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Arts-Culture/ApolloTheater
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 On
Monday, May 20th, 2002, the incomparable Apollo Theatre in Harlem hosted
a special event entitled "Comin' Home to Harlem," a benefit jazz concert
to aid in the sustainability of Jazz @ the Lincoln Center. Celebrity appearances/performances
included Stevie Wonder, Savion Glover, Sir Roland Hanna, Vanessa Williams,
as well as the Wynton Marsalis Septet. The event was hosted by producer/actress/comedian
Whoopi Goldberg and sponsored by a list of corporations including Cole
Haan, JPMorganChase, and Movado.
Through an evening filled with history, humor, song, and dance, Ms. Goldberg served as teacher, moderator, and comedian. She played the role of the multifaceted "Ms. Harlem," giving history lessons juxtaposed with hysterical junctures, along the way. |
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She walked with you through a century-long journey of jazz history in Harlem, starting with the renowned jazz pianist Sir Roland Hanna conveying Harlem in its early days of musical soul. His fingers raced up and down the piano as though there were no keys there at all, conjuring some magical source of melody by simply sitting there. It was difficult to pay attention to the big, bulky, black piano; Sir Hanna was the piano, more refined and musical than any man-made contraption. |
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After the trumpet and brass tunes of the Septet came actress/singer Vanessa Williams to add onto the sultry, jazz club ambiance of the night. She strolled onto the stage in a dazzling black and white sequenced garb as Ms. Goldberg joked, "Oh to look that good in a dress..." Williams engaged the crowd with a soothing voice, bright smile and warm demeanor, very similar to jazz singers back in those days. Following Williams was Savion Glover, choreographer and tap dancer extraordinaire. Savion, known for his Broadway debut at age 12 as "The Tap Dance Kid," came onto the stage to dance a story of a young country boy who yearned to take his talent for tap dancing to the city. Through a series of events including hope, heartbreak, and eventually, Harlem -- Amateur Night at the Apollo, to be exact -- the young man inevitably came to realize a sense of confidence and self worth as he was embraced for his natural abilities and talents. Savion tapped as the Wynton Septet played, both to the same foot thumping, soul-inducing beat that lead to a standing ovation after his performance was over. Stevie, who amazingly enough made his own Apollo debut at age 12, sat down at a piano desk and performed on the same stage he'd been on so many years ago. Still admired, still respected, still revered. As he began to do that trademark gesture of his -- swaying his head from side to side while singing his heart out -- the evening did not pass without an alarming sense of irony. It's been decades since Stevie's initial performance. He's been there, done that, won Grammys, written scores, received acclaim, traveled the world, and come back. One would presume the theatre itself would have improved in its physical condition since then. It was odd; with all of these beautiful evening gowns and business suits, scent of expensive perfume, exhume of financial power, and taste of society's elite, the Apollo meanwhile, was in shambles. All of these people packed into one, debilitating theatre and no one seemed to notice. Whoopi Goldberg posed a friendly jab about it during the show, telling the audience about old rent parties thrown by jazz musicians. Back then, they'd play their music in the background as they gathered with friends to help raise money to pay off rent balances. "Not so different from tonight, actually..." she commented. There was a responsive laughter, but it was difficult to ignore the truth in her statement. Monday night's "Home to Harlem" celebration was a sold out show filled with loud music, hands clapping, heads nodding, as well as celebrity headliners and guests. Meanwhile, the paint was peeling, the once-golden handrails were now copper, the carpeted steps were mangy, and the overall condition of the theatre was just shabby. So much history in one place, and this is the best they can do? Despite these observations, the Apollo is in the midst of a renovation. On one side of the stage, the wall is literally cut into half where as one dulled paint edge ends, another shined one begins. There were diminutive clues of work in progress at the Apollo, which is an optimistic detail to notice. It's just disturbing that it's taken so long to initiate. Really, it's 2002 already and Stevie Wonder is a grown man. Nevertheless, excluding the condition of the Apollo, the event itself concluded wonderfully. The turnout for the night was overwhelmingly positive and the show was an attention-grabber, with surprising highlights along each step of the way. Hopefully, this event brings a greater level of awareness and involvement in both the need for support of institutions like Jazz at the Lincoln Center and the recent renovation project for Harlem's own Apollo Theatre.
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Afterwards
came the swinging Wynton Marsalis Septet, tooting out sounds of Chick
Webb, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and bebop a la Duke Ellington.
The soulful shoulders, hips, and lips of the crowd motioned to the tunes
of antiquated music made contemporary by its continued popularity. If
this were your predecessor's music, you'd barely notice; if even for
one night, it was yours.
The
final performer for the evening was the multi-Grammy award winning,
musical legend Stevie Wonder. "It's an honor to be here at the Apollo"
began Stevie. "So much history, so many stories...I'm truly very honored
to perform with Wynton and all the other performers. There's just so
much life here."