You know, jazz is an African-American art form that is performed all over the world.

I taught jazz voice in Australia at the Elder Conservatorium from 1994 to 2000.

And the appreciation that people in other countries have for our music is really pretty amazing.

And we're losing that legacy of jazz as being our music, our art form, and it's the foundation of all contemporary art forms, now R&B, soul, gospel, pop, you name it.

And so for us as African-Americans, and for Howard as an HBCU, it's important that we are directly still connected to this art form that is feeding all these other contemporary styles of music.

And it's our music, so we should be at the top, where the the level of performance is concerned.

There are a lot of schools, a lot of schools throughout the U.S. and throughout the world, that are teaching jazz.

So many of them, but so few of the HBCUs actually have jazz programs.

Something is just not quite right about that.

You know, this is our music.

Sometimes people have that conversation about appropriation.

Well, no one's taking the music from us.

We're giving it away.

I'm excited really.

I wish I knew this song.

I had to go to some apartment thing when I was learning this, but honestly, since the summer I've been super, super excited to see the new incoming freshmen, or students that are continuing their education but trying to make it into this ensemble.

So I'm just really excited.

I love learning from good vocalists, good artists, good musicians, so I really hope that we get to see some people display that and hopefully that they make it into the ensemble.

It's very competitive.

It's not even about how good you are.

Sometimes it's just competitive, supply, demand, all that type of stuff.

I'm a little nervous.

I'll be honest with you, I'm a little nervous, because I've never done jazz, but I love jazz.

I listen to Nancy Wilson, and Ella, of course, like a little Coltrane.

I've always seen myself doing this, but I've never done it.

One, two, three.

♪ Sing, sing, sing ♪ The first part of the audition, you learn the song, then you take it home.

That's like a Tuesday, and then on Thursday you come back and then you sing with the current members of Afro Blue.

Well, the audition process, when the students come into the audition process, a lot of times we don't know them.

Well, what drew me to this program was actually Afro Blue.

My best friend of over 10 years sent me a recording.

Eighth, ninth grade early in that, so though she sent it to me, put it on my little iPhone.

It was Keep on Pushing by Afro Blue.

Just the fat chord.

Actually I was a musical theater major my very first semester here at Howard, but then I realized I wanted to shift my focus solely on developing my craft as a musician and as an artist and to develop my skills musically.

So that's when I decided to transfer over here to third floor.

And I noticed that there were two different voice types, classical and jazz, and of course I picked jazz out of the two.

And of course being in jazz, you have to audition for one of the ensembles.

So my very first semester here on the third floor, which was spring 2018, I was in HU Jazz Singers, and then when I auditioned for the jazz ensembles in the fall of 2018, that's when I became a member of Afro Blue.

♪ Saints ♪ Stop, circle that rest.

Wow!

There's a rest there!

(laughing) Let's go back to 43.

Put a more of style to it.

So I've been in Afro Blue for about a semester now, and my experience has been one for the books.

I've been able to become a better musician.

My sight reading skills has gotten better.

My rhythm has gotten a lot better, and just I really started to get to know the jazz language.

And what's crazy is that I actually performed one of their arrangements before I got to Howard.

But what drew me to Afro Blue was just that performance aspect, everything about it was just wow.

And then as far as Afro Blue, it's kind of required that you audition, you know, every semester when you're a jazz voice major.

And it just so happened, Neela thought I was good enough, and I made it in.

The first time I saw Afro Blue was at a TED Talk my first semester, and I just thought it was the coolest thing, because it was like, oh, it really brought to life the whole TED Talk experience.

That was what stood out to me, so from then I was just really completely interested in them, and I wasn't a music major my first semester, so, you know, when I finally got into the program and decided to pursue this, I felt like I really belonged here.

So Afro Blue kind of helped inspire that.

The first time I auditioned, I was like why are all these people in here?

I thought I was just singing in front of the professors or whatever.

So that was nerve wracking the first time.

The second time around, I kind of knew what to expect.

And I just kinda went in like, you know, it's going to be what it's going to be.

I'm just going to do the best that I can.

So Jasmine Wells.

Jasmine Wells, okay, so this particular year we needed sopranos.

And my main first soprano just graduated.

That was Jillian Willis, and we needed first sopranos, and all the vocalists, they have a tendency to come in and they all want to do alto.

Alto, alto, alto.

And it's so interesting, because some years they all, all the singers are sopranos, but we just have in like the last two or three years, the primary singers have been altos, so she comes in and she says, "I'm auditioning for alto."

