FLOWERS, MUSIC & MANSIONS:
Palmer Woods Jazz & Super Strings June 22-23
The lush gardens of an urban paradise make an idyllic setting for the Palmer Woods Music in Homes concerts on Friday, June 22 and Saturday, June 23 at 8 pm. Detroit's Historic Palmer Woods opens the gates to one of the finest gardens in our neighborhood for the grand finale weekend of the series, featuring two very diverse jazzy evening celebrations.
On Friday, June 22, the musical bouquet is infused with a mixture of jazz and classical influences, as well as Argentine tango and Spanish works, performed by the Spencer Barefield Super String Quartet. On Saturday, the Ralphe Armstrong Quartet will journey through the jazz world with a funk-fusion-R&B edge.
Fabulous, phenomenal, one-of-kind master bassist, composer Ralphe Armstrong has been turning heads for decades. The son of legendary violinist Howard “Louie Bluie” Armstrong landed the John McLaughlin Mahavishnu Orchestra gig at age 17, beating out Jaco Pastorius. A student of Interlochen, his resume includes greats like Carlos Santana, Jean-Luc Ponty, Frank Zappa, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Kenny Burrell, Earl Klugh, Geri Allen, Aretha Franklin, the Funk Brothers, numerous musicians of Motown fame, and many more. He’s on countless recordings and toured the world extensively, most recently with saxophonist extraordinaire James Carter.
Armstrong will be joined by Detroit greats, trumpeter Dwight Adams (a regular with Stevie Wonder), Henry Gibson on keyboards, and “Straight Ahead” drummer Gayelynn McKinney. Ralphe hosts and produces a weekly live internet tv show at UDetroit Café (udetroit.com).
The Palmer Woods Music in Homes series presents outstanding live music set in the magnificent homes of one of the City of Detroit’s most beautiful and historic neighborhoods. The 2011-2012 season has featured eight concert performances, held in seven stately homes.
Tickets, $35 or $30 each for groups of 10 or more, are sold in advance only and can be purchased online at palmerwoods.org or by calling 313-891-2514. The location of the home is provided to ticket holders. The concerts are special opportunities to hear world-class musicians who have Detroit-area roots. Included is a reception with delicious food, beverages and desserts (often related to the musical style). The June concert will be held under the sunshine and stars beneath a large tent in the magnificent garden behind a meticulously restored 4,700 sq. ft. Italian Renaissance mansion. The main floor of the home will be open for a guided view during part of the evening.
For the past five years, Palmer Woods residents and Creative Arts Collective spearheads Barbara and Spencer Barefield have asked their neighbors to welcome 100-200 guests (some would say strangers!) into their homes to support the arts and help to raise money to benefit their historic neighborhood.
The response has been extraordinary. "We have produced about 45 concerts with the Palmer Woods Association, and they all sell out, sometimes as far as a month in advance," guitarist/composer Spencer Barefield explains. "Musicians — incredible Detroit-based artists with international acclaim — are thrilled to perform. There have even been a number of concert guests who were so impressed with the neighborhood that they decided to buy a home and move here."
Some homeowners have so much fun that they have signed on year after to year as hosts. There is a neighborhood team that assists with concert receptions, preparing culinary feasts to match the music. Guests — who travel from far and wide — are loyal supporters. The Barefields, in collaboration with the neighborhood, have fine-tuned a unique way to support the arts, improve the image and quality of life in Detroit and their historic neighborhood, and preserve its architectural treasures and history.
The Music:
The grand final weekend opens on Friday, June 23 at 8pm with the Spencer Barefield Super String Quartet. This adventurous ensemble—featuring world-renowned guitarist A. Spencer Barefield, violinist Jannina Barefield Norpoth, violist John Madison and bassist John-Paul Norpoth—straddles the boundaries of traditional, avant garde and modern jazz, classical, world music and other music idioms.
The multi-talented string players will perform challenging works composed by 2010 Kresge Arts Fellow Barefield, as well as selections from legenday jazz composers such as John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Thelonius Monk, Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn. Add some spicy classical works of Spanish composers Enrique Granados and Manuel de Falla, and Argentine tango composer Astor Piazzolla for out-of-this-world music — performed by four virtuosic, super string players.
Jannina (Spencer's daughter) has soloed with the Detroit Symphony, and has been a featured performer alongside Itzhak Perlman, Emmanuelle Boisvert, Regina Carter, Marcus Belgrave, Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Jannina's husband John-Paul has performed under the batons of Itzhak Perlman, Kurt Mazur, Bright Sheng, Jamie Laredo, Otto Werner Mueller and others in numerous New York-area orchestras. John is the principal violist for the Michigan Opera Theatre and regular Detroit Symphony sub. He is dean of the Sphinx Preparatory Academy in Detroit, and among the Detroit area's most esteemed performers and educators.
Garden and Home
This expansive property maintains many of its original features, including an iron fence and gate, a sunken backyard lawn retained with a stacked stone wall, and stone paths leading to the house. The extensive beds are planted with a mix of unusual evergreens, flowering trees, shrubs and perennials. The hillside on the south end has a path leading through a woodland garden. This park-like setting was designed by the property’s owners, B & D Garden Design, top Detroit professional landscapers.
The facade of this stately manor is adorned with limestone Doric columns, accents and keystones, balustrades, and arched windows over the main entrance. The golden-Âcolored brick home was designed by Harvard-educated architect and Detroiter Richard Marr, who designed many high-end homes throughout the city, including residences for the Fisher Brothers and Meyer L. Prentis. The home was completed in 1929. In 1938 the home was sold to Nate and Ruth Shapero. Nate was the founder of Economical Drugs, which he merged with Cunningham Drugs in 1931 and expanded throughout the country. A well-known philanthropist, he worked on behalf of youth and founded Wayne State University’s Shapero Hall of Pharmacy.
The home has many fine features from the 1920s era that have been enhanced by the current owners’ dedicated restoration. The entrance vestibule opens into a grand foyer, resplendent with floor-to-ceiling cherry paneling, and original chandelier and sconces made by world-renowned metalsmith and sculptor Oscar Bach. Graceful repetition of curved doorways and large archways, beautiful crown moldings, wooden pocket doors, cherry built-in cabinetry, and decorative plaster ceiling adorn the home.
Thank you to our presenters, Palmer Woods Association and Creative Arts Collective, and our sponsors: Be Well Medical Center & Skin Rejuvenation; Barefield DesignWorks; Blossoms Birmingham; Peoplemovers.com, WRCJ-90.9FM.
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