Beyond U – Listening B(L)ack Media Series

This episode will center on soul music’s first superhero, Isaac Hayes, and the cult classic film, Shaft, for which he composed the iconic soundtrack. The lecture will include a comprehensive account of his life’s story and musical evolution. In particular, this conversation will highlight Hayes’s prominence as an arranger, songwriter, and producer, as the wide reach of his sound included many recordings and projects that, due to being popularized by a different lead musician, were not properly associated with Hayes in the public eye. Included in these under discussed works of his are the many tunes he wrote for other artists and the more than 1000 times his music was sampled by others.
Throughout the evening, The King’s Trio will perform a lovingly curated selection of these songs as we explore how they laid the foundation for arrangers and producers thereafter.
In addition to discussing the musical elements of Shaft’s cultural importance, we will also discuss the socioeconomic commentary found in this classic blaxploitation action film. As the prototype for Black superheroes everywhere, we can’t deny that Shaft was a bad motha…

The third musical focus in this series will be trombonist, cellist, composer, and teacher, David Baker. As an early leader of jazz education and a highly decorated composer, Baker left a lasting impact on the worlds of music performance, writing, and pedagogy alike. However, despite having over 65 recordings, 70 books, and 400 articles to his credit, this brilliant composer has often been sadly overlooked in and outside of leading music institutions. Thus, we will pay special attention to both his compositional versatility and his influence on collegiate jazz education throughout this sonic storytelling event. In addition to sharing the stories and music of this important pedagogue, our event will include a showing and discussion of the movie, For Gold & Glory, for which Baker composed the Emmy Award-winning score. This heartrending film tells the tale of legendary Black racer and inventor, Charlie Wiggins, who paved the way for the integration of not only auto racing, but the sports industry as a whole. Known colloquially as the “Negro Speed King, ” Wiggins’s brilliance as a mechanic and driver would not allow the horrors of racism to stop him from having a phenomenal impact on the world around him. So, throughout the evening of music and history sharing, we will be celebrating both of these unsung heroes.