WEEKSVILLE HERTIAGE CENTER HOSTS
AFTERNOON CONCERT WITH OLU DARA
By Keith L. Forest
To experience Olu Dara, the multi talented blues artist, is like traveling down the Deep South and holding court with the elders. His thick gruff voice easily leads you down a southern dirt road where fried Okra (Mr. Dara’s favorite dish) engulfs the nostrils while enticing you into a narrative in the mist of a smoked filled juke joint or sophisticated jazz club. All these multiple transfixed images are synergistically underscored by the vibrant that eludes from his eclectic band.
On Sunday, March 30, Weeksville Heritage Center kicked off the 9th Annual Central Brooklyn Jazz Coalition Festival with a live performance by Mr. Dara and his Natchezippi blues band. Held on the historic Weeksville grounds, Olu and company mesmerized the standing room only crowd with meandering tales of life growing up in Nachez Mississippi; his years abroad in the navy; new beginnings in Brooklyn and life on the road. Performing such tunes as "Stranded In Brooklyn” from his Neighborhood album, reflecting on his days in the borough of Kings – the place where Mr. Dara met his first wife and evolved into a multi faceted musician and sought after artist.
Dara, who is the father of rap lyricist Naz, was born Charles Jones, III in Louisville, MS. After a stint in the US Navy, he took up residency in Brooklyn in 1963. He became a major trumpet player in the avante-guard loft-jazz scene and during much of the 60’s and 70’s used his music as a means to survive. At the tender young age of 57 he recorded his first album In The World: From Natchez to New York in 1998 which was followed by Neighborhood in 2001. Over the years he has collaborated with a wealth of artists including Art Blakely, Cassandra Wilson, Dr. John, and his son Nas.
The mission of Weeksville Heritage Center is to document, preserve and interpret the history of free African American communities in Weeksville, Brooklyn and beyond and create and inspire innovative, contemporary uss of African American history through education, the arts, and civic engagement.
Keith L. Forest is a freelance publicist, writer and proud Bedford-Stuyvesant home owner who lives and works in the beloved community. His current blog space mybedstuy.blogspot.com seeks to celebrate the people and places that make up this great community while addressing issues such as gentrification, predatory lending and other ill norms that seek to exploit, discredit and harm the area and its people.
By Keith L. Forest
To experience Olu Dara, the multi talented blues artist, is like traveling down the Deep South and holding court with the elders. His thick gruff voice easily leads you down a southern dirt road where fried Okra (Mr. Dara’s favorite dish) engulfs the nostrils while enticing you into a narrative in the mist of a smoked filled juke joint or sophisticated jazz club. All these multiple transfixed images are synergistically underscored by the vibrant that eludes from his eclectic band.
On Sunday, March 30, Weeksville Heritage Center kicked off the 9th Annual Central Brooklyn Jazz Coalition Festival with a live performance by Mr. Dara and his Natchezippi blues band. Held on the historic Weeksville grounds, Olu and company mesmerized the standing room only crowd with meandering tales of life growing up in Nachez Mississippi; his years abroad in the navy; new beginnings in Brooklyn and life on the road. Performing such tunes as "Stranded In Brooklyn” from his Neighborhood album, reflecting on his days in the borough of Kings – the place where Mr. Dara met his first wife and evolved into a multi faceted musician and sought after artist.
Dara, who is the father of rap lyricist Naz, was born Charles Jones, III in Louisville, MS. After a stint in the US Navy, he took up residency in Brooklyn in 1963. He became a major trumpet player in the avante-guard loft-jazz scene and during much of the 60’s and 70’s used his music as a means to survive. At the tender young age of 57 he recorded his first album In The World: From Natchez to New York in 1998 which was followed by Neighborhood in 2001. Over the years he has collaborated with a wealth of artists including Art Blakely, Cassandra Wilson, Dr. John, and his son Nas.
The mission of Weeksville Heritage Center is to document, preserve and interpret the history of free African American communities in Weeksville, Brooklyn and beyond and create and inspire innovative, contemporary uss of African American history through education, the arts, and civic engagement.
Keith L. Forest is a freelance publicist, writer and proud Bedford-Stuyvesant home owner who lives and works in the beloved community. His current blog space mybedstuy.blogspot.com seeks to celebrate the people and places that make up this great community while addressing issues such as gentrification, predatory lending and other ill norms that seek to exploit, discredit and harm the area and its people.
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