3/18/22 O&A NYC FASHION SHOW: Schiaprelli | Haute Couture | Spring – Summer 2022

 

Elsa Schiaprelli loved by stars like Zendaya, Cardi B and Julia Fox is one of the few labels to kick off the season, with a space film-inspired collection by creative director Daniel Roseberry.The designer tells VOGUE that he’s been watching sci-fi titles like Dune, Interstellar and Arrival as a way to escape from the reality of the pandemic. Continue reading

3/18/22 O&A NYC FASHION: The Surrealist Fashion of Elsa Schiaparelli

The surrealist fashion of Elsa Schiaparelli makes us think of fashion as an art medium. Elsa Schiaparelli’s fashion emerged in the 1930s, rivalling Coco Chanel. Schiaparelli’s friendships with surrealists like Jean Cocteau and Salvador Dali resulted in fashion partnerships. Continue reading

3/14/22 O&A NYC BLACK FACTS: The Tuskegee Experiment

From 1932 to 1972, the United States Public Health Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention operated an extremely unethical medical experiment on the effects of outcomes of untreated syphilis. During the Tuskegee Experiment hundreds of poor Black men from Macon County, Alabama were enrolled in the study, and treatment for syphilis was withheld from them. Continue reading

3/8/22 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: Flutter- AXIS Dance Company 

Robert Dekkers’ Flutter was originally created for Post:ballet in 2010. The complex musicality, spatial shifts, and physicality in this dance for camera showcases the AXIS dancers’ strengths as individuals and as a collective.
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3/6/22 O&A NYC MUSIC: Staten Island Jazz Festival 33- Her Legacy Continues

By Walter Rutledge

In August Universal Temple of The Arts founder Sadja Musawwir Ladner joined the ancestors. A fixture in Staten Island arts scene for over fifty years Ladner provided arts education, performance opportunities and outreach to the underserved communities of her beloved borough- Staten Island. Her untimely passing shocked and saddened all who encountered this “community spirit”, fortunately her legacy lives on. On Saturday March 12, at 5pm the Universal Temple of the Arts will present the Staten Island Jazz Festival 33 at the historic St. George Theatre located at 35 Hyatt St, downtown Staten Island.

The festival will feature jazz music seven artists/groups including Nikara Presents…Black Wall Street (Nikara Warren), Bria Skonberg, Winard Harper & Jeli Posse, The Leopoldo F. Fleming Afro Caribbean Ensemble, Danny Mixon Quartet featuring vocalist Antoinette Montague, Dal Segno Trio featuring Darrell Smith, Michael Morreale and Houston Person and The Universal Temple of the Arts Jazz Ensemble. The evening will honor Women’s History Month as it celebrates the life and legacy of Ladner. There will also be a spoken word presentation featuring Professor Charles Thomas, Jordan Bracy and dancer Nubia Briathwaite, and a dance tribute choreographed by Walter Rutledge featuring Roumel Reaux, Briathwaite and Rutledge.

Musician Darrell Smith will make his debut in the role as the festival’s Music Director. Smith first met Ladner as a sixteen-year-old jazz enthusiast, now his many credits include imbuing and inspiring the next generation of young jazz aficionados at Jazz at Lincoln Center. O&A Editor-in-Chief sat down with Musical Director Smith to discuss the upcoming festival and all things jazz.

Staten Island Jazz Festival 33

Tickets can also be purchased at the St. George Theatre Box Office.

3/1/22 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: Halle Berry Wins Best Actress: 74th Oscars (2002)

“I wanted to believe it was so much bigger than me,” said actress Halle Berry of becoming the first (and still the only) Black performer to win a Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Monster’s Ball at the 2002 74th Academy Awards. Continue reading

2/27/22 O&A NYC GOSPEL SUNDAY: Bobby McFerrin- 23rd Psalm

Bobby McFerrin‘s haunting rendition of the 23rd Psalm featuring SLIXS & Friends, live in Gdansk, Poland at the Solidarity of Arts Festival, 17 August 2013.
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2/13/22 O&A NYC SUNDAY AFTERNOON JAZZ CONCERT: Count Basie and his Orchestra- North Sea Jazz Festival (13-07-1979)

The second concert of bandleader/pianist William ‘Count’ Basie and his Count Basie Orchestra at the North Sea Jazz Festival 1979 features great solos by bassist John Clayton and drummer Butch Miles. Basie did two concerts at the festival, one month before his 75th birthday. Continue reading

2/12/22 O&A NYC SATURDAY MORNING CONCERT: Aretha Franklin – Live In Montreaux [Full concert]

Aretha Franklin live at the Casino de Montreux, Montreux, Switzerland, June 12th, 1971.  Continue reading

2/12/22 O&A NYC ITS SATURDAY- ANYTHING GOES: Prince & The Revolution – When Doves Cry


When Doves Cry was composed by musician Prince, and was  the lead single from his sixth studio album Purple Rain Continue reading