- Hello everyone, I'm Satori Shakoor.

Welcome to "Detroit Performs: Live from Marygrove" where Detroit's talented artists take the stage and share insights into their performances.

The episode you're about to see is curated by poet, singer, producer, and Preservation of Jazz founder Sky Covington.

She's brought the great trumpeter John Douglas along with Club Crescendo, so get ready for some incredible jazz music.

It's time for "Detroit Performs: Live from Marygrove."

- [Announcer] Funding for "Detroit Performs" is provided by the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, Gregory Haynes and Richard Sonenklar, the Kresge Foundation, the A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Foundation, the Michigan Arts & Culture Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you, thank you.

(upbeat jazz music) (upbeat jazz music ends) - Hello, everyone.

It's a pleasure to be sitting here with Skye Covington, curator of tonight's episode.

Hi, Sky.

- Hello, beloved.

- I am such a fan of yours.

You have such a beautiful voice, a beautiful aura.

I know you're the founder of the Preservation of Jazz, right?

So you have a deep, deep commitment to its longevity.

So can you tell us a little bit how you got started with jazz and what keeps you alive in that music genre?

- Yes, well, when I started doing music, I was doing a lot of improv, I was doing poetry, I was called a jazz poet under John Sinclair, who allowed me to stretch my wares in New Orleans, so for 15 years I would come back to Detroit every summer and then I would go back to New Orleans.

Improv, that's what kind of showed me the elements of jazz.

Some people learn improv after they learn the structure.

I learned improv before, so that helped and honed to my craft.

But jazz is a sophisticated conversation.

It allowed me to grow older in a more sophisticated way, and so that's how that happened.

- [Satori] How is it to work with John Douglas?

- John Douglas, he just touches my soul in such a way because he brings out a silly part of me on stage that we share always on the outside, and every once in a while on stage I'll get a good joke in.

But John Douglas always makes me feel giddy with joy as a performer.

He has a very diverse way of looking at music.

- A very elegant person.

- Yes, he is.

He's just so beautiful and he just brings out a part of me that I really want to be, and so, you know, I get to be that every time he's there.

Not saying that I'm not that, but he just brings something out of me that just makes me giggle and he's a manly man and he's beautiful and he's so talented, and I thought that John Douglas will always be the person that I call first.

- Thank you so much, Sky.

Now we're headed to the stage.

(gentle jazz music) (gentle jazz music continues) (gentle jazz music continues) (jazz music continues) (jazz music continues) (jazz music continues) (gentle jazz music continues) (gentle jazz music continues) (jazz music continues) (jazz music continues) (gentle jazz music continues) (gentle jazz music continues) (gentle jazz music continues) (jazz music fades out) - We're coming back from the stage from that extraordinary performance by John Douglas.

Hi, John.

- Hello, how are you?

- Great, so, what was that instrumental that we heard?

- That was a original composition by me.

It's called "Africville."

I wrote it, a quick little story about it.

I was doing some research on John Coltrane's "Alabama."

I wanted to be able to write a song like that.

It was very emotive.

It was for the bombing of the four schoolgirls at Sunday school in Alabama, and he wrote this song as a response to that.

And I wanted to study his response so I can write better, just communicate emotion better, and it was healing music.

So I was studying him, and then I came across a story about Africville, which is a little town in Canada.

- I know, I've been there.

- And I know that Canada is kind of like the, you know, it's like the end of the Underground Railroad, so once you get to Canada, you got free.

- That's in Halifax, right?

- I don't know exactly the- - Yeah, I've been there.

- But yeah, I was a little disappointed in how that story went.

So I wrote that song as healing people for Africville.

I've never met anybody from Africville and never talked to anyone, I just read their story and was moved by it and wanted to try to write something.

It was originally just supposed to be a 2-minutes-and-22-seconds loop with no improvised solos, and then the guys in the band talked me into playing solos on it and stuff like that, it evolved more to like a song, it was more like a meditation.

That's what it was supposed to be.

- And what would you say about jazz and Detroit?

- They're they're one and the same, really.

This is part of the culture.

It's not just anything separate, it's not separate from the cars, it's not separate from the people.

It's everything, it's the water, it's where we are, it's the cold, it's everything.

- When did you start writing?

- Writing I kind of always use as a part of my practice, especially with jazz.

So even though I'm practicing scales, I'm not gonna just run a scale up and down, so I kind of will...

Try to manipulate the scale until I figure out how I want to use that particular scale.

And that kind of evolved to my first songs.

Now I have different techniques to write, but I try to write a little bit every day just to keep the practice alive.

