BIG IDEAS

Ike Turner, the self-proclaimed (but who was going to argue?) Father of Rock & Roll is dead. Not really on us or anybody but Tina to talk about forgiveness now that he’s gone, that’s all in someone else’s hands. But let the record show that Ike was a much better musician and innovator than history gives him credit for. A number of amazing musicians, including Jimi Hendrix, were directly influenced by Ike’s music and instruction - yes, Tina included. So his life doesn’t end as a skit punchline, here’s a video of Ike getting long overdue Grammy recognition for his work in the blues.

Chances are you did not know his name. Neither did we. But that’s what made him so good. Nevertheless it was a blow to get an e-mail from one of his family members that character actor Percy Rodrigues passed on a few days ago in Palm Springs. The face is unforgettable. So was his voice and unbowed demeanor. His big break came on stage in James Baldwin’s Blues for Mr. Charlie, which he starred in alongside Al Freeman, Jr. and Rip Torn. Then on film with Alan Arkin in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (a moving and beautiful movie if you’ve never seen it), and dozens of television and films roles after that.

And not just any TV roles, but the best of the golden age of TV: The Wild Wild West, Ben Casey, Marcus Welby, Star Trek, Peyton Place, The Fugitive, Ironside, Good Times, Roots.

After films, he became the voice behind hundreds of movie trailers and commercials, most famously Steven Spielberg’s JAWS. An incredible loss.

Confirmed just a few hours ago, Joe Zawinul, the revolutionary and pioneering keyboardist who shepherded in the era of jazz fusion, died today at age 75. According to reports, he had been hospitalized for a month with a rare form of skin cancer. For those who don’t know, Zawinul was founder of the seminal group, Weather Report. Older heads wil remember him as the composer of Cannonball Adderley’s well known Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, which was famously recorded at Operation Push. Zawinul also helped bring Miles Davis into the electric world, a blessing for some and a sin to others.

A longer appreciation is in the hopper for later this week. In the meantime, here’s somethng to tide you over in Joe’s memory.

We got an e-mail about the passing of Professor Asa G. Hilliard yesterday in Egypt, but could not independently confirm. Unfortunately, according to Atlanta Journal and Constitution, the news is true.

For a lot of people, at least on the East Coast, Hilliard’s teaching was one of the first times we heard about Kush, Kimet and Nubia in a way that attached those ancient lands and cultures to Black history in a scholarly way that verified what we seemed to know but could not verify. Hilliard hosted a Sunday TV program that appeared on PBS affiliates and independent stations largely in the Southeast.

The Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Urban Education at Georgia State, Hilliard gave the study of Ancient Egypt a human face, beyond the statues and artifacts. He had a unique ability to translate arcane data into an interpretation of ancient lifestyles that always held your attention. His teaching and spirit will be missed.

Hilliard and a group of the world’s leading scholars on the Black connection to Egypt including Maulena Karenga and Molefi Asante were scheduled to lead a sold-out discussion at the Franklin Science Institute on August 16^th.