Show business genes

Posted on by Sylvia Wong Lewis

Show business genes – I attended a fantastic show recently called “On Kentucky Avenue – The Club Harlem Revue,” that brought back memories. It was a story about an historic African American nightclub in Atlantic City (AC) where several of my relatives performed. Club Harlem was considered the ‘Black Copacabana’ of its time–among the best of the Chitlin’ Circuit! Besides cooking genes, there seems to be a lot of show business genes in my family, especially on my father’s side (Harlem via New Orleans and Mississippi). If you were born with showbiz genes, being a performing artist or working in the entertainment industry is probably the only thing you can do or want to do. Maybe we could also call it diva or divo genes! Is the world your stage? Are you prone to drama if the right music or circumstance presents itself? If you can answer yes to any of these questions, then chances are that you were born with showbiz genes. I am related to a lot of characters like that. Even if they are too old or infirmed to dance, sing and perform, they still do. When my jazzy cousin Tempy was in her eighties she would perform high kicks and splits just to let you know she still had it! Cousin Jojo Smith at 70+ had two hip replacements and still choreographs, coaches and teaches.

Atlantic City was the Gold Coast for the rich, white international set. Films and songs have been written about this iconic seaside town. I assume that the owner of AC’s Club Harlem added the name “Harlem” to his club’s title because it gave his place the global brand for great black entertainment. The validity of AC’s Club Harlem was that it gave talented artists of color like my relatives another place to perform in the region besides the ‘real’ Harlem, other Chitlin’ Circuit venues and Europe. Like the ‘real’ Harlem in New York City, Atlantic City was racially segregated back when my relatives performed there. My Aunt Jeri Smith, was a pianist and bandleader; Uncle Joe and Aunt Helena Smith had a tap dance routine with Cab Calloway; and cousins Jojo Smith, Tempy Fletcher and Kathy Smith were dancers with the Lon Fontaine Trio, Larry Steel Dancers and in “Rio” and “Mambo” acts. They told stories about performing on the same night with such greats as Dinah Washington, Sammy Davis, Duke Ellington, Louie Armstrong, Lou Rawls, Sarah Vaughn, Gladys Knight, Ella Fitzgerald, The Hines Brothers, Moms Mabley, Slappy White and too many to list here.

Aunt Jeri said that black artists were always booked as performers and entertainers in the big Atlantic City venues. But because of race laws, blacks could not enter these fancy establishments. So, they needed someplace else to go ‘after-hours’  to unwind.  Can you imagine? After receiving standing ovations, the black stars had to exit through the back door. As fans clamored for their autographs, security guards harassed them until they left for AC’s all-black section on Kentucky and Missouri Avenues, a few blocks away.

Well, once inside Club Harlem on Kentucky Avenue that’s where the ‘real’ shows happened, according to family stories.  Club Harlem became THE after-hours venue for the hottest shows in AC. Many of the big white stars like Frank Sinatra, the Rat Pack, and Marilyn Monroe and others would hangout with the black stars and patrons there.

There is a Smithsonian Institute exhibit about Club Harlem in the works to tell this unique chapter of African American music history. Here’s link: http://www.atlanticcityweekly.com/news-and-views/local-history/Got-Club-Harlem-smithsonian-exhibit-museum-music-history-ac-139380708.html

The recent show (2/17/2014) portrayed a wonderful spin about an original place that had closed years ago. Set during an era when entertainers had an elegant soulful style rarely seen today, there was one fabulous act after another.  The stories within a story involved a 1969 opening night and a love triangle. I am certain that everyone in this cast was born with showbiz genes! There was plenty of drama, theater, dance and original music that brought everyone to their feet and dancing in their seats. Check listings for upcoming shows at www.onkentuckyavenue.com.

The awesome cast included, in order of appearance: Ty Stephens, Cheryl Freeman, Andrika Hall, Mindy Haywood, Brian Davis, Cassandra Palacio, Renee Ternier, Adam Bourque, Donna Clark, Gregory J. Hanks, Lee Summers. Guest star and Creator, Jeree Wade; Director Adam Wade; The Freddie Baxter Orchestra: Frank Owens, piano; Richard Cummings, synthesizer; Damon Duewhite, drums; and Wilbur Bascomb, Odell Craft-Bass.

Do you have showbiz genes in your family? Do tell!

Here are some photos from my family archives and event photos taken from a recent show at The Triad Theater, 158 West 72nd Street, 2nd Floor, NYC.

Coming to the Table

Posted on by Sylvia Wong Lewis

Watch the Episode here:

503 Coming to The Table.mpeg-2-Apple TV from Toni Williams on Vimeo.

I was honored to co-produce an edition of the TV show Brooklyn Savvy with Toni Williams, host & executive producer, for a segment called “Coming to the Table.” The title is taken from the name of an organization that I am very passionate about. I serve as one of the coordinators of the group’s local chapter. The program addressed genealogy, race relations, slavery and white privilege with candid conversations. Invited guests included colleagues from Coming to the Table (CTTT) – NYC chapter, Elizabeth Sturgess-Llerena, Julie Finch; Mitchell Woo, Hunter College/CUNY faculty, and specialist on identity, race and Asian American studies; and Denise Arbesu, the show’s regular co-host.

