Cotton Club

1917: First jazz recordings1918: Mencken's "In Defense of Women"1920s: Harlem Renaissance; the Cotton Club is born

What killed tap," Ed Terry told a bunch of hoofer enthusiasts last Sunday, "was the invention of television." Tomorrow night, Terry will do his best to revive tap. But that statement's not completely true. Tap never really died, thanks to people like Terry. Terry teaches tap dancing at the Flair Dance and Modeling Studio, a 40-year-old business run by Willia Bland and her daughter, Andrea Bland Travis. Last Sunday, on National Tap Dance Day, Terry gave a brief history of tap, along with some fundamentals of the dance form, at the School 33 Arts Center on Light Street.

`Cotton Club' spins woe No doubt trouble's in the air at a roaring jazz joint that mingles music, mobsters and molls. Gregory Hines plays a 1920s star of the stage who faces discrimination off the job in The Cotton Club (8 p.m.-10:15 p.m., TMC). At a glance Cuts (8:30 p.m.-9 p.m., WUTB, Channel 24) - Kevin pushes Tiffany's beau to propose, thinking that's the key to running the salon solo. UPN. The Bachelor (9 p.m.-11 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2) - Charlie O'Connell gets a look at the bachelorette harem that will fight over him. ABC. Las Vegas (9 p.m.-10 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11)

That hi-de-ho man from Baltimore, Cab Calloway, was the ultimate hepcat, the zoot-suited jitterbug who led one of America's most popular orchestras through all of the swing era. Calloway performed in the hepster's knee-length drape coat, high-top, voluminous, peg pants and wide-brimmed fedora, all usually blazing white, along with the mandatory dangling gold watch chains - while conducting one of the country's finest jazz bands. Sometimes he nodded slightly toward convention and appeared in white tie and tails.

That hi-de-ho man from Baltimore, Cab Calloway, was the ultimate hepcat, the zoot-suited jitterbug who led one of America's most popular orchestras through all of the swing era. Calloway performed in the hepster's knee-length drape coat, high-top, voluminous, peg pants and wide-brimmed fedora, all usually blazing white, along with the mandatory dangling gold watch chains - while conducting one of the country's finest jazz bands. Sometimes he nodded slightly toward convention and appeared in white tie and tails.

Bandleader-singer Cab Calloway made his fame more than six decades ago through performances at Harlem's fabled Cotton Club, live radio broadcasts and concert tours that took "the King of Hi-De-Ho" and his high-flying band to nightclubs and dance halls around the world. But Mr. Calloway -- who died at age 86 last Friday, five months after suffering a stroke -- never forgot Baltimore, where he lived with his family from the time he was 10 until he was about 20 years old.A graduate of Frederick Douglass High School, Cabell "Cab" Calloway III remembered Baltimore in a mostly fond light, despite the segregation of the day. The reverence he felt for his family and teachers was matched by his fondness for the characters he encountered in what he called "that rough and raucous Baltimore Negro night life with loud music, heavy drinking and the kind of moral standards that my parents looked down on."

Margaret Ann Anderson, a singer and dancer who went from the Frederick County farm of her youth to performing for audiences at Harlem's famed Cotton Club, died Monday of lung cancer at her West Baltimore home. She was 76. Mrs. Anderson, who performed under the name Sylvia Anderson, began singing as a child on her parents' farm and in church choirs. After graduation from high school in Frederick at age 14, she traveled to New York and began dancing at the Cotton Club in the late 1930s. "There weren't many outlets for blacks in those days, and she decided to be an entertainer," said a daughter, Colletta Horton.

Adelaide HallJazz singerLONDON -- Adelaide Hall, a jazz singer who made her name at the Cotton Club in New York and performed with Duke Ellington, died of pneumonia Sunday at London's Charing Cross Hospital.The 92-year-old American-born singer often performed at the Cotton Club in the 1920s and '30s. She was featured in Ellington's hit, "Creole Love Song."Born in New York, the daughter of a music professor, Ms. Hall began performing on stage when she was 14. After being spotted by a talent scout, she performed in "Chocolate Kiddies," Mr. Ellington's first complete show score.

What killed tap," Ed Terry told a bunch of hoofer enthusiasts last Sunday, "was the invention of television." Tomorrow night, Terry will do his best to revive tap. But that statement's not completely true. Tap never really died, thanks to people like Terry. Terry teaches tap dancing at the Flair Dance and Modeling Studio, a 40-year-old business run by Willia Bland and her daughter, Andrea Bland Travis. Last Sunday, on National Tap Dance Day, Terry gave a brief history of tap, along with some fundamentals of the dance form, at the School 33 Arts Center on Light Street.

Editor's note: The story of the musician and composer who helped shape the future of jazzDuke's name fit him rightly. He was a smooth-talkin', slick-steppin', piano-playin' kid. But his piano playing wasn't always as breezy as his stride. When Duke's mother, Daisy, and his father, J.E., enrolled him in piano lessons, Duke didn't want to go. Baseball was Duke's idea of fun. But his parents had other notions for their child.Duke had to start with the piano basics, his fingers playing the same tired tune -- one-and-two-and-one-and-two.

