Ojeda Penn

An extraordinary jazz pianist, Ojeda Penn, comes from a family of music lovers and musicians.  Born in Montgomery, Alabama he didn't have to look far for encouragement when his love for the piano took off. "My mother played piano and was a very creative person. Music was always around... mostly blues on the radio, with some jazz on Sundays.”

Being teased about being a “sissy” for playing the piano, at seven, Ojeda cut short his inherent talent for music after only two years of piano lessons, but not before performing Beethoven’s “Minuet in G” in concert.

When he reached fourth grade, his mother persuaded him to play clarinet in the high school band, which he did for the next nine years. “When I started playing clarinet, it was just like when I played piano. I was always more interested in the music I heard than in the music on the page. I always heard alternative harmonies, melodies and rhythms.”  

Ojeda’s grandfather was a “wood man”.  Every week wood had to be sawed. While waiting to hand his grandfather another piece of wood to saw, he would listen to the rhythms of the gasoline engine and the humming of the saw as his grandfather cut the wood before him. These sounds were music to his ears.

Listening to Jimmy Smith’s album “The Sermon” while in High School was the catalyst that inspired his love for jazz.

While attending Howard University he was influenced by the Jazz radio station WOOK, a hip station out of Washington, DC.   At last his mission had begun.  After immersing himself in listening to Jazz his freshman year, he one day told himself, “I’ve got to play. It feels too good to me. I know I can play it. When I hear Gene Harris play (pianist for The Three Sounds), I want to eat those chords he plays. They sound that good to me.”

 “My music defines me as a human being.  Music tells me “who” I am, and how I should feel about myself.  Music centers me and affords me a much-needed vehicle to express my very personal feelings in an arena where it’s safe.”

After earning his Bachelor’s of English degree at Alabama State College, he began in 1973 - 1975 composing jingles and industrials with a voice-over thrown in on occasion for Coke-Cola and several small businesses.  He then received his Master’s in American Studies in 1971 and is a Ph.D. Candidate in American Studies at Emory University.

He spent 20 years teaching Jazz History at Emory University. While at Emory in 1973, he introduced the first Jazz history course for the Afro-American Studies Program.  He is now teaching at Atlanta Metropolitan College.  You'll also find him at various night spots in the Metro Atlanta area playing his cool jazz.

“Ojeda Penn is a friend and also one of the most popular jazz musicians in Atlanta.  He has been a force in Atlanta’s jazz scene since he moved here in 1967.  His numerous appearances at the City of Atlanta’s Annual Piedmont Park Arts Festival, his concerts at colleges and his performances on local television stations reflect not only his love for the music but also his concern for providing his audiences with the opportunity to get involved personally with music.”

Maynard Jackson, 1980 album “Happiness”

Ojeda Penn                                                          cont’d

HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

·         Taught Language and thinking Workshops New York

·         Taught Jazz Music Aesthetics at Emory,  Atlanta Metro College, and Clemson 1997

·         Awarded the 1984 Bronze Jubilee Music Award for his contributions to African American Musical Culture.

·         1984 Scored the “The Great Panda Scanda” performed at Emory University.

·         1981 – 1983 co-anchored with Joe Jennings on a WCLK weekly radio show.

·         1976 scored the motion picture “Stockcar”.

·         Performed with Life Force (a local Atlanta jazz group 1971-1975).

·         Appointed artist-in-residence 1975 at the Neighborhood Arts Center.

·         While instructing music at Emory University in1973 he introduced the first Jazz history course pivoted by the Afro-American Studies Program.

·         Wrote several themes for Coca-Cola and other local corporations.

·         Wrote music for Senator David Scott’s commercials created by his Advertising firm, Kayn-Mark.

·         Interviewed on numerous cable TV shows on Jazz history and African American Culture.

·         He has performed as a pianist with  Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard 

ALBUMS/CD’s:

Composed and arranged music for three albums:

1.      Happiness,

2.      All is One

3.      I Always Dream of Winning (performed piano solo).

APPEARANCES:

·         Baby Grand Piano Bar, Featured Performer,  Every Friday and Sunday Nights

·         Alabama State University Alumni Association’ s Annual Event

·         Paris on Ponce, with Life Force and the Neighborhood Arts Ensemble March 2003.

·         Performs as a regular at Church Hill Grounds 2000 – 2003, 2004, 2005 appearing with several different jazz artists.

·         High Museum Friday Jazz Series, February 2003, 2004, 2005

·         Jazz Mass (original music) at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, April 2001

·         Chattanooga Jazz Festival 2001

·         Atlanta Jazz Festival’s since 1977 – 2005

·         Monterey Jazz Festival in Atlanta (1999)

·         1986 – 2000 Bard College, Annadale-On-the Hudson, N.Y.

·         National Black Arts Festival 1996- 2005

·         Geoethe Institute 1994 - 1998

·         Performed at Dante’ Club Restaurant in Buckhead, GA 1988 - 1996

·         Dogwood Music Festival (1986)

·         Lectured and performed his original music at Clemson University in 1985

·         Paschal’s Lounge 1969 –1970 and 1977-1979

·         Piedmont Arts Festival , yearly  from 1973 – 2003

·         Arranged and performed music and lyrics for a rap video protesting apartheid in South Africa 1984

·         1975 the Smithsonian Institute’s American Folklife Festival held in Washington, D.C.

·         Since 1973 he has appeared as a regular on Atlanta’s Jazz Festivals sponsored by the city and private organizations, Local Cable Television Stations during the 1970’s and early 80’s. 

·         Lecturer on Jazz music aesthetics and African American culture.

