"Sign" of our Times??
One "sign" on the long road that tracks my life; one, that "points toward home"; bears the name of Della Reese! Along with hundreds of other Black Artists that I have been privileged to be entertained by, learn from, and, live among, in these United States, I was blessed to see and hear Della; "LIVE"!
She was born, almost exactly eight years before me, in Detroit, Michigan, and, named Delloreese Patricia Early. She is still "kickin'" !! She shares in a Cherokee Lineage, that is very common among those of us born WEST of of the State of Ohio. As I write this, I'm listening to her "Live" Album, recorded, in 1966, along with Herb Ellis (guitar), Bill Doggett (organ), Gerald Wiggins (piano), Ray Brown (bass), and Shelly Manne (drums). A trumpeter (not named), "riffs" with Della on the Bridge of: Who Can I Turn To. It is truly a "spell-binding" performance!! The Liner Notes quote the trumpeter, but do not give his name. (NOTE: Trumpeter: Bobby Bryant, b. May 19, 1934, Hattiesburg, Mississippi; d. June 10, 1998).
This album was recorded during a classic "midnight-hour Jamm Session" Los Angeles! I was lucky enough to attend a few of them during my days in L.A. Ray Brown was the link. I know I'm HOME when I fall into a group of American Citizens like these! They speak a language that defies places, and dates, and, generations. They take you back to Black Communities that worked, for those of us lucky enough to be born into them! When you see it, and experience it, you are reminded of your roots, and confirmed, in ways that no other experience can match!
Most Americans have seen Della in one or more of her many Television Performances; on shows like "Touched by an Angel". My all-time-favorite performance by Della, as an actress, is her portrayal of "Vera" in Harlem Nights; a film that also starred Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, and Eddie Murphy.
Stay Vigilant! In spite of the disgraceful "plunder" of contributions by these wonderful Talents of Old (especially those that were subjected to Segregated, and exploitative Club Owners and other "Managers"), Black Youth can still find their way to the Treasures they left behind. Let this be a Road Sign?? (APPLAUSE) forever; Della!
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