Baba Wain

A Musical Note in the Key of Beauty

with E.W. Wainwright

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"Spotlights Bay Area jazz great."

Dan Taylor, The Press Democrat

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"We fully support this film."

SFJAZZ

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Distributed nationally for

Black History Month 2021

by NETA

 

Premiered in the SF Bay Area

on Northern California Public Media

for Black History Month 2020.

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Jazz drummer and teacher E.W. Wainwright is using music to connect with underserved kids.  His African Roots of Jazz Performing Arts Academy takes center stage in the new documentary 

Baba Wain: A Musical Note in the Key of Beauty. 

 

The half-hour film follows E.W.-- known affectionately to his students as "Baba Wain"-- through a normal day of music instruction and counseling at the elementary school where he serves as positive climate coach and director of the drum team. But interspersed between teaching beats and offering firm and caring guidance, Baba Wain shares the fascinating rhythm of his own personal story.

 

He tells of his grass roots involvement in the civil rights movement and one particularly harrowing misadventure at a Tennessee dentist office with connections to the Ku Klux Klan.  Despite experiencing daunting racism firsthand he stayed true to his calling as a drummer and started playing with noted artists around the world.  

 

E.W.'s African Roots of Jazz Ensemble band figures prominently in the documentary which features several of their gigs playing at popular venues around the San Francisco Bay Area.  

 

As the film ends, former students join him on stage to lead a rap for the audience.  Now grown and at the start of successful careers of their own, they still clearly love their life mentor who remains by their side. Baba Wain says that at the core of all of his efforts is an emphasis on caring.  "Peace and love is part of everything we do here," he states, "Peace and love."