Resort to host Weekend of Jazz

Earl Klugh was smooth before there was such a thing as smooth jazz.

He took the jazz world by storm with his elegant acoustic guitar playing and crooning voice in the 1970s.

As nearly as I can remember, Klugh (pronounced "clue") has never really categorized his music but he's always been contemporary, over all those years.

A major influence early in his career was Chet Atkins, who most would consider country.

In a June EzineArticles.com interview with Tom Redmond, Earl said, "I was always fascinated by the sound of the classical guitar and I remember whenever they had Westerns on television, I always liked that Spanish flavor and I really gravitated towards it. Growing up in Detroit, that 'Spanish sound' was so exotic, it sounded like something so far away."

Earl and a slew of other contemporary jazz greats will be close by in November when he brings his highly acclaimed Weekend of Jazz to the Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort.

The bill includes Fourplay, three-time Grammy-nominated and multiplatinum-selling saxophonist Boney James, Golden Globe nominee and bassist Kyle Eastwood, Latin-jazz saxophonist and vocalist Jessy J and trumpeter/vocalist/composer Joe Grandsen.

Earl, quite the businessman, is bringing his revue from its base in Colorado here Nov. 11-13.

The three days are packed with golf, music and food goodies, starting at $249 per person/per night at the Sanctuary, based on double occupancy. Three-night villa prices start from $199 per person/per night. The rate does not include taxes or villa resort fees.

Two-night packages for Friday and Saturday are available at the Sanctuary from $299 per person/per night, and from $229 per person/per night at the villas, all double occupancy. The resort reports that all packages are based on availability.

Also, guests booking reservations before July 31 will be entered to win one of two weekend getaways at the Sanctuary that can be redeemed up to one year following Weekend of Jazz and all two- and three-night package guests will be entered to win a VIP dinner with Earl at the event.

For reservations, call 800-654-2924 or visit www.kiawahresort.com.

I spoke with Earl last week when he was visiting the island in preparation for the gig. It was a delight to talk with him.

Just like his music, he's soft-spoken and even-toned with a brightness to his voice that reveals an upbeat outlook on life.

He's nimble but not in a hurry.

He said bands will play from a large book of tunes accumulated over the years. Given the players, that's a lot to choose from.

Take the experiences of the members of Fourplay, which started about 20 years ago. The individual musicians go further back. They include keyboardist Bob James, drummer Harvey Mason, bassist Nathan East and guitarist Chuck Leob.

As fresh as they continue to sound, all thee guys have been playing more than 40 years. Bob, the oldest of them and a fine composer and arranger, is considered by some an architect of early smooth jazz.

Remember the cool theme from the TV show "Taxi"? Bob wrote that.

I first heard him and Earl together on some of those CTI label albums in the 1970's. Awesome stuff that was on the cutting edge for its time.

Since then, Earl has gone on to make many other records and produce events.

He's been running his Weekend of Jazz for seven years now. Each spring, he puts on this tremendous lineup a the Broadmoor Hotel resort in Colorado Springs.

I'm betting the run of events will play just as nicely here on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean as it does at the bottom of the Rocky Mountains.

From the mailbag

I heard from Lowcountry performer and producer Bob Belden on Sunday. Always on the lookout, he shared some very interesting information he thinks would make a fine libretto for a musical piece about an occurrence during the hospital workers' strike in Charleston in 1968.

His missive included the following excerpt from a civil rights collection at Emory University in Atlanta run by Southern Christian Leadership Conference archivist Sarah Quigley:

"Ralph David Abernathy assumed the presidency of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1968 following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Roughly one year later, 12 members of Local 1199B of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union in Charleston, South Carolina, were fired by Medical College Hospital (today's MUSC) after trying to organize a union in the hospital.

"Following the dismissal, over 60 other employees walked out and began a strike that lasted through the summer. Strike leadership soon contacted the SCLC to enlist the organization's support. Over the next several months, Abernathy, along with other civil rights leaders, conducted nonviolence training workshops for demonstrators, spoke in churches and led rallies in protest of the firings.

"During the demonstrations, Abernathy was arrested twice, ultimately spending several weeks in jail. From his jail cell, he wrote 'Letter from a Charleston Jail.' Intended to imitate Martin Luther King's 'Letter from a Birmingham Jail,' Abernathy's letter was a call for nonviolent resolution of the dispute, and a plea to the community to support the workers.

"In August, the State of South Carolina put an end to the strike by raising the wages of all state employees to the Federal minimum of $1.60, and hospital administration rehired striking workers.

In his autobiography, 'And the Walls Came Tumbling Down,' Abernathy described the Charleston strike as the first action planned and executed under his leadership, and the first real test of his presidency. Ultimately, he saw the action in Charleston as the first opportunity for victory following the disappointments of the Poor People's Campaign in 1968."

Bob's right. That letter could be turned into a libretto, the words of a dramatic musical work such as an opera, including both the spoken and the sung parts.

I'm going to challenge Bob on this one. If he writes the music, I'll get the words done.

Jack McCray, author of "Charleston Jazz," can be reached at jackjmccray@aol.com.