Allison Miner
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Allison Miner (née Crowther) (born September 23, 1949 in Baltimore
, Maryland
died December 23, 1995 in New Orleans, Louisiana
) was a music promoter and manager who was instrumental in the early production of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
and the later career of pianist Professor Longhair
.
where she attended Seabreeze High School
. During high school she performed as a vocalist with her friend and classmate Duane Allman
and his brother Gregg's fledgling band at local venues under the billing A. Miner & The Allman Joys
. The brothers would go on to become one of the most successful bands of all time, The Allman Brothers.
After moving to New Orleans, LA in 1968 she began a career where she would become known for her work as a music manager, archivist and festival promoter. When George Wein
, the founder of the Newport Jazz Festival
and Newport Folk Festival
, asked the Tulane University
Jazz
archive's then director Richard Allen to recommend people who could help him launch a New Orleans music festival in Congo Square
, next to Municipal Auditorium, he suggested his employee Miner. She was then seeing Quint Davis
, who is today the festival's producer-director. The two began rounding up interested musicians.
That small festival of bare-bones stages and so few attendees that the staff ended up giving tickets away at a nearby school grew into what is today Jazz Fest
, moving to the Fair Grounds racetrack infield in 1975 and, today, attracting international acts and thousands of fans each spring.
Miner helped run the festival, which marks its 41st event this year, for its first five years. She is largely credited with the founding the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation Archive, which contains recordings from musicians interviewed at the festival as well as other documents, photographs and ephemera related to the Festival and the Foundation's holdings including early WWOZ
90.7-FM recordings.
She also went on to guide the career of Professor Longhair
, aka Henry Roeland Byrd, from the mid-1970s until his death in 1980. During those years, he toured overseas, produced popular recordings and gained critical acclaim. Her husband at the time, Andrew Kaslow
, led Professor Longhair's back-up band.
"Her devotion to Professor Longhair gave him the best years of his life, " Wein was quoted as saying in an obituary that ran in The Times-Picayune.
She and Kaslow moved to Cleveland in the mid-1980s, where she produced a Cajun and zydeco radio show at Case Western Reserve University
on WRUW 91.1, led the National Folk Festival
at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park
and was development director at the Cleveland Music School Settlement.
She returned to New Orleans in 1988, creating the Jazz Fest's Music Heritage Stage, which features interviews with performers. "This is my way of bringing the Jazz Fest
back to the way it was in the old days, like sitting around the living room floor and getting to know these people, " she said in a 1990 interview. "It was our way of having a more intimate involvement with the musicians.... We talk and they perform and answer questions from the audience. People say it's like the Oprah Winfrey
part of the festival."
Miner, said that Jazz Fest
"is a reflection of what the world needs to know about New Orleans music."
In December 1995 she succumbed to complications from Multiple Myeloma
. Her memorial service and traditional New Orleans Jazz funeral were held at City Park and attended by many musicians from the city such as Kermit Ruffins
and the Zion Harmonizers. The Heritage Stage was renamed in her memory as the Allison Miner Music Heritage Stage. After Hurricane Katrina, the stage was temporarily merged with the Lagniappe Stage which is housed in the Grandstand, and in 2009 it was reinstated as a full stage.
In 1997 her book Jazz Fest Memories was published posthumously by Pelican Publishing Company
. The book contains photographs by Michael Smith and descriptions and stories of the early days of the festival by Miner.
She is also the first cousin four times removed to Sir Moses Montefiore on her father's side. Her uncle Frank Crowther was Editor-in-Chief for The Paris Review in the 1960s and close personal friend to Norman Mailer
. Her paternal grandfather Rodney Crowther was the chief war correspondent in Europe during World War II
for The Baltimore Sun
.
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
died December 23, 1995 in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
) was a music promoter and manager who was instrumental in the early production of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, often known as Jazz Fest, is an annual celebration of the music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana...
and the later career of pianist Professor Longhair
Professor Longhair
Professor Longhair was a New Orleans blues singer and pianist...
.
Biography
Allison Miner was born Elizabeth Allison Crowther in Baltimore, Maryland and grew up in Daytona Beach, FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
where she attended Seabreeze High School
Seabreeze High School
Seabreeze High School is a high school located in Daytona Beach, Florida. The school has been named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.- Notable alumni :...
. During high school she performed as a vocalist with her friend and classmate Duane Allman
Duane Allman
Howard Duane Allman was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band...
and his brother Gregg's fledgling band at local venues under the billing A. Miner & The Allman Joys
Allman Joys
The Allman Joys was an early band with Duane and Gregg Allman fronting. It was originally the Escorts, but it eventually evolved into the Allman Joys. Duane Allman quit high school to spend his days at home practicing guitar. They auditioned for Bob Dylan's producer, Bob Johnston, at Columbia...
. The brothers would go on to become one of the most successful bands of all time, The Allman Brothers.
After moving to New Orleans, LA in 1968 she began a career where she would become known for her work as a music manager, archivist and festival promoter. When George Wein
George Wein
George Wein is an American jazz promoter and producer who has been called "the most famous jazz impresario" and "the most important non-player... in jazz history"...
, the founder of the Newport Jazz Festival
Newport Jazz Festival
The Newport Jazz Festival is a music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. It was established in 1954 by socialite Elaine Lorillard, who, together with husband Louis Lorillard, financed the festival for many years. The couple hired jazz impresario George Wein to organize the...
and Newport Folk Festival
Newport Folk Festival
The Newport Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the previously established Newport Jazz Festival...
