Bastrop jazz musician Hannibal Lokumbe was among a group of 50 nationally-known artists to recently receive a $50,000 unrestricted grant for artistic excellence, awarded by United States Artists (USA).
Lokumbe traveled to Santa Monica, Calif., for the awards ceremony with his wife Sumai.
The fellowship grants were given to artists in the areas of architecture and design, crafts and traditional arts, dance, literature, media, music, theater arts and visual arts. The USA fellowship program has been handing out grants since 2006.
‘An honor’
Lokumbe talked about the honor of the grant, and his career, last week as he sat in a downtown café.
“You can’t apply for the grant, you have to be nominated by someone – it’s a bit of a secret,” Lokumbe said. A panel of professional peers is typically part of the review process. “I didn’t know any of the musicians who participated in the review,” Lokumbe added.
During his acceptance speech Lokumbe said he emphasized, “it was especially gratifying to accept the award on behalf of my Lord, my family and community.”
At the café, Lokumbe said, “It was very special to say (in California) that I was from Bastrop. Most people didn’t know where it is. Now, they do.”
Lokumbe said it was the first time he had received a grant from United States Artists. However, he has been the previous benefactor of grants from the National Endowment of Arts that have been used by varying arts/music organizations who have commissioned Lokumbe to compose and/perform works of music.
Lokumbe is a composer and jazz trumpeter from Bastrop with a career spanning over 40 years. He has played trumpet and recorded with jazz and blues greats such as Pharoah Sanders, Elvin Jones, Otis Redding, Lightnin’ Hopkins and T-Bone Burnett. He has also composed over 150 works – many of which have been performed by the Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit and Houston symphonies.
The USA fellowships are intended for use by the artists to develop new work or complete an ongoing project, give back to their own community, and to fund basic living expenses. USA gives fellowships to adult artists of all ages and at all stages of their career.
“The grant is unrestricted, so you can use for whatever you wish,” Lokumbe said. “This money will allow me to help a lot of people, especially in New Orleans. It will also help me to work on some new music and pay some bills.”
In mid-December, Lokumbe saw the release of his new work dedicated to 1959s civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, titled, “Dear Mrs. Parks. The work was commissioned and premiered by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Previously, Lokumbe also wrote a musical piece dedicated to slain civil rights activist Medgar Evers and performed by several symphonies.
“Dear Mrs. Parks” is a 57-minute oratorio for which Lokumbe wrote the music and lyrics. The piece is to be performed in February at Austin’s Long Center for the Performing Arts.