Bobby Lyle presented a powerful presence on the keys during his set with Ndugu Chancler, Alphonso Johnson, and Craig T. Cooper at the 30th Annual Long Beach Jazz Festival on Saturday, August 12, 2017. One could see the joy and passion on Lyle’s face during performance. He tickled the ivory of the electric keyboard, […]
Terrell Sass ended up making important connections while in Atlanta that led him to play on major label albums with artists like T.I., DJ Drama, and Ludacris. He also toured with Tyler Perry’s production, The Marriage Counselor and Jennifer Holliday. In between gigs, Sass worked on composing music for many artists at his studio in Atlanta; plus he also traveled between Nashville and Los Angeles, recording with different artists depending on the genre of music he had been hired to do.
Keiko Matsui is forever crafting the templates of her music. She is an artist who paints poetic melodies on the piano, while combining her precise classical chops with the mystical, sensual flavor of jazz; and spiced with an overtone of a Japanese haiku spirit. As a true artist, Keiko is […]
What do you get when you put Kirk Whalum, Norman Brown, and Keiko Matsui together on the same bill for A Gospel According to Jazz Christmas Concert? Two hours of incandescent, ingenious, musical magic that suffuses the spirit.
Phil Perry’s vocals float with a heavenly lightness mingled with an unfathomable lavishness of soulful romance, so with each note this artist exposes his inner being. He sings about . . . love. No matter how many compositions that Phil Perry has sung on this topic, his interpretation and technique emerges fresh, probing the mysteries, delighting the senses.
On the evening of December 3, 2016, Kaylene Peoples performed a Romantic Bossa-Nova concert in the cozy atmosphere of The Mouse House Studio, located in Altadena, CA. The wooden high-beamed ceilings created a cathedral feel, while her five-piece personnel accompanied her that evening.
On September 24, 2016, I watched Terry Steele perform a legacy show in honor of one of my favorite vocalists (Luther Vandross) at the Holden Theatre in Los Angeles. Steele is the singer/songwriter responsible for the Grammy-winning single “Here and Now.” After I heard about this upcoming legacy performance, I […]
“Our production of Anaïs, A Dance Opera is a hybrid performance, incorporating music, theater, and dance to tell the story of this writer who is one of the most famous diarists of our time. She [Anaïs Nin] was part of the Café Culture of the 1930s with her friends Pablo Picasso […]
On Friday, July 29, 2016, I met and interviewed Parisian painter Michael Stervinou at the La Jolla Fashion Film Festival held at the city’s Modern Art Museum. We spoke about his involvement in one of the film, The One 3: Horror Sex Fashion, of which three of his paintings were used in a very unusual way. Dressed in a classic navy shirt and jacket, and topped with a whimsical leopard bowtie, Stervinou created his own fashion statement.
Barbara Boxer beamed with pride as she talked about her daughter’s success:
“It’s a thrill because my daughter has taken on so many issues like the ones I have fought for and she has also introduced me to the issues like rape on college campuses, rape in the military. She has enlightened me to the fact that homeless women are there because they have suffered some kind of trauma.”
What did Barbara Boxer think about the possibility of a woman becoming President of the United States?
“I am so glad you asked that question.” She held up a necklace. “I am wearing my ‘H’ close to my heart. It’s the right moment. We’re approaching the 100th anniversary for women getting the right to vote, and it took us so long. Frankly we stood back and fought for everybody else, but we didn’t fight for ourselves.” Replied Barbara Boxer.
Pulling her daughter (Nicole) closer to her, Barbara described how women who pave the road to success possess the same qualities.
“The type of things Nicole is doing in her world; the kind of things I’m doing in my world; the kind of things Hillary is doing in her world, it’s all connected—It’s connected with a certain type of spirit—I think we carry passion in our hearts, but we’re tough.”
As the red carpet arrivals ended, and everyone went into the auditorium for the award’s ceremony, one celebrity stood there looking forever young and talking with that unmistakable voice of The Nanny. Fran Drescher (The Nanny’s Fran Fine) made sure she had creative control of her long-time running television series.
“I was the Executive Producer of The Nanny, I wrote and directed it too. The Nanny offered me a great opportunity to have many options in this industry. That’s why I am here tonight, because I am about opening doors, honoring women; and trying to change the narrative of how important we are to any business that we involve ourselves with.”
“We need to start realizing that women bring a different energy . . . different abilities to the party; and unless they are invited to the table, to every board meeting, to executive policy meetings in every job at a high level position, we’re not getting the full value of what can happen.” —Fran Drescher on Women in the Media
