Toni Morrison ...whenever I read her, I am in awe of her ability to create a galaxy of love, beauty , ugly , noble and ignoble  souls painted and turned inside out ( and so real that you sweat...worry and cheer for them. You hide out with them..fight back with them..marry and bury them)   , landscapes that you can touch -smell-  hear  and feel in every paragraph.
She is a work song, a jazz soloist, a brown hand playing classical music . Sometimes  I read the same sentences again and again , just in case I missed a sound, a plea, an affirmation in disguise. She is our guide through a high temple/ a pyramid/a field  at night/ or a church of hidden rooms  that she walks us through with her  lit candles

Blackberry Production's and Healing Arts Intitiative Present " March On " a musical/storytelling tribute to the 1963 March On Washington by Daniel Carlton /directed by Stephanie Berry . Feb12 2015 at First Conrintian Baptish Church in Harlem..FREE

Over a quarter of a million people showed up for that most iconic event known as ' The March On Washington in August of 1963 . Although Dr. King was a huge draw, no one expected the " I have a dream" speech That was a bonus. So who were some of those folks who had to be there?  To find out ,  I interviewed a cross section of attendees and asked them specific questions about their journeys. In this dramatic storytelling concert presented by Blackberry Productions ( directed by company artistic director   Stephanie Berry) we follow the real life  journey of that day from sun up to sunset .

Don Kelley ( 17 years old from Chicago)   / Ellen Frankel  23( who met her future husband on the bus from Greenwich village )  Carl Berry 28  from New York City  who was involved with community action and saw the trip as an opportunity to be around other activists .
The story is also told through the observations of a young White reporter who was told by his newspaper to expect chaos and possible violence.  We also recreate the experiences of Claudette Colvin(  a 15 year old  who refused to move to the white section of the bus even before Rosa Parks in Birmingham, Alabama , Elizabeth Eckford ( of the Little Rock 9 who walked alone through a hostile crowd ..spit on ..and blocked , because she didn't get the message that the plan had changed), Mamie Till whose 14 year son Emmett Till was murdered and ...well we know...and so many more stories...and we use the protest music of the time interspersed throughout!

The  incredible Cast :

o      Dwayne Clark : Marcher, Don Kelley, John Lewis, Reverend Johnson, Carl Berry, Elizabeth Eckford’s father   and  Negro Reporter

o      Audrey Martells : Marchers, Elizabeth Eckford, Mamie Till

o      Richard Kent Green: Marcher, Reporter, Bull Connor, George Wallace, Bus driver, Southern Racist , Southerner in Little Rock1

o      Abigail Gampel : Marcher, Ellen Frankel, Southerner, Southerner in Little Rock

o      Lawrin Green: Marcher, Claudette Colbert / Marian Anderson , various

o      All actors play Dr. King, flashback chorus , and various marchers


Where ?: First Corinthian Baptist Church, located at 1912 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd at 116th Street in Harlem.

Sponsored by Healing Arts Initiative / HAI It is best to reserve tickets. Contact Max Daniels at 212-575-7666 or mdaniels@hainyc.org

Daniel Carlton ...Black History Call and Response

Daniel Carlton leads "I too sing America"

   Coming Soon ( Dec.2012) ...My New Kindle Book :

  " The Year of The Dragon in Harlem / Haiku and Other Poems To Read While Being Stopped and Frisked"by Daniel Carlton

2012 ..The Year of the Dragon

           Stop and Frisk in full effect

        Look for it on Amazon  ...here are a few samples:

