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Lorenzo Walton
Lynn Raymond
UWRT
February 2015
The Tree of Generations
Science tells us that Earth is 4.54 billion years old (Space.com). Before man, there were
beasts. Before beasts, there were dinosaurs. Before dinosaurs, there lived Earth. Earth has gone
through a lot since the beginning of time, and it still has much more to experience. Humans have
been on Earth for an estimated two hundred thousand years (UniverseToday.com). Its crazy to
think that humans are the most dominant creatures on Earth because the time theyve been
around would be equivalent to about a week in a regular persons life, the math behind that being
non-existent. No matter how short are family tree research goes back its imperative that we all
understand that we all have the same ancestors. The people on Earth are on should be one big
happy family because technically we are all brothers and sisters or some other sentimental
closing line.
On my fathers side of my family tree, Ive found that we cant pinpoint exactly where
we are from. I did learn that my great grandfather, Alfredo Desphy, was from the Philippines.
He joined the American army when they were stationed in the Philippines thus giving him an
American citizenship which he then utilized by coming to America to marry Ida Troutt. Ida
Troutts great grandmother was adopted, but she was believed to be the daughter of a Cuban man
and a White woman who didnt want to be Hester Prynned (Hawthorne). Im saying all of this to

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say, my family is a mixture of all different races and cultural backgrounds, and eventually we
will just be a rainbow of races.
The Walton family bloodline stretches back for years and years. My father, Carl Walton,
was the offspring of Cedar Walton and Ida Troutt. Carl works as a public relations specialist for
the United States Postal Service, so he is always on television telling the world about the things
you can do with the Post Office. You would think that everyone would know how to mail boxes
and letters by now, but the man keeps getting television gigs. In the spectrum of fame, my father
is not a well-known man. Maybe two thousand people have seen him talk about boxes, but he
still gets recognized by people on the street. No, my father was not famous; however, my
grandfather, Cedar Walton, was definitely famous. He was an internationally known Jazz
musician who died two years ago, at the age of 79. One of the most memorable things about his
death is the fact that he still had several sold-out shows scheduled overseas for the weeks after
his death. His instrument was the piano, and he had been playing it since his mother taught him
as a child.
Cedar Walton was born on January 17, 1934 in Dallas, Texas. His mother, Ruth, was just
a teacher and a huge fan of jazz music. She would always have it playing around the house when
Cedar was younger, so naturally she had to teach him how to play as well. Cedar ended up going
to Dillard University in Denver for a short period of time and then transferring to the University
of Denver where he majored in Music Education. After learning what he could about a variety
of different instruments, he moved to New York City to follow his dreams of becoming a jazz
musician.
Cedar played at small clubs with dim lightings, working his way through the New York
Jazz circuit and building his name in the afterhours scene. All was looking good until WW2 hit.
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He was drafted into the army and stationed in Germany. It was a blip in his timeline because he
made it out safe and sound, leaving him the ability to continue playing. Eventually, he honed his
skills while playing alongside Art Blakey as a member of Art Blakeys Jazz Messengers in 1960.
This put Cedar in a spot as one of the best up and coming pianists at the time which is the exact
kind of publicity he needed.
When he left the group in 1964, he was able to produce his own records at Prestige Records as
soon as 1967. His discography had at least forty albums between 1967 and 2011, winning
bundles of awards on the way. He wrote on several different movie soundtracks, giving them
that extra Cedar kick. He went on a plethora of tours, domestic and international, where he sold
out venues of different sizes. My grandmother met him at one of his shows because she was a
huge fan of his music and his movement. They had their first child, my father, in 1960. She was
on board back before his Art Blakey days. She was a true fan of him and his music.
Even though hes gone, my grandfather has left his mark on this world and my family.
My sister, Marquia, currently works at the Jazz Foundation of America where she was able to
work with my grandfather and is currently able to promote other jazz musicians. Cedars
daughter, Cedra, became a music producer in Philadelphia, working with a variety of different
artists. My aunt, Naisha, one of my fathers half-sisters, is currently a jazz bassist in New York
City. He was brilliant and influential on the keys, and, if I recall correctly, several universities
teach his music in their curriculum. Its amazing what he accomplished, and its incredible to
think that his story only spans from seventy-nine of the two hundred thousand years that humans
have been on Earth.

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Works Cited
Redd, Nola Taylor. "How Old Is Earth? | Space.com." SPACE.com. Purch, 27 Feb. 2014.
Web.
Howell, Elizabeth. "How Long Have Humans Been On Earth?" Universe Today.
UniverseToday.com. WordPress, 19 Jan. 2015. Web.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Boston: Ticknor, Reed & Fields, 1850;
Bartleby.com, 1999