2/16/18 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Qualia- Melissa Hamilton and Eric Underwood (Royal Ballet)


Qualia, meaning a raw and sensory experience, marked Wayne McGregor’s debut on The Royal Opera House stage. Featuring a sensorial pas de deux that was originally created for Edward Watson and Leanne Benjamin, Qualia was most recently performed by Melissa Hamilton and Eric Underwood.  Continue reading

2/16/18 O&A NYC MUSIC- CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Miles Davis

Miles Dewey Davis III,  the iconic American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music. Davis adopted a variety of musical directions in his five-decade career which kept him at the forefront of a number of major stylistic developments in jazz. Continue reading

2/15/18 O&A NYC BLACK HISTORY MONTH THROWBACK THURSDAY: Sam Cooke – A Change Is Gonna Come

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A Change Is Gonna Come is a song by Sam Cooke, released on December 22, 1964 by RCA Victor. Though only a modest hit for Cooke in comparison with his previous singles, “A Change Is Gonna Come” became an anthem for the American Civil Rights Movement. The song is widely considered Cooke’s best composition and has been voted among the best songs ever released by various publications. In 2007, the song was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress, with the National Recording Registry deeming the song “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important.” Continue reading

2/15/18 O&A NYC FEELING THE VALENTINE’S DAY AFTERGLOW: What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life Chris Botti/Sting

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What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?, with lyrics written by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman and original music written by Michel Legrand for the 1969 film The Happy Ending, and performed by Michael Dees was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Legrand won the 1973 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist for a version performed by Sarah Vaughan. More than thirty years later, Billy Childs, Gil Goldstein, and Heitor Pereira won the 2006 Grammy Award for the same category for a version performed by Chris Botti and Sting. Continue reading

2/14/18 O&A NYC SONG OF THE DAY- VALENTINE’S DAY ENCORE PERFORMANCE: My Funny Valentine – Dee Dee Bridgewater & The Italian Big Band

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My Funny Valentine performed by Dee Dee Bridgewater & The Italian Big Band brings a jazz favor to the day that honors romance.  Continue reading

2/13/18 O&A NYC VALENTINE’S SONG OF THE DAY: Billy Preston And Syreeta – With You I’m Born Again Live

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With You I’m Born Again, a 1979 duet performed by Motown recording artists Billy Preston and Syreeta Wright, is a single from the soundtrack of the motion picture, Fast Break. The song was credited as With You I’m Born Again, Billy Preston and Syreeta and written by Carol Connors and David Shire. The single became an international hit for the duo.  Continue reading

2/11/18 O&A NYC BLACK HISTORY MONTH SUNDAY AFTERNOON JAZZ CONCERT: Joséphine Baker: The First Black International Superstar

Josephine Baker was an entertainer, civil rights activist, French Resistance agent and the first Black international superstar. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted France. Continue reading

2/11/18 O&A NYC GOSPEL SUNDAY: Total Praise – Richard Smallwood

Richard Smallwood wrote Total Praise during a dark time in his life. He was a caretaker for two people, one with Alzheimers and one with cancer. He originally sat down to write a “Woe is me” song , but this kept coming out instead. It’s what he called “Valley praise”. Continue reading

2/10/18 O&A NYC GOING BACK TO AFRICA WITH WaleStylez: How To Dance Like An African

By Adewale Adekanbi Jr.

How To Dance Like An African displays popular dances from across the African continent. Dances includes Pantsula (South Africa), Kuduro (Angola), Stonkana (Botswana), Borrowdale (Zimbabwe), Gumboot (South Africa and Swaziland), Azonto (Ghana), Chimwemwe (Zambia) and many more. Continue reading

2/10/18 O&A NYC ITS SATURDAY ANYTHING GOES- CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Naomi Campbell Supermodel

naomi-campbell-makeup Naomi Elaine Campbell, an English-born model, of African Jamaican descent and Chinese Jamaican ancestry through her paternal grandmother, who carried the family name Ming. Recruited at the age of 15, she established herself among the top three most recognizable and in-demand models of the late 1980s and the 1990s, and she was one of six models of her generation declared supermodels by the fashion world. Continue reading