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On Tuesday, November 17, the legacy of jazz took center stage at Colden Auditorium, as Queens College, in partnership with RADD and Unisphere, Inc., presented the HSBC Bernie Williams Tolerance Concert, which brought together the former Yankee outfielder, trumpeter Jimmy Owens, and pianist Randy Weston to celebrate tolerance, social responsibility and environmental responsibility.
The show is the first of many in the Tolerance Live Music and Art Concert Tour, which will tour colleges, malls and parks across New York City to distribute a positive message of fostering debate and acceptance.
The concert was shaped by renowned music icon Tony Bongiovi, whose company Powerstation Studios has produced records for artists such as Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne and his second cousin, Jon Bon Jovi.
“Music becomes the glue that creates common ground” among different people, and a college campus is the perfect venue to stimulate debate because students “are not as jaded and open to suggestion,” Bongiovi said.
Owens and a group of musicians performed a Jam Session Tribute in honor of music legends and Queens residents Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie, men who “lived in intolerant times,” who, when they toured through Southern states, had to spend nights in private homes “because they could not check into hotels,” he said.
While playing Gillespie’s “Tour De Force,” an elderly couple rose from their seats and started dancing at the bottom of the aisle, returning to their seats only after they finished.
Owens introduced Weston as a “mentor who helped me understand the [music] business” and whose music is “infectious in that it gets you to tap your foot and shake your butt,” he said.
Weston was joined by the band African Rhythms. They opened their act with “African Sunrise,” which combined a unique combination of the piano, bass and bongos.
During the middle of the show, four individuals were awarded for their contributions to the promotion of tolerance, social responsibility and environmentalism: Queens Parks Assistant Commissioner Estelle Cooper, Queens College President James L. Muyskens, Performer Jimmy Norman and Chairman and CEO of Major World Automotive Companies Bruce Bendell.
Though the show honored of the jazz legends of the past, it introduced young talent as well. Owens introduced the Darryl Johns Trio, composed of bassist Darryl Johns, 13, pianist David Zaks, 17, and drummer Robin Baytas, 17, who performed such jazz classics as Louis Armstrong's “Hello Dolly” and Duke Ellington’s “Caravan.” The former Yankee joined John in an acoustic performance of Jack Norworth’s baseball classic “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” an obvious ode to the recent success of his former team in winning their 27th World Series title.
Jamie Bendell, daughter of award recipient Bruce Bendell, performed her song, “Start of Something New,” which she had performed at her college graduation a year prior. “I feel honored to participate in an event that brings so many people together,” she said.
Both young and old were in attendance, brought together by their mutual appreciation for music. Queens resident Eleanor Speer, 80, came to the event not only because she is an avid fan of the musicians playing, but the message they advocated was important. “Music brings people together to get a better understanding of each other’s culture,” she said. Mrs. Speer's late husband once worked in the labs of Queens College, and she enjoys returning “because I feel like a part of him is always with me,” she said. Salina Nawaz, 22, greatly enjoyed the event, but said that “it should have been promoted better, because I literally found out about it only minutes prior.” The same sentiment was shared by Sumit Sharma, 20, a junior who found out about the event after noticing a flier by the radio station in the Student Union.
The intent of the entertainers was to give the audience an enjoyable evening and to instill a lesson they could take away long after they left the auditorium.
“Music is a powerful tool in getting people to listen,” Williams said. In spite of age, culture or economic distinctions, music change bridge the gap because “people can always relate to a song with a catchy rhythm.”
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