W. E. Singleton is now a $3 million investor in VCU Jazz. His earlier 2002 gift of $2 million was the largest gift ever made in the United States to support university-level jazz education. The school’s performing arts center now bears the W. E. Singleton name.
“This is a very meaningful gift that at once honors a fine jazz musician and benefits our VCU students," said Dr. Richard Toscan, Dean of the VCU School of the Arts. “The Singletons have struck a wonderful match between their devotion to jazz and our mission. We are deeply grateful to be the recipient of their philanthropy."
The James W. Black Music Center
The new Singleton gift will name the existing VCU Music Center, located at the corner of Harrison and Grove. The department’s teaching and rehearsal facility is scheduled for renovation beginning in April 2005, with projected completion in the fall of 2007. Using General Obligation Bond funds from the State of Virginia, the University will invest $3.5 to $4 million in the Center’s improvement, says Brian Ohlinger, VCU’s Associate Vice President for Facilities Management. The facility will be known as the James W. Black Music Center, honoring the memory of the jazz musician whose death in October 2004 stunned a host of devoted friends and jazz fans.
Known to his audiences as Jimmy Black, the Richmond-born jazz pianist engaged and enthralled generations of Virginia audiences. Black initially entered the music spotlight as a University of Virginia student in the 1950s. When a snow storm prevented their back-up band from joining trumpet great Louis Prima and vocalist Keely Smith for a UVA spring formal, Jimmy Black’s student jazz trio joined Prima and Smith on stage that evening and were an instant hit.
“I’ve heard a lot of jazz piano players over the last 55 years," said Singleton. “Most of them play well, but not all of them make music. In the good ones that do, I hear style, creativity, subtle tempos and key changes and the general feeling of the fun of jazz. I heard it in Erroll Garner and I heard it in Fats Waller. And I heard it in Jimmy."
Vocalist Steve Bassett, who for years performed and recorded with Jimmy Black, said, “Jimmy became my teacher and close friend from the day we met. We recorded three albums together, played a bunch of great events, and always had a wonderful time. He opened up a new world of music to me." Bassett described Black as “one of those treasures that the people knew about, but the media and record business missed."
Businessman, Philanthropist, Jazz Fan
Singleton, who recently announced his retirement as Managing General Partner of the real estate investment firm Crenshaw-Singleton Properties, has been an enthusiastic jazz fan for over 50 years. He counts among his personal friendships such jazz legends as Louis Armstrong, Zutty Singleton, Maxine Sullivan, Gene Krupa, Wild Bill Davison, and Count Basie. He has collected their recordings and those of other jazz luminaries, and he has traveled far and wide to clubs and festivals to hear his favorite performers.
“I don’t know what it was, but I just fell in love with it," said Singleton of jazz, who calls it “the only true American art form – and I love listening to it."
In addition to Singleton’s $3 million in gifts to VCU Jazz Studies, his other philanthropies include the W.E. Singleton VoTech Center and Singleton Chapel at Elk Hill Farm; the Library at The Gables at Blackstone College, given in memory of his mother and aunt; and a recent gift of real estate valued at $1 million to St. Michael’s Episcopal School in Bon Air.
The VCU School of the Arts and VCU Jazz
VCU School of the Arts has a widely acknowledged national reputation, having been recently ranked the nation’s top public graduate arts program by US News & World Report.
With 340 undergraduate and graduate students, the VCU Department of Music is led by a faculty of over 50 performer-educators who regularly perform with the New York Philharmonic, the Great American Music Ensemble, Rhythm & Brass, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, the Virginia Opera, and the Richmond Symphony.
The Department presents over 250 events each year on campus, ranging from international guest artists to student and faculty recitals to master classes taught by experts in their fields. The Mary Anne Rennolds Chamber Concerts, Richmond’s premier chamber music series, has featured such renowned artists as clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, the Juilliard String Quartet, violinist Gil Shaham, cellist Janos Starker, and the Academy of St. Martins in the Field Chamber Ensemble. Music alumni of note include New York City Opera star Pamela Armstrong, Trinity University Director of Bands James Worman, MaxJazz recording artist Steve Wilson, percussion artist and university professor Greg Giannascoli, music director and conductor of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra Karen Lynne Deal, and U.S. Army Blues leader Charles Vollherbst.
VCU music alumni also include such accomplished jazz musicians as Victor Goines (director of jazz studies for The Juilliard School), Steve Wilson (saxophone, Chick Corea’s Origin), James Genus (bass, Saturday Night Live band), Al Waters (saxophone, featured with Ray Charles), Alvin Walker (trombone, Count Basie Orchestra), Daniel Clarke (pianist / composer with Modern Groove Syndicate), and John Winn (saxophonist / vocalist and U.S. Jazz Ambassador).
VCU’s student jazz orchestras have been recognized for winning top honors in five appearances at the Notre Dame Intercollegiate Jazz Festival, appearing at the Smithsonian Institution and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festivals, and providing five critically acclaimed recordings.
Directed for many years by Douglas Richards, VCU’s Jazz Studies Program in 2001 came under the new leadership of Antonio Garcia, noted educator, trombonist, and former Coordinator of Jazz Combos for Northwestern University. Garcia, who counts jazz great and former VCU faculty member Ellis Marsalis among his influences, has won the professional and personal admiration of Bill Singleton.
“Jimmy Black’s music always swung hard, yet he learned how to do so on the job much more than in school," noted Garcia. “This generous gift from Bill and Dale Singleton ensures that future generations of students will have the opportunity to blend their musical street-smarts with the focused study and supportive environment that the VCU Music faculty provides them."
“Tony can speak my jazz language," said Singleton. “He runs a great program. Dale and I feel confident entrusting VCU to honor the Jimmy Black jazz legacy."
Jeffrey W. Black, the pianist’s son, expressed gratitude on behalf of the Black family. “It is very nice to know that, given all the joy Dad’s music brought to people throughout his lifetime, his legacy continues with the generous gift by Mr. Singleton. What a truly wonderful friendship they shared along with a mutual love of jazz. Dad’s appreciation of great music may now be fostered for generations to come."
Augmenting the Singleton gift, the Black family intends to donate to the VCU Jazz Studies Program their father’s music library, containing hundreds of albums, CDs, cassettes and private videos.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
