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LE NEWSLETTER
July 5, 2007
Hope your holiday weekend was as good as
mine!
Harbourfront Centre offers hot festivals
this summer - World Rhythms - this weekend is Beats, Breaks & Culture - tour the history of electronic
music, starting with its roots in soul, funk and jazz; listen in on the
present, then continue to the future, where electronic music intermingles and
meshes with contemporary global sounds.
::HOT EVENTS::
Harbourfront
Centre Announces The Anticipated Return Of World Routes 2007 - June 4 To
September 3, 2007
Source: Harbourfront Centre
Harbourfront Centre is pleased to announce the dates for
the 2007
Summer Festival season, as well as the
dates for the festivals collectively known as World Routes 2007 presented by
RBC. From June through September, Harbourfront Centre will be presenting top
Canadian and International artists comprising all creative disciplines
including music, dance, theatre, visual arts, readings and film each weekend.
Visitors will also enjoy our 10-acre site once again for enriching family
activities at multiple waterfront venues. All Summer Festivals are FREE
admission.
Visitors to Harbourfront Centre can also experience the
rich cultural diversity of each weekend's theme while enjoying rotating
shopping and food selections at the International Marketplace and The World
Café nestled alongside an expanded boardwalk.
World Rhythms
FRIDAY JULY 13 TO SUNDAY, JULY 15
Harbourfront Centre unites the four corners of the globe together
with the musical showcase of World Rhythms. Instruments and icons from
around the world will be on hand to demonstrate and display how music is the
universal language; also features food, dance and visual arts from around the
world. Sound is the source of this festival as the major regions of the
world showcase their rhythms in this global musical mix. Instruments from the
farthest reaches of the world, icons of the world music community, and a
captivating demo of how percussive movement has charmed the world over - this
festival leaves no stone unturned.
·
Futuristic funk mash-up with Sa-Ra Creative Partners
Sampled by everyone from Public Enemy to Mos Def, it's the Toronto debut of
Motown guitar God Dennis Coffey
- Local musician
and world instrument craftsman Nuno Christo demos the
Mbira, the Berimbau, the Sintar, and the Cavaquinho
- The "slow
food movement" takes canapés to a new level with Chefs
Caroline Ishii and Gregg Lewis of Zen Kitchen
- Cross-culturally
influenced klezmer with Beyond the Pale presented by
The
body plays percussion in the Global Rhythms of the Feet
showcase featuring Little Pear Collective and Turn
on the Tap
**Harbourfront
Press Release:
World Rhythms – A
Showcase of Global Sounds and Culture
Friday, July 13 through Sunday, July
15 – ONLY at Harbourfront Centre
(complete event schedule included
below)
TORONTO, June 26, 2007 –
Harbourfront Centre travelled the four corners of
the earth to assemble the incredible line up for World Rhythms. This festival escorts visitors on a journey
around the world to bring together globally diverse art, food
and culture, an undertaking only Harbourfront Centre could bring to
fruition.
With icons of the world music
community, traditional and contemporary dance
performances, exquisite global culinary demonstrations, awe-inspiring films and visual art displays, as
well as plenty of activities for the kids, Harbourfront Centre’s
World Rhythms is a gateway to an enriched cultural experience, from
Friday, July 13 through Sunday, July 15.
World Rhythms is part of
Harbourfront Centre’s summer long series of festivals,
World Routes 2007 presented by RBC. Each weekend from June through September, top Canadian and
International artists perform in all of
the creative disciplines including music, dance, theatre, visual arts, readings and film. Harbourfront Centre’s
unparalleled 10-acre waterfront site is prized for its
fun and educational family activities at multiple
venues, as well as the ethnic diversity of the International Marketplace and World Café. These rotating shops
and cafés are nestled along an expanded boardwalk, and
enable visitors to explore and access each weekend's
cultural theme through the purchase of unique items and food. All World Routes 2007 summer festivals are FREE
admission.
