Charles Pryor | SWF Civic Artist-in-Residence

Humans of Sweet Water… Meet Charles Pryor.  Charles is a passionate and accomplished jazz musician, trumpet player, artist, teacher, homeschool educator, and father from Chicago’s South Side. Charles’s connection with Sweet Water Foundation (SWF) began when SWF Executive Director Emmanuel Pratt witnessed the captivating dynamism of Charles’s jazz performance on 53rd Street in Hyde Park. Charles and his son first visited The Common|Wealth for Well-ness Wednesday in early June 2024, and soon after performed a memorable set at SWF’s Seventh Annual  Juneteenth Celebration. 

Charles has since become a Civic Artist-in-Residence, and he and his son have become integral members of the SWF Community. As a Civic Artist-in-Residence, Charles’s music resonates across The Common|Wealth, from Neighborhood Markets and Civic Arts Workshops to Artist Talks and Well-ness Wednesdays. Charles and his son are part of SWF’s emergent Neighborhood Academy, immersing themselves in SWF’s practice of Regenerative Neighborhood Development through hands-on learning and contributing to the vibrant life of The Common|Wealth. Read on below to learn more about Charles. 

Tell us about your background.

I was born in Englewood Hospital and grew up with my family in Robert Taylor Homes. My grandmothers lived next door to each other.

My love for music started with hi-fi records, the music, and the record player itself. The ‘music bug’ came from my father, a trumpet player who infused his love for music in me. He gave me trumpet lessons, applying the routine, rigor, and regiment he learned as a football player and U.S. Air Force airman. My father instilled in me the same discipline he learned from sports and the military as he taught me how to play the trumpet. Throughout our lessons, I felt a unique energy radiate through each space, which I now understand is the harmonic resonance of the music.

My father constantly pushed me to excel, opening opportunities for me to perform publicly when I went to Dyett Middle School in Washington Park, and then in high school at Simeon Career Academy, where I became the youngest band member in the advanced band.

This was a pivotal time in life for me. I lived with my father on the West Side, taking the train between the West and South Sides daily – a rare connection across the City. I began playing at Kingston Mines, a blues club on the North Side. Music rooted me and literally saved my life several times, amidst everything else going on around me.

In my 20s, I moved back into the Robert Taylor Homes, and remember the eerie feeling when we moved my Grandmother out of our building. It felt like that was the last time I would be there. I did not know about the demolition already planned for the buildings.

When the Robert Taylor Homes were demolished, I had family members saying, "We need to go down there. We need to get a brick from the building." Their desire to retrieve bricks were a testimony to the memories held there. I grew up there, my family was there, my grandmothers were neighbors. People always looked out for each other; I now recognize how much brain power and energy were concentrated in that place. It was a community that is rare today.

Around this time, I balanced installing cable for different contracting companies during the day, with jazz performances in clubs at night. I decided to dedicate myself fully to music, making it my ultimate focus. Playing with renowned bands like Big James Chicago Playboy and Windy City Ramblers took me across the United States - to Buffalo, Rochester, Phoenix, Omaha, and Memphis - and internationally - to the Virgin Islands, Antigua, Brazil, Bahamas, across Europe, and even on open waters through the 2011 Blues Cruise.

In 2004, I began street performing, embracing that there were no set variables, control, or structure. My public performances resonated. People responded with their stories, experiences, and even money. It was therapeutic for both them and me. After my son was born almost a decade later, I paused public performances and didn’t return to them until just after the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Over the years, I’ve understood music’s role as a foundation for somatic therapy and have integrated windchimes, painting, and other instruments into my performances. I love teaching music even more than playing and feel responsible for guiding the next generation.

How did you find out about Sweet Water Foundation?

I met Emmanuel in Spring 2024 when he heard me performing on a sidewalk in Hyde Park. He approached me, explaining that there was an organization called Sweet Water Foundation in Englewood / Washington Park. Sweetwater is also the name of a music store, so I was thinking this dude can get me some gear. Maybe I should listen to him.

When he told me that Sweet Water Foundation was located at 57th and Perry, I lost all faith and confidence in him. I thought he was trying to string me along. I’m thinking, if he thinks I'm going to believe that he has a farm the size of a city block on 57th and Perry, he must not know that I was born and raised here in Chicago. He was talking to the wrong person….because I grew up two blocks away at the Robert Taylor Homes.

