Chatting with Charlotte's jazz diva, Tammy Greene
Jazz is a dying art to some, but not the Jazz Diva, Tammy Greene. If you've been to a jazzy affair in the Queen City and had a good time, you probably owe Greene a hand clap of thanks. Greene spoke with me about her quest to make Charlotte a jazzier place.
Jazz music is a passion for me. with all
that goes on around me, its the one thing that makes me happy when i hear
it. I have always been a music lover, specifically jazz. In my
hometown of Philadelphia, a person could find live music happening 7 days a
week! when i moved to Charlotte in 1997, there weren't many options for
live jazz. In 1997, my 2 sons moved here with me, so I did not have
time to go out and explore the music scene. In 2005, while working for
The Vanguard Group (which is how I relocated here) two of my co-workers
mentioned that thy were going to open a jazz restaurant offering dinner and
live music. I though, here's my chance! I asked could I book the
entertainment, and the rest is history!
What
made you decide to make Charlotte a jazzier place?
I began booking local, regional and national artists from Pieces Of A Dream to Jean Luc Ponty! When The Jazz Cafe decided to change their concept, i still received calls from artists asking to play in Charlotte and jazz fans who wondered, "where will we go to enjoy
live music? So, I began looking for other venues to host jazz events and also
started the Carolina Jazz Friends, a meetup group to keep jazz lovers informed
about event happenings. The Carolina jazz Friends is the largest
"jazz" meetup group in the world!(according to meetup.com)
Many of the people who follow my shows are smooth/contemporary jazz lovers, so
most people think that I only love smooth jazz. As much as
I enjoy smooth jazz, I am a traditional jazz lover at heart.
Who are some of your favorite jazz artists
–classic and contemporary?
Whoa,
so many favorites! For classic and modern jazz, my favorites are John
Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Ahmad Jamal , Teri Lyne Carrington, Esperanza
Spalding, Christian McBride, Robert Glasper.. whew, too many to name! My
favorite smooth/contemporary artists are, Norman Brown, Alex Bugnon, Gerald
Albright, The Rippingtons, The Yellowjackets, Fourplay, again, too many to name!
Tell the
readers about your radio show.
What’s interesting is that I come from a radio
family as three out of five brothers are in the radio industry in Philadelphia,
but i never thought i would be the fourth member of the family on the
air! Some of the feedback I received from jazz lovers was the concern of
not being able to listen to jazz on the radio 24/7 in the Charlotte area.
Yes, there were jazz stations and shows on the airwaves at one time, but
eventually went away. My brother introduced me to Cathis Hall who is the
General Manager of Gaston College radio. I expressed interest in doing a
jazz radio show, but mentioned that I did not have experience. She told
me that all DJ's were volunteers and that I had to go through a six-week class
to "possibly" fill in for other DJ's, but she could not promise a
jazz show. After a couple of months of begging a pleading, she decided to
give jazz a shot. That was four years ago!!!! Now, Jerry L has a
smooth jazz show on each night from 9-11 p.m. Monday -Thursday, and I come in two
Sundays a month for the Jazz Cafe radio show on Sundays from 9 a.m. -
noon. I play more classic to modern jazz on that show. WSGE
allows us to play more of our local artist like, Jon Thornton, Queens
Collective, Ron Brendle along with some of our local smooth jazz artists like
Innertwyned, Shableek and Buff Dillard.
When’s the Queen City’s next jazz event?
I have so many great things coming in the
fall. The 4th annual Carolina jazz concert series starts August 12th with
Peter White, Keiko Matsui will be here in September 29th, and Richard Elliott
on December 8th. An event that I’m really excited about is an upcoming
"big band" jazz series. I’m REALLY excited about that. I’m
partnering with my good friend, Bassist John Brown who is the Director of Jazz
studies at Duke University, and The Jazz Arts Initiative. We have some
GREAT guest artists coming in for the series!
How can jazz fans keep up with you?
Most people keep up with me via my website which
is www.jazzdivaevents.com
or on Facebook at“The Jazz diva.”
Comments