Sista’s Place, VTY, Cobi Narita Memorial

When the spoken-word performance of recording artist Gha’il Rhodes Benjamin and her group grace the stage of Sista’s Place on March 30, expect an evening of fiery inspiration (two shows at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.). 

The Grammy-nominated actress and self-empowerment speaker most recently appeared in the Appel Room of Jazz at Lincoln Center in collaboration with Senakwami’s Studio, with pianist Julius Rodriguez 

The Detroit native’s nomination was a result of her collaboration with percussionist Jeff Haynes, who produced her CD titled “Storm King  featuring the life, stories and music of the folk-singer Pete Seeger.” One could easily wonder what would draw Benjamin to Seeger. It was probably his strong support of civil rights, international disarmament, and environmental justice, and his dedication as a singer of protest music. Haynes is also featured on Benjamin’s debut CD titled “Spiritual Eclipse/ Sacred Moments on a String of Words.” In 2019 and 2020, she was the recipient of two Audelco Awards.

Benjamin’s words blossom with encouragement, riffing on spirited poetic rhythms that leaves audiences hanging on her every word. She is a source of reassurance in a world that seems to be going every way but right.  

For more information and reservations, call 718-398-1766.

The VTY Jazz Arts Sunday Serenade returns on April 7 with a special birthday tribute to pianist NEA Jazz Master Randy Weston, at Manhattan’s Zinc Bar (82 West 3rd Street). The celebration will feature Weston’s longtime band African Rhythms Alumni Quintet, with saxophonist, flautist, and kalimba player T.K. Blue; trombonist Frank Lacy; bassist Alex Blake; pianist Sharp Radway; and percussionist Neil Clarke (3 p.m.–5:45 p.m). 

In honor of their former bandleader and friend, they will play some of Weston’s standards, which might include any composition from his fan-pleasing album “African Cookbook” (1972); the fine album “Earth Birth” (1997) that included the title track, “Little Niles”; “Berkshire Blues”; or “Babe’s Blues.” Maybe music will come from his groundbreaking album “Uhura Afrika,” translated “Freedom Africa” (Roulette, 1960) that celebrates several new African countries obtaining their independence. 

The album, featuring a 24-piece all-star big band, was arranged by Weston’s regular collaborator Melba Liston with liner notes and lyrics by the late poet and social activist Langston Hughes. The recording was one of the first to introduce African rhythms with jazz, a reflection of Weston’s strong belief in Pan Africanism, introduced to him by his father during his earlier years. In 1964, the album was banned in South Africa and copies were seized in Cape Town and Johannesburg.   

Weston was one of the first musicians to incorporate African indigenous instruments into his band and regularly invited Gnawa musicians of Morocco to perform with African Rhythms. Some weeks ago, CBS-TV “60 Minutes” did a segment on the Gnawa Music Festival in Morocco. Weston was shown at his piano for a brief minute. That clip was probably pulled from his appearance at the festival in 2016. If there is a discussion of the prominence of the Gnawa festival and how it relates to jazz, then Weston’s contribution is a key component in any such conversation. It is also relevant to mention the pianist owned his African Rhythms Club in Tangier from 1967–72.    

The Brooklyn native, who graduated from Boys High School (the alma mater of Max Roach and Cecil Payne) was our African historian, our storyteller, our musician, who always connected the dots between the motherland of Africa and the roots of jazz. “The music comes from the roots of Africa. It is the sound of the ancestors—listen,” Weston would often say. He would have been 98 years old on his birthday, April 6, this year. For tickets, visit vtyjazz.com.

When Cobi Narita died last year at the age of 97, she left behind an incredible legacy as a jazz impresario, mentor, promoter of jazz spaces for aspiring artists, and her annual female artists festival. She was a doer—a person who made things happen. She was small in stature but in her years on this planet, she was a giant, a person in the jazz community who was sought out by legends like Dizzy Gillespie and aspiring artists who needed her support. She gave her time and money selflessly to support musicians and many projects that played an integral role in the progression of jazz, some of which included her nonprofit Universal Jazz Coalition, an umbrella organization that for about 10 years, helped musicians manage their careers, promoted and produced concerts, and distributed a newsletter about local jazz events. Her Jazz Center of New York in lower Manhattan became another beehive for noted musicians and aspiring artists to perform. In 2002, her venue Cobi’s Place ( West 48th Street) was a welcome home for everyone from tap dancers to singers and instrumentalists. It became as popular as any New York City jazz club. 

I met Narita during the 1980s. This soft-spoken woman with such perseverance and love for jazz intrigued me. She agreed to an interview and we met at her Jazz Coalition. She had a small desk, with posters hanging on the walls, flyers, and papers scattered about. She was working on a newsletter and upcoming shows throughout the city. Some may remember that she also published a yearly calendar with musicians’ birthdays and a portrait representing each month—that was so great. Surprisingly, no one has attempted to publish such a calendar since. 

That interview led us to a great friendship, many conversations, covering many of her wonderful affairs and shows, and she became one of my mentors.         

Her recent memorial at St. Peter’s Church in the month of March (Women’s History Month) was fitting for such an outstanding woman. St. Peter’s (also known as the jazz church) was her second home, where she coordinated events and jazz musicians were memorialized. It was also where she celebrated her 90th birthday. 

The ceremony, coordinated by her son Ron Narita and daughter Susan Narita-Law, was a celebration of Narita’s life and the wonderful legacy she leaves behind for all of us to be better people and carry on the tradition of jazz in a grand, sincere fashion as she had done so brilliantly. For me, Narita was a version of the Jazz Foundation of America: She was always there for the musicians.  

For her final farewell, Narita’s friends, former students, collaborators, and all those under her tutelage, which basically included all of us in the jazz community, were in attendance. The roster of musicians who turned out to express their good-byes in music included an all-star cast of friends such as Mickey Davidson, Eli Yamin, Roxane Butterfly and daughter Zuly (flew in from France), Bertha Hope, Houston Person, and Lafayette Harris, Kenny Barron (solo), Kim Clarke, all star cast with Billy Harper, Jimy Owens, Sharp Radway, Reggie Workman and Aaron Scott, and tap dancers Toes Tiranoff and Megan Haugs. Some of the speakers included Rev. Dale Lind (former pastor of St. Peter’s), Susan Siegal (piano in Bryant Park), Ron Narita, Wendy Oxenhorn (former director JFA), and Robin Bell-Stevens (Jazzmobile).

Narita will surely be missed, but her legacy will be carried out with an abundance of love and devotion to this music called jazz that she loved so much.