Brian Slattery Photos
As the band warmed up behind him, Manny James checked the microphone, then slid into a swinging version of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” to warm up the audience.
James wasn’t really at Bregamos Theater on Blatchley Avenue as a performer on Sunday afternoon. He was there as a teacher — and as a student.
Last November, the New Haven-based musician told the audience after the song, “I decided to fulfill a lifelong dream” to “create a program that directly affected people in the community and people who look like myself.” He admitted his first students to Creative Hearts, a nonprofit he founded out of his studio on Shelton Avenue in Newhallville to offer classes in music performance and production for kids ages 9 to 18.
“For me the program is more than an opportunity to bring about positive change in the community through the arts. Itś a big part of my purpose in life,” James said. “As a creative I fully understand the need for knowledge, support, understanding and guidance at a young age. So I created this program to provide those things and so much more.” He had a list of thanks — to his mother (“I get my passion for young people from you”), to a mentor named Kaye Harvey Holtz (“for empowering me and believing in me when I was a young kid running around Church Street South”), to the parents of his students, and to the students themselves. Paraphrasing Gandhi, he explained that Creative Hearts was his chance to “be the change you want to see. I would like to thank the students of Creative Hearts for allowing me to do just that.”
On Sunday, James had seven students ready to perform. “All my students are incredible, talented people,” he said. “Make sure you cheer, clap, and support them as they perform.”
Niama Emenyonu kicked off the show with a Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” As the band — Dave Porter on guitar, Jeremiah Fuller on keyboard, Corey Claiborne on bass, and Jeff Noble on drums — fell in behind her, Emenyonu gathered energy as she went, starting quietly and ending the song with a full-throated voice. The audience responded by clapping along.
Trish Gardner broke into a smile as soon as she started singing Michelle Williams’s “Say Yes,” garnering big applause from the crowd.
Azari Tavares offered a sweet rendition of The Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There.”
Deshawn Jordan tackled the Temptations’ “My Girl,” adding his own vocal improvisations and even going for the dance steps.
He and James then joined brother Aidan Jordan for a performance of New Edition’s “Can You Stand the Rain,” which showed that Aidan had strong showmanship skills in addition to singing. He started with his back to the audience, pivoted and crooned. Having grabbed the audience’s attention, he held it. The trio finished with an a cappella run through the chorus that showcased their harmonies, to huge applause.
Neveah Random built her performance of H.E.R.‘s “Hard Place” from the low register of her voice on the first verse into the upper register as she ascended into the chorus. The audience swayed, clapped, and sang along.
Clifford White then finished the show his own “Apologize,” accompanying himself on keyboard. As he moved through his emotional song, the band took notes, then busted into an instrumental version that had White beaming. James then ended the show with a couple of his own originals as well as a spirited take on Al Green’s “Let’s Get Together” that had the audience singing along on the chorus.
“I’m floating,” James said when the show was over. After working with the students two to three times a week, “this is the first time these young people have gotten the opportunity to perform in front of a crowd of 50 or more people, so to see that, and to see them rise to the occasion, and to see them in their element — it was emotional,” James said. “They’re all stepping into who they are. I just wanted to make it great for them.”
James said he also learned a lot, about the work involved, and how to “use the help that’s around you,” he said. “I learned from these kids just like they learned from me.” He learned that “if you truly want to meet kids where they are, you have to open yourself up, too.” And doing that, he said, “has made me a better person. My wife tells me, ‘you’re different. I see you changing more and more.’”
“This is a dream of mine,” he said of starting Creative Hearts. He was grateful for “really being able to help other kids, really help them grow to be who they need to be.” And “I want them to be the best version of themselves, all of them. They all have different qualities about them, light inside of them that they turn on.” As he knew from his own experience growing up, that light can “carry over into school, into home, into the community. That’s the real purpose for this.”
He has been running Creative Hearts himself so far, and with his first anniversary show under his belt, he’s hoping to find funding to expand the program, with more teachers, more students, and a larger space, while keeping the price as low as possible and hopefully reducing it. “That’s the next step,” he said. “Do you know how many kids in the community would love to do this, but their parents can’t afford it?”
James explained that, in the end, he’s seeking to offer something a little deeper than music instruction. “This is music mentorship. It’s not just developing a skill. It’s me mentoring through music.” he said. And “they’re all blossoming, right in front of me.”
For more information about Creative Hearts, visit its website.
