Friday, July 25, 2008

Jazz great, Johnny Griffin, has died.


(PARIS) Jazz tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin, who played alongside such luminaries as Lionel Hampton, Art Blakey and Thelonius Monk, died Friday, 25 July 2008, in France, his agent Helene Manfredi said. He was 80.

Nicknamed the Little Giant, Griffin was due to perform Friday evening alongside US organist Rhoda Scott, French saxophonist Olivier Temime and drummer Julie Saury.

Griffin died at home in Mauprevoir, a village in the west-central La Vienne district, where he had spent the last 18 years of his life. The cause of death was not disclosed.

After studying music at the DuSable High School in his native Chicago, Griffin joined vibes star Hampton's orchestra in 1945 before leaving with trumpeter Joe Morris to join the latter's own band.

Throughout the 1950s, he played with a variety of combos, including Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.

He also played alongside cornetist Nat Adderley and recorded with John Coltrane. The fruits of that collaboration produced the 1957 Blue Note album for which he is perhaps best remembered, "A Blowin' Session."

At the start of the 1960s, Griffin founded his own group along with another saxophone player, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, but in 1962 he decided to set up home in France.

A spell in the Netherlands followed in the 1970s, before his return to France, where he continued to record and tour right to the end.

Legendary London jazz club Ronnie Scott's described Griffin on its website as a "member of jazz's elite ... his burning solos and furiously nimble runs anchored by an amazingly well-informed and complete grasp of melody and harmony, marking him out as one of the greatest tenor sax players".

Being from Chicago, he studied music at DuSable High School under Walter Dyett, starting out on clarinet before moving on to oboe, alto sax and finally, shortly after joining Lionel Hampton's Orchestra, the tenor saxophone alongside Arnett Cobb. While still at high school, at 15 Griffin was playing with T-Bone Walker in a band led by Walker's brother.

He worked in Lionel Hampton's Orchestra (first appearing on a Los Angeles recording in 1945, at the age of 17), leaving to join fellow Hampton band member Joe Morris's Orchestra from 1947 to 1949.

As a leader of his own band, his first Blue Note album Introducing Johnny Griffin in 1956, also featuring Wynton Kelly on piano, Curly Russell on bass and Max Roach on drums, brought him critical acclaim. A 1957 Blue Note album A Blowing Session featured him with fellow tenor players John Coltrane and Hank Mobley. He played with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers for a few months in 1957, and in the Thelonious Monk Sextet and Quartet (1958). During this period, he recorded a very smooth and stylish set with Clark Terry on Serenade To a Bus Seat featuring the rhythm trio of Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones.

At this stage in his career, Griffin was known as the "fastest tenor in the west", for the ease with which he could execute fast note runs with excellent intonation. Subsequent to his three albums for Blue Note, Griffin did not get alone with the label's house engineer Rudy Van Gelder, he recorded for the Riverside label. From 1960 to 1962 he and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis led their own quintet, recording several albums together.

He went to live in France in 1963, moving to the Netherlands in 1978. Apart from appearing regularly under his own name at jazz clubs such as London's Ronnie Scott's, Griffin became the "first choice" sax player for visiting US musicians touring the continent during the 60s and 70s. He briefly rejoined Monk's groups (an Octet and Nonet) in 1967.

Griffin and Davis met up again in 1970 and recorded Tough Tenors Again 'n' Again, and again with the Dizzy Gillespie Big 7 at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In 1965 he recorded some albums with Wes Montgomery. From 1967 to 1969, he formed part of The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band, and in the late 70s, recorded with Peter Herbolzheimer And His Big Band, which also included, among others, Nat Adderley, Derek Watkins, Art Farmer, Slide Hampton, Jiggs Whigham, Herb Geller, Wilton Gaynair, Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Rita Reys, Jean "Toots" Thielemans, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Grady Tate, and Quincy Jones as arranger. He also recorded with the Nat Adderley Quintet in 1978, having previously recorded with Adderley in 1958.

His last concert, July 21, 2008 was played in Hyères, France. Johnny Griffin died in Availles-Limouzine, France, where he had lived for the past 24 years.

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Thursday, July 24, 2008



ENS DeCarol Davis, a Black female, was the valedictorian of the CGA Class of 2008.

H. Res. 1241: Congratulating Ensign DeCarol Davis upon serving as the valedictorian of the Coast Guard.

110th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. RES. 1241

Congratulating Ensign DeCarol Davis upon serving as the valedictorian of the Coast Guard Academy's class of 2008 and becoming the first African-American female to earn this honor.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

June 4, 2008

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi (for himself and Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure


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RESOLUTION
Congratulating Ensign DeCarol Davis upon serving as the valedictorian of the Coast Guard Academy's class of 2008 and becoming the first African-American female to earn this honor.

Whereas Ensign DeCarol Davis is the first African-American female to serve as the valedictorian of the Coast Guard Academy;

Whereas Ensign Davis is from Woodbridge, Virginia, and was the 2004 Forest Park High School valedictorian;

Whereas Ensign Davis's academic achievement at the Coast Guard Academy in a class of over 200 cadets earned her status as the valedictorian of the Coast Guard Academy's class of 2008;

Whereas Ensign Davis's accomplishments include being selected as a 2007 Truman Scholar, 2008 Connecticut Technology Council Women of Innovation Award recipient, 2006 Arthur Ashe, Jr. Women's Basketball First Team Sports Scholar, and 2007 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District I College Women's Basketball First Team;

Whereas Ensign Davis's community outreach during her four years at the Coast Guard Academy significantly impacted the lives of others, including those at a local elementary school where Ensign Davis wrote and directed a play that introduced engineering as a career to the students;

