https://www.makejazznotwar.org/event/joining-the-ancestors
Here’s a little about each of the friends and legends we’ll be playing for:
RICHARD LOPEZ
Richard Lopez worked with The JazzPoetry Ensemble throughout the ’90s. HIs piano both grounded the group and took it in new directions. He was best known back then for his work with the Columbus Symphony and his trio with Jim Rupp and Roger Hines at Rigsby’s. The ‘90s was also when he put together Too Far North with Michael Cox, Terry Douds, and Matt Wagner. In recent years, he performed regularly at the Columbus Museum of Art.
Our relationship could be volatile. One night out back of K2U during the break, I mentioned as delicately as I could that maybe perhaps he didn’t need to end every piece by resolving the chord. That maybe, occasionally, we should leave the audience hanging. He ripped into me. He said he was classically trained, played with the symphony, and so on and who did I think I was. We went back inside for the second set. Richard played the set furiously – the most avant-garde and powerful (even savage) solos I ever heard from him. He finished each solo and each piece with a resounding resolving chord.
Around 2000, I had some difficulty keeping the group busy and when it came back together a couple of years later, Richard was on to other things. Every time we saw each other, he would comment wistfully that he’d like to do some JazzPoetry with us, but it never panned out.
RON HOPE
Ron Hope played with The JazzPoetry Ensemble for a time in the mid ‘00s. The combination of his hand drums and Roger Myers’s kit was a powerful engine. Ron led bands including Sambateria, (Deep) Blue C, and Keep Hope Alive. Among the many bands he performed with are Madrugada, Ibada, Yumbambe, and Bobby Floyd. It would be difficult to overestimate his presence in the Columbus creative community.
Ron was the director of the Short Stop Youth Center Drum Dance and Theater Ensemble. His impact on the youth and culture of Columbus was immense.
The most memorable performance we did with Ron was at Dick’s Den. It was a Sunday afternoon show celebrating something of significance at the time – maybe a memorial, maybe an election. Ron showed up with three Pakistani drummers and asked if they could play. Play they did. The show was supercharged. Every moment felt electric. At the time, it was our most thrilling performance to date.
GREG WARD
Greg Ward was part of The JazzPoetry Ensemble and Make Jazz Not War for almost 30 years. He started helping with live sound and mixing our lo-fi recordings, but soon grew into our producer.
Greg grew up in the Detroit area and spent several years working with George Clinton. He mixed numerous albums with George including P-Funk, Funkadelic, Bootsie, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and so many more. We didn’t talk much about those days, except for production stories. My favorite was Greg’s description of adding a hand clap to a song. George wanted a particular sound that would cut through all the other sound, which was substantial. Several hours and more than 100 layers later, they had it. This was analog and on actual magnetic tape. Greg only had the opportunity to bring all this to bear for us on one piece. After we finished mixing “We Are Not Going Away”, he did a producer’s cut. Totally amazing. You can download it free at https://www.makejazznotwar.org/product/we-are-not-going-away-producers-mix-mp3/.
I met Greg when we worked at SOS Productions together for about a decade, until bad management led to his (and others’) layoff. Shortly after he started, he asked me if I ever read Hunter S. Thompson. It was the start of a beautiful friendship as we found so much more in common.
WAHRU CLEVELAND
Wahru played with us at our MLK Day programs. She was initially invited by Roger Myers. She didn’t just join us, she brought people. We always opened with a call to the ancestors. Wahru and her crowd made the call one to be heard across the universe. After the last program, 2018, she told me to call her next time, and any time. Unfortunately, next time came too late.
