By JERYL BARGINEAR
Mlchlll.n Citizen
DE'IROIT - Over a half-cen­
tury ago, jazz masters recorded
hi tory in mall, dim-Iitted,
moke-filled rooms crowded
with critics and genteel gentries,
furloughed sailors with dallied
dam els, all bearing witness to
an unprecedented art form that
would inscribe the scrolls of jazz
and influence postwar musi­
cians for generations to come.
Dizzy and Bird were at the helm,
Minton's and Birdland were the
workshops of the day, and Har­
lem the mecca for jazz prodigies
compelled to make the pilgrim­
age.
Today, jazz is still alive and
well.in the city of Detroit and
convicted to its viability is trum­
peter Dwight Adams, who'
making a monumental mark on
t jazz ne,
In n in+-'tri6<IU conducted at
_ Detroit' hottest jazz pot, Bert'
Marketplace, located at 2727
Russell Street, the hub of East­
ern Market, Adams spoke of his
career and of those who've influ­
ence it.
Dwight, 28, became inter­
ested in music during his sopho­
more year at Henry Ford High
School when his 'brother
Dwayne, two-years his junior,
was a tudent of the saxophone
attracting attention from the
finest of female figures. That in
itself was enough to convince the
elder Adams that music was the
way to go.
be a 10 further had I went that
route. When I was in college I
tudied mainly � ical music
because that' part of modern
hi tory and it helps to develop
technique. You've got to be able
to cope with the technical side as
well," Adams said.
His group, simply entitled
Dwight Adams & Friend's,
abounds with profound local tal­
ent like tenor man Donald Wal­
den, alto saxophonist C ius
Richmond and bassist Keith
Malinowsky, buttressed by vet­
eran musicians like pianist
Johnny Griffith and drummer
George Goldsmith. "These guys
are my mentors," Adams said of
th more experi need Griffith
and Gc ldsmith. "I learn some­
thing new each time I play with
them beeau .. e my ears are like a
ponge - I absorb everything
they put out."
Adam. alpproac:b to
of an a - t hetic perspecti
that he percei himself be­
ing a painter plastering eclectic
colors on a canvas, leaving lis­
tenets to jury hi work. True
music, he feels, is made by com­
bining intellect with emotion,
inciting conversation between
the two, the anecdote of an art­
ist.
An impressive storyteller in­
deed, Adams ability to articulate
has assisted him in working
with some of the best ill the busi­
ness. Those colleagues include .
pianist/Dr. Teddy Harris, trum­
peter/arranger Marcus Bel­
graves, percussionist/recording
artist Roy Brooks, singers D.C.
Smith, Marlena Shaw, and co­
median Redd Foxx.
Dwight Adams, bandleader/trumpet extraordlnare. (photos byJ.ryt Ba!gln Ir)
HE ENROLLED IN Henry
Ford's jazz lab where he learned
the basic fundamentals of music
while collaborating closely with HlS TALENT HAS taken
an uncle, a rhythm & blues gui- him �boa�, traveli.ng and pe.r­
tarist. Adams admits he's al- form.lOg With FranCISCO �ora 10
ways been fond of various forms Mexico, and to Holland With the
of music. ' James Carter Sextet.
"1 began listening to fushion He recently recorded with
at first," he said, "before getting drummer Gene Dunlap, a CD
into serious jazz. 1 was checkin' comprised of such, notables as
out people like Ronnie Laws and Patrice Rushin, Earl Klugh, and
Jeff Lorber; Stanley Clark and Perry Hughes; to name a few.
Chick Corea. I admired the way It's expected to be released this
they could improvise and I fall. Other recordings include,
wanted to playas they did. But 'Lyrical Intentions' with Shawn
through my research, I found "Thunder" Wallace, and with
that it was because they'd dealt ' the Wendell Harrison Big Band.
with the history of jazz that en- Upcoming attractions, look
abled them to play at such a for Adams to perform in the Bir­
level, so, I had to deal with its mingham Jazz Festival on JUly
history too," Adams said. 28, in Michigan, and at the Mon-
When ass ing the style of treux Detroit Jazz Festival with
Dwight Adams, one can hear the New World Order, a Labor Day
phrasing and tonality of legen- . weekend-long event. .
dary jazz practitioners. When For more. information, call
asked about his most dominant 869-0033.
jazz influences, he id, "I've lis­
tened extensively to Clifford'
Brown and the peers of his a.
Freddie Hubbard was young
then but imp ed me a lot,
didLee Morgan. But the mos
impelling play rs would be
Kenny Dorham, Mil s Davis,
Clifford Brown and Freddie
Hubbard - in that order," ex­
plained Adam .
Dwight cquired a proclivity
for 'Mod rn Jazz aft r graduat­
ing from high hool and pur-
ued form 1 r min t th
UnivNsity of K n ucky .. H
point -ou how V r,.th .t m�t
of his m ieal ueation I a d i-
r t r ult of }'II ing If- .
t ught, having n v r c:ot ul ad
h pr iv 1 111 tr11dl n of
COB h
Bas t, Keith Malinow ky.
V ter n piani t, Johnny Griffith.
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