 Send in the dragons

Funky fire breath and all
Blow some flames
Like Coltrane and sh*&^%(T
Until our fried minds
Force us to rely on our third eye
To truly see through the smoky haze
Fly over the city
Fill it with beats from the strength of your wings
We'll dance to that.. rhyme and reason be damned/
Until our partners are simply the last one's standing
Freed asses and minds reunited
Lay eggs
Like dangerous poems
Hatched only when we learn to sit still long enough
To dig it all
From sublime mind states
And when the scribes reflect back
On the "Year of the Dragon"
They will unanimously agree
That it wasn't a redefinition of anything
It was the return of magic
When we needed it the most

copyright 2012

On a clear Fall day/
Its almost easy to forget/
Yesterday's sorrow/
Dreams disguised as leaves
A tapestry
For tomorrow

copyright 2012

At the barbecue/
The dragon turned out to be/
Vegetarian /

The Dragon smiled/
Its fire warmed up  cold streets/
Folks ran regardless/

Inside the dancer/
Wings are always in motion/
A butterfly's truth

Copyright 2012

Long poems/Haiku /Musings/ Almost songs/Call and response...and so much more

picture by Benja Kay

City Parks Foundation » Bird with Strings with Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and Special Guests

City Parks Foundation » Bird with Strings with Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and Special Guests

  Myself, Claudia Haydyen and a Sax Player too

When Smalls Had It All by  Daniel  Carlton

as part of Harlem  Jazz Shrines 2012 

http://www.jazzmobile.org/

When we hear that a show is educational , its easy to think that it won't be fun, or too young, or whatever associations we have with being asked as kids( or as the adult chaperon ) to see something that is good for us. I would like to shatter that perception or reality by inviting you to this highly , musical piece being presented by yours truly as part of the Harlem Jazz Shrines 2012 festival. My show "When Smalls Had It All" is being sponsored by the wonderful organization Jazzmobile (with funding on a commission from :*Commissioning support from Charlie Parker Jazz Festival 20th Anniversary, and City Parks Foundation and Jazzmobile..

HARLEM JAZZ SHRINES FESTIVAL 2012

MAY 7-13, 2012

Celebrating Harlem’s Historic Jazz Venues:  Apollo Theater, Club Harlem, Havana San Juan, Lenox Lounge, Minton’s Playhouse, Monroe’s Uptown, Park Palace, Showman’s Jazz Club and Small’s Paradise.

Concerts by amazing musicians will take place at night in many sites in Harlem to recreate these seminal hotbeds of innovation and tradition.  My venue is Smalls Paradise..Harlem's longest running nightclub....from the 1920's -the 1980's.   I will use  live music ( from masterful musician's including Claudia Hayden on Flute, master Bassist Booker King,  sax player, and a keyboard) to create an atmosphere of song and dance. I will use fictional characters who interact  with the audience as if they( the audience) are sitting or waiting to dance at Smalls throughout the different eras. The dialogue will be verse. Images from the different eras in Harlem will be projected . Dancing encouraged. History taught through characters like a caretaker who sees Small's last day, different MC's , A numbers runner in the 1920's, A WWII soldier returned looking for his girl-and describing how Charlie Parker and the new music Be-Bop got him through the war, Wilt Chamberlain's right hand man in the 1960,s, A rapper in the 80's who comes to Smalls looking for the perfect break-beat..and many more..all played by moi. Did I mention live music? 

Check out the Harlem Jazz Shrines Link for all of the great offerings and venues ...but for an early morning good time , bring your classes ( 6th grade and up) a group , or yourself to : Harlem USA 124t and St Nicholas ( in the building that hosts the Magic Johnson Theater)  2nd floor  May 10th or 11th 10:00 A.M -11:15  

FREE    FREE FREE ..but call Jazzmobile for reservations

http://harlemjazzshrines.com/calendar

Small's Paradise Education/Public Programs

Wednesday, May 9, Thursday, May 10, Friday, May 11 10 a.m. |  Registration Required

Poet/actor/narrator Daniel Carlton will illuminate the history of this famous venue with the superlative presentation, "When Small's Had It All*," an interactive, multimedia theatrical work that salutes and recreates the electric atmosphere of the club with music, visuals and storytelling. 

For Grades 6 -12

Registration Required:  Teachers Call 212 866-4900 ext. 31

Commissioning support from Charlie Parker Jazz Festival 20th Anniversary, and City Parks Foundation and Jazzmobile.