Miles Davis

Feb 14 2013

Stands 26 feet high by 88 feet in length

The sun had faded the larger-than-life images on the south-facing wall outside the Capitol Records building in Hollywood, and the famous music company wanted it restored. Artist Richard Wyatt was asked to re-do the mural he first painted in 1990. Rather than repaint the images, only to see them fade again years later, Wyatt re-did the images in tile. The artwork, now much more permanent, was recently unveiled.

Feb 23 2012

Battles at home and abroad

A people newly delighted in liberty by federal decree yet tormented by popular scorn and legal indifference exemplified courage amid a rapidly changing national landscape during the 1940s. New citizens from Eastern Europe, the Orient and Latin America would call America home from New York City to Chicago, from San Francisco to Seattle, and from Louisiana and Texas and throughout the Southwest. As immigrants came to America, African Americans were also on the move, migrating from the South to better opportunities in a burgeoning new industrial age. 

Oct 13 2011

Experience the Birth of Cool

LANCASTER, Calif.—Miles Davis’ name has become synonymous with jazz and its place in popular culture, most notably the prolific years of 1949-1959, starting with Birth of the Cool. To commemorate these momentous years in jazz and Davis’ career, CAMI Music has joined forces with Miles Davis Properties, LLC, and Blue Note Records for an innovative music and historical production, “The Miles Davis Experience: 1949-1959.” 

C. Alexander Haywood   |   OW Staff Writer
Dec 16 2010

The life of a Jazz legend

Jazz enthusiasts and musicians throughout the world are mourning the recent passing of one of its greatest, most innovative legends, James Moody, 85, who died in his San Diego home after an extensive battle with pancreatic cancer.

Moody’s clever command of the saxophone and the flute, launched his career and propelled him to the heights of individual achievement and peer respect.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Apr 23 2009

Native son takes up his father’s work

 Los Angeles, CA -- As a young child, Roscoe Lee Owens had absolutely no interest in learning about music. And it did not matter that his father—drummer and band leader Jimmy Owens–always had a house full of musicians playing and singing.

“He wanted to show me how to play the drums, and my uncle wanted to show me how to play piano, but I always wanted to play sports and have fun. I also have a sister and brother and no one plays,” explained Owens about the second generation.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”