may eventually be cheaper to eat money than to buy milk and meat. The undernourished millions in this country are in for ever harder times while the rich and super-rich continue to go on diets to lose weight. Current administration fiscal policies have put all of us on diets. Chicken is no longer cheaper than baloney - both meat and political. Silence while others are oppressed will eventually lead to your oppression. We are now witnessing the coming for the “silent majority” in the evening after the rest of us were picked up in the morning of this country’s moral and democratic crisis. It is with some amusement that I observe how loud the so-called “silent majority” is now that they have finally seen how they were tricked and deceived. The energy crisis occurred when so many whites voted in the last presidential “mudslide” election. The energy crisis occurs when affluent Amerikkans ride by the poor in the slums and ghettoes of this country. The energy crisis occurs when whites are more committed to racism than humanism. The energy crisis occurs when whites do nothing and care less about the welfare of Blacks and other ethnic minorities. The energy crisis occurs when Blacks “ego-trip” about being Black with no positive program for self-help. The energy crisis occurs when some preacher does nothing about the hell on earth while braying about the dimensions of heavens - The energy crisis occurs when some people care about the less fortunate less for eleven months with one month set aside for love and concern at Christmas. The energy crisis occurs when voters shift their brains in neutral and vote their emotions rather than their true convictions about democracy and brotherhood. I am sure you too can think of many situations which may be labeled “energy crisis” that have the same dire consequences as the present energy crisis fiction. This country is in as great a need for conservation as anything else. The failure of the majority of people in this country to change our present system for the better is the real energy crisis. “The problem” of this country is not just one man but the whole nation. This country must resign from democracy for some or it will surely be impeached by the revolution of all. The hope of this country may well rest with Black elected officials of both sexes. It seems that Blacks are the only ones left who still or really seem to believe in justice and democracy. Blacks may have to assume the leadership role in moving the so-called Amerikkan Dream from a nightmare to reality. Dreaming is the luxury that sets up a nightmare when action is the real need. Harambee!! PRAISES COVERAGE Dear Editor: Looking back on Women’s Day, I feel that its success was due very largely to your excellent coverage. Thank you for reaching out to give Antioch (The Church That Reaches Out) annual Women’s Day the extraordinary boost in making it a memorable one. Sincerely, Fellowmembers in Christ Viola Elam - Chairwoman Ann Robinson - Co-chairwoman