Why: Omega Psi Phi Annual Scholarship Fund
Featuring: Saxophonist - Bootsie Barnes, Drummer - Butch Ballard, Saxophonist - Nasir Dickerson and the Renaissance Messengers, The Little Jazz Giants and more.....
Door Prizes and Give-aways
Donation: $35 adults, $25 children
Contact Person(s) Jamal Dickerson (856) 217-0349, Hassan Sabree (856) 236-2737, Tarik Moore (856) 495-3867
To Purchase Tickets Online go to: www.oppchiupsilon.org/events.htm
Nasir has been playing and studying musical instruments, such as the tuba, tenor, baritone, alto and soprano saxophones since the second grade. He is also a World Champion 4th Degree Master Black Belt in Karate and a member of a military style drill team called the World Champion UPK Pasha Generals. Nasir is also a key member of the Universal African Dance & Drum Ensemble, which is famous for its electrifying drummers, sensational dancers, exciting acrobatic show, and masquerade.
Bootsie is one of the preeminent tenor saxophonists in the city. He can be seen at a number of clubs, festivals and concert venues on the East Coast. He has also played internationally at festivals and concerts in Montreal, Paris and Portugal.
He started out as a drummer, growing up in the Richard Allen projects in North Philadelphia. Bill Cosby, who once featured Bootsie on his TV show, was a childhood buddy.
Bootsie has played with every important jazz artist to come through Philly, and has recorded with organist Don Patterson, Papa John (and Joey) DeFrancesco and released four albums as a leader, beginning with "Been Here All Along" in 1988. His sound is instantly identifiable, articulating each note no matter what the tempo. Bootsie exemplifies the Philly "Hard Bop" sound.
George Edward “Butch” Ballard is a celebrated drummer, now 88, who swung with the Cootie Williams, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie big bands, to mention just a few of the items on his resume. Beyond that, however, this cat is truly an American phenomenon, an African-American from a working class family who realized his childhood dream through a total obsession with the drums during the time of segregation and through to the present day.
Now, he looks back on a lifetime of achievements, warm friendships, and tales of top musicians. These reminiscences were occasioned by his receiving the Mellon Jazz Community Award on December 1st, 2006 for his musical achievements and contributions to jazz education in Philadelphia. On December, 10th, at the request of the Mellon people and the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, I interviewed Ballard at his long-time home in the Frankford section of Philadelphia, an ethnically diverse blue collar neighborhood where he has resided for most of his life.
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