| Ray Kamalay Performs and Speaks on Freedom |
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| Written by Kayla Robertson | ||||
| Friday, 24 October 2008 | ||||
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As part of the 8th annual Superior Festival, Ray Kamalay showed off not only his jazz guitar and vocal skills, but also his impressive ability to give an astounding and intellectual lecture on slavery and music. On Thursday, Kamalay kicked off the festival with a lecture titled “Freedom, Slavery, and the Roots of American Music”. Armed with an arsenal of information and some valuable handouts, Kamalay lectured the audience of students and faculty (visiting and local) about the origins of slavery, the lives of slaves and the histories of many nations that once had (or still have) slaves. He grabbed the attention of many students in his speech about the history of Haiti, teaching them about the rich history of Haiti’s revolution. He then focused on slavery in America and talked about a new type of slavery. While more humane in the sense that slaves were treated more kindly (allowed to reproduce, fed), in another sense they were ripped from their families. This spawned the use of “black-face” humor and eventually the popularity of the African American spiritual. Beginning in Britain as a way to mock Americans, shows like “The Unfortunate Negro” popped up. While tragic works worked in black-face in the United Kingdom, performers quickly found that they only place for black-face performances was in comedy. Eventually, some whites learned spirituals from the slaves and took them to minstrel shows which became hugely popular in the United States. Later, these shows became too crude for families and spawned vaudeville shows. Kamalay was forced to cut his lecture a bit short due to time constraints, but he summed it up by telling students that, in his opinion, you can’t separate blues from spirituals because both expose and express the feelings of those who feel alienated. Kamalay showed students the links between the music of today with the history of not only the United States, but most of the world.
Later the same day, Kamalay brought out his Red Hot Peppers to give a performance in the Arts Center. While attendance was shockingly low, the performance was soulful and obviously enthusiastic. The ensemble ended up being composed of a pianist, a bass player, and Kamalay on guitar and vocals. The concert encompassed many aspects of jazz, with songs ranging from upbeat swing to very bluesy and from contemporary to songs with origins in the ‘20s. The show had a very poetry slam, coffee house feel to it and truly showcased the abilities of the players in a series of solos. Kamalay is from Detroit and has been in the music business since 1974. He has been involved in several music projects, including working with Howard Armstrong. He has released one solo album, one with the Howard Armstrong Trio and four discs with his Red Hot Peppers. While the raykamalay.com website is not currently working, there are many websites you can access that provide more information if you are interested.  Add as favourites (0)
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