During his October 4-9, 2012, visit to Los Angeles for rest and relaxation, both the Alpha Theta men of the Tennessee State University (TSU) Los Angeles Alumni Association, and the alumni association itself honored Professor Edward L. Graves, Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at TSU.
Although Professor Graves was aware of the reception, he was surprised to receive a plaque and gifts honoring his service to TSU from his Kappa Alpha Psi brothers (Drs. Warrick Carter and Ron Stephens) as well as a proclamation from the Kappa Alpha Psi Los Angeles alumni chapter. Both the gifts and proclamation extolled Professor Graves’ dedication and the hard work ethic that he used to reinvigorate and expand the tradition of excellence in the Aristocrat of Bands for over thirty-three years.
Dr. Meadows began the tribute by chronicling the achievements of several Aristocrat of Bands members during his and Professor Graves’ tenure at TSU (1958-1962), discussing the decline of excellence in the band’s performance after Frank T. Greer retired, and applauding the resurgence of excellence after Professor Graves returneded to TSU as director. Among the musicians and their accomplishments cited by Dr. Meadows were Dr. Joe Boyer (tuba), who became president of Mississippi Valley State University; Harrison Calloway (trumpet), who became music arranger and producer for the Muscle Shoals Recording Studio, a studio in Alabama that rivaled Stax and Motown in its heyday; Dr. Warrick L. Carter (percussion), current president of Columbia College Chicago; J. Alvin Cato, Jr. (French horn), who graduated in three years and became the first Black member of Virginia’s Norfolk Symphony Orchestra; Maurice Davis (trumpet), who has performed with artists such as Aretha Franklin and can be heard on numerous Motown Records recordings from the mid-1960s to 2012; and Cleveland Eaton (bass) and Pete Mingles (trumpet), who were recruited to play in Count Basie’s Band.
In his remarks, Dr. Meadows stated that the Aristocrat of Bands’ history of excellence dated to musicians who played in the band long before he and Professor Graves arrived in 1958. To that end, Dr. Meadows named world class jazz artists like Jimmy Cleveland (trombone), Andy Goodrich (alto saxophone), Phineas Newborn (piano), and Les Spann (guitar) who also played in the band before receiving world acclaim after leaving TSU.
The reception was conceived and planned by three members of the Alpha Theta Network: Ervin Kinsey, Theo Maxey, and Eddie S. Meadows. Dr. Meadows and his wife, Dr. Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje, Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), hosted the event.
Included among the 26 persons who attended were nonmusic alumni, former band members and majorettes, and two guests from another university. The reception was both an excellent tribute to Professor Graves’ unwavering support and service to TSU, and to the truest values of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
