Thursday night at 6, repeated Sunday at 5 on “THE SCENE” on WZUM - Tributes to local icons and the spreading of the musical gifts all around.
The Pennsylvania Council of the Arts just announce the Governor's Awards for the Arts for 2019.
The 2019 Governor's Awards for the Arts will be held in Pittsburgh on September 27 at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, downtown. Of the 5 honorees, 4 of them are from Pittsburgh - and two of the four are pillars of the jazz community - Joe Negri and Roger Humphries.
From the arts agency’s website:
Joe Negri – Lifetime Achievement in the Arts: Beloved Pittsburgh jazz artist and composer who began playing the guitar as a child. Negri taught music at the University of Pittsburgh for 49 years, as well as at Carnegie Mellon and Duquesne universities…Negri is also well-known to many for his regular appearances as Handyman Negri on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
Roger Humphries – Lifetime Achievement in the Arts: Renowned Pittsburgh jazz percussionist, educator and philanthropist who has played with a host of musical legends and released multiple albums. He began playing the drums at age three and played Carnegie Hall by the age of 16. Humphries was the first and longest serving percussion instructor at the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts High School (CAPA), taught at the University of Pittsburgh, and conducted clinics at Slippery Rock University and Mellon Jazz Masters.
The awards will be bestowed on the honorees on September 27 at the August Wilson Center for African American Cultural in Pittsburgh, 7pm. More details will be forthcoming.
The honors to Joe Negri and Roger Humphries are well deserved, and also informative. These two world-class performers have been appreciated as masters, and chose to base their careers in Pittsburgh - and especially as teachers, mentors and leaders. If you look to the 240 or so jazz events each month in Pittsburgh on Jazz Central, it would be hard to find a performer in this town that does not have a relationship with one or both of these artists. The supportive nature of the musical community in Pittsburgh is one of the secrets behind the resilience of jazz as an artistic force in Pittsburgh - and the visit by a new singer to Pittsburgh for another facet of her life led her to find a new way to share her music, coming at the Savoy in August.
Jo Gore is from North Carolina. We had a chance to visit with her in Downtown Pittsburgh - she’s interning with a local corporation - and has also gotten deeply involved with the music scene in Pittsburgh over the last many weeks. That led to an upcoming night of shows at the Savoy in the Strip, Thursday, August 1.
Thursday marks the Ribbon Cutting for Con Alma in Shadyside - we hear music from Anton DeFade with John Shannon of Con Alma to help the celebration.
All on the radio on WZUM!
Jo Gore
Joe Negri
Roger Humphries
