THE SOUTH CAROLINA HIT PARADE, produced by CJI’s Jack McCray, featured musical arrangements, for the first time, by jazz musicians native to Charleston and other places in South Carolina who left an historic jazz legacy. This music was performed by some of the finest musicians who actively work Charleston’s contemporary jazz scene. They make up the Charlton Singleton Orchestra, the debut of a 20-piece big band led by CJI musician, Lowcountry native, trumpeter, composer and arranger, Charlton Singleton.
The events honored the late Charlestonian, Frederick William “Freddie” Green (1911-1987), a rhythm guitarist with the Count Basie Band for nearly 50 years, and Cladys “Jabbo” Smith (1908-1991), often considered the rival trumpet player of Louis Armstrong. Both musicians studied music with the famed Jenkins Orphanage Bands in the 1920s.
February 27, 2007 – 2:44 pm
Song of Pumpkin Brown was produced, written, and directed by Charleston-based independent filmmaker Brad Jayne in collaboration with Osprey Production Group. It was shot over seven days on-location in Charleston and on Edisto Island. Funded by a $100,000 grant from the South Carolina Film Office, photography on this independent short film project was completed in December [...]
Sister City Jazz: A Gullah and New Orleans Dialogue
May 29, 2006 – Blacklock House and Gardens, College of Charleston
The program included live music by students from Charleston County School of the Arts Jazz Band, unveiling of “CJ,” an original painting by artist, Jahsun, guest presentations, and “Conversations in Jazz” with oral history accounts from:
Quentin Baxter [...]
A Jazz Tribute to William Blake (June 2) at Robert Mills Manor, 20 Franklin St. (home of the former Jenkins Orphanage) honoring former Jenkins Orphanage band director, William Blake with Quentin Baxter and the Franklin Street Five; commissioned work (“Brother Blake”) by Baxter; and the jazz debut of LaToya Smith
The program included live music by the Quentin Baxter Jazz Ensemble including“Tuxedo Junction,” co-written by Julian Dash, a media display of source material donated by the Dash Family, and Conversations in Jazz with oral history accounts from.
September 18, 2003 – 11:20 pm
two-day tribute honoring Motown and Funk Brothers bassist and Edisto Island native, James Jamerson. Programs included music by the choirs of the New First Baptist Church of Edisto Island, The McKnight Brothers, and the Black Velvets; the Charleston premiere of the Grammy-award winning documentary, “Standing in the Shadows of Motown;”