Featured music performances include
the incomparable Sa-Ra Creative Partners, the Toronto debut of
Motown guitar legend Dennis Coffey, the highly
acclaimed Mamani Keita & Nicolas Repac, and the exciting Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca. The Canadian Premiere
of the documentary Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté - The
Hotel Mandé Sessions is only one of many very
special film screenings.
Stunning dance troupe Ballet en
Fuego from New Mexico make their Canadian Debut while the body plays
percussion in the special dance performance East Meets West
featuring Little Pear Garden Collective and Turn on the Tap. Local musician and world instrument
craftsman Nuno Christo will display his unique collection
of instruments from around the world and
appetites for global cuisine will be satisfied with special Cooking Demonstrations courtesy of local chefs such as
Caroline Ishii, Gregg Lewis and Jim Comishen.
For more information on all World
Rhythms events the public can call 416-973-4000 or visit
www.harbourfrontcentre.com
World Rhythms at Harbourfront Centre
– All events are FREE
Friday,
July 13
Music:
8:00
p.m. – The Arsenals – Toronto’s underground Ska legends (Concert Stage)
9:00
p.m. – Soul Influence – soulful a cappella quartet (Toronto Star Stage)
9:30
p.m. – Mamani Keita & Nicolas Repac – Malian songstress and French
electronic wizard (Concert Stage)
11:00
p.m. – Pat Braden – Yellowknife based singer/songwriter (Brigantine Room)
Dance:
7:30
p.m. – Hollywood & Tazz (Toronto Star Stage)
Film:
8:30
p.m. – As Old as My Tongue: The Myth and Life of Bi Kidude – Canadian
Premiere! (Studio Theatre)
Saturday,
July 14
Music:
2:00
p.m. – Fiamma Fumana – Northern Italy’s finest (Concert Stage)
3:30
p.m. – Justin Nozuka – Rising Japanese/Canadian soul star! (Concert
Stage)
7:00
p.m. – Beyond the Pale – Toronto’s genre-defying specialists, presented by
Tilley (Toronto Star Stage)
8:00
p.m. – Dennis Coffey – Motown and jazz guitar legend – Toronto Solo
Debut! (Concert Stage)
9:30
p.m. – Sa-Ra Creative Partners – witness “The Future of Music” – Canadian
Debut! (Concert Stage)
11:00
p.m. – Peace…What It Is! – Sa Ra Creative Partners After Party with DJ
Dave Campbell (Brigantine Room)
Dance:
1:30
p.m. - Mosaic Dance (Toronto Star Stage)
3:00
p.m. – East Meets West – Little Pear Garden Collective and Turn on the
Tap (Toronto Star Stage)
5:00
p.m. – Tarana Dance Academy (Toronto Star Stage)
5:30
p.m. – Ballet En Fuego – New Mexico’s finest dance troupe – Canadian
Debut! (Toronto Star Stage)
Film:
2:00
p.m. – Mariza and the Story of Fado (Studio Theatre)
7:30
p.m. – The World Talks: The San People of Namibia (Studio Theatre)
9:00
p.m. – Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté - The Hotel Mandé Sessions -
Canadian Debut! (Studio Theatre)
Food:
1:30
p.m. – Chef Jim Comishen – “Jambalaya” Cooking Class (Lakeside Terrace)
3:30
p.m. – Chefs Caroline Ishii & Gregg Lewis of ZenKitchen – Food Demo
(Lakeside Terrace)
Family
Activities:
1:00
p.m. – Children’s Craft Rainstick (Kids Zone Tent)
Talks/Workshops:
3:30
p.m. – World Music Instrument Talk with local collector Nuno Christo
(Studio Theatre)
Sunday,
July 15
Music:
3:00
p.m. – Pacha Massive – Colombian rhythms via New York City - part of the
Pepsi Concert Series (Concert Stage)
4:30
p.m. – Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca – Legendary Congolese Rumba
(Concert Stage)
Dance:
1:00
p.m. – Bold Steps Dance Studio – Highland Scottish step dance (Toronto
