I thank Ase Gassaway for the email he sent below. As other emails have conclusively shown, my original memories of a McCoy Tyner concert at Amherst during the early 1970s were accurate. It is good to know given that I am 72 and have more than a bit of information crammed into my memory cells.
One additional memory of those early 1970s times was spurred by Ase's reference to Bill Cole
In 1973, when Gerald Penny drowned, I was the Minister of Information for the Amherst Afro-American Society and in 1974 I became the Chairman of the Society. During that time, it was not just Gerald's death that created turmoil and concern in the African American community. Gerald died in September 1973 followed by the dismissal of Dean Richard O'Daniel, a key African American administrator, in December 1973 and the early 1974 announcement that Bill Cole would be leaving Amherst due to what was perceived to be a hostile work environment.
In 1973, I was the Minister of Information for the Amherst Afro-American Society, and, in 1974, I was the Chairman of the Amherst Afro-American Society. As a spokesman for the African American students, President John William Ward invited me to come to a 1974 Amherst College Board of Trustees meeting to speak regarding the concerns held by the Black students. As I recall, my speech focused on the three tragedies of that academic year, Gerald Penny, Richard O'Daniel and Bill Cole - a rather startling turn of events for a skinny black student from the High Desert of California.
There will be more comments later.
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
Class of 1975
September 8, 2026
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Ase Gassaway <kuasigass@yahoo.com>
To:
Sent: Sunday, September 6, 2026 at 10:11:57 PM PDT
Subject: Re: Amherst Memories with Roger Coy, Amherst College Class of 1975
So I don’t recall McCoy Tyner giving a recital, but he was on the Amherst campus as a guest lecturer for a course taught by ethnomusicologist Dr. Bill Cole entitled: “The Music of John Coltrane”. Never forget being awestruck when Mr. Tyner unexpectedly walked into the classroom and asked us quite matter-of-factly: “Well, what do y’all want to know about John?” BTW, Amherst mocked Bill for pursuing a doctorate that the administration thought (probably since the course was part of the Black Studies curriculum, and that they prohibited from crossing over into the music department) it was frivolous, irrelevant, and nonexistent. Bill subsequently departed the Amherst faculty, achieved tenure at Dartmouth, and became one of the foremost academics and practitioners in that field. Skip, Wiki WILLIAM SHADRACK COLE and share his bio with your audience. Ase ‘75On Monday, September 7, 2026, 00:44, skipjen2865@aol.com wrote:
My apologies Roger. You do not recall the McCoy Tyner event because it does not appear to have ever occurred. The recital event was more likely a Max Roach event.Max was a visiting professor at UMass in the 1970s when we were at Amherst, so it is much more likely that it was Max not McCoy who I saw.Others can chime if they care to do so. But for now, my 72-year-old memories stand corrected.Thanks Roger.Everett "Skip" JenkinsClass of 1975September 6, 2026----- Forwarded Message -----From: Roger CoyTo: skipjen2865@aol.com <skipjen2865@aol.com>Sent: Sunday, September 6, 2026 at 08:01:02 PM PDTSubject: Re: Amherst Memories with Chucky SoulOMG - I don't know why I can't recall the McCoy Tyner event. I have a bunch of his CDs and while I wasn't into Jazz then the way I have been for the past several decades, I'm sure I would have been there.As always, thanks for sharing.Roger CoyOn Saturday, September 5, 2026 at 02:27:43 AM EDT, skipjen2865@aol.com <skipjen2865@aol.com> wrote:--I received the following question from Charles Donaldson, Amherst College Class of 1974. Charles was known as "Chucky Soul" during our Amherst days, and I always remember him for his upbeat attitude. In answer to his question, the musical talents I may have missed in my lifetime appears to have been many. I have been trying to catch up, but even as I do so, more musical talents keep popping up.As for taking advantage of the enriching musical experiences offered to us during our Amherst years, I must admit that I did not take advantage of as many as I would have liked. I sampled a few. I seemed to remember a Kool and the Gang concert in the Cage; a McCoy Tyner offering in the Recital Hall; and a number of impromptu jazz offerings by the "Brothers" in the Octagon. I also remember the Zumbyes and the Glee Club. Otherwise, I pretty much remained cloistered in my room.I do believe that I missed much during my Amherst College days. There are so many classes that I wished I had taken; so many people that I wished I had spent some time with; so many events that I wished I had attended. I suppose that is one of the reasons why I am drawn to writing the The Memorial List biographies. With each one, I learn about a person that I wished that I could have known, and I learn about activities that I wish that I could have partaken of.Like with Chucky Soul, I remember some of our time in the Vegetarian Dining area in Valentine Hall and some our discussions concerning a new religion that had ventured into the Valley.I wish we had had more.Peace,Everett "Skip" JenkinsClass of 1975September 4, 2026-----Forwarded Message -----From: Charles Walter Donaldson Jr.To: "skipjen2865@aol.com" <skipjen2865@aol.com>Sent: Friday, September 4, 2026 at 07:28:55 AM PDTSubject: Re: Cassandra Wilson, Grammy Award Winning African American Jazz Singer, Songwriter and ProducerWhich other musical talents have you missed, Skip? Did you take advantage of the enriching musical experiences offered to us during your Amherst years?
, or
No comments:
Post a Comment