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Millions of Ohioans woke up this morning asking what the prospect of a Democrat governor for the first time in 15 years might mean for them. For one man in Governor-elect Amy Acton’s hometown of Youngstown, the answer might mean life or death.
He is Keith LaMar, a prisoner on death row whose cause inspired Freedom First, a project of activism through music that returns to LaMar’s hometown Saturday for a concert at BOP STOP.
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“Black and orange? I’ve always liked those colors, you know. And when everything turns black and orange, I feel very comfortable. I like the pumpkin as a vegetable. I think that it’s a wonderful invention. And I’m into it, you know,”
That’s Frank Zappa’s response to a question about Halloween in a cringeworthy CBS interview conducted on Oct. 31, 1983. It’s hard to know whether he was being sincere or trolling the clueless interviewer because . . . well, he’s Frank Zappa. But taking him at his word, let’s assume that the Father of the Mothers of Invention would be secretly tickled about Saturday’s Schlenk Zappa tribute concert at BOP STOP.
But you never know.
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Tradition might call this week the Dog Days of Summer, but for jazz fans around northeast Ohio, it’s time for The Cats. That’s the name that serious practitioners of the art of improvised music in the Black American tradition give to the ones who can really play.
By any measure, the musicians listed below fit that description and all are on bandstands around the area this week. Here’s what you can expect:
Growing up in Chicago with a father who played old-school rock and blues, saxophonist Anthony Bruno got an early immersion in the grind of the working musician.
“Whether it was in rehearsal spaces, bars, festivals, green rooms, recording rooms– that was just my life,” he said. “So when I would hang out and talk to other kids in school they’d be like, ‘What did you do this weekend?’ I’m like, ‘I was at this festival, then this rehearsal, and this thing,’ and they’re like, ‘What is that?’ I was like, ‘Oh! That’s not what every kid does all the time?’”
It’s what Bruno does all the time, and increasingly, in Cleveland where he will lead a high-powered quartet at BOP STOP Friday.
Friendly experiencers,
If this week’s scorching temperatures didn’t already announce the fact, summer is here. Memorial Day weekend is your signal to break out the camp chairs, throw out last year’s swimwear and enjoy the increasingly less short, but always sweet summer vibe. This weekend, it’s more affordable than ever with the must-see three events spotlighted below all available to you for $20 or less. Those of us who grew up enduring Great Lakes winters have a hard time finding an excuse to be indoors once the temperatures rise. This column is here to supply you with three of the best the weekend has to offer. See you out there.
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