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Home  ACE Stories Reliving The Dream: Ash Grove 50th Anniversary
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Reliving The Dream: Ash Grove 50th Anniversary |
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Written by B. Noel Barr
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Sunday, 04 May 2008 |
Saturday afternoon was filled with various activities at UCLA for the Ash Grove celebration. Producer Ed Pearl, founder of the Ash Grove, went to great lengths to not only provide the audiences here in Los Angeles with an outstanding evening concert, but to give back for free via the day time concerts and workshops. All together, there were 14 free events over the course of the weekend. Random Lengths News attended three of the events, later attending the main event that was the Ash Grove Concert.
Channeling the Ash Grove During Daytime Workshops
The second workshop I attended was the World Music Concert. The only unfortunate thing
that happened was a snafu between the soundman, who came off as an out of control
roadie, and producer Barry Fisher. Fisher won that round and the show came off very well
considering the sound was shut off as this clash between the two men unfolded in front
of the audience. Can’t say it was boring!
This program was designed as a tribute to Mike Janusz, who as a UCLA student majored in Slavic languages. It was during his collegiate years that he joined the Folk Singers
Club and Guy Carawan’s Balladmakers, which inspired him to become a singer and choral
director of East European and American folk music.
Mike Janusz was a regular performer at the Ash Grove and toured the West with many of his groups performing traditional and original material that he had composed.
The concert started with the sounds of Romania and moving gypsy music flowing into songs
of Croatia beautifully sung by Ethel Raim and Catherine Foster without the help of
microphones when the sound was momentarily shutdown. Raim had performed at the Ash Grove
in the Penny Whistlers performing with Mike Janusz in the New Road Singers. The
performance next moved into the UCLA‘s Near East Ensemble, these are UCLA Students who specialize in playing the music and the instruments from that part of the world.
A prominent artist in this array of fabulous musicians was the incredible John
Bilezikjian, Master Oud player. Mr. Belezikjian has recorded over thirty albums in his
career. He has played with the Boston Pops Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Orchestra, and is recognized as one of America’s leading folk musicians. Another treat
for our ears was Clarinetist Sal Mamudoski who of Macedonian Rom (So called “Gypsy“)
decent, came in from New York to participate in this afternoon’s showcase of
international music.
Finally, the last quarter of the program was of Mexico, featuring a group from Northern
California who played the music of Vera Cruz “Cunto Jardin.” It was brilliantly executed
and exciting to watch–– also a treat for the eyes and the ears. Then a group from South
America, “Huay Ucaltia” performed original but inspired music from the Andes, flowing
into a jam with various members of the later two bands.
Grand Finale–Ash Grove Concert
Saturday night, the lights were dimmed, and on stage was Bernie Pearl playing solo
with his acoustic guitar transposing the behemoth Royce Hall into the intimate living
room that was the Ash Grove. He kept the tone up and moving as he switched into high
gear on the third song with his full band… Then the one and only Dr. Demento began the
evening’s festivities with introductions of Barbara Dane, who at 80 was celebrating her
lifetime as a hot jazz cool blues American folk singer. Backed in her set by the Bernie Pearl Band, she performed along with her son Pablo Menendez who joined her on his guitar in the second song, of this fabulous three songset. Everyone was held to three songs except the FreedomSingers and Taj Mahal who performed four songs each.
Next was the amazing vocal styling of Dwight Trible and his trio. This is one of the
great vocalists of our time. He has performed with Pharoah Sanders, and the Pan African
Peoples Arkestra. Trible uses his music to bring people together, to protest injustice,
to bridge the gap between the races. This is just what the mission of the Ash Grove is
really all about––a melding of cultures and ideas to bring the ideal of harmony into a
world beset in discordant atonality.
We moved further into the beginnings of the Ash Grove, Bernice Reagon and The
Freedom Singers, took us on a ride… a freedom ride on the bus like the one that left LA
in the early 1960s from the Ash Grove to the deep South and the protests that led to the
end segregation in southern states and the rest of America. Sung a cappella, we heard
songs like “We Shall Not be Moved,” “This Little Light of Mine,” and a version of the
“Banana Boat Song” (Day-O, made famous by Harry Bellefonte). But the words were changed
to “Freedom, a change is gonna come and it won’t be long.” This got the sell-out crowd
of 1700 moved into the spirit.
Not to be out done, but merely accentuating the theme, the incredible blues man Taj
Mahal comes on for four songs, changing from guitar to piano, to banjo then back to
guitar. He not only took us on a musical journey, but shared anecdotes about his time
working at the Ash Grove–– from sleeping in the music room to meeting his first wife, to
having the prime seat every night as the security in the club, listening and learning
from all the great blues men who hit the planks of the Melrose Ave establishment.
The second half was introduced by former cashier now club owner herself Ms. Anna Deleon.
Bringing on the Watts Prophets to the stage with their poetic raps steeped in social
commentary, I couldn’t help glimpsing back in time at how things have not changed all
that much. These three gentlemen perform with intense yet playful passion.
Singer/ songwriter activist Michelle Shocked took the stage at around 10:15pm, and took
the audience on a little Texas folk ride singing about injustice and love, backed up by
the Bernie Pearl band. Her performance took off like a locomotive. Then we get to John
Hammond who performed solo playing traditional blues songs with zeal and abandon fury
like a man possessed.
The evening came to a climax with a tribute to George “Harmonica” Smith who came to
California from Arkansas via Chicago and The Muddy Water’s band to play the Ash Grove
and mentored a host of Harp Players represented by James Harmon and the irrepressible
Rod Piazza, with Johnny Dyer. Dyer played in a duo with Smith back in 1956, two years
before the Ash Grove opened its doors. This “Harp blow down” was a sight to behold with
the Pearl band backing the three harmonica players, this capped off the evening in a
great blues jam, and this was just one of three incredible days.
For more information on the Ash Grove, contact info at ashgrovemusic dot com
Or for outstanding concerts at UCLA go to www.uclalive.org
To understand more about roots and world music check out this web site
www.ethnomusic.ucla.edu
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