HIGH NOTE: Stuttgart native Claude Askew, who serves on the faculty of the University of Arkansas at Monticello, is featured on a Grammy-nominated CD.
When the Stan Kenton Legacy Orchestra's regular drummer couldn't complete a spring 2015 tour, Askew, a professional drummer and jazz musician, took a leave from his work at UAM to tour with the orchestra. Each performance was recorded live and from them was created an album, Storming Through the South, which has since been nominated for a Grammy. Askew performs on eight of the album's 13 tracks.
Touring with musicians is nothing new for Askew, who holds music degrees from Henderson State and has been on the faculty of UAM since 2011. He's spent more than two decades traveling worldwide as a drummer and six years as conductor of the Airmen of Note, the U.S. Air Force's premier jazz band. He has performed with artists including Tony Bennett, Herbie Hancock and Chaka Khan.
A TASTE OF RECOGNITION: The recently released James Beard Foundation and Food Tank's new Good Food Org Guide for 2016 garnered nods for several Arkansas-based organizations. The guide, which aims to help individuals find opportunities to improve their local food systems, highlights those who are making an impact through their work.
The third annual Good Food Org Guide includes 1,000 U.S.-based groups (at least 10 from each state) that are cultivating a better food system, including 1o from the Natural State. The Arkansas initiatives included in the new guide are Arkansas Food and Farm, Arkansas GardenCorps, Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, The Arkansas Local Food Network, The Center for Agricultural and Rural Sustainability at the University of Arkansas, Feed Communities, The Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative, Little Rock Urban Farming, Ozark Slow Food and the Southern Sustainability Working Group.
STARS IN THEIR EYES: The Central Arkansas Library System is widening its horizons. The library system, in partnership with the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society, has begun lending 14 telescopes to its patrons. The 4.5-inch Orion StarBlast Newtonian instruments magnify up to 56 times and gather several hundred times more light than an unaided eye. The instruments are best suited for observing the moon and the brighter planets like Saturn and Jupiter. During prime conditions, "deep sky" objects like star clusters may also be seen with them. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, an introduction to stargazing session will be held in Hillcrest Hall at 1501 Kavanaugh Blvd. in Little Rock to introduce library patrons to basic telescope operation and care, as well as to easily viewing the moon and planets. The following Wednesday, a telescope-lending launch party will be held in the same location from 5-9 p.m., when visitors can explore the portable planetarium and make star wheel crafts. Both events are free and open to the public.
Contact Linda S. Haymes at (501) 399-3636 or lhaymes@arkansasonline.com
Metro on 10/16/2016