FAMU Department of Music Professor Longineu Parsons will
perform alongside Broadway’s elite at the world-renowned Carnegie Hall on June
23.
Parsons, a celebrated trumpet player, will appear in the
Broadway reunion production, “Black Stars of the Great White Way Reunion: Live
the Dream.”
The reunion pays tribute to the role African Americans have
played in Broadway’s history and will honor the work of such entertainment
legends as Louis Armstrong, Eubie Blake, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Louis
Jordan, Paul Robeson and Fats Waller.
Parsons will share the stage with some of Hollywood and
Broadway’s greatest contributors such as Obba Babatunde, Keith David, Dule
Hill, Norm Lewis, Phylicia Rashad, Chapman Roberts, Glenn Turner, Cicely Tyson
and Ben Vereen.
“It’s a big day at the office, a good day at the office,”
said Parsons, who will play a tribute to Armstrong. “I look forward to being a
part of this historic occasion.”
Parsons himself is etched in the rich history of Broadway. He was the lead trumpeter in the hit Broadway musical revue “Bubbling Brown Sugar” for several years.
“Black Stars,” billed as the largest cast of
African-American men to share a Broadway stage in history, is Parsons’ second
performance at Carnegie Hall. In 1993, he made an appearance during a tribute
to the Nicholas Brothers, taking the stage with celebrities such as Bill Cosby
and Lena Horne.
In addition to Carnegie Hall, Parsons has also played at
some of the world’s most iconic concert halls, including the Lincoln Center,
Kennedy Center and Theatre de Paris.
The protégé of jazz legend and FAMU alumnus Nat Adderley,
Parsons has performed in more than thirty countries and has been invited to
play for such dignitaries as the king of Morocco, the president of Gabon, the
royal family of the Netherlands, the president of Austria, the U.S. ambassador
to France, the royal family of Monaco and members of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
He has performed and recorded with an impressive list of
music greats, including: Adderley, Calloway, Frank Foster, Billy Harper, Philly
Joe Jones, Herbie Mann, David Murray, Sam Rivers, Cecil Taylor, Joe Williams
and Nancy Wilson.
According to Parsons, among the many achievements he’s made
in his career, his role as a music educator is at the top of the list.
“I leave work with a smile,” he said, “because everyday I’m
with these wonderful young people and I get to share what I have with them.”