So okay.

And then Myesha sing for her the (playing piano chord) the pattern that we sing up.

(singing ascending and descending pattern) So we're going through the process, and I do her lower register and she's got a really nice, healthy lower register.

And then we started doing the upper register, and she's got this gorgeous, beautiful high soprano voice.

And we just keep going and keep going and keep going, until she's singing like high E or F or something like that, and it sounds effortless.

And so of course we're all impressed, and I'm thinking to myself, "This is a possible first soprano.

"She just doesn't know she's a soprano."

The audition was also where I discovered that I was a soprano, and just see everybody's reaction when I hit certain notes that I didn't really know I could hit.

So it was a good surprise to me too!

(continues singing pattern) That was some bird's notes.

I think the audition went pretty well.

You know, it didn't go perfectly, as I imagined in my head, but you know, that's, it's not about like when you mess up or how you mess up, because you're bound to mess up.

It's bound, it's like about how you recover as well.

(singing St. Louis Blues) So we come in, we should have warmed up, but I for one struggle with being warmed up before I come.

I do it sometimes, sometimes I don't.

Shame on me, but we come in and we kinda like get our wiggles out, unless we like have, it's crunch time, and we have to start exactly at 3:40.

The rehearsal kind of goes piece by piece.

Miss Miller will basically run through what she wants to do today, or just tell us the first piece that we're going to sing.

Okay.

One, two, Indigo's chorus, here we go.

(scatting) We'll start from a trouble spot if we've already learned that song, and we're going through it, or she'll have a sing through it and either stop us at a part where we make a mistake, or we'll run all the way through it, and then she'll go back and fix mistakes.

Teaching them to come to rehearsals on time and to be prepared, always have their music, pencils, be ready to work.

This is a quote from Fred Irby.

He says some of the best things that we teach our students are number one to show up, show up on time, and show up prepared.

So those are the three main things.

You know, if you're going to work, that those are the things that you need to have in mind.

Good morning.

Good morning, everybody.

We are at the Holiday Jazz Festival parking out here in Chinatown Gallery Place.

Hi, my name is Donna Fletcher and I am the entertainment coordinator for the Downtown Holiday Market.

I do this every year.

I've been doing it for about 10 years, and we've been trying to get Afro Blue here for several years, but somehow never quite made the connection.

But we did this year, and we're delighted to have them.

I had heard them a few years ago, and I just got to hear them doing their warmup, and honest to God I got goosebumps and I was practically in tears.

It was so beautiful.

Super excited to be here at the National Museum of American History and Culture.

Oh my God.

I'm so glad that, I'm glad that we get a chance to do this every year.

You know, it went amazing.

We have so much talent in the department, so it was just the opportunity for everybody to just support each other.

I feel, I always say this, but I really am grateful.

I feel so blessed, because I didn't imagine my undergrad experience to be like this in the fact that it's turning out way better than I expected.

I'll say Cleveland was one, probably one of the best performances that we've had.

It was just a lot of fun, and a lot of the other groups were really excited to see us and get to learn from us, and I know we were excited to teach them.

♪ Today, oh deep in my heart ♪ ♪ In my heart ♪ ♪ Deep in my heart ♪ ♪ Deep in my heart ♪ ♪ I do believe, I do believe ♪ ♪ You know I really do believe ♪ ♪ I do believe ♪ ♪ We shall overcome someday ♪ So I'm not exactly sure.

We're being fitted for different costumes for a show that we're supposed to be doing.

I know for sure that we're going to be in costume, and that we're going to be standing on boxes at some point during the show.

That's all they ever tell us so far.

Oh, look at you.

Work it, work it.

All right!

Let's see Ricky Ricardo.

That's how you do it.

Oh, yeah, we got 'em.

We're going this way?

Y'all look good.

[Over Sound System] And before us we have Rickey Brown, sophomore or junior.

He's wearing Calvin Klein.

And next up we have Jasmine.

Here we go, Jasmine Thomas.

I love that dress on you.

It's so flattering.

The first lady of the year.

This is exclusive behind the scenes action.

No one has seen this yet.

This is crucial.

Y'all are going to see this first hand.

We don't even know what's going on, but we're letting you in because we love you and you're special.

We're not allowed to tell anyone, like just know that this is about to be so, so dope.

This is something that is not being filmed.

There's no cameras allowed.

This was like top undercover type stuff, but just know it's about to be dope.

