Recap: Guthrie Ramsey and Musiqology at the Blue Note

On April 17th Guthrie Ramsey returned to the Blue Note and gave its audience a night we won’t forget. Here are some reflections on the magic that was made.

Marti Newland, Ph.D. is a Core Lecturer in Music Humanities at Columbia University

Again, Guthrie Ramsey ushered his listeners through the abundance of black music. And, again, he led from the keyboard. We know what happens when he sits at a computer to write. His performance on April 24^th at The Blue Note was the first time I heard him lead through other types of keyboards live, which affirmed the seamlessness of Ramsey’s work. Whether teaching, writing, or performing, he commands a reconsideration of musical tradition that is both grounded in what has come before and moving forward. What I heard was a breadth of loving expression about relationships—husband and wife, father and daughter, musician and musician, performer and audience—all while expressing a love for people cast out, most recently brought to global attention by the state’s murder of Freddie Gray.  Ramsey incorporated audience participation, improvisation, groove, and virtuosity in the set, but there was one overarching impact his performance had on me. (My ear is biased and leans towards voice). As he collaborated with fellow artists, the range of vocality heard left me full. He called on poets Hettie Jones and Abdul Ali, as he called on singers Bridget Ramsey, Kevin Mambo and Tiffany Jackson. Embodying the textual, and voicing the voice, the range of spoken and sung word styles that emerged from black experiences indeed showed how “doing the work,” his call while performing the piece he wrote with Elizabeth Alexander, “Someone is Listening,” is a labor comprised of an abundance of voice types committed to loving black people. 

Mark Anthony Neal (@newblackman) is a Professor of African and African American Studies at Duke University

 No one had to say that #BlackLivesMattered, and certainly this late night, turned early morning, was a reprieve from all that was going on just outside our collective spirits, minds, and bodies.  This was a night for those Black Lives That Matter, and quite a few non-Black ones grappling for cues on how to face death, fear, violence, and the closing of possibility with a grace that was known to some in that room for centuries–even before they walked the earth. Such moments of legitimate psychic transcendence  are increasingly few and far between–that hand held device of yours, just doesn’t quite conjure the Gods like you thought it should–and never enough are public, even if the space was a jazz venue of some note.

Guthrie Ramsey (@DrGuyMusiqology) is the editor in chief of Musiqology.com and the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Music

I was charged by my friend, the vocalist and composer imani uzuri, to play more of my compositions at my latest gig at the Blue Note. I accepted the challenge, knowing that it would mean some intense rehearsals during a busy teaching semester.  We pulled it off, and I’m so glad we did!  The crowd seemed to enjoy the works: a mix of original instrumentals written over the last ten years, some arrangements of old standards from my daughter Bridget Ramsey’s latest EP, “B Eclectic,” a special feature from vocalist Kevin Mambo and an operatic version of a piece I wrote with poet Elizabeth Alexander, courtesy of soprano Tiffany Jackson.  When poets Abdul Ali and Hettie Jones performed selections with the band (“Elegy” and “Home” respectively), the audience roared their approval. 

Thanks to all our many friends who came out and shared this very special late-night set with Musiqology. 

We can’t wait until the next time!