The 13th Annual Mississippi Jazz Festival was held at the Summit Rotary gym on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008. The festival this year was a tribute to Summit native John Gilmore, ace saxophonist who played with the famous Sun Ra's Arkestra. Performers were Mississippi and Louisiana musicians Dr. Ronald Myers, piano and trumpet; Sherrill Holly, saxophone; Dr. London Branch, bass; and Wilton Knott, Rufus Mapp, and Aye` Aton, percussion. Dr. Branch celebrated his birthday at the event, which was also the birthday of John Gilmore. For more information, see http://www.jazzmississippi.com/ .
Listen to the audio recording in which Aye’ Aton tells of how he played with Summit, MS, native John Gilmore in the Sun Ra Arkestra, Sherrill Holly speaks of meeting Gilmore and following the famous Sun Ra group, and Ron Myers gives tribute to Mississippi jazz legacies, including Lester “Prez” Young, who was born in Woodville, also in Southwest Mississippi. (Due to the less than excellent recording quality, I deleted the part where the band plays. Running time is 10:31.) Be sure to click on the 2.6 MB WAVE audio file option.
Individual musicians from left to right are identified in photos below.
Aye' Aton
Rufus Mapp
Wilton Knott
Sherrill Holly
London Branch
Ron Myers
More photos can be viewed online at www.photoworks.com/members/tmorgan100. (Click on "View all" to see albums not pictured on the first page.
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