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About the Play
| "Q." (played by former Duke Ellington Orchestra trombonist and Art Blakey protégé, Gregory Charles Royal) is a top college athlete having problems with his game and rhythm, until his coach gives him an old LP of an “ancient” music called jazz to get him back on track. In a dream, Q. and the important people in his life become members of a jazz group called Hardbop, about to perform their 1964 New York debut of a funky style of jazz at the Jazz Corner Nightclub. Q.’s journey is a coming of age experience as he comes to grips with his attitudes toward music, the his hip hop culture he grew up in and the lost legacy of jazz! Plenty of hard-hitting gospel-jazz, also known as Hardbop, fills the air throughout this educational yet entertaining DVD.! A musical-play by Gregory Charles Royal. Featuring musicians from the bands of Ellington, Basie and Blakey. |
| ABOUT THE PRESENTING ORGANIZATION The American Youth Symphony, Susan Veres, Executive Director, was founded in 1982. It has been active in the state of Wisconsin producing programs throughout the University of Wisconsin System, public schools and libraries. The American Youth Symphony received funding from the Wisconsin Humanities Council for its program Backstreet Boys! Blackstreet Blues!, A demonstration and discussion about the impact of black music in America, which received critical acclaim. ABOUT THE CAST (More cast profiles to follow) Gregory Charles Royal Gregory Charles Royal, (Q) (writer): He is a trombonist, performer, writer, producer and lecturer. He received a grant from the Wisconsin Humanities Council for the presentation of his program "Back Street Boys! Black Street Blues!", a demonstration and discussion about the impact of black music in America. In November 2001, Royal performed in New York with tap sensation Savion Glover and saxophonist Wayne Shorter in a benefit for World Trade Center Firemen. He was a soloist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra from 1989 to 2000 touring extensively in Europe and Asia. Royal also performed in two important tours with the Howard University Jazz Ensemble and the Howard University Jazz Sextet, to China and Africa respectively. Royal was also a protégé of drummer Art Blakey, whose band, the Jazz Messengers, is the inspiration for "It's a Hardbop Life" (Royal lived with the legendary drummer as a teen). Royal was a member of the original Broadway production of "Five Guys Named Moe" and performed with the original Broadway cast of "Ain't Misbehavin" and in the national tour of "Jelly's Last Jam." Gregory Charles Royal can also be seen briefly in the motion picture "Life" starring Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence. Royal also played wide receiver for the Metro-Bucs semi pro football team in Washington, DC and founded the Crosse Town Football League (CTFL) in La Crosse,Wisconsin. Gregory Charles Royal earned a master's degree in jazz studies from Howard University and is listed in the Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz (Leonard Feather, Oxford University Press 1999). Billy Harper (JVC Festival) Billy Harper (Billy Harper): His unique music creativity was first noted in Houston, Texas, where, at age 5, he was singing at sacred and secular functions and participating in choral and solo singing events. By age 14, he formed his first Billy Harper Quintet while a student at Evan E. Worthing High School. Graduating cum laude, he went on to study saxophone and music theory at North Texas State University and received his Bachelor of Music degree. He continued graduate studies at NTSU and became a member of their "big band." That year, 1965, the University's big band won first prize at the Kansas Jazz Festival. Harper moved to New York in 1966 and began attracting attention from some of jazzdom's giants - Gil Evans, Max Roach, Thad Jones, Mel Lewis, Lee Morgan, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. He performed, recorded and toured Europe, Japan, Africa and throughout the United States from 1966 to 1979 with these groups, as well as his own Billy Harper Quintet. The Billy Harper Quintet began receiving notoriety of its own. In 1966, Harper and his ensemble group were highlighted on the NBC-TV special, "The Big Apple." With more exposure came bigger audiences and bigger demands for appearances. Throughout Harper's career, there has been a pattern of spiritual growth and innovation. Says Harper: "My feeling is that music should have a purpose. In the past, it always has been used for healing and uplifting and meditation. And that's the way I see my music. I've had people come up after a program to tell me that they felt a spiritual healing from the music. When that happens, then I feel we're fulfilling what we're supposed to do. If people are entertained, that's ok too. But I certainly see a purpose in my music beyond that." As a teacher and lecturer, Harper has taught at Livingston College and