Sturgess-Llerena, a NYC schoolteacher, is a descendant of the DeWolf family, the nation’s largest slave-traders and founders of Brown University. She co-directed her family documentary “Traces of the Trade: A Story From the Deep North,” created and produced by her cousin Katrina Browne. Julie Finch, a Quaker from Maine, recently discovered her family’s Southern roots from old family letters that mentioned the children that they had enslaved. Julie has accused her ancestors of “rape” of the enslaved women that her family owned. She said that she also made the names available to genealogy organizations and is considering how to reach out to her linked African American ancestors.

A racially diverse group, CTTT members are descendants of enslavers and enslaved. As a mixed-heritage person, I identify as a descendant of both groups. Training and deep dialogue in a safe place is a hallmark of the organization’s model for reconciliation and healing. CTTT believes that Americans need to and should be able to talk about race in a safe way without fear, guilt, shame or ridicule.

The white guests on this Brooklyn Savvy TV show talked about discovering enslaved men, women and children in their own families through genealogy research. They shared their shock about their family history. They were also very clear-headed about their “mis-education” by the American public school system and society in general. Do you recall how you were taught about slavery?

The white guests explained what is meant by the term “white privilege,” a major focus of the show. They also listed some basic privileges that white people and light-skinned people of various ethnicity can enjoy simply based on the color of their skin. Woo reflected about a historic “divide and conquer” mentality that created “disconnects” between various racial groups and opportunities. This show is definitely a must see!

Coming to the Table (CTTT) is a national organization with chapters across the nation that believes that America needs to heal from racism caused as a result of centuries of enslavement of Africans and genocide of Native Americans.

Brooklyn Savvy airs at 8 am on Sundays on Channel 25 and Cablevision (Ch 22). You can also tune into Brooklyn Savvy on NYC.gov for additional provocative conversations.

Please feel free to comment.

 

 

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Indo-Afro Dance

Posted on by Sylvia Wong Lewis

At a recent private Lincoln Center screening of dance film UPAJ, viewers witnessed the creation of India Jazz Suites, an amazing Indo-Afro collaboration starring a 68-year-old Indian Kathak icon and a 32-year-old African American tap dance star. Subtitled “the story of a friendship unlikely,” the Issie Award winning documentary, rolled out like a modern father-son love story. Upaj means ‘improvise’ in Hindi. The unlikely pair’s journey was full of magic and rhythm as these two divergent and humorous souls invented and performed unscripted lives ‘on the road’ in India and America.

The film featured my paternal cousin Jason Samuels Smith, 32, tap dance star of “Bring in Da’ Noise” fame, who comes from a family full of dancers. Pandit Chitresh Das, 68, India’s foremost Kathak dance master, is a descendant of one of India’s most prominent dance families.  

The documentary is a behind the scenes look at friendship,  family history and life as artists. We saw Jason as a child dance star on TV’s Sesame Street with dance superstar Savion Glover.  Memorable film clips and black and white family photos of Das’ parents costumed in Kathak performances during colonial India were also featured. The story inside the story portrays the struggle of all artists: sacrifice, demons, dedication, devotion to craft and most of all— the quest to engage with an audience!

Finally, they are booked to perform at a prominent Indian wedding. Thousands attended the traditional weeklong wedding event at a huge stadium. After their successful performances, Das and Jason and their accompanying musicians received several bookings throughout India—at universities, on television shows, and at a variety of venues. The camera follows them over six years, as they engage, perform and travel from place to place.

There was humor and pathos throughout the film as both men—Das colorfully costumed, barefoot with bells on his ankles and Jason in tap shoes sporting a variety of hairstyles—entertain with joy and wonder. Jason and his crew’s exhaustion from a weeklong wedding was comical.  Jason’s reactions to India’s monkeys that ran wild contrasted with his astonishment at the incredible poverty in India: “Man, I thought I came from the ‘hood until I went to India,” he said.

Archival film excerpts of tap dance giants Nicholas Brothers and Gregory Hines provided nostalgic moments. Jason lamented the loss of his mentor, Gregory Hines. Das recalled memories of his guru’s murder and eventual cremation.  There was a bit of dance history from both Indian and American cultures.  But most of all, we saw two lovable characters develop a friendship and evolve—Jason matured to manhood and Das mellowed. There were many standing ovations after the screening of this magnificent film. Kudos to the award-winning filmmakers: director Hoku Uchiyama and producer Antara Bhardwa. Jason and Das both have won numerous awards individually, and together they won the Isadora Duncan Dance Award for the Best Ensemble Performance of the Year.