Star Stage)
2:30
p.m. – Ballet En Fuego (Toronto Star Stage)
4:00
p.m. – The Road – Emily Cheung and Rina Singha (Toronto Star Stage)
Film:
2:00
p.m. – HerSong “La Colombiana” - WORLD PREMIERE! (Studio Theatre)
4:00
p.m. – Breaking the Silence – Music in Afghanistan (Studio Theatre)
5:30
p.m. – The Cult of Walt: Canada’s Polka King (Studio Theatre)
Family
Activities:
1:00
p.m. – Children’s Craft Rainstick (Kids Zone Tent)
Food:
2:00
p.m. – Chef La-Toya Fagon – Food Class “Sweet and Spicy Caribbean
Style
Chicken with Vegetables” (Lakeside Terrace)
4:00
p.m. – Tamales Demo with John Martin of Johny Banana (Lakeside Terrace)
::TOP STORIES::
Fest
Finishes On High Note
Excerpt
from www.thestar.com
- Pop & Jazz Critic
(July 02, 2007) Slow start, big finish was
the order of the 21st TD
Canada Trust Jazz Festival. The
10-day event, which usually attracts about 600,000, got off to a bumpy start
with under-capacity attendance for early acts such as Holly Cole and Jean-Luc
Ponty at the Nathan Phillips mainstage tent, but saw boisterous, maximum
audiences during the second half, ending with blues guitarist Derek Trucks and
gospel maven Mavis Staples this weekend. "I blame myself," said
executive producer Pat Taylor of jazz-fusion ensemble Manteca's failure to
launch the event with an opening night sell-out for their first performance in
nine years. "We've been working on bringing the average age of (attendees)
down and in doing that we may have not marketed effectively to the Manteca
crowd." But even pianist Keith Jarrett didn't sell out the 2,100-seat Four
Seasons Centre. "A lot of people who are not dyed-in-the-wool jazz fans
come out for the festival; maybe there are more ways to spend available
dollars," mused Taylor. The clubs, however, were consistently busy: the
Cabaret Series will need a bigger venue next year after packing the 150-seat
Savoy nightly. Dozens were turned away from Fathead Newman's stint at The Pilot
and about 400 people caught Mike Stern's sets at Live@Courthouse.
A few final notes:
BIGGEST DIVA: No, not Mavis Staples, or the singer who wanted the noisy air
conditioner at city hall turned off. Between the "I want to use this
piano, no that one, um ... lemme try that first one again"; ensuring that
the bench was exactly 18 1/2 inches from the keyboard; a ban on media
photographers; refusing to stay at the same hotel as other musicians and
sending out to Sleep Country for a $2,000 mattress because his didn't make the
flight and the one at the Four Season Hotel just wouldn't do: it's Keith
Jarrett. Who, to be fair, once battled chronic fatigue syndrome and did deliver
the festival's top performance.
NEAR MISS: For his last song at Live@Courthouse Don Byron called for singer
Dean Bowman to return to the mic. No response. "This is an usual
situation," said the saxist/clarinettist.
Concluding with an instrumental, the band left the stage, only to return
moments later with Bowman, who confessed to falling asleep in the green room.
"Jet lag," muttered the vocalist, who had flown in from New York that
afternoon. Whatever. At least the people who'd stuck around for the two
underwhelming sets finally got to hear "Shotgun."
JUST PLAIN NICE: Derek Trucks comparing notes with photographer Bob Anderson on
the digital Leica. Chris Botti greeting each autograph seeker with:
"What's your name? How do you spell it? Where are you from? Thank
you."
And Nikki Yanofsky, 13, requesting coloured markers and paper to beautify her
dressing room sign.
