Louisville Leopard Percussionists in D.C.

Leopard Percussionists in Washington, DC

By T.E. Lyons

On a sunny Saturday in October, the hill at the center of the National Mall has the usual crowd: dog walkers, people throwing footballs, a pick-up softball game. Other than the line of tourists at the Washington Monument, it’s not too unlike Cherokee Park … once you accept that some of the nonchalant bike-riders are actually Secret Service.
If the agents are looking out for the unusual, they should certainly notice the ampitheater where the melody to “Play that Funky Music” is tapped out on a wave of marimbas. As they promised when they opened up for My Morning Jacket at the riverfront in August, The Louisville Leopard Percussionists succeeded in getting to Washington and to the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival.
Charlie Fishman, executive director of the Ellington festival (this year featuring acts such as Taj Mahal and McCoy Tyner) introduced the group and applauded the fundraising that got the Leopards to DC. A number of Leopard parents—some of whom drove here convoy-style for 13 hours behind the group’s two buses—joined in sighs of relief that the funding eventually came together. Elizabeth McDaniel, just before watching her son take a solo, said that an assist from Metro Council made sure the kids got on the buses.
The 200 jazz devotees and Leopards supporters who’d heard the first song were joined by dozens with each succeeding number. For third song “La Bamba”, the senior members of the 7- to 12-year-old percussionists turned their instruments over to beginners. Even 8-year-olds aren’t shy about taking a turn at soloing—as long as it amounts to thwacking with big sticks in both hands. The tiniest performers stand on milk crates, as a sweetly thin voice carries over to the nearby World War II Memorial with the announcement “Next will be ‘Wipeout’ featuring Brenna on the drumset.”
The Leopards close their 45-minute set with “Oye Como Va” (to honor Carlos Santana, whose Milagro Foundation has helped them along). Walking offstage, Leopard Kaylyn Tyree still can’t shake that she was playing in the shadow of the Washington Monument. Director Diane Downs has understated approval for the performance, and downplays her role in some regards—deferring to the four-dozen Louisville kids who held their own at a big music festival on a grand stage at the nation’s capital.