Walter Yarbrough “A much better person because of music” Walter Yarbrough is from Albany, New York. A younger brother received a guitar when he was six but quickly gave it up. Walter confiscated the guitar and never stopped playing. He bought a Beatles album and the sheet music to go with it. He soon heard […]
Midsummer Night’s Swing Over the years, the music industry has evolved from vinyl albums, cassette, 8-Track tapes, CDs, Music Channel Videos (MTV), streaming audio music, and now with advent of broadband internet, live video streaming performances. Music streaming websites are capturing more of the market. Music is posted, shared, and, sometimes, downloaded illegally. None of […]
A Mid Summer Night Swing – every Wednesday in August New music is often based on older styles. One such era that is being revived by many of the younger generation is Swing. New variations of old style Swing Jazz is gaining popularity. Swing music and dancing took the country by storm. It’s proving […]
Martin Sedlak “…heard the violin from the first moment he was born” In 1987, Martin Sedlak was born in Benesov, Czechoslovakia, (now Czech Republic), a small town about 25 miles south of Prague. He has two sisters and is the middle child. He remembers vividly the sound of his grandfather, Antonin Sedlak, playing the violin […]
Gospel Brunch “Come Sunday” Most agree that gospel music is the roots of blues and jazz. Key West’s Bahama Village has deep gospel roots. In fact, historically Bahama Village is the center of Keys music in general. The music of Bahama Village revolved around gospel, blues, and jazz. There is a venerable mural, […]
Mike Emerson – if you throw a rock in Key West you’ll probably hit a guitar player Mike Emerson was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He began playing guitar, which his brother Glenn bought him, at age 12. He attended high school in Northern Kentucky and would perform with bands in local country bars […]
Alex Okinczyc “Island Alex” Alex Okinczyc grew up in Detroit, MI and, of course, was influenced by the Motown sound but at a young age, a friend turned him onto jazz … and he was hooked. In particular, he loved jazz horns like Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard. Oddly enough, while growing up near the […]
Michael McCloud – a plethora of useless information Michael McCloud grew up in Beckley West Virginia and decided he wanted to play music very early in childhood. His father was a man of music, but he was not a musician. His Grandmother was a piano player from Wales, she sang in Welsh. Early on his […]
Kim Gordon – angelic gently Kim Gordon was born and raised in Miami, Florida. She was a precocious little curly red haired child who started singing in musical theater at four years old, continuing as a young singer and dancer in many of the local children’s productions. Her mother, Bernyce Gordon, taught several generations of […]
I love Key West history, especially the music history. There aren’t many Key West historical music figures larger than Fats Navarro. Navarro learned piano at age six and picked up his first trumpet at age thirteen. He graduated from Fredrick Douglas High School and soon left for Orlando, Cincinnati, Kansas City, and on to ‘big […]