Elizabeth Shepherd's Successful Jazz
Career Has Been Built Through Surprising Leaps
Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com -
Robert Everett-Green
(June 28, 2007) Many musicians have recurring dreams in which they're
late for the show and they've lost their instrument, or they don't know the
music, or the audience is waiting and they have no idea what they're supposed to
play. Elizabeth Shepherd knows the feelings associated with those
nightmares very well, because almost every key event in her short career as a
jazz musician has thrown her into a waking version of one of those
what-am-I-doing-here situations. She had never played a note of jazz when she
decided, almost overnight, to switch from classical to jazz piano at McGill
University's faculty of music. For her audition, she played three jazz numbers
she had written out note by note, not fully realizing that you're supposed to
improvise the solos. "It was the antithesis of jazz, right?" she
said, "And they're like, 'Sounds great.' And I show up for my first
lesson, and they ask me to play a 2-5 progression [a simple feat of keyboard
harmony that classical players are seldom asked to perform]. I couldn't play.
It was horrible," not just then, but through all the months it took her to
relearn an instrument she thought she knew how to play. Flash-forward three
years, to when Shepherd is looking for work in Toronto as a jazz pianist who
has become very comfortable with 2-5 progressions and much else. She plays for
a restaurant owner, who seems impressed and wants to know if she can also sing.
The simple answer is yes, because she sang in choirs for years, but she has no
experience singing jazz, much less to her own accompaniment. She gets the gig
anyway, then races home to do a quick study of 30 jazz songs for a four-hour
set at the St. Tropez restaurant the very next night.
"It was like background music, but I was sick with worry," she said.
She got through it somehow, and her night of fear became a two-year steady gig,
a paid tutorial three or four nights a week in the art of singing and playing
jazz. Her trio, with which she made a Juno-nominated recording last year (Start
To Move, on Toronto's Do Right! Music label), also came together at the
gig, after Shepherd landed a month-long residency at the Rex Hotel for a group
that didn't really exist. She had jammed with a bass player whose playing she
found sympathetic (Scott Kemp) and she asked him to recommend a drummer (Colin
Kingsmore). The three of them played together for the first time on the
residency's opening night. She has done everything the hard way, in short, and
maybe that's the way it had to be. Becoming a professional musician of any kind
was bound to involve a difficult leap, because nearly all of Shepherd's early
music experiences were part of her family's deep immersion in the Salvation
Army. Both her parents are Army officers; she herself was a soldier in the
organization till she was 17 and played cornet and tenor horn in Sally Ann
bands. Music, in that environment, was a means of stimulating the faith and
glorifying God, and nothing else. "Growing up with music being so closely
related to notions of religious faith, I think there's a residual, latent sense
that I should be doing something to help people, some higher calling, and that
music may be self-indulgent on some level," she said. "I don't really
believe that, but I still wrestle with it."
Dance rhythms were not part of the Sally Ann musical experience, which makes it
doubly interesting to find Latin rhythms romping through so many of Shepherd's
funky, post-bebop songs. She attributes those beats mainly to five years spent
working as a waitress in Montreal, in a place that played samba every night. In
a way, moving to unfamiliar places in music came naturally to Shepherd, because
her parents' ministry kept the family changing location every three or four
years. She went to eight different schools in cities across Canada and in
France, where the family relocated when she was 10. The semi-nomadic lifestyle,
and the overwhelming focus on church activities, made for a close-knit family
but a nebulous sense of home. "It was a very charged household," she
said. "The Salvation Army is kind of all-encompassing. It demands a lot of
time, time that was maybe deflected away from family life. For as long as my
brother and I were involved in Salvation Army activities, we would have that
sort of family life, but otherwise ..." her voice trailed off. She has no
real sense of where home is; circumstances, more than choice, brought her
family together again in Toronto, after her brother suffered a major injury in
a car crash four years ago. At the age of 30, she's a loner who has lots of
acquaintances and few close friends, and dreams that seem hard to reconcile. In
one, she's having a great career as a jet-setting, independent jazz musician.
In the other, she's living on a farm with a husband, kids and a garden.
