Under The Radar

In spring 2007, Twin Cities philanthropist/jazz fan Barbara Applebaum Portnoy established The Under the Radar Foundation as a conduit of resources to support people and issues “that the media has forgotten.” The foundation kicked off its work in November 2007 with a sold-out benefit at the Dakota Jazz Club, raising $43,000 for victims of Hurricane Katrina, including those served through the local Sabathani Community Center.  The benefit brought to town zydeco legend C.J, Chenier and Willie West, joining local stars Dennis Spears and Debbie Duncan, and a surprise cameo appearance by Dr. John.  Chenier returns for the 2008 benefit on November 23rd, “Laissez Le Bon Temps Roulez II” (Let the Good Times Roll II), this time joined by Crescent City’s own Delfeayo Marsalis. Host (and also performing) will be J.D. Steele. Additonal performers will include students from the High School for Recording Arts and Jevetta and Jeralyn Steele. 

This year’s fund raiser will support Delfeayo Marsalis’ Uptown Music Theater and the Twomey Center for Peace Through Justice, both in New Orleans, and two St. Paul music programs, the High School for Recording Arts (HSRA) and Walker West Music Academy (WWMA). 

Delfeayo Marsalis©Andrea Canter

Housed at Loyola University in New Orleans, the Twomey Center for Peace Through Justice seeks to shape social justice consciousness through education, and to take action on critical social problems confronting society. The Twomey Center acts as a catalyst for research and action on critical issues of workers' rights, racism, poverty and justice. Originally the Institute of Industrial Relations founded in 1947, the center was renamed for founder Father Louis J. Twomey in 1991. 

The HSRA is a project-based, public charter school that operates within and around a professional recording studio. Students earn time in the studio by completing academic projects in the core learning areas of English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. HSRA encourages students who may have dropped out or been expelled from traditional schools to complete their diplomas through a love of music. Last spring, student musicians from HSRA opened at Minnesota Orchestra Hall for Delfeayo Marsalis’ salute to Louis Armstrong. Walker West Music Academy is a 501c(3) non-profit community school of music dedicated to instruction and performance reflective of the African American experience.  WWMA encourages celebration of diverse cultures through the study of their unique expression and contributions to the language of music. WWMA students and faculty are familiar performers at such events as the Twin Cities Jazz Festival and Freedom Jazz Festival, and annually present a showcase of student talent at the Artists Quarter in St. Paul. 

CJ Chenier

A middle brother of the Marsalis Clan, Delfeayo has largely stayed in the background over the past decade, playing sideman to Elvin Jones and others, and concentrating on an impressive career as a Grammy-nominated record producer. Growing up surrounded by music in New Orleans, Delfeayo tried out several instruments before settling on the trombone at age 13 and absorbing the influences of J. J. Johnson and Curtis Fuller. “The trombone was meant for me,” says Delfeayo, “it fit my personality.”  Marsalis began his career as a producer at 17. Now, 100 or so productions later, he’s shifted his emphasis to performance, touring with his quintet in support of his latest recording, Minions Dominion, a tribute to former employer Elvin Jones. Over the past two years, Marsalis has performed several times in the Twin Cities, at the Dakota, Orchestral Hall and last season as guest artist with the local Dakota Combo. He will present a clinic and perform with students from the HSRA as part of the November 23rd benefit. 

Jevetta Steele by SK Communiations

JD Steele

The Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant in located at 1010 Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis; www.dakotacooks.com; 612-332-1010. More about the Under the Radar Foundation at www.undertheradarfoundation.org 
 

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