Rutgers University. He has also received a special grant from the New Jersey State Council for the Arts to teach improvisation at 15 high schools. Awards and honors included 3 Music Composition Grants; two from the National Endowment of the Arts, and one from the Creative Arts Program. He also received the International Critics Award for Tenor Saxophone for two years consecutively. As a recording artist, Billy Harper's album, Black Saint exploded on the international jazz scene in 1976. The reviews all applauded his innovations and prompted the Modern Jazz League of Tokyo to name the album, "Jazz Record of the Year - Voice Grand Prix." Billy Harper currently tours the world. He also has a very active fan club with members from all over the world , which has Billy Harper items of memorabalia. Also included on his website is a photo gallery. Chris Albert Chris Albert (Chris/Pretty Boy): Chris has played trumpet for many years in the legendary big bands of Count Basie and Duke Ellington and Illinois Jaquet. A graduate of New England Conservatory, Chris has also played in the small groups of jazz legends Jackie McClean, Billy Harper and Machito. Marcus Persiani Marcus Persiani (Swang): Marcus is a very talented pianist and composer/ arranger. He performed music for Monk the play, and regularly records with some of the most notable Latin artists in the business, including Wille Colon (Top Secrets) and Mario Bauza's Afro Cuban Big Band. He has also performed with Cecil McBee, Joseph Bowie and Defunkt. To many jazz fans however, Marcus is perhaps best known as the Sugar Hill Quartet pianist at the famed St. Nick's Pub in Harlem, presently at the Lennox Lounge in Harlem. Ken Crutchfield Ken Crutchfield (Skillet): Although Ken has recorded with the likes of jazz legend Lester Bowie, he is perhaps best known as the original drummer for the Broadway hit Ain't Misbehavin', starring the late Nell Carter. Kyle D. Younger Kyle D. Younger (Coach): A native of Newark, NJ, Kyle was last seen in Ragtime the Musical as Booker T. Washington and has been actively involved in the performing arts as both a musician and actor for many years. Favorite stage roles include Artie Barnes in Office Hours, Dewey in A Different Kind of Hope, and as an Ensemble Pirate in The Pirates of Penzance. When not on stage, Kyle is often in the orchestra pit playing electric bass for musicals such as The Music Man, Forever Plaid, Brigadoon, Grease, Hello Dolly, and others. He holds a B.A in Communications and an M.A in Educational Training & Development, and is a part-time faculty at Montclair State University in the School of the Arts. Brooks Giles III Brooks Giles is a Saxophonist and Vocalist based in New York City. Brooks performed extensively in China as a featured soloist in 2005-2006. The Brooks Giles Ensembles were the featured performers for the 2003 and 2002 Hennessy X.O. Smooth & Mellow Asian Jazz Tours, which included concerts in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Taipei, Kaosiung, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The Brooks Giles Trio performed for The 2003 Hennessy Luxury Journey of Discovery aboard the Orient Express Cruise Ship ‘The Road to Mandalay’ along the Ayeyarwady River, Myanmar. Brooks has worked with The Drifters, Donald Byrd, Charli Persip’s Supersound, The Peter Duchin Orchestra, Alice Day, Mildred Jones, The Harlem Renaissance Orchestra, The Bangkok International Big Band, and The Apollo Theatre Band. Brooks has toured Europe with the hit Broadway Musical “Bubbling Brown Sugar” and Asia with both The Eldee Young Quartet, and The Brooks Giles Trio featuring vocalist Alexia Gardner. In 2002, Brooks recorded his first CD ‘Somewhere on Earth, The Bangkok Sessions’ while performing in Thailand. In 1999, Brooks made his big screen debut in writer-director Woody Allen’s film “Sweet and Lowdown” starring Sean Penn and Uma Thurman. Brooks has performed for the former United States President Bill Clinton, Members of the Dutch Royal Family, Members of the Thai Royal Family and Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Brooks holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, Queens, New York and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from The New School for Social Research, New York City. He has studied music education at The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio and The University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, Maryland. Paris Royal Paris Royal (Baby Girl): Paris , the eldest daughter of author Gregory Charles Royal, has spent a lifetime on the road travelling with her dad behind the scenes. She will graduate high school in 2005 and hopes to enter college as a Theatre Arts major in the fall of 2005. |
| It's a Hardbop Life is a project of American Youth Symphony in collaboration with Susan Veres and Associates and GCR Music Company Comments? Questions? Problems? Contact patrons@hardboplife.com © 2006 American Youth Symphony. All Rights Reserved. Privacy |