James Brown Tribute Brings World-Renowned Artists Together at the Ordway

Discovering the points at which African and American music strike sparks off each other, Pee Wee Ellis along with Maceo Parker, Vusi Mahlasela and Cheikh Lo bring James Brown's revolutionary music full circle in Still Black, Still Proud: an innovative, rhythm-fueled and Afro-funk tribute.

Still Black, Still Proud plays the Ordway's Music Theater for one night only on Tuesday, November 22 at 7:30 p.m. as a part of the Ordway's 2011-2012 Target World Music and Dance Series.

As much as the music of Africa influenced Brown's style, he likewise inspired an entire generation of African artists. Brown's music has been immensely popular, deeply felt and vastly influential in Africa. Still Black, Still Proud celebrates Brown's lasting legacy while exploring the deep relationship between soul, funk and modern African music.

Ellis says, "Since the beat came from Africa, we wanted to bring it back by way of combining funk with some African rhythms."

"It is a delight to welcome these celebrated artists to the Ordway and a joy to welcome back Vusi Mahlasela," exclaims Patricia A. Mitchell, Ordway's president and CEO. "What Ellis, Parker, Mahlasela and Lo are going to showcase in Still Black, Still Proud - a full-circle homage to the beat of American funk - will provide a remarkable and musically profound evening."

Pee Wee Ellis
Saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis designed the classic soulful sound oF Brown's music in the late 1960s, introducing rhythms and layers that would later become the definition of funk. Playing professionally since middle school and collaborating closely with artists as diverse as Van Morrison, Oumou Sangare, Esther Phillips and George Benson; Ellis's 50-plus-year career has gone from jazz to funk and back. In 1965, Ellis joined the James Brown Revue and was soon its musical director going on to co-write and arrange 26 oF Brown's classic hits such as "Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud," "Mother Popcorn" and "Cold Sweat." His work in the 1990s with Lo, Sangare and Ali Farka Touré, led to this project, his brainchild: Still Black, Still Proud.

Maceo Parker
Maceo Parker has played with each and every leader of funk, starting with Brown, which Parker describes as "like being at University;" jumping aboard the Mothership with George Clinton; and stretching out with Bootsy's Rubber Band. He's the living, breathing pulse which connects the history of funk in one golden thread; the cipher which unravels dance music down to its core. Parker grew to become the lynchpin of the Brown enclave for the best part of two decades, his signature style helping define Brown's brand of funk.

Vusi Mahlasela
Vusi Mahlasela is simply known as "The Voice" in his home country, South Africa, celebrated for his distinct, powerful voice and his poetic, optimistic lyrics. His songs of hope connect Apartheid-scarred South Africa with its promise for a better future. Raised in the Mamelodi Township where he still resides, Mahlasela became a singer-songwriter and poet-activist at an early age, teaching himself how to play guitar and later joining the Congress of South African Writers. After his popular debut on BMG Africa, "When You Come Back," Mahlasela was asked to perform at Nelson Mandela's inauguration in 1994 and continues to spread Mandela's message as an official ambassador to Mandela's HIV/AIDS initiative, 46664.

Cheikh Lo
Senegalese musician Cheikh Lo was born in the town of Bobo Dioulasso in Burkina Faso. In his early years he began playing drums and singing, which led to him joining the Orchestre Volta Jazz, an ensemble focusing on Cuban and Congolese pop music. In 2002, Lo collaborated and appeared on two tracks of the Red Hot Organization's tribute album to Fela Kuti, "Red Hot and Riot."

Since 2008, Still Black, Still Proud has toured the UK, Europe and North America, while performing in front of sold-out audiences to rave reviews. Previous guest artists in the collective include Fred Wesley, Vieux Farka Touré, Tony Allen and Angelique Kidjo.

Prior to the public performance, the Ordway will host an Ordway Extra in the Ordway's Marzitelli Foyer at 6:30 p.m. during which Twin Cities-based musicians and scholars will present a discussion on the interconnectedness of African music and American funk as articulated in James Brown's sound. During the public performance, a dance floor will be available in front of the stage for audience members to use throughout the concert. There will also be a reception in the lobby following the performance that is open to audience members. To learn more about pre- and post-show events, free to ticket holders, visit ordway.org/events.

During the band members' time in Saint Paul, Minn., they will reach nearly 3,000 students through Ordway's Performing Arts Classroom Series school matinee performances.