Library celebrates 100 years of Toledo's Jazz Great Tatum

The Toledo-Lucas County Public Library is proud to present a celebration to honor 100 years of Toledo’s own jazz great Art Tatum, scheduled from 7-11 p.m. on Saturday, October 10 at Main Library, 325 Michigan St.

The event will feature noted pianist/vocalist Johnny O’Neal. O’Neal portrayed Art Tatum in the Hollywood film Ray, starring actor Jamie Foxx. In the movie, Foxx’s Ray Charles character goes to a nightclub to see the legendary Tatum played by O’Neal. During filming, O’Neal’s tune Yesterdays made it to the silver screen.

The Library’s Art Tatum celebration will also feature special entertainment guests Charles McDaniel, and Keith Bernhard & More Jazz Messengers.

So . . . put on your jazzy attire and join Your Library for this very special celebration featuring live music, refreshments, dancing, fun activities and more! Proceeds benefit the Art Tatum African American Resource Center at Kent Branch Library.

Ticket information:
Tickets are $30 per person and $50 per couple
VIP Tickets with Johnny O’Neal are $45 per person/$65 per couple (7-7:30 p.m. in the Main Library McMaster Lobby)
Tickets available at all Library locations beginning on Monday, September 14

Art Tatum Celebration Column Dedication

Toledo, OH – The Arts Commission of Greater Toledo announces that a dedication ceremony for the “Art Tatum Celebration Column”, a memorial to the Toledo native and jazz icon. The Dedication Ceremony will be held on Friday September 11th at 12:00 pm (noon) in front of the sculpture at the north entry to the Lucas County Multipurpose Arena, on the corner of Madison and Superior, Downtown Toledo.

In September of 2009 the Art Tatum Celebration Column, a glowing twenty-seven foot tower of eighty-eight piano keys, will welcome the public into the Superior St. pedestrian plaza of the new Lucas County Multipurpose Arena in historic Downtown Toledo. The memorial to Art Tatum, created by San Francisco artist and jazz enthusiast Cork Marcheschi, consists of black and white stainless steel, three foot square boxes, separated by sheets of plate glass back lit with smoky blue LED lighting. The spiraled tower will become an elegant jazz beacon reminding the Toledo community and visitors of the legacy of its musical culture by honoring its native, Art Tatum. The sculpture also includes three wall mounted and backlit dichroic glass panels inscribed with Art Tatum’s biography, his image with a list of his greatest songs, and a panel for recognition of major donors who have made the memorial possible. These panels colorfully call jazz lovers of every generation to read, admire and learn about Tatum as they stand in the arborous landscape of Toledo’s most prominent entertainment venue.

“…the column creates movement, dynamism, and a bending of reality, this I feel is an excellent metaphor for what Art Tatum did to the keyboard.”
-Cork Marcheschi, Artist

“I never learned to read music because I studied with Art Tatum. He taught me to cultivate listening as he played and to interpret it instantly by singing. If you can hear it, you can sing it and if you can sing it you can play it. I stopped at the singing. It is called Vocalese.”
- Jon Hendricks

What: The Art Tatum Celebration Column Dedication Ceremony

When: Friday September 11 at 12:00pm (noon)

Where: Lucas County Multipurpose Arena, North Entrance Plaza.
Madison and Superior, Downtown Toledo

For more information contact Adam Russell, Public Art Coordinator at the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, 419.254. 2787 or visit www.ArtTatumMemorial.org

The Arts Commission of Greater Toledo is the longest standing arts commission in the state of Ohio that develops and promotes the arts in the community, serving Fulton, Lucas and Wood counties since 1959.

Tower Brass Quintet to play December 19th

Nationally-known and Bowling Green-based brass ensemble The Tower Brass Quintet will return to Trinity United Methodist Church in Bowling Green on Wednesday, December 19 at 7:00 pm. to offer their very popular holiday concert — The Spirit of Christmas Brassed. Trinity United Methodist Church is located at 200 N. Summit St. in Bowling Green. The December 19 concert will mark the Tower Brass’s eighth annual appearance at Trinity. Admission is free and there will be a free-will offering at intermission of the concert. For information, call Trinity Church at 419-353-9031.

Christmas Brassed offers a full spectrum of holiday music, including classical and sacred music, brass ensemble arrangements of well-known traditional Christmas carols, and jazz renditions of popular tunes of the season.