The Elgin Room ("4th" stage NAC), March 22-23 (Thursday/Friday), 8:30 P.M. Nine Musicians ! Six Actors ! One Gramophone !

Not Black and White: The Lost Recordings By Clyde R. Forsberg, Jr., in gratitude to Louis Armstrong

The true story of how Louis Armstrong and the language of jazz emancipated a child from an abusive, patriarchal home and racist, social vision for the future.

A trumpet player himself, Forsberg owes Louis Armstrong a debt of gratitude for all the obvious musical reasons. However, as the oldest of fourteen children, beaten and nearly worked to death by his own parents, Forsberg discovers how a virulent racism was behind it all--big families as the last line of defense in the opinion of his parents and their church against the "extinction" of the Anglo-Saxon race.

The music of Armstrong not only kept him alive during the ordeal, but all the musical friends he made as a consequence watched over him until he was finally old enough to make his escape.

The music for the play is more dixielandesque than dixieland. Latin rhythms underscore the whole thing. 3 voices and 3 horns are paired up and play 3 distinct jazz melodies all at once, unlocking the mystery and meaning of Armstrong's music and social agenda.

The musical effect is as haunting as it is joyous. The underlying message of the play is one of liberation through music, the redemptive power of jazz, its ability to cross not only the "colour barrier" but bridge the generation gap, too.

Rob Frayne (saxophones and bass clarinet), Greg Runions (vibes), Chris Alfano (clarinet), Janet MacRae (trumpet), Scott Mulligan (bass), Andy Love and Brian Howell (percussion), Martine Courage (voice and trumpet), Anna Sudac and Spring Forsberg (vocals). Clyde Forsberg doubles on trumpet and maniacal university Prof whose painful childhood is played out live by Andrew Cheng as the persona of his patriarchal father, Autumn Fawn as his ingenious mother, Ryley Murray as the portrait of the artist as a young man, and Daniel Roberts as a variety of friends and foes.

___________________________________ The Elgin Room (NAC), March 22-23, 8:30 P.M. Tickets at the National Arts Centre Box Office, call 947-7000. $12 advance, $15 at the door

For more information, reviews, photos, script excerpts Contact Clyde Forsberg, (613) 928-2453,

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From - Frayne568@aol.com
Date - Monday, February 12, 2001 10:01 AM