UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 35, Page 5
June 23, 1994
Jazz, storyteller concert July 6

     Popular storyteller Charlotte Blake Alston will team up with her
brother, internationally known jazz violinist John Blake, and the John
Blake Jazz Ensemble for a performance of jazz and stories at 8 p.m.,
Wednesday, July 6, in the Amy E. du Pont Music Building. Tickets are
$5 at the door.
     Alston's performance repertoire includes tales from the African
and African-American experience, songs, educational raps, poetry and
dramatic presentations of historical figures such as Sojourner Truth
and Harriet Tubman.
     After 19 years of teaching at Friends Select School in
Philadelphia and three years as the educational director of the
University of Pennsylvania's Children's Center, Alston now devotes
most of her time to performing at schools, colleges, museums and
festivals in the United States and Canada.
     She was the first storyteller ever to perform with the
Philadelphia Orchestra and has made appearances at the Smithsonian
Institution's Museum of American History. She is featured regularly
on Philadelphia's award-winning radio program, Kids' Corner.
     John Blake is regarded as one of the premier jazz violinists in
the world, a dynamic player and charismatic performer. Billboard
magazine cited him as "the best jazz violinist of the decade...
destined to be a force in jazz for years to come."
     He was educated through the Philadelphia public school system,
the Settlement Music School, West Virginia University and the
Institute for Advanced Studies in Montreux, Switzerland.
     He first gained international prominence as a side player for
Grover Washington Jr. and also played in McCoy Tyner's band.
     A four-time winner of Downbeat Magazine's critics' poll in the
"Talent Deserving Wider Recognition" category, Blake was voted one of
the top two jazz violinists in the 49th, 50th and 51st annual Downbeat
Magazine Readers' Poll.
     He also performs solo and has made guest appearances with the Duke
Ellington Orchestra and the Turtle Island String Quartet.
     Together Aston and Blake create a program designed for audiences of
all ages. Favorites include "How The Raccoon Got His Dinner," "The
Story of Anniko" and "The Ant and the Crumb." Also included in each
performance are selections from Alston's popular "Rock, Rap and Roll"
program.
     The program is sponsored by the University of Delaware Performing
Arts Series.