Whereas the Coast Guard Academy serves a critical role in training the future leaders of the Coast Guard to protect ports, waterways, coastal security, and the marine transportation system from an act of terrorism; secure our borders against aliens seeking to unlawfully enter the United States, illegal drugs, firearms, and weapons of mass destruction at ports, waterways, and throughout the marine transportation system; prevent human smuggling operations at ports, waterways, and throughout the marine transportation system; maintain defense readiness to rapidly deploy defensive port operations and security operations and environmental defense operations; coordinate efforts and intelligence with Federal, State, and local agencies to deter, detect, and respond to the threat of terrorism at ports, on waterways, and throughout the marine transportation system; prevent Osama Bin Laden, al Qaeda, or any other terrorist or terrorist organization from attacking the United States or any United States person; and protect the United States or any United States person from threats posed by weapons of mass destruction or other threats to national security;

Whereas the Coast Guard Academy has few women and people of color within its cadet population;

Whereas on April 24, 2008, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 2830, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2008, which included several provisions to improve the diversity of the Coast Guard Academy; and

Whereas Ensign Davis gave her valedictorian address on May 21, 2008: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) congratulates Ensign DeCarol Davis for becoming the first African-American female to serve as the valedictorian of the Coast Guard Academy; and

(2) encourages the Coast Guard Academy to seek diverse candidates for the cadet corps and to continue to train and graduate cadets of a quality that the Coast Guard needs to fulfill all its homeland and nonhomeland security missions.



The text of Ensign Davis' speech is reprinted here in its entirety:

{{QUOTE}}

Thank you Admiral Burhoe. Good morning Vice President Cheney, Secretary Chertoff, Admiral Allen, Governor Fitial, Congressman Coble, Dean Colella, Captain Keene, distinguished guests, faculty and staff, corps of cadets, family, friends and especially, the class of 2008.

I feel honored to have the opportunity to speak today.

“We declare our right on this earth…to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary.” These were the words of Malcolm X.

Classmates, we are a family of volunteers (a family whether we like it or not) here to preserve and protect our nation and humanity. For the Coast Guard, “by any means necessary” is not a willingness to kill for humankind but more so a willingness to die. This day marks our legacy. Let us make history.

I know I’m up here today because I’m a nerd who managed to be the best number, the best piece of paper for the past four years, but I’d also like to think that I’m here because I respect humanity. I’m only 22 years old, so I’m not going to pretend to be some pseudo-righteous, over-achiever who thinks she knows all the answers. But I am here to tell you that I believe in a history and a now that is ours, a history and a now filled with a consciousness of the human condition, filled with a respect for human beings.

I need you to take this moment and see that I am black. See that I am a woman. I’m not going to tell you to close your eyes and imagine anything because we need to open our eyes and look this reality dead in the face. I need you to see that I am human. I am just like you. No better, no worse. If we can accept each others’ humanity, we can make history.

Humanity is our homeland, and classmates, we must remind our nation of the true definition and dynamic of homeland security. Promoting energy is securing the homeland. Protecting the public from terrorist strike is securing the homeland. Treating all people, whether migrant or felon, with mercy and human decency is securing the homeland. Saving lives is securing the homeland. We must never forget our legacy. We must never forget the freedom and liberty that make us America. We have made a pledge to society that on this earth to the best of our ability, by any means necessary, we will preserve and protect humanity.

Enemies of the Coast Guard do not all have faces, do not always breath. Our enemy is anything, form or concept, willing to hurt human beings, and a recent example of that enemy is Katrina. We fought back with principles of humanity, exploding justice, respect, and freedom. These principles give our nation a unique strength, and this is the greatest weapon of all.

I simply ask you to think. I ask you to look back to the moments of your powerlessness. Moments where you had to get down on your knees and scrub, sweep, mop, wax, and buff and buff and rebuff and buff again a floor that would be walked on and probably scuffed two minutes later. That feeling is what it is to be human. Humble yourself, accept your humanity, and don’t deny it in others. When you go to lead your people, exude that understanding of a struggle and a fight. Fight for them and be for them.

And in that fight, I ask you to remember this family that surrounds you today. I ask you to remember the shipmate who carried your C-bag during Sea Trials, the shipmate who earned a C tutoring your B+, the shipmates who stayed by your side late night after night after night after night after night, knowing you were more important than late rack. Remember the shipmate who shined your shoes…the faculty member, the coach, and the company officer who made you shine…the parent, the first guardian, who knew you would always shine. This family is the foundation of your humanity. These are the people you respect and who have taught you what it means to respect. These are the people who have helped you to understand everyone’s right as a human being to be on this earth.

Our history has not yet begun, and it won’t begin until every last one of us crosses this stage. Today, we become the class that we set out to be four years ago. Today, we become officers and protectors of the United States Constitution. Today, we must acknowledge that we are all human beings and maintain that awareness by any means necessary. Our history is now. Shall we begin?

{{UNQUOTE}}

ENS Davis said her service in the Coast Guard protecting homeland security gives her many responsibilities. She has been assigned to a Coast Guard unit in Staten Island, N.Y., where she will work in marine inspection.

(9/26/2009) NEW LONDON, CONN. — A Maryland student has been named the first Black female regimental commander in the 133-year history of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

Cadet 1st Class Jacqueline Fitch of Catonsville, Md., was appointed as the highest ranking cadet at the Connecticut-based military academy. The regimental commander is the liaison between the academy commandant and students. She will also be responsible for maintaining discipline and overseeing cadet companies.

The selection came as a surprise to Fitch, who says she applied just for a staff position. She said she was "in shock" by the unexpected appointment.

The Coast Guard Academy, located in New London, is the smallest of the nation's five military academies, with about 970 students enrolled this year.

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