Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
An educator who has been a behind-the-scenes mentor to many of Philadelphia\u2019s most prominent musicians, gets his just due in a new film premiering at the BlackStar Film Festival this weekend.<\/p>\n
Lovett Hines: Philadelphia Sensei, the directorial debut of Donn Thompson Morelli<\/a>, spotlights the founder of the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts<\/a>\u2019 education program.<\/p>\n The list of Hines\u2019 mentees include highly regarded Philly musicians, such as Christian McBride, Immanuel Wilkins<\/a>, Justin Faulkner, Bilal Oliver, Derrick Hodge, the late Joey DeFrancesco<\/a>, and Ahmir \u201cQuestlove\u201d Thompson of the Roots, who is Morelli\u2019s brother. <\/p>\n The film begins with a poem, written and soothingly spoken by Morelli. <\/p>\n \u201cFlower and seed, orchard from tree \/ Like a stream of golden sun and urban sky you shined through \u2026 the Philadelphia Sensei is Lovett Hines.\u201d<\/p>\n Many of the most prominent mentees of Hines, 83, who also taught at the Settlement Music School, give testimonials in the short documentary, praising him for his loving way of nurturing talent, rather than acting like a disciplinarian obsessed with technique. <\/p>\n \u201cThe first thing is, he finds your strength,\u201d Roots drummer Questlove says in the film. \u201cHe describes the importance of listening and absorbing. Really, he was just super encouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI always think of him as the most perfectly balanced teacher that I\u2019ve ever had in music,\u201d says McBride, bassist and host<\/a> of NPR\u2019s Jazz Night in America. \u201cHe always gave us room to make our own mistakes. He never said, \u2018You have to do it this way, you must do it the way it says on the paper. He would let us find our own personality.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Jazz great Christian McBride won\u2019t name his five favorite Philly musicians. Here\u2019s why.<\/a><\/p>\n When McBride<\/a> was starting out \u2014 after attending South Philly High School for the Creative and Performing Arts in the late 1980s in an illustrious period when DeFrancesco, the Roots and Boyz II Men were also students \u2014 he realized he needed to follow the path of Philly heroes like McCoy Tyner and Benny Golson and move to New York to make a name for himself.<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Hines was like, \u2018Cool, you wanna go to New York. Let\u2019s make sure you have what you need, so when you go to the Big Apple you\u2019ll be straight.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n In the film, Hines talks about growing up in North Philly, and how he learned from his mother, who was a community builder who encouraged appreciation of the arts and history. She often gathered up neighborhood children on weekends and took them to the Philadelphia Museum of Art<\/a> or Independence Hall.<\/p>\n His family worshipped at the United House of Prayer for All People near 12th and Poplar Streets. <\/p>\n \u201cOf course it had music,\u201d Hines, an alto saxophonist who also plays bass clarinet and piano, tells Morelli. \u201cThey had the piano player, they had the choir. But they also had the band. And that was my first introduction to instrumental music.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to showing Philadelphia Sensei at BlackStar, Morelli, who makes her own music as Donn T and teamed with Philly rapper Chill Moody in the hip-hop\/R&B duo<\/a> & More, will also show the film at the Martha\u2019s Vineyard African American Film Festival<\/a> on Wednesday. <\/p>\n Her brother\u2019s latest music doc, Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That\u2019s the Weight of the World) <\/a>will also show at that festival. <\/p>\n