Jasis – Spontaneous Improvisation
Label: Topaz Records (2) – TLS 1207
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1972
Genre: Jazz
Style:
A1 Bhimpalasi 13:25
A2 Spanish Mode 13:25
B1 Inner Space 26:42
Recorded At – Audio Recording, Seattle
Published By – Lamplighter Music
Bass – Milt Gerard
Composed By – Milton Simons
Percussion – Jimmie Williams (2)
Piano, Flute – Paul Dusenbury
Vibraphone – Milt Simons*
https://soundcloud.com/uwlibraries/uwethno2010012tape1106
Seattle's Milton Simons (1923-1973) was an acclaimed painter and talented vibraphonist. In March 1971 he formed the band Jasis with Paul Dusenbury (piano and flute), Milt Gerard (bass), and Jimmie Williams (percussion). They recorded later that year at Kearney Barton's 5th Avenue studio and released the album on Barton's Topaz label. Called Jasis: Spontaneous Improvisation, the music consists of three tracks, two on side one ("Bhimpalas” and "Spanish Mode"), and one on side two ("Inner Space"). The master tapes came to UW as part of Kearney Barton’s archive in 2010. We’ve digitized and posted these out of print recordings here.
barton_reel_11106: Reel 11106: JASIS
Topaz Records (cli)
Barton, Kearney W. (eng)
About Milt Simons: blackpast.org/aaw/simons-milt-1923-1973
Rights: This recording was digitized for preservation/access purposes by the University of Washington Libraries in Seattle. Its copyright status is unknown and may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Its reproduction and use may also be restricted by terms of gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, ethical considerations, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. This work is made accessible within the context of this website for purposes of education and research. Transmission or reproduction of works protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. The University of Washington Libraries attempted to find rights owners without success but is eager to hear from them so that we may obtain permission, if needed. Upon request to ethnoarc@uw.edu, digitized works can be removed from public view if there are rights issues that need to be resolved.
https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/simons-milt-1923-1973/
Milt Simons (1923-1973)
/ Contributed By: Marianne Hanson
Milt Simons
Courtesy Simons Family
Milton Simons was a major Seattle African American multi-faceted artist from the 1940s until his death in 1973. In addition to his skills as a painter, Simons was an educator, poet, dancer, and noted musician/composer.
Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Simons’ work reflected his varied cultural backgrounds. His maternal preacher grandfather, Andrew Marshall, who was of Choctaw/African American ancestry, was born a slave in 1851 in Jackson, Tennessee and made his way to Seattle in 1909. His father’s family members were African American farm workers who lived for many years near Yakima, Washington.
Simons was raised with varied forms of music at home including gospel, jazz, Native-American, and classical. He became a well-known jazz musician in the Seattle area, developing multi-ethnic modes of music, playing vibes in the Jasis, the quartet he founded. Jasis was internationally recognized following its debut LP album in 1972. He also designed, built, and played a “Sito,” literally a cross between an Indian sitar and Japanese koto.
Simons also drew and painted as a child, encouraged by his family. As a young adult he won a national scholarship competition which was unfortunately withdrawn when it was learned he was black. After serving in the Army during World War II, he attended and later taught at the Burnley School of Art in Seattle. He studied under nationally known artists at the Art Students League and performed with the Katherine Dunham Dance Troupe in New York City. In Seattle he studied music at the Cornish School of Art.
His art has been exhibited regionally including the Seattle Art Museum, Frye Art Museum, Henry Art Gallery, and the Little Gallery (all in Seattle). His work has won the National Negro Women’s Association (Grand Prize), and Boeing Company Annual Art Show (Grand Prize). His work is currently represented by Martin Zambito Fine Arts, Seattle.
Along with his wife, painter Marianne Hanson, and son Serge, Simons developed studios and galleries in Seattle and San Francisco. In Seattle 1968, he pioneered CASPA (Central Area School of Performing Arts) with colleague Paul Dusenbury. They arranged numerous regional performances incorporating dance, poetry, music, theatrical pieces, and visual art.
Simons’ work is in the collection of the Henry Art Gallery, the Walter O. Evans Collection, the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University, Salem, Oregon, and the San Francisco Public Library.