So, in an attempt to scare him away, I told him that music is what I want to do with my life. I have a young son, and I love teaching even more than playing, and that’s all I want to do. Emmanuel responded, “We can do that and more. Just visit and check us out.”

He invited me to come perform for Juneteenth. I was available, but hesitant, so I ignored him. I didn’t believe him. However, he was persistent, and finally, he asked me to come visit first before blowing him off.

I visited on a Friday, which is SWF’s Neighborhood Market day. I was on guard when I first pulled up. I didn't know what I was getting into, and worried I was being set up. The first thing I saw was the Civic Arts Church. The vault, the church, and the whole area looked so different from how they used to be. So, I knew Emmanuel wasn't lying about that.

When I first got to The Common|Wealth, I was immediately sold. I saw the team working, carrying stuff back and forth, helping each other, and I couldn't believe it. I actually felt kind of safe.

Later, I told my son, ‘I don't know what he needs or what he needs me to do, but whatever it is, I'll do it. If he wants me to play, I’ll just do it. He doesn't have to pay me. I'm doing it. This is what bringing the neighborhood back to life looks like and this is needed in all the neighborhoods I grew up in.’

What is your role here at Sweet Water?

When I asked Emmanuel what I could do, he said, “I just need you to play the horn." That’s where we started, and I kept following up. We connected on music and its role in healing through somatic resonance.

After my first visit, I brought my son to Well-ness Wednesday, and then my father, son, and I performed at the Civic Arts Church on Juneteenth – an inter-generational performance. 

I’m currently a Civic Artist-in-Residence, responsible for sharing my music and the harmonic resonance across The Common|Wealth. I often perform with my son at SWF events like Civic Arts events, workshops, and tours in SWF’s Civic Arts Church, at Wellness Wednesdays, Neighborhood Markets and at other sites across The Common|Wealth.  One special event for me was Mama Agnes’ 98th Birthday celebration, along with an artist talk in the Civic Arts Church from the artists featured in Constellations + Throughlines.

I integrate a range of instruments and sounds (e.g., windchimes, rain drums, etc) to reach a full spectrum of frequencies, decibels, and tempos, actively integrating evidence around the healing properties of music. We also integrate painting as an extension of our music. 

My son and I are also part of SWF’s Neighborhood Academy. It started with my son and I being part of SWF Work-Shop Wednesdays, where we were introduced to SWF’s approach to designing and building. That became Community Building Wednesdays, and now we are part of the SWF Neighborhood Academy. 

How does Sweet Water Foundation transform you and the community? 

I feel like I’m living a dream. So much is new: the food, the reconnection to the neighborhood, and the community. Every time I come to Sweet Water, there’s something I take away and connect back to my music.

Through Neighborhood Academy, I have experienced a huge difference now seeing the amount of work that it takes to be part of SWF. It’s homeschool for both of us. We’re both learning so much. We’ve been learning about harvesting and seeding, and how it’s connected to nature. Recently, during Neighborhood Academy, my son and I planted seeds, and immediately, I felt more connected to nature and to where I come from.

The entire process for me is part of my musician journey and part somatic therapy. While I’m here learning in Think-Do House as part of Neighborhood Academy, I’m composing music while I’m working. There’s a deeper connection with everything I’m doing.

I say this all the time: the whole SWF team are scientists and geniuses. I’m grateful to be here. It feels like I have come back home. The work at SWF has ‘contaminated’ me in a good way. I’m playing music to every team member and every plant.

It’s changed my son, too. The fresh food from the Farm has changed his diet and changed his health. He now loves greens all around. His mood and attitude are much better since his diet has changed. We are learning all the time. The Common|Wealth is also part of our Homeschool, and my son and I practice music in SWF’s Civic Arts Church.

Things have happened so quickly. Emmanuel and Sweet Water Foundation have put me in a position in six months to do something that I haven't been able to do for the past 20 years. I've been exposed to so many people and so many different things. I’m in, how they say, in a fairy tale, to the point where I have to keep myself grounded and say now is the time I have to do this now, let's get it done!