More than two decades later in 1999, Judith Jamison won the Primetime Emmy Award for her choreography on “A Hymn for Alvin Ailey.”
Dance has always been intertwined with music, and Jamison was an extraordinary exemplar of the craft. The Ailey website has her bio, for those of you who may not be familiar with her.
Judith Jamison joined Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1965 and quickly became an international star. Over the next 15 years, Alvin Ailey created some of his most enduring roles for her, most notably the tour-de-force solo Cry. During the 1970s and ’80s, she appeared as a guest artist with ballet companies all over the world, starred in the hit Broadway musical Sophisticated Ladies, and formed her own company, The Jamison Project. She returned to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1989 when Mr. Ailey asked her to succeed him as artistic director. In the 21 years that followed, she brought the company to unprecedented heights, including two historic engagements in South Africa and a 50-city global tour to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary. Ms. Jamison was the recipient of numerous awards and honors, among them a Primetime Emmy Award, an American Choreography Award, a Kennedy Center Honor, a National Medal of Arts, a Bessie Award, the Phoenix Award, and the Handel Medallion. She was also listed in “TIME 100: The World’s Most Influential People” in 2009 and honored by First Lady Michelle Obama at the first White House Dance Series event in 2010. In 2015, she became the 50th inductee into the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Dance.
As a highly regarded choreographer, Ms. Jamison created many celebrated works, including Divining (1984), Forgotten Time (1989), Hymn (1993), HERE…NOW. (commissioned for the 2002 Cultural Olympiad), Love Stories (2004, with additional choreography by Robert Battle and Rennie Harris), and Among Us (Private Spaces: Public Places) (2009). Her autobiography, Dancing Spirit, was edited by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and published in 1993.
Here’s her “Hymn” dedicated to Alvin Ailey, who we covered here.
Judith Jamison’s stunning, Emmy Award-winning 1993 tribute to Alvin Ailey uses explosive, full company dances and quiet solos to illuminate Ailey’s humanity and the dancers unique qualities. Narrative recollections from dancers are arranged by the multi-talented actor/playwright Anna Deavere Smith, who appeared live onstage with the Company at select performances.
I admit I didn’t really know much of anything about this next honoree. Meet multiple Emmy-winning bass player Rickey Minor:
Rickey Minor is an Emmy Award-winning music director, composer and producer. He’s worked with renowned recording artists such as: Whitney Houston, Adele, Rihanna, Gwen Stefani, Janelle Monáe, Demi Lovato, Keith Urban, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Khalid, Katy Perry, Sting, Jennifer Lopez, Celine Dion, Stevie Wonder, H.E.R., Arianna Grande, Herbie Hancock, John Legend, Carrie Underwood, Lenny Kravitz, Al Jarreau, Gladys Knight, Brandi Carlile, Garth Brooks, Kane Brown, Ray Charles, Jennifer Hudson, Elton John, Common, LLCOOLJ, Andra Day, Ed Sheeran, Usher and Beyoncé.
His numerous television credits include The Tonight Show starring Jay Leno, American Idol, The Kennedy Center Honors, The Superbowl, The Grammys, The Emmys, and The Oscars.
He has received two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Music Direction: The 42nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors and Taking The Stage: African American Music and Stories That Changed America.
- 2017: Taking the Stage: African American Music and Stories That Changed America
- 2020: The 42nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors
Several regular readers of this series are bass players and we have lots of bass fans. This is an interesting interview with Minor on bassist Jon Liebman’s “For Bass Players Only” video channel.
Some of you may be familiar with Minor via his tenure on “The Tonight Show”:
There are likely very few readers who are not familiar with “Jesus Christ Superstar”—the rock opera, the movie, or one of the many productions mounted since it debuted as a 1970 musical album written byAndrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice
NBC’s production garnered Emmys for its executive producers in 2018.
John Legend, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber became EGOT winners through their roles as exec producers of Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, which won outstanding live variety special at the Creative Arts Emmys. They become the 13th, 14th and 15th individuals to score an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony — the EGOT.
Give a listen to two clips from the production:
In 2021 the Emmys honored Black church music and its role in our history.
‘Amen! Music of the Black Church’ documentary, written by Raymond Wise, wins Emmy and Telly awards
A documentary concert film about the traditions, historical significance and meaning of Black church music that Indiana University professorRaymond Wisewrote and conducted has earned national and regional awards from the television industry and a journalism organization.
[…]“I’m really honored by it. I really didn’t expect it,” said Wise, the IU African American Choral Ensemble director and professor of practice in African American and African Diaspora studies in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences. “You do what you do at a certain level, and for me it’s a ministry, a calling. You don’t do it for the awards or accolades.”
Wise said that “Amen! Music of the Black Church” aired nationally in at least 30 major cities, and served as a companion piece to the Henry Louis Gates PBS series “The Black Church: This Is Our Story. This Is Our Song.” Stations would often air them consecutively.
“It was just a great and unexpected blessing,” Wise said.
The documentary, which was supported by an IU Bicentennial grant, was filmed in October 2019 before a live audience at Second Baptist Church in Bloomington, Indiana. The church was the site of the African American Choral Ensemble’s first performance in 1975 and a 40th anniversary concert.
Here’s the trailer:
You can view the full documentary here.
It never occurred to me that there is a “Sports Emmy Awards” category. In 2023, Jon Batiste won his Emmy for taking us to New Orleans.
Jon Batiste (born November 11, 1986, Metairie, Louisiana, U.S.) is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and singer who is perhaps best known for his time as bandleader and musical director (2015–22) for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Batiste’s music is influenced by his New Orleans roots and combines elements of the city’s distinctive style of jazz with funk and rhythm and blues.
Watch: Jon Batiste celebrates ‘NOLA Vibes’ with his Final Four intro. ‘This is my city.’
Jon Batiste has served as the face of New Orleans ahead of Saturday night’s Final Four at the Caesars Superdome, and the musician had a full 4 minutes to put a spotlight on the city ahead of the TBS broadcast of the Kansas-Villanova game.
Batiste was at the forefront throughout the lively bit that included tunes from his Grammy-nominated Album, “We Are,” and the production put a spotlight on his growing status as an ambassador for the Crescent City.
The video turned out all the hits of New Orleans culture – from the music to the food to the nightlife.