About this Event
Violinist Jack Drummond
Jack Drummond is a violinist, but his talents are more expansive. He’s an educator, college administrator and community organizer. As a child, his parents taught him respect for the arts, and he began studying the violin in elementary school out of necessity.
“I wanted to play drums, but they didn’t have drums at this school,” he states. “They didn’t have a saxophone. They had strings.”
His musical repertoire is eclectic, and he sometimes augments his performances by reciting poetry. He has played the violin solo on the streets of Philadelphia and with an orchestra at Carnegie Hall. He has performed with Patti LaBelle, John Blake, and Thee Phantom and the Illharmomic Orchestra, which melds hip-hop and symphonic sounds. He is directing manager of Collage of Talent, a company he founded to support artists and community action.
Jazz vocalist Kevin Valentine
Kevin Valentine has a history with the Robeson House. A lawyer, he assisted Frances P. Aulston, founder of the West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, during the formative years of the organization and the house.
“Paul Robeson has always been a hero of mine because he understood the need to traverse the world of art and law,” Valentine says. “It's a unique combination.”
Valentine has performed with saxophonist Tim Warfield, trumpeters Roy Hargrove and Terrell Stafford, pianist Aaron Graves, drummer Byron Landham, bassist Mike Boone and keyboardist Glenn Bryan (who participated in “Arts in the Parlor” in 2019).
He has an easy, effortless style that swings. He loves the standards but even more so, enjoys rearranging them to paint a “picture with new colors.” Music and singing have always been important to him – from the early tunes of Johnny Hartman and Errol Garner played by his parents to his own taste for the Ohio Players, Sly & the Family Stone and Tower of Power.
“It would be a great treat for me to return to the Robeson House in the role of an artist,” he states.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Paul Robeson House, 4951 Walnut St., Philadelphia, United States
USD 0.00 to USD 20.00