Mark you calendar for this must-see film that crosses age, race and cultural boundaries. It is set for Martin Luther King Day, Monday, January 20, 2014, 8pm on PBS’s AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange. Do you know about other Indo-Afro collaborations? Eg. Culture, cuisine, the arts? Please describe in comments.

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Auntyland

Music Genes: Piano lessons

Posted on by Sylvia Wong Lewis

“The show must go on,” was a family mantra that I heard often. My uncles and aunts told stories of daily performances “on the road.” They said that although they were only children, they could never be sick or too tired to perform. People in show business still live by that rule.

Actually, many in my generation were forced to study music. Even my gangster cousin Reggie Bolt could play Mozart and Chopin on the piano! Our grandmother, Madame Tempy or Mother, as she was often called, insisted that we learn classical music. Some of my relatives secretly played jazz, gospel and popular music. Some of them received voice training and instruction on a variety of instruments like the violin, sax, trumpet, clarinet, drums and various percussion instruments. Old-fashioned piano teachers like my grandmother employed all kinds of teaching techniques that would never fly today, like tying cord around our fingers for muscle memory, hitting our knuckles with a ruler, grunting or yelling if you played wrong notes, and assigning difficult make-up homework.

There was no getting out of piano lessons. Like church, it was a family requirement. Very few escaped. And we had to practice everyday. We were lucky enough to have four pianos at home—three uprights and one concert grand—all leftovers from grandmother’s studios. Living with that many pianos created a fun atmosphere. At times, my home was like a music school, theater or nightclub depending on the day and who was there.

Researching about my family’s traveling musical act as they “migrated” from the South to Harlem has been my passion for years. I inherited many photos and stories. As a college student I even composed a folk opera about their journey. I am also digging for information about my mother’s Caribbean musical relatives. My maternal Aunt Elaine Wong Cameron, my middle namesake, sent piano books to me from Trinidad often. I heard that she led a steel drum (pan) orchestra that was wildly popular in Trinidad. I am always searching for musical family stories. I believe that music helped my family cope with the difficulties associated with immigration and migration.  Scientists believe that music is powerful medicine. Click here to learn about the healing power of music. Studying the mysterious connection between music and genes is ongoing. Click here to learn more.

If you could start over, what musical instrument would you play?

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Music Genes: Madame Tempy

Posted on by Sylvia Wong Lewis

Music was key to my family’s survival, according to stories I heard since childhood. Our music genes were inherited from my paternal grandmother, Madame Tempy (Stuart) Smith, (1884-1960) the family matriarch. She was born and raised on a dairy farm in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, two generations from slavery. Despite racism, lynchings, and segregation, Madame Tempy managed to acquire a college education at Straight College now known as Dillard University and the Boston Conservatory. She developed an exceptional reputation as a music teacher and performer in Ocean Springs and New Orleans, according to news clips and family stories.

After filing for a divorce, Madame Tempy (sometimes spelled Tempe) singlehandedly raised her large family of talented musicians, singers and dancers. An extremely independent, self-reliant and perceptive person, she recognized her family’s perilous living conditions. Like the Sound of Music’s Von Trapp family that escaped the Nazis, Madame Tempy turned her young, talented brood into a musical group and quietly escaped the South. The difference between my family and the Von Trapp’s was that they were not told that they were escaping or that they were part of America’s largest, historic migration! Driving a funny-looking, packed automobile, my family followed the legendary “Chitlin Circuit.” They performed in many venues both large and small from Mississippi all the way to Harlem.

Madame Tempy’s musical and business skills were fully realized when she joined others who were part of the Harlem Renaissance. A courageous person with a dictatorial personality, she became a real estate entrepreneur, sacred music composer, and legendary piano teacher. With every Harlem apartment building that she purchased a music school was set-up, and rehearsal studios and rooms were rented. She employed all of her children, nieces, nephews and many extended family members.

My aunts and uncles continued in show business and became teachers too. My Aunt Jeri Smith, who drove the getaway car, gave piano lessons when she was not leading her own orchestra, touring Europe or performing in Hollywood films. My Uncle Joe Smith, my father’s baby brother, was the star of the family’s traveling show. He was the Sammy Davis and the  ‘Michael Jackson’ of the family act. A talented tap dancer, singer, and musician, Uncle Joe was called a five-year-old “wizard drummer,” in a New Orleans newspaper.

It was a tradition for the older cousins to tutor the younger ones. My older cousin Sonny Brigman mentored me on the nuances of Beethoven’s piano Sonata Pathetique. I also trained on the viola. My whole family was musical including my mother, father, sister and two brothers. We played piano, violin, guitar, percussion and wind instruments.

I wish the younger generation of nieces, nephews, and cousins could have met their elders. Because of segregation and racism, we were a tight-knit family. Thanks to racial integration, the family has spread out all over the world. I am still digging for musical genes in my family both past and present.

Do you have music genes in your family?

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