Like, it's about to be dope.

Like look at my outfit.

It's going to be dope.

So specifically for today's gig, I've been work with Skylark, and we're kind of bringing this modern art to life concept.

So I designed and built the 12 outfits we're working with.

I had a couple of extra hands as well.

You never had that done before?

Yes, when I was an Oompa Loompa.

(laughing) Beautiful!

Yum!

They can't say anything to me.

I had them shaking, y'all.

In their boots.

The girls aren't bad.

I had them shaking.

The Earth is moving.

Really a great one for me was at the Library of Congress, and that was with a group called Skylark Entertainment.

Oh yeah, that was great.

That was, that was classic.

Every now and again, we have some gigs where we're just like, we don't know what's going on.

You know, we have a couple of gigs a year where it's like we got costumes, and we got dance moves that we never even thought about doing.

The students were put in these costumes.

They were, they were supposed to be living art, so they had these big boxes that could fit like two people in them, and they had these scrims in front of them that had this artwork that were designed, and it was abstract expressionist art, I think.

Hadn't been a part of many cross-discipline performances before, so this is the first time I collaborated with like true like artists in the traditional sense, like painters and people who design large objects.

So we got to be in a box.

I had face paint, and it was a lot of fun, and it's definitely something great to put on my resume.

So we all got our own, you know, that we would be paired.

Me and I believe Akep, we were in the same painting.

And you know, we, I love Afro Blue, because we just kind of roll with the punches.

We know that we're going to get some outlandish gigs every now and again.

And it's always fun.

You know, it's never one of those things where it's like, "Oh, I don't want to do this."

It's like, no, like what's the gig?

What, show me what my face paint is going to look like.

We got costumes.

We got to try out some different things as far as mics that we've never tried before.

You know, usually we're with handheld mics, but this time we were in ear, and so just really kind of adjusting to that whole acoustic sound, that reverberation that was in that huge hall, and, you know, learning how to listen to each other better.

Listen for blend better.

Listen for, you know, how the harmonies are coming together.

The people who were in the audience were looking at them, but not quite knowing what they were saying.

And then when the song was over, and then they came out of the boxes, and the people saw them, and they were dressed in a costume.

They were, well, they were just really wowed by the whole thing.

So the lady who was in charge of Skylark Entertainment, I mean, she has a really kind of out there way of thinking about entertainment, and that was something that was her vision, something she wanted to do, and she brought it to life.

We've never done anything like that before, so that's why I liked it.

It was creative, artistic, unusual, and they loved it.

So it was a real, really good learning experience.

I think that was the biggest thing about that gig.

I feel great.

I think I got the hang of this.

Easy.

It's always good to just be in different places and literally just be able to show our gift to people.

You know what I'm saying?

Share with people, and just, and just feel like we're sharing love and music.

It was fun.

This was a wonderful experience.

I had a great time.

It was, man.

I was a living work of art.

I was standing in the box.

I got a rose that matches my stuff.

I painted him with my easel.

But anyway, I had a wonderful time.

♪ Lean on me when you're not strong ♪ ♪ I'll be your friend ♪ ♪ I'll help you carry on ♪ ♪ For it won't be long ♪ ♪ I'm going to need somebody to lean on ♪ Afro Blue, for my life and career, has honestly meant everything.

It has meant family to me.

I teach a masterclass once a week with all the jazz voice students who were involved and the day after the election, I think there were many of us who were kind of in shell shock.

And so just throughout the next couple of days, you know, I found out that there were some of our students that did not vote, and I, you know, that there again is one of those things.

You think you're at an HBCU.

You're at Howard University, where this is a school that has a history in protests and fighting for your rights, and this right that we have of voting.

How do you not exercise that?

And so I was a little upset at first, but then I had to think about it, and I thought, well, you know, I'm an educator.

So let's teach the students why it's important for them to go out and have that voice and to have that say, so I gave them an assignment in the class that they had to write a song or a poem that had something to do with what was important to them.

Something going on in the world today.

I actually wrote a song.

We had to do a project where we had to write a song basically, just talking about what we felt.

You know, bring awareness to things such as, you know, inequality.

It feels like a dream to have her support it.

It was an assignment actually that we were given in class, and I wrote that song in the form of a poem.

I think it turned out really well.

And I'm happy to say that in 2018, when we had the midterm elections, we had 100% voter turnout amongst our jazz voice students.

You know, we accomplished a lot.