Ilona Knopfler

On “Live the Life,” her latest release for Mack Avenue, French chanteuse Ilona Knopfler makes a strong musical statement that further defines her place in the jazz world.  The CD features twelve timeless songs from the pens of such legendary and diverse songwriters as Ivan Lins, Charles Aznavour, Thelonius Monk, Claude Nougaro, Abbey Lincoln, and Thomas A. Dorsey – whose “I’m Going to Live the Life I Sing About in My Song” kicks off the session and inspired the CD’s title.  “Live the Life” highlights the purity of Ilona’s voice, emphasizes her eclectic stylistic abilities and pairs her with a world panoply of supporting players.  The result is a lush, atmospheric collection that, in Ilona’s own words, “is a tribute to my unconditional love of music.”

Born in France and raised in a musical family (her mother was a singer, her father a pianist and her mother’s accompanist), Ilona had traveled the world by the time she was in pre-school.  That early exposure to the world’s cultures finds its expression on “Live the Life,” on which Ilona sings in both English and French (she’s equally fluent in both) and which was recorded in both Paris and New York.  Adding to the CD’s global spirit is the cast of international musicians, recruited by producers Jay Ashby and Al Pryor to add the right flavor to each different track.  Among the more than 30 musical artists who contributed their talents to “Live the Life” are Alain Mallet on piano, James Genus and Rufus Reed on bass, Marty Ashby on guitar, Paquito D’Rivera on clarinet, and Mack Avenue label-mate Sean Jones on trumpet, as well as a string section and an oud player (on different tracks, of course).

Ilona says that the songs on “Life the Life” were chosen to “paint a picture of myself that will let people know who I am.  Each song represents a character trait, or a specific time in my life, or someone in particular.”  Thomas A. Dorsey’s “I’m Going to Live the Life I Sing About in My Song,” the CD’s first track, opens with Ilona’s vocal solo, unaccompanied and radiant, and then bursts into full bloom with a lush arrangement that features Alain Mallet on piano, Rufus Reid on bass, Marty Ashby on guitar, Jamey Haddad on drums, and Antonio Hart – who offers up a burning solo midway through the tune – on alto sax.  As the song traverses an array or musical textures, Ilona alternates between singing in French and English, with background vocal support from Kim Nazarian of New York Voices. 

“One of the reasons this song spoke to me,” explains Ilona, “is its message of strength, independence, and above all, faith.  It expresses such a respect of one’s ability to find your path, the right path, and to follow it regardless of discouraging influences.  When I’m singing, I’m living the life I choose, and when I sing of love, of understanding, of respect – that’s the life I want to live everyday.”

Ilona’s ability to tap the emotional nuances of a song is brought to light by the CD’s well-conceived arrangements, courtesy of Jay Ashby, Dr. John Wilson, and pianist Alain Mallet.  From the big band swing of “Comment Allez-Vous” to the Latin-tinged, upbeat “But for Now,” to the sumptuous orchestral handling of Thelonius Monk’s “Ask Me Now ” to the bewitching, middle-eastern flavored “Throw it Away,” Ilona offers an aural, expressive and personal interpretation of each track that is illustrative of her substantial range.

“Jay pushed me to make sure that I opened up and expressed everything I have inside,” says Ilona.  “And when I thought it was all done, Jay still managed to add more depth to it.” 

Ilona visits both the dark smoky atmosphere of a jazz bistro and the insouciant ambiance of a stroll on the Left Bank with two more tunes sung in French, “Dansez Sur Moi” and “Le Jazz et La Java.”  “Just like sometimes I dream in English and sometimes in French, whatever language I sing in doesn’t change the story,” Ilona explains.  “The important thing is that the lyrics speak to me, so that when I sing them, I mean it and feel it.  It’s the harmonious blend of music and lyrics that makes a song understandable in any language.”

“Live the Life” continues with a retro-tinged ballad, “This is Always,” followed by a rhythmic but slightly poignant take on Charles Aznavour’s “Parce Que,” which Ilona says affects her on many levels.  “Even though it’s a love song written for a woman, the words aren’t overly sensual.  As a mom, as I sang every word, I could only think of my daughter, Aiyana, and the unconditional love that children bring.”  It’s only fitting, then, that Aiyana is featured on the track as well. 

“Alone Together” positions Ilona’s vibrant, clear vocals in a subtle quartet setting of piano, bass, guitar and drums, a straightforward environment that is pared down to just a trio on the lovely “Les Moulins de Mon Coeur.”  While the tune is certainly recognizable to American audiences as Michel Legrand’s “The Windmills of Your Mind,” the French lyrics that Ilona sings were written by Eddy Marnay. The CD concludes with “No Tomorrow,” a simple arrangement of the Ivan Lins tune that fully showcases Ilona’s vocal capability.

Although she was born in Paris, Ilona’s parents’ gigs took them and their young daughter all over the world, eventually bringing them to Hong Kong, where a six-year-old Ilona took the stage for the first time. A few years later, she discovered the music of Diane Schuur and Al Jarreau. “I loved their freedom of expression and the fact that they were not afraid to use their voices however they wanted, ” Knopfler says.  “I knew then I wanted to express myself that same way.” By the time she was 15, her affinity for jazz led her to perform with small groups and big bands at the famous Jazz Club in Hong Kong, quickly becoming a house favorite.  When she turned 18, Knopfler set off for New York City, where she lived for five years,  and studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. 

She signed with Mack Avenue in 2003, releasing her debut, “Some Kind of Wonderful” that same year.  The CD, on which Ilona interpreted pop tunes of the 60’s and 70’s with a jazz flavor, was lauded as “a courageous journey through the heart of pop music,” and “a promising debut,” and critics noted that Ilona had “the instincts of a fine jazz vocalist” and was “someone to watch in the years to come.”