A one-day public program that began in Detroit and finished in Toledo explored the impact of the African-American Great Migration on literary and musical expression in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan.

The program, “I Got a Lust for Life: The Unique Words and Sounds of Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan,” included panel discussions, poetry readings and musical performances on Saturday, Jan. 20, in Detroit at Wayne State University and in Toledo at the Toledo Lucas County Public Library and Toledo Museum of Art.

The program began in Detroit with panel discussion at Wayne State University’s Schaver Music Recital Hall. The panel included Ben Blackwell, co-founder of Third Man Records and official archivist for the White Stripes; John Gibbs Rockwood, Toledo author of the 2014 book “Can I Get a Witness” that features his photographs of iconic rock, pop, blues and folk musicians performing in the region during the early 1970s through the 2000s; Ramona Collins, Toledo-based popular jazz singer; and Oliver Ragsdale Jr., president of the Carr Center, a community hub for African-American artistic expression in Detroit.

Detroit morning event (Schaver Music Recital Hall, Old Main, Wayne State University)

“I Got a Lust for Life” then moved to Toledo, where Tyehimba Jess performed a poetry reading and held a book signing at the McMaster Center of the Toledo Lucas County Public Library. Jess is a 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning poet from Detroit whose work has focused on music, biography and African-American history. He read read from “Olio,” his award-winning collection of poetry that weaves together sonnet, song and narrative to examine the lives of mostly unrecorded, African-American performers from the Civil War to World War I.

McMaster Center, Main Library, Toledo Lucas County Public Library

The program  concluded with a panel discussion in the Glass Pavilion of the Toledo Museum of Art with Jess; M.L. Liebler, a Detroit-based, award-winning poet and editor of the anthology “Heaven Was Detroit: From Jazz to Hip-Hop and Beyond”; Frances Brockington, associate professor of voice at Wayne State University; and Dr. Lee Ellen Martin, jazz vocalist and Jon Hendricks scholar.  Mack and Duchan moderated the discussion, which was followed by a musical performance  by UT Jazz students an alumni.

“I Got a Lust for Life” in the TMA Glass Pavilion.

“I Got a Lust for Life: The Unique Words and Sounds of Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan” was sponsored by the Roger Ray Institute for the Humanities at The University of Toledo, which advocates for and supports the study of human culture — from a great variety of fields — at all levels of learning and scholarship. Additional support for the program was provided by UT, WSU, the Toledo Lucas County Public Library, Toledo.com and the Toledo Museum of Art.

Join us for the Art Tatum Scholarship Event! The concert is presented by The University of Toledo Department of Music Jazz Studies Program. Proceeds from ticket sales support the Art Tatum Memorial Jazz Scholarship, which benefits minority students who want to study Jazz at UT.

Meet our special guest, Grammy Award-winning Jazz pianist, composer and arranger, Bill Cunliffe! Bill is our guest artist for the 2016 Art Tatum Memorial Jazz Scholarship Concert, Monday, February 15 at 7 p.m. in the UT Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall.

 Cunliffe, who is known for his innovative and swinging recordings and compositions, began his career as pianist and arranger with the Buddy Rich Big Band. He has worked with Frank Sinatra, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Benny Golson and James Moody, to name a few. He has since established himself as a solo artist and bandleader, with more than a dozen albums under his name.

 Bill currently plays with his trio; his big band; his Latin band, Imaginación; and his classical-jazz ensemble, Trimotif. He performs in the U.S. and around the world as a leader and sideman as well as a soloist with symphony orchestras.

 His latest recording is the Bill Cunliffe Trio album “River Edge, New Jersey,” with bassist Martin Wind and drummer Tim Horner, released in April by Azica Records.

Advance tickets are $15 for general admission; and $10 for all UT faculty/staff/alumni/students, seniors 60+ and members of the military. Visit www.utoledo.Tix.com or call 419.530.ARTS (2787). Tickets also available at the door. To support the Art Tatum Scholarship, visit https://www.utfoundation.org/foundation/home/Give_Online.aspx

Gene Perla, jazz bassist

Jazz bassist, Gene Perla will join the UT faculty jazz ensemble, CrossCurrents on stage in the UT Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall, tonight, Tuesday October 16 at 8 p.m. Perla also performed to a packed house with the group at its Monday UTJazz Night at Crystal’s Lounge last night. Perla, a UT alumnus, has also been on campus working with students, teaching and sharing his knowledge.

Below is his bio, or visit his web site at  http://www.perla.org/

GENE PERLA grew up in northeastern New Jersey attending public school grades 1-12. After one year of postgraduate study at New York Military academy he entered the University of Toledo majoring in civil engineering and business. He then attended Berklee School of Music and Boston Conservatory before heading to New York City.

At age five Gene’s musical studies began with Classical piano. Upon entering high school he was given a trombone, which he played for five years culminating in marching on Fifth Avenue in New York City as part of the Memorial Day Parade. During high school he became aware of Jazz and was thrilled to attend the first New York performance of Ted Heath?s Big Band at Carnegie Hall. It wasn’t until his last year at UT that his interest in music became primary.

After struggling with too many notes, and thanks to Charlie Haden?s performance on Ornette Coleman’s The Shape of Jazz to Come, Perla, at 24, switched to bass as his main instrument. Not long after arriving in the City his talents became in demand and he found joy in performing with artists such as Willie Bobo, Carlos “Patato” Valdes, Nina Simone, Woody Herman, Sarah Vaughan, Elvin Jones, Thad/Mel Lewis, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, and Frank Sinatra.

As an educator Mr. Perla has taught as William Paterson University, New School University, Center for the Media Arts and is currently at Lehigh University. Sound design has been a significant endeavor yielding credits on Broadway shows, them parks and custom installations.

Having a business sense, Gene has continuously expanded his activities to include music publishing, record labels, recording studios, promotional firms, Internet design and hosting and computer networking businesses as vehicles for his ideas.