32 July 11 • 2019
jn

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Concert of 
Colors 

World music, Detroit 
milestones, Don Was’
 
All-Star Revue and more! 

D

on Was — famed rock musi-
cian, talent producer and jazz 
record company president — 
grew up in Oak Park and has returned 
during 12 summers to appear at the 
Concert of Colors, the annual free 
world music festival in Detroit.
This year, he moves into the festival 
theme of “Freedom of Expression: The 
Power of Owning Our Voices” and will 
be part of the celebration of milestone 
anniversaries.
As performers appear on stages in 
Midtown and beyond for events now 
through July 18, festival participants 
will mark 100 years for Orchestra Hall, 
70 years for WDET public radio, 60 
years for Motown music and 50 years 
since the moon land-
ing. 
Collaborating on 
organizing the Don 
Was Detroit All-Star 
Revue, set for July 
13 at the Detroit 
Film Theatre in the 
Detroit Institute of 
Arts (DIA), Was will 
focus on the Motown 
triumphs. He also 
will return to the DIA 
July 15 to introduce 
the film Blue Note 
Records: Beyond the 
Notes, in which he explains his role as 
company president. 
“I love the whole Concert of Colors 
experience,
” says Was, growing up with 
the family name Fagenson and having 
his bar mitzvah at Temple Emanu-El 
in Oak Park. “That includes being in 
Detroit, seeing my old friends, eating 
at all the good restaurants and playing 
the music. The musicians in the show 
are all good friends, and we go back 40 
years of playing together.
”
Was, a teenager in the ’
60s when 
Motown Records launched, remem-

bers how the hits were a source of great 
pride for Detroit. 
“When the Motown artists received 
international acclaim, it was something 
akin to the Tigers winning the World 
Series,
” he says. “I think the great thing 
about Motown is that Berry Gordy 
understood there’
s a commonality of 
human emotional experiences that 
transcends any kind of cultural or 
racial boundaries, and he made music 
that reflected the emotional life of 
every human being.
”
Was worked on the revue with 
Ann Delisi from WDET and Ismael 
Ahmed, festival founder. Revue stars 
include Sweet Pea Atkinson, Donald 
Ray Mitchell and Randy Jacobs. Other 
festival programs, along 
with music stars, spotlight 
a mobile electric guitar 
processional, a commis-
sioned performance piece 
titled “Moonwalk” and 
community yoga.
Was heard jazz first in 
1966, learning from disc 
jockey Ed Love, then on 
station WCHD and now 
working on WDET at 
age 92.
“I realized all these jazz 
songs were coming from 
this little label out of New 
York City called Blue Note Records,
” 
recalls Was, appointed president in 
2012. “I’
ve been a fan since then. I 
think Sophie Huber, the director of 
Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes, 
did a brilliant job in laying out the con-
tinuum of Blue Note ethos.
”
As Was prepares to take the DIA 
stage, he remembers watching jazz 
shows at the venue.
“It’
s a real thrill to be back there 
playing live,
” he says. “I’
m so knocked 
out by the changes in Detroit. I walk 
around, and it’
s just jumping.
” ■

arts&life

GABI PORTER 

details 
Don Was appears with the 
Detroit All-Star Revue at 
8 p.m. Saturday, July 13, 
at the Detroit Film Theatre, 
and returns at 7 p.m. 
Monday, July 15, to intro-
duce Blue Note Records: 
Beyond the Notes. For the 
Concert of Colors schedule, 
go to concertofcolors.com.

Don Was

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