Not only did we learn some great music and learn about the history of it, but now they get it.

So this album, We Shall Overcome, I love the name because we are speaking our liberation into existence.

And I said so the idea we shall is a very definitive statement of the future that will work in our interests, and I think the next step is to go out and do it.

Go out and organize, agitate, and educate.

♪ We've been broken down and shattered ♪ We try to do a new album every year and a half to two years, and it actually had been a while.

The last one we released was in April of 2017.

♪ Like a boat holds water ♪ ♪ We're sinking ♪ ♪ And you're the only ♪ Because the thing is is that I want it to swing.

I want it to have good style.

You know, that's the reason why we couldn't use Honeysuckle Rose, is because it's just too mechanical.

It doesn't have any groove to it.

So like, even if you're like in time, if you're in, if you're in time without the style there, then you can't use it.

So, and you've got, you girls, you normally like have your hips and stuff out, so you gotta find some way to move, and even though you're in the studio, bring the live performance life to it.

So we won't restrict ourselves.

Yeah, you can shake your butt.

One, a two and a.

(vocalizing) ♪ Oh, I hate to see ♪ ♪ That evening sun go down ♪ ♪ Hate to see that evening sun going down ♪ ♪ I hate to see, oh yeah ♪ ♪ That evening sun going down ♪ ♪ Just because my baby has gone and left this town ♪ ♪ That man is gone, he done left this town ♪ ♪ And if I'm feeling tomorrow ♪ ♪ Just like I feel today ♪ ♪ If she's feeling tomorrow like she feels today ♪ ♪ If I'm feeling tomorrow just like I feel, I feel today ♪ ♪ I'm going to pack my trunk, pack it up ♪ ♪ And make my get away ♪ ♪ She's gonna pack up her trunk ♪ ♪ 'Cause she's making her get away ♪ ♪ St. Louis woman ♪ ♪ With all her diamond rings ♪ ♪ All her flashy diamond rings ♪ ♪ Pulls my man around by her apron strings ♪ ♪ He'll follow anywhere ♪ ♪ She leads him from those apron strings ♪ ♪ If it wasn't for powder and for store bought hair ♪ ♪ Painted face, wig to wear ♪ ♪ Then that man I love, maybe he wouldn't have gone nowhere ♪ ♪ Where, no, nowhere ♪ ♪ Got the St. Louis blues and I'm blue as I can be ♪ ♪ That man got a heart like a rock cast in the sea ♪ ♪ Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me ♪ ♪ Now I love my man like a school boy loves his tie ♪ ♪ Like an old Kentucky colonel loves his mint and rye ♪ ♪ And I love my baby til the day I die ♪ (scatting) (bass soloing) ♪ St. Louis ♪ ♪ St. Louis ♪ ♪ St. Louis ♪ ♪ Saint, St. Louis, Louis ♪ ♪ Saint, St. Louis, Louis ♪ ♪ Saint, St. Louis, Louis ♪ ♪ Saint, Saint, St. Louis, Louis, Louis ♪ ♪ Saint, Saint, St. Louis, Louis, Louis ♪ ♪ Saint, Saint, St. Louis, Louis, Louis ♪ ♪ I've got the St. Louis blues, Louis blues ♪ ♪ I've got the St. Louis blues, Louis blues ♪ ♪ I've got the St. Louis blues, Louis blues ♪ ♪ I've got the St. Louis blues ♪ ♪ I've got the St. Louis blues, I've got the St. Louis blues ♪ ♪ I've got the St. Louis blues, I've got the St. Louis blues ♪ ♪ I've got the St. Louis blues, I've got the St. Louis blues ♪ ♪ I've got the St. Louis blues, I've got the St. Louis blues ♪ ♪ I've got the St. Louis blues, I've got the St. Louis blues ♪ ♪ I've got the St. Louis blues ♪ ♪ I've got the St. Louis blues ♪ ♪ I've got the St. Louis blues ♪ ♪ I've got the St. Louis blues ♪ ♪ I've got the St. Louis blues ♪ ♪ I've got the St. Louis blues ♪ ♪ I've got the St. Louis ♪ ♪ I've got the St. Louis blues ♪ ♪ I've got the St. Louis ♪ ♪ I've got the St. Louis blues ♪ ♪ And I'm blue as I can be ♪ ♪ Blue as I can be ♪ ♪ And I'm blue as I can be ♪ ♪ Can be ♪ ♪ Oh yeah ♪ (jazz music playing) (scatting)