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Jazz musicians join to help Jenkins Institute

Two pre-eminent Charleston musicians have come together to help one of the area's iconic institutions get back in touch with itself.

Alphonse Mouzon and Quentin Baxter, both percussionists, will join forces on stage Nov. 18 to benefit the 116-year-old Jenkins Orphanage, now the Jenkins Institute for Children.

Billed as "God Bless the Child: A Jazz Homecoming," the concert in the heart of Charleston's Historic District will feature Baxter's band, the Franklin Street Five, and the multi-instrumental artistry of Mouzon, a legendary session and stage player, band leader and producer.

Leaders at Jenkins consider the event the beginning of an effort to raise money for the children's social service institution started in 1891 based on its rich musical heritage.

"This marks our first annual fundraising effort for our capital campaign," says Hank Tisdale, Jenkins board chairman.

Over the years, Jenkins has produced high-caliber musicians who have had a huge impact on American music. Its music program faded in the 1960s and its early and mid-20th-century stories are now little known.

Tisdale, Executive Director Johanna Martin-Carrington and board program committee co-chairs Trudy Dukes and Barbara Joslin are setting out to change that.

"I hope this event will help us to initiate a capital fund that will allow us to continue music education for the children of Jenkins," says Joslin.

Jenkins educated and assisted thousands of children for decades in many disciplines, especially music. Officials are looking toward establishing a music conservatory for children on its 48 acres on the banks of the Ashley River, the orphanage's home for the past three-quarters of a century. The orphanage started at 20 Franklin St. in downtown Charleston.

Lonnie's students

Baxter, 37, is a principal and musical director of the Charleston Jazz Initiative, a research project. In that capacity in 2003 he formed the Franklin Street Five to perform at a jazz picnic in the neighboring housing project. The band plays modern jazz, but its purpose is to pay tribute to the Jenkins musical tradition through select performances. The Nov. 18 show is only its sixth performance in four years, one of which was held in New York in 2006.

Other members are Richard White on piano, Charlton Singleton on trumpet, Kevin Hamilton on bass and John Cobb on saxophones.

Mouzon, 58, plays drums, piano and trumpet, and he sings. And all of those talents will be on display at the concert. A resident of Los Angeles, he has released many albums on his label, Tenacious Records. He has played with some of the world's best, including Gil Evans, Stevie Wonder, Carlos Santana, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins and Miles Davis.

Both Baxter and Mouzon have been heavily influenced by Lonnie Hamilton III, a noted Charleston musician who learned and taught music at Jenkins in the 1950s and 1960s, and they never miss an opportunity to sing his praises.

Straight ahead

Baxter and Mouzon promise no-nonsense, unadulterated jazz music for the show. The centerpiece of the repertoire will be Mouzon's original music, including selections from "The Night Is Still Young" and "Live in Hollywood."

"Jenkins' history and legacy means a lot to me," Mouzon said. "I'm proud to be from Charleston and proud of Jenkins for continuously doing an outstanding job of providing for, supporting and helping children."

He describes his style as eclectic. "I'm a jazz musician who at times incorporates R&B, smooth jazz, pop, rock and reggae into my music. Lately, I have been concentrating on playing straight-ahead jazz and smooth jazz when I perform."

Baxter, who is also an adjunct professor of music at the College of Charleston, spoke about his and Mouzon's style one evening last week at FIG restaurant. He had a meeting there shortly before his regular gig at Charleston Grill, but there was casual conversation, too. The historical nature of the Nov. 18 event struck him the most, though.

"It's funny it's the two of us," he said. "In the line of Charleston drummers, I'm probably the first who has stayed here and worked successfully (locally, nationally and internationally) making a living at it. Alphonse and all those before him had to leave to make it."

Mouzon left Charleston for New York City after graduating from Bonds-Wilson High School around the time Baxter was born.

The music tradition

Mouzon and Baxter are quintessential Charleston jazz musicians, and all area jazz players have been influenced, directly or indirectly, by Jenkins' legacy. Research by the Charleston Jazz Initiative has shown that players from the area for the past 100 years have been technically proficient, versatile and master showmen.

Many have risen to the level of Renaissance men and women. By all accounts, Baxter and Mouzon fit the mold.

As well as being a giant of a performer, Mouzon composes and arranges music of all types. He writes film scores, including the recently released "Begleiter," and contributed songs to "The Dukes." He acted and played drums in Tom Hanks' "That Thing You Do."

Baxter scored and supervised the music for Brad Jayne's "Song of Pumpkin Brown," a 2007 film about a black boy in South Carolina who grew up in an orphanage and went on to be jazz musician.

He's a photographer and a writer as well. Baxter is in demand as much as a recordist as he is as a player. He recorded, mixed and mastered the highly acclaimed "Experiment in Truth," vocalist Rene Marie's latest record.

Back to the future

Tisdale and other Jenkins officials think the event and others to come will be successful.

"Everybody feels really great about it," he says. "I've been getting very good response from people who want to sponsor and from people who will attend."

Martin-Carrington, who retired home to Charleston from Los Angeles in 2000, likes the ramifications of the event for future programming at Jenkins.

"Most dropouts are black males, and music has been an opportunity for us (blacks) all our lives," she said. "It (music education) could be an option to dropping out. To play music, you have to read and you have to count. I remember bands at Jenkins, Burke and Bonds-Wilson. I know it's a deterrent."