We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and made many new and saw many old friends. On Friday night, August 9, we saw David Benoit, jazz pianist extraordinaire. On Saturday, August 10, we saw a very young exciting local band, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, with many former students of Booker T. Washington High School, including Reed Mathis, a phenomenal bass player, who played in the BTW Jazz Band with Asabi. Also, on Saturday night, we saw Buckwheat Zydeco, not quite jazz, but still very unique and powerful upbeat music. Zydeco music is a popular music of southern Louisiana that combines French dance melodies, elements of Caribbean music, and the blues, played by small groups featuring the guitar, the accordion, and a washboard.
Buckwheat plays the accordion.
Drawing on elements of jazz, country and western music, and blues, it is characterized by its creole flavor and strong dance rhythms. Heritage Dinner at the Doubletree Hotel to show appreciation for my support of the organization. As many of you may know, I was a very sickly asthmatic child and so was my daughter, Asabi. Therefore, we do everything in our power to fight this crippling and debilitating disease. Also, on Friday, August 16, I was asked to participate in the Oklahoma Academy for State Goals, Tulsa Metropolitan Region Issues Forum.