, asked the Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
archive's then director Richard Allen to recommend people who could help him launch a New Orleans music festival in Congo Square
Congo Square
Congo Square is an open space within Louis Armstrong Park, which is located in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana, just across Rampart Street north of the French Quarter. The Tremé neighborhood is famous for its history of African American music....
, next to Municipal Auditorium, he suggested his employee Miner. She was then seeing Quint Davis
Quint Davis
Quint Davis is an American festival producer and director based in New Orleans. He is best known as the producer of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival founded by George Wein. Davis has been involved in the production of the event from its start in 1970. He is the CEO of Festival...
, who is today the festival's producer-director. The two began rounding up interested musicians.
That small festival of bare-bones stages and so few attendees that the staff ended up giving tickets away at a nearby school grew into what is today Jazz Fest
Jazz fest
Jazz fest may mean:*a music festival for Jazz*Cork Jazz Festival*Montreal International Jazz Festival*New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival...
, moving to the Fair Grounds racetrack infield in 1975 and, today, attracting international acts and thousands of fans each spring.
Miner helped run the festival, which marks its 41st event this year, for its first five years. She is largely credited with the founding the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation Archive, which contains recordings from musicians interviewed at the festival as well as other documents, photographs and ephemera related to the Festival and the Foundation's holdings including early WWOZ
WWOZ
WWOZ is a non-profit community-supported radio station in New Orleans, Louisiana broadcasting at 90.7 FM. The station specializes in music from or relating to the cultural heritage of New Orleans and the surrounding region of Louisiana.-Programming:...
90.7-FM recordings.
She also went on to guide the career of Professor Longhair
Professor Longhair
Professor Longhair was a New Orleans blues singer and pianist...
, aka Henry Roeland Byrd, from the mid-1970s until his death in 1980. During those years, he toured overseas, produced popular recordings and gained critical acclaim. Her husband at the time, Andrew Kaslow
Andrew Kaslow
Andrew Jonathan Kaslow, Ph.D is an author, record producer, saxophonist and entertainment executive. He currently resides in New York City.- Biography :Kaslow was born Andrew Jonathan Kaslow in New York, NY....
, led Professor Longhair's back-up band.
"Her devotion to Professor Longhair gave him the best years of his life, " Wein was quoted as saying in an obituary that ran in The Times-Picayune.
She and Kaslow moved to Cleveland in the mid-1980s, where she produced a Cajun and zydeco radio show at Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
on WRUW 91.1, led the National Folk Festival
National Folk Festival
The National Folk Festival is the name of several festivals that celebrate the folk music of a particular nation.*The Touring National Folk Festival in the US National Folk Festival...
at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Cuyahoga Valley National Park preserves and reclaims the rural landscape along the Cuyahoga River between Akron and Cleveland in Northeast Ohio. The park is the only national park in Ohio.Cuyahoga means "crooked river" in Mohawk....
and was development director at the Cleveland Music School Settlement.
She returned to New Orleans in 1988, creating the Jazz Fest's Music Heritage Stage, which features interviews with performers. "This is my way of bringing the Jazz Fest
Jazz fest
Jazz fest may mean:*a music festival for Jazz*Cork Jazz Festival*Montreal International Jazz Festival*New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival...
back to the way it was in the old days, like sitting around the living room floor and getting to know these people, " she said in a 1990 interview. "It was our way of having a more intimate involvement with the musicians.... We talk and they perform and answer questions from the audience. People say it's like the Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
part of the festival."
Miner, said that Jazz Fest
Jazz fest
Jazz fest may mean:*a music festival for Jazz*Cork Jazz Festival*Montreal International Jazz Festival*New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival...
"is a reflection of what the world needs to know about New Orleans music."
In December 1995 she succumbed to complications from Multiple Myeloma
Multiple myeloma
Multiple myeloma , also known as plasma cell myeloma or Kahler's disease , is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell normally responsible for the production of antibodies...
. Her memorial service and traditional New Orleans Jazz funeral were held at City Park and attended by many musicians from the city such as Kermit Ruffins
Kermit Ruffins
Kermit Ruffins is a jazz trumpeter, singer and composer from New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. He has been heavily influenced by Louis Armstrong, Louis Jordan and Eddy Jefferson. Ruffins accompanies a large portion of his songs with his own vocals, and he says that the highest note he can hit...
and the Zion Harmonizers. The Heritage Stage was renamed in her memory as the Allison Miner Music Heritage Stage. After Hurricane Katrina, the stage was temporarily merged with the Lagniappe Stage which is housed in the Grandstand, and in 2009 it was reinstated as a full stage.
In 1997 her book Jazz Fest Memories was published posthumously by Pelican Publishing Company
Pelican Publishing Company
Pelican Publishing Company is a book publisher based in Gretna, a suburb of New Orleans. It was formed in 1926 and in its time has produced 1500 titles, most of which relate to Louisiana and Southern culture, cuisine, and history...
. The book contains photographs by Michael Smith and descriptions and stories of the early days of the festival by Miner.
She is also the first cousin four times removed to Sir Moses Montefiore on her father's side. Her uncle Frank Crowther was Editor-in-Chief for The Paris Review in the 1960s and close personal friend to Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
. Her paternal grandfather Rodney Crowther was the chief war correspondent in Europe during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
for The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
.