Music Pick: Lionel Hampton

Unlike 2001, Sept. 11th was a good day in NYC nearly 74 years ago. On that 1939 date Lionel Hampton put together one of the best pickup bands ever to wax 4 sides for Victor Records. The featured tune, "Hot Mallet...s" is my fave of the four and features solos by 21 year old John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie on trumpet, Benny Carter, alto sax, Chu Berry, Tenor Sax and Hamp on vibes. Berry's solo was so hot Tenor giants Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins didn't even get to solo. Get a load of this all star lineup. Hamp - vibes C. Gillespie (Dizzy Gillespie) -trumpet L. Lee (Benny Carter) - alto sax Leon "Chu" Berry, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster - tenor saxes Charlie Christian - guitar Clyde Hart - piano Milt Hinton - bass Cozy Cole - drums http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqU9SNl-g9U

Cong Roskam to constituents: "My Town Hall costs $35; tough luck poor people!"

I thought my Congressman Peter Roskam (IL, 6th) had much hubris to pocket $25,000 from the Chinese Culture University (or was it, contrary to federal law, the government of Taiwan?) to visit his daughter in Taiwan. But though the dollars are a bit smaller, he topped himself when agreeing to attend tomorrow's Naperville Chamber of Commerce event "Tax Reform Town Hall With Rep. Peter Roskam" that costs a cool $35 to gain entry. The Town Hall concept of legislators meeting with their constituents free of charge at a place and time convenient for the constituents has become a revered part of our participatory democracy. That concept, sadly, escapes Congressman Roskam who lends his name and his time to this "Play to Play" event open only to folks with "walking around money" and no work commitments for the middle of the work week. That pretty much excludes anyone with issue...s of tax fairness that Congressman Roskam might find an unpleasant inconvenience too answer.
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The Congressman and the Chamber can't have it both ways. Either they waive the $35 fee ($10 to Chamber members) or they erase the words "Town Hall" from the Register link on their website: https://www.naperville.net/external/wcpages/wcevents/eventregistration.aspx?eventID=7T7E3F71

I've reached out to both Congressman Roskam and the Naperville Chamber of Commerce regarding this demand. Both need to do the right thing by Congressman Roskam's constituents, many of whom are suffering in our weak economy. While on the subject, one more suggestion: hold any "Town Halls" in the evening or weekends when working folk have a better chance of attending.

What the butler saw

Watching the new historical drama "The Butler" was like reliving the last 60 years of my life, having avidly followed both presidential politics and the civil rights movement starting around the time title character Cecil Gaines joined the Truman White House servant staff in 1952. I marveled at both the historical accuracy of actual events and the riveting drama of White House butler Gaines, whose personal and professional lives were intertwined during his 34 year White House tenure. His astonishment at the election of a black president in 2008, though much deeper and personal, was mirrored by me and countless millions of older Americans who never envisioned the progress that could be achieved during the arc of a half century struggle that played out for us in real time.

Many, if not a great majority of young folks today, know little about the torturous path of American history regarding race relations, or anything else for that matter. "The Butler" should be shown, early on, to every grammar school student in America. It is hard to watch but watch it they must. It might help reverse the disturbing curtain of ignorance regarding our past that has descended upon our culture. Having grown up in a era where knowledge of our past as a means of progressively shaping our future ignited a life long commitment to change, I lament that unfortunate development. "The Butler" may help lift that curtain

Also published in the Chicago Tribune, August 26, 2013, and
Kane County Chronicle, August 28, 2013