More than six months after his unexpected passing, Quad Cities jazz pioneer and community leader Nate Lawrence was honored with a special memorial concert Sunday night at Rivermont Collegiate, Bettendorf.
The concert featured the Polyrhythms Trio and special guests Billy Branch, Semenya McCord, and Hal Reed, followed by the headliner performance featuring the Edmar Castaneda Quartet.
Lawrence, of East Moline, led Polyrhythms and its world-class Third Sunday Jazz Series from 2005 until his sudden death on Aug. 15, 2023 at age 80.
He and Shellie Moore Guy of Rock Island founded Polyrhythms in 2002.
For his influence and commitment to the Donald Meade Jazz Society and the jazz community in the Quad Cities, the Donald Meade Legacy Society and African American Jazz Caucus in January 2024 gave Lawrence its first Donald Meade Jazz Griot Founder’s Award.
“Nate Lawrence was the walking, living and breathing representation of a community servant and leader,” Shellie Guy said in Sunday’s memorial program. “I have it heard stated that ‘there will never be another Nate Lawrence,’ and while that is certainly true, we should remember that Nate’s tireless efforts are important because he emphatically believed we can all contribute, change lives, and restore hope.”
In the program, area jazz musician Wes Julian called Lawrence an “encyclopedia of history. A man with a way with words. One who stood ten toes down on what he believed in. A caring and loving soul. I wouldn’t be the person I am if it wasn’t for this man.”
“He loved this community and wanted to bring people of all ages and backgrounds together to celebrate the arts,” wrote Rivermont Music Academy director Edgar Crockett (a jazz trumpeter). “Through Polyrhythms, Nate has enriched the lives of countless individuals.
“He did so much to advocate music, art, dance and literature in our community,” Crockett said. “But besides all of this, Nate was a dear friend to me. His humor and toothy grin would always brighten up the room.”
A new president
Reggie Reed, a 67-year-old East Moline native who lives in Rock Island, has served on the eight-member Polyrhythms board for about six years and is the new president. He had known Lawrence for years, who asked him to serve on the board.
He’s helped set up for each concert and the annual Bill Bell Jazz and Heritage Festival (which Polyrhythms started in 2014), while Lawrence and the nonprofit’s music director Manny Lopez III mainly booked the artists. “Whatever they need to have done, bringing stuff in, bringing refreshments, we call ourselves the Hard Hats,” Reed said. “That’s what you have to have.”
It’s important for Polyrhythms to fill the need to demystify jazz and teach people how it’s formed and performed, Reed said.
“People want to know how the musicians got into it,” he said. The traditional Third Sunday series has a matinee workshop and evening concert. Lawrence built up a network of jazz contacts through his travels and knowledge of top-notch performers.
Reed is retired after 42 years working at the Arconic plant, since 2018, after doing maintenance, safety and was a union steward. He now works part-time as a bus driver.
Everyone was very shocked by Lawrence’s death, the week of the Bill Bell festival. “We pulled it together and did what we had to do, and it was a success,” Reed said.
They had the next Third Sunday concert in October, and wanted to do the memorial concert this past weekend to give them time to organize it, after the holiday season. It also was timed to Black History Month, Reed said.
The main thing he learned from Lawrence “was dedication to what it is you’re doing,” he said.
“He was a great producer and he knew how to get everyone together,” said Lopez, an expert jazz drummer, who is in the Polyrhythms Trio (to accompany guest artists) with Corey Kendrick on piano and Ron Wilson on bass.
“He knew how to run it, how it needed to be. We’re just missing the conductor, but the band can still play,” Lopez said before Sunday’s concert.
“He is missed, but this is all his,” he said. Castaneda was one of the last acts that Lawrence booked; he had played here once before. “Nate really dug him a lot,” Lopez said.
Board member Bonnie Engelstad is the business manager for Polyrhythms.
“After working with Nate for eight-plus years, I understand the financial and contractual aspects of running Polyrhythms. I have taken over much of what Nate did in that regard, but others have really stepped up too, and we work together as a team,” she said recently. “Our all-volunteer staff consists of about 15 individuals. I am proud of our success so far, and we are learning as we go.”
David Baker of KALA-FM at St. Ambrose University is emcee for the Third Sunday Jazz Series. He read Lawrence’s words in introducing the Sunday program.
“Every community is greatly enhanced by the opportunity to share and participate in the arts. Our purpose is to celebrate the legacy of our ancestors and to exhibit the richness of our culture,” Baker said.
“Our dedication continues to create and grow exciting and sustainable events, that audiences locally and regionally can relate to. We are building and growing new ideas that are reflective and befitting of the cultural diversity that builds and sustains the Quad-City area. When people from one culture exchange music from another culture, they gain valuable insights into another way of life, that bridges a divide in communications.”
Moving to Unitarian church
The Polyrhythms lease at Rivermont Collegiate is expiring, and they will be moving to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Quad Cities, 3707 Eastern Ave., Davenport, where they’ve had a few concerts.
The Unitarian church has been very welcoming and are strong supporters of Polyrhythms, Reed said. “They wanted us,” he said. “Their members really enjoy it. They’re great people, so we have a nice strong bond with them. Hopefully we’ll continue that. That doesn’t mean we won’t play other places.”
“A lot of people really like jazz,” he said. “You’ll see jazz being played in a lot of places.”
Polyrhythms has done four shows at the Unitarian church and Lopez said they’re wonderful there. “They’re extremely cool, let us come in and we’re pretty self-contained,” he said. “We have some pretty great cats that are coming up.”
“The congregation is thrilled — partly because of all the personal and institutional connections,” Gates Thomas, music director for the Unitarian church in Davenport, said Monday. “Many of our members and friends are also longtime Polyrhythms supporters, and were among the many friends of Nate Lawrence.
“The sanctuary space has long been recognized as one of the finest chamber music halls in the Quad-Cities for its warmth, intimacy, and superior acoustics,” Thomas added. “UU services have long included jazz and her musical children as part of the programming, so expanding that offering beyond worship is a natural part of the congregation’s ministry to the larger community. In that way, it’s a win-win for everyone.”
Upcoming Third Sunday Jazz events (all at UUCQC) will be:
- March 17, 2024 – Lynne Hart Trio
- April 21, 2024 – Lois Deloatch with the Polyrhythms Trio
- May 19, 2024 – Lynne Arriale Trio
- June 30, 2024 – Yogev Shetrit Trio
- July 21, 2024 – Fr. Stan Fortuna
For more information, visit the Polyrhythms website HERE.
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