At Texas Southern

Jazz keeps history alive: Tuskegee Airman who survived a German prison camphonored with music

Jazz can make a difference too.
Claudio Jordan will be at both events.
Courtesy Photo
BetterWorldBooks.com

Update: Organizers have canceled both events at the last minute. They will be rescheduled at a later time. For refunds, email POW 44 Legacy at gdgsports@yahoo.com.

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Jazz for a cause? Now, that's a cool groove.

Saturday at Texas Southern University (TSU) Sawyer Auditorium, The Jazz In Multifaceted Exquisite Events (M.E.E.) group in collaboration with POW 44 Legacy will pay tribute to Tuskegee Airman Lt. Colonel Alexander Jefferson with a night of contemporary jazz and R&B music, featuring award-winning vocalist Phil Perry, chart-topping saxophonist Kim Waters, Jordan Donald and the Leather Pockyt Band, and R&B King Marty. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Ismail B. Robinson Scholarship Fund.

Throughout the 1940s, as America battled a fascist regime determined to exterminate a race of people based on their ethnicity and religious beliefs, our military was racially segregated.

The event is in line with The Jazz In M.E.E.'s mission to keep the genre of jazz and its artists in the present, where entertainment serves history. Jefferson will be at Saturday's concert. He'll also be available to meet and converse with in person the night before at a Black and White Sip and Social, 7 p.m. Friday at TSU Alumni Center.

Model, radio and television personality Claudia Jordan will emcee both Friday's social and Saturday's concert.

The Tuskegee Airmen was the popular name for the African-American pilots who served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. Jefferson is the author of Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free, a memoir of his wartime experiences as an airman, which included being shot down while on a mission over southern France, getting captured by German ground troops after parachuting out of his plane and being sent to a prisoner of war camp.

It's ironic that throughout the 1940s, as America battled a fascist regime determined to exterminate a race of people based on their ethnicity and religious beliefs, that our military was racially segregated, and African-American soldiers experienced discrimination both within and outside of the U.S. Army.

That irony is not lost on Phil Perry, whose wife's uncle's brother was a Tuskegee Airmen, and who makes it a point to perform at events that combine music with education and historical awareness.

Perry's extensive repertoire includes originals, collaborations with some of the greatest instrumentalists in contemporary jazz, and classic songs from what he calls "the most romantic era of rhythm and blues (R&B) music." While Perry's roots are in R&B, his musical training occurred in Catholic school, singing the mass, Gregorian chants and Western European music. The fusion of the two was, says Perry, "an education."

But be it old school or new, Perry is first and foremost a musician and an entertainer. Given all the great music on the program, celebrating a crucial and fascinating chapter of American history, he is certain that Saturday's audience at Sawyer Auditorium will "leave feeling much differently" than when they first came in.

(A short documentary featuring Lt. Colonel Alexander Jefferson:

A Jazzy Tribute For Lt. Colonel Alexander Jefferson featuring Phil Perry, Kim Waters, Jordan Donald and the Leather Pockyt Band, and R&B King Marty takes place 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Texas Southern University, Sawyer Auditorium. $45 general admission, $50 at the door, $60 VIP. TSU employees $35, TSU alumni $40.

VIP tickets include admission to the Black and White Sip and Social, which is 7 p.m. Friday at Texas Southern University's Alumni Center. Black and White Social tickets are $25 (If you purchase a VIP ticket to the concert, admission is free to this event. Just bring your concert ticket.)

Tickets to both events can be purchased here.

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Movie Review

New movie Friendship pairs Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in a bizarre bromance

Photo courtesy of A24

Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in Friendship.

Comedian Tim Robinson has gained a cult following thanks to series like Detroiters and I Think You Should Leave, in which his brand of cringe comedy is on full display. The former Saturday Night Live writer/performer has had a few small movie roles over the years, but he’s now getting his first starring role in the off-kilter Friendship.

Robinson plays Craig, a mild-mannered suburbanite with a wife, Tami (Kate Mara), and son, Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer). Craig has a boring life that involves little more than going to his middle manager job while wearing the same clothes day after day, anticipating the next Marvel movie, and helping Tami out with her at-home floral business.

He gets a jolt of energy when Austin (Paul Rudd) moves into the neighborhood. The two men seem to hit it off, with Austin — a weatherman at a local TV channel — even taking Craig on a couple of impromptu adventures. But when Craig commits a couple of faux pas at a group gathering at Austin’s house, their bond starts to fracture.

Even though the film is written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, it’s clear that Robinson had a big influence on the style of comedy it features. There are no big set pieces with a slew of jokes coming one after another. Instead, the film forces the audience to try to vibe with the very particular type of wavelength it’s giving off, one that could almost be called anti-comedy for the way the laughs come out of left field.

The 100-minute film is full of random comedic moments, like Steven kissing Tami on the lips, Craig being obsessed with his plain brown clothes, a group sing-along, and more. More often than not, it’s the way Craig reacts to both normal and abnormal situations that gets the laughs. The character is needy and oblivious, two traits that combine to make many of his actions cringeworthy.

Perhaps most importantly for this type of movie, many things in the story go unexplained or don’t make sense. Seemingly crucial elements are brought up only to fade away just as quickly, while other parts that appeared to be throwaway sections get callbacks later in the film. DeYoung and Robinson are determined to keep the audience on their toes the entire time, never knowing what to expect next.

Robinson has the perfect face for a story like this, one that’s bland enough to blend into the background but memorable enough to sell the jokes. His demeanor is also excellent, never becoming too expressive, even when he gets angry. With long hair, a mustache, and a certain swagger, Rudd is a great complement to Robinson. Only in a film like this would an everyman like Rudd be considered the suave and cool one.

There will be some that will see Friendship and come away wondering what the hell they just watched. But anyone who goes in knowing that they’re about to witness a comedy that challenges their sensibilities will likely have a great time.

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Friendship is now playing in select theaters.

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