BY MERLENE DAVIS
Herald-Leader Columnist,Merlene DavisJuly 26, 2014
Instead of the traditional wood or acrylic plaque or inscribed keepsake, the board members for First African Foundation commissioned sculptor LaVon Williams to fashion pieces of art to commemorate the first William E. Thomas Music Awards.
"We wanted to give the recipients something different," said Jim Embry, foundation board member who is in charge of Deep Roots Tall Trees, a benefit jazz concert at the Lyric Theatre & Cultural Arts Center, during which the awards will be given.
"So we reached out to LaVon Williams," Embry said.
The awards will be given annually to one living and one deceased Lexington musical artist with stellar careers. This year's recipients are the late jazz saxophonist Clarence "Duke" Madison and opera singer William B. Ray.
Madison's award, which will be presented to his widow and son, is a wooden sculpture of a man playing a sax. Ray's is of a man singing, and he is scheduled to be on hand to receive it.
But what would music awards be without music?
Surrounding the presentations will be a concert featuring musicians who got started in Lexington, including jazz pianist Kevin Harris and the popular quartet Charlette's Web.
Originally, jazz trumpet player Michael Cruse, also a Lexington native, was scheduled to perform, but he won a role in the upcoming film Miles Ahead, directed by and starring actor Don Cheadle, which has started production. It focuses on five years in the life of jazz icon Miles Davis. The movie is being filmed in Cincinnati where Cruse is in his third year at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.
Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/07/26/3353272/merlene-davis-jazz-concert-to.html#storylink=cpy
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