Category: Music

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10/10/14 O&A Review: Ain’t Misbehavin- Fats Waller’s Harlem

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 By Walter Rutledge

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Harlem original Fats Waller returned uptown to the community he loved via the Broadway musical Ain’t Misbehavin presented at Faison Firehouse Theater. This version of the high-spirited, and high-energy musical revue is directed by A. Curtis Farrow; and presented in collaboration with Irving Street Rep. and FaisOne Productions. The first thing that becomes apparent is how well the intimate setting complements Waller’s songbook; which has become a compass articulating the Harlem Jazz era of the 1930’s and 40’s. Continue reading

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10/8/14 O&A Its Saturday Anything Goes: Our Weekend Picks

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It is Saturday

Its Saturday and as the autumn leaves continue to fall the arts are getting that exciting seasonal lift. There is music uptown, musicals celebrating Harlem and Brooklyn, and dancers dancing downtown. Here are our weekend picks in the city that never sleeps guaranteed to keep you Out and About.   Continue reading

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10/6/14 O&A Throwback Thursday: Dusty Springfield

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Dusty Springfield was born Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O’Brien on  April 16 1939. She was an English pop singer and record producer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s. Springfield was renowned for her distinctive sensual sound, and was dubbed “the blue-eyed soul singer“.
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10/23/14 O&A Throwback Thursday: En Vogue

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Throwback Thursday logo 2En Vogue

Assembled in Oakland, California in July 1989, En Vogue launched with original members Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones, Dawn Robinson and Terry Ellis. The inspiration for the group came when production duo of Foster and Mc Elroy envisioned a modern-day girl group in the tradition of the 1950s/1960s female trios. The blueprint was based on the plan of recruiting singers who possessed strong voices, noticeably good looks, and intelligence. Continue reading

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10/16/14 O&A Throwback Thursday: Diana Ross- Standing Room Only Live At Ceasar’s Palace (1980)

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The HBO special, first aired in early 1980 as part of the network’s Standing Room Only series. It was taped in 1979 at Caesar’s Palace as Ross promoted her then-current album, The Boss. The album, featuring writers/producers Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson, featured songs that showed off a range and power that many had forgotten Diana Ross possessed. This was a peak time in the diva’s career; Ross dazzled audience around the world with her demanding, Tony Award-winning An Evening With Diana Ross stage show, and starred with protege Michael Jackson in the 1978 film The Wiz.  Continue reading

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10/9/14 O&A THROWBACK THURSDAY: JODY WATLEY (Repost)

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Jody Vanessa Watley  is a singer, songwriter, record producer, music maverick and one of music’s defining artists. Her music crosses genres from Pop, R&B, Jazz, Dance and Electronic Soul. In 1987, she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.  Watley ranks as one of MTV Video Music Awards most nominated female artists ever, with six nominations for her Real Love video. Continue reading

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10/9/14 O&A Throwback Thursday: Jody Watley

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Jody Vanessa Watley  is a singer, songwriter, record producer, music maverick and one of music’s defining artists. Her music crosses genres from Pop, R&B, Jazz, Dance and Electronic Soul. In 1987, she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.  Watley ranks as one of MTV Video Music Awards most nominated female artists ever, with six nominations for her Real Love video. Continue reading

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10/5/14 O&A Gospel Sunday: Fred Hammond

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Fred Hammond is a gospel singer,bass guitar player, and record producer. Hammond first gained recognition while playing bass guitar for the gospel group The Winans. By 1985 he was one of the six original members of the group Commissioned, participating in 10 of the group’s 12 albums. After his time with Commissioned ended, he regained fame in the gospel community after selling millions of albums with his musical group Radical For Christ. He is a multiple Grammy, Dove, and Stellar award winner as a performer, producer and writer. Continue reading

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10/4/14 O&A With WaleStylez: Pharrell Williams – Gust of Wind (Teaser)

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Fresh off delivering the Takashi Murakami-produced visual interpretation of ”It Girl” , Pharrell Williams took to his i am OTHER YouTube Channel to tease his latest music video for the Daft Punk-assisted “Gust of Wind.” The 30-second clip shows the polymath stumbling upon a Daft Punk rock formation in a wooded area, almost as if they’re ancient relics.

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10/3/14 O&A Shall We Dance Friday: Banda (excerpt)- Geoffrey Holder and Carmen de Lavallade

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Shall We Dance

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Geoffrey Holder’s Banda dance debuted in the 1954 Truman Capote/Harold Arlen musical House Of Flowers. Holder the Baron of The Cemetery (based on the Haitian Loa of Death Baron Samedi) and received both a performer and choreographer credit in the program. The Broadway musical takes place somewhere in the West Indies during Mardi Gras weekend. Continue reading