- Thank you so much, John.

- Well, thank you very much, appreciate it.

- Now we're headed back to the stage where John will join Sky Covington and Club Crescendo.

(lively jazz music) ♪ All of me ♪ Why not take all of me ♪ Can't you see I'm no good without you ♪ ♪ Take my lips ♪ I want to lose them ♪ Take my arms, I've never used them ♪ ♪ Your goodbyes let me with eyes that cry ♪ ♪ How can I go on without you ♪ You took the part that was, was mine ♪ ♪ So why not take all of me (lively jazz music continues) (lively jazz music continues) - Mr. John Douglas.

(jazz music continues) (jazz music continues) Mr. Ibrahim Jones.

♪ All of me ♪ Why not take all of me ♪ Can't you see I'm no good without you ♪ ♪ Take my eyelids ♪ I want to lose them ♪ Take my arms, I've never used them ♪ ♪ Your goodbyes let me with eyes that cry ♪ ♪ How can I go on without you ♪ You took the part that was, was mine ♪ ♪ So why not ♪ Ooh, please, baby ♪ Oh why not ♪ Oh I love you ♪ Yes, I do ♪ Oh why not take all of me ♪ Ooh oui oui ♪ Ooh ♪ All of me (jazz music ends) (gentle jazz music) (gentle jazz music continues) ♪ Someday will come along ♪ The man I love ♪ And he'll be big and strong ♪ The man I love ♪ And when he comes my way ♪ I will do my best ♪ To make him stay ♪ He'll look at me and smile ♪ I'll understand ♪ And in a little while ♪ He'll take my hand ♪ And though it seems absurd ♪ I know we both won't ♪ Say a word ♪ Maybe I shall meet him one day ♪ ♪ Maybe Monday ♪ Maybe not ♪ But still I'm sure ♪ To meet him someday ♪ Maybe Tuesday ♪ Will be my good news day ♪ We'll be here ♪ The little waltz jazz ♪ Meant for two ♪ From which I'll never roam with you ♪ ♪ So I'll ask above ♪ Constantly waiting ♪ For the man ♪ I love (gentle jazz music continues) (gentle jazz music continues) (gentle jazz music continues) (gentle jazz music continues) (gentle jazz music continues) Mr. Phil Hale.

♪ Maybe I shall meet him one day ♪ ♪ Maybe Monday ♪ Maybe not ♪ But still I'm sure ♪ To meet him someday ♪ Maybe Tuesday ♪ Will be my good news day ♪ He'll look at me and smile ♪ And I'll understand ♪ And in a little while ♪ He'll come grab my hand ♪ So all else ♪ Constantly waiting for ♪ The man I love ♪ I am constantly waiting ♪ For ♪ The man ♪ I love (jazz music fades out) - We're back from the stage from seeing that wonderful performance by Sky Covington.

Sky, that was wonderful.

What were the selections of music that you chose and why did you choose those?

- I chose that based on the public domain.

Just give me a excuse to do the old stuff.

So "The Man I Love" is, when I was 19, I married my husband, and then we divorced.

And 25 years later, we found love again.

And he's been such an amazing part of my development as a woman, as a spirit.

I feel calm, I feel beautiful, I feel loved and loving.

So that's what "The Man I Love" was based on, my story with him.

And the lighting was so great that I actually envisioned him.

And then of course "All of Me," because "All of Me" is a representation of how much I really try to be a good Samaritan, a good activist and a good artist to Detroit.

- Who who were the other players?

- I wanted to feature everyone.

For example, PhilHarmonic, Phil Hale, and Ibrahim Jones has performed with me pretty much since day one.

Scott Rider introduced me to a lot of musicians.

And those two, outside of Milton, which moved, they were the ones who would give me all of this advice.

For many years, Ibrahim was my music director.

- What kind of advice?

- Like, for example, Phil would talk about the long note sounding prettier and not the runs so much.

Little things like that.

Or we would have these listening sessions where I got to dive in to different musicians like Shirley Horn, Dinah Washington, Dianne Reeves.

- Well, you have said so much.

Your heart is so huge.

Thank you so much, Sky.

- Thank you, Satori.

- And that is it for tonight's performance at "Detroit Performs: Live from Marygrove," and we'll see you next time.

- [Announcer] Funding for "Detroit Performs" is provided by the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, Gregory Haynes and Richard Sonenklar, the Kresge Foundation, the A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Foundation, the Michigan Arts & Culture Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you, thank you.

(upbeat jazz music) (upbeat jazz music ends) (gentle piano jingle)