`Cotton Club' spins woe No doubt trouble's in the air at a roaring jazz joint that mingles music, mobsters and molls. Gregory Hines plays a 1920s star of the stage who faces discrimination off the job in The Cotton Club (8 p.m.-10:15 p.m., TMC). At a glance Cuts (8:30 p.m.-9 p.m., WUTB, Channel 24) - Kevin pushes Tiffany's beau to propose, thinking that's the key to running the salon solo. UPN. The Bachelor (9 p.m.-11 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2) - Charlie O'Connell gets a look at the bachelorette harem that will fight over him. ABC. Las Vegas (9 p.m.-10 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11)

Versatile singer and actress Parris Lane returns to her hometown on May 10 with her one-woman show, Parris in Springtime, at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. Lane will return from Las Vegas to stage this concert benefiting Chrysalis House, a residential treatment program for chemically dependent women in recovery and their children. Featured on Maryland Public Television's Bob the Vid Tech as Brianna, Lane divides her time between Annapolis and Las Vegas, where she pursues her singing career and works with her recording company - Raven Productions, named for her daughter.

Margaret Ann Anderson, a singer and dancer who went from the Frederick County farm of her youth to performing for audiences at Harlem's famed Cotton Club, died Monday of lung cancer at her West Baltimore home. She was 76. Mrs. Anderson, who performed under the name Sylvia Anderson, began singing as a child on her parents' farm and in church choirs. After graduation from high school in Frederick at age 14, she traveled to New York and began dancing at the Cotton Club in the late 1930s. "There weren't many outlets for blacks in those days, and she decided to be an entertainer," said a daughter, Colletta Horton.

1917: First jazz recordings1918: Mencken's "In Defense of Women"1920s: Harlem Renaissance; the Cotton Club is born

Editor's note: The story of the musician and composer who helped shape the future of jazzDuke's name fit him rightly. He was a smooth-talkin', slick-steppin', piano-playin' kid. But his piano playing wasn't always as breezy as his stride. When Duke's mother, Daisy, and his father, J.E., enrolled him in piano lessons, Duke didn't want to go. Baseball was Duke's idea of fun. But his parents had other notions for their child.Duke had to start with the piano basics, his fingers playing the same tired tune -- one-and-two-and-one-and-two.

Of all of the views in New York City, the best one is often from whatever restaurant, greengrocer or food vendor a visitor happens to be enjoying at the moment.From Harlem to Chinatown and everywhere in between, a passion for food can be a visitor's best guide. Manhattan is nothing if not a place to let the taste buds do the walking and lead the traveler on a tour of gastronomical, visual and cultural delight.Harlem"Can you raise your hands in praise? Can you raise your hands? I know you can because I've seen you lifting that fried chicken to your mouth."

Of all of the views in New York City, the best one is often from whatever restaurant, greengrocer or food vendor a visitor happens to be enjoying at the moment.From Harlem to Chinatown and everywhere in between, a passion for food can be a visitor's best guide. Manhattan is nothing if not a place to let the taste buds do the walking and lead the traveler on a tour of gastronomical, visual and cultural delight.Harlem"Can you raise your hands in praise? Can you raise your hands? I know you can because I've seen you lifting that fried chicken to your mouth."

New York-- Toni Morrison makes you believe in the story, and the power of the story, but most of all you believe in her story. You can feel it right away in the way she talks. She has a low voice that can sound downright seductive as it sweeps along a sentence. She has the cadences down just right, the inflections. Just as in her writings, she strings along thoughts and words, one after the other -- building on them to an often unexpected but powerful conclusion. All you need is a campfire and a group of listeners reduced to ineffectual silence.

Bandleader-singer Cab Calloway made his fame more than six decades ago through performances at Harlem's fabled Cotton Club, live radio broadcasts and concert tours that took "the King of Hi-De-Ho" and his high-flying band to nightclubs and dance halls around the world. But Mr. Calloway -- who died at age 86 last Friday, five months after suffering a stroke -- never forgot Baltimore, where he lived with his family from the time he was 10 until he was about 20 years old.A graduate of Frederick Douglass High School, Cabell "Cab" Calloway III remembered Baltimore in a mostly fond light, despite the segregation of the day. The reverence he felt for his family and teachers was matched by his fondness for the characters he encountered in what he called "that rough and raucous Baltimore Negro night life with loud music, heavy drinking and the kind of moral standards that my parents looked down on."

Adelaide HallJazz singerLONDON -- Adelaide Hall, a jazz singer who made her name at the Cotton Club in New York and performed with Duke Ellington, died of pneumonia Sunday at London's Charing Cross Hospital.The 92-year-old American-born singer often performed at the Cotton Club in the 1920s and '30s. She was featured in Ellington's hit, "Creole Love Song."Born in New York, the daughter of a music professor, Ms. Hall began performing on stage when she was 14. After being spotted by a talent scout, she performed in "Chocolate Kiddies," Mr. Ellington's first complete show score.