The first dream seems to be coming along nicely. Start To Move was well
received here and abroad; in Britain, the album came in at No. 3 on one BBC
list of the best jazz records of 2006. Besides, a terrific new album of
remixes and B-sides (also on Do Right! Music), is bound to get Shepherd noticed
outside the jazz world. Never mind that most of the remixers left her inventive
piano playing out of their tracks. It was her voice they responded to, with
good reason: Shepherd's vocal style feels focused and casual at once - cool,
smart and sexy. She has a flair for delivering lyrics at high speed, sounding
at times like a jazz musician responding on her own terms to the frenetic pace
of rap. The link with hip-hop becomes visible in Duane Crichton's playful video
version of Four, Shepherd's performance of a Miles Davis tune that
becomes the motor behind a quick-cutting sequence of street-dance moves by
London's JazzCotech dancers. (You can see it at
dorightmusic.com/elizabeth.htm). Like her fave jazz pianist, Herbie Hancock,
Shepherd is open to collaborations with people from other parts of the scene,
as long as it feels right. That was her guide when she left classical music, in
which everything was too scripted for comfort, and the Salvation Army, where
faith sometimes seemed to get in the way of trying to understand the world.
"There's a tendency in the church to gloss over everything that has to do
with harsh reality, and to put a high priority on happiness and joy, at the
expense of investigating what might be actually going on," she said.
"When you're playing in a bar setting, you often see people at their most
dreary. And I kind of like that, because it's real. I look at it, and I think,
'I've felt that way.' And if I'm helping, great, but I don't see it as my role to
alleviate anyone's pain. ... The most important thing I can do is to be
honest." The Elizabeth Shepherd Trio plays the Supermarket in Toronto
tomorrow and the Montreal Jazz Festival on July 8.
The
Final CutEntertainment Columnist
(June 30, 2007) It was like a trip to
Mecca, or some other holy shrine, recalls Larry LeBlanc, music publisher,
longtime
Canadian editor of the American music industry magazine Billboard and
the custodian of perhaps the largest private music library in Canada. "If
you loved music, and you were a serious record collector, Sam the Record Man was the only game in town from the time
it opened in 1961 'til ... well, 'til now." 'Til today, that is. Sam
the Record Man's Yonge St. flagship store, for decades the centre of an empire
that spread across the nation from east to west and boasted as many as 150 regional
stores in its retail empire, closes for good this afternoon. It's the end of
the record retail business in Canada as we have known it, the end of an era.
Toronto will never be the same. Internet retailing, computer file sharing, a
collapsing music industry infrastructure, the effects of the globalization of
culture, mass acceptance of portable, disc-free music-listening technology, a
radical shift in musical tastes have all made Sam the Record Man – even the
signature hometown store that survived the chain-killing bankruptcy a couple of
years ago – a relic of the past.
Sales of CDs and music DVDs in Canada in the first quarter of this year fell by
an unprecedented 35 per cent – to $68.7 million from $105.6 million in the same
period in 2006 – the most drastic decline in "physical" music sales
of any country in the world, according to figures released in April by the
Canadian Record Industry Association. Unit sales for the same period were down
30 per cent, to 7.1 million from 10.2 million in 2006. Sales of CDs and
music DVDs in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2007 have fallen by about 20
per cent. Music industry sources point out these declines have been largely
responsible for the closure of thousands of music retail outlets in both
countries and for trimming inventory to a relative handful of top-selling
artists. For Toronto musicians and music lovers for whom Sam the Record Man's
three-storey building was the centre of the universe – with its garish
"revolving" neon LPs overlooking the action on Yonge St. and
beckoning the faithful, its overloaded bins, creaking stairs, burrow-like
aisles, its hidden nooks and crannies, walls covered with posters and
autographed photos of music legends, the dumb waiter bearing ancient or lost
treasures from the basement, the third-floor trove of discounted deletes known
as the Room Of Broken Dreams, the racks of foreign-language recordings, opera
and folk music that no one else carried, the overworked but reassuringly
professorial staff – the world will be an emptier place after today. The twin
discs – quintessential Toronto iconography that appears in countless images of
the downtown core – will stay on the building. It was designated a heritage
property last week, and its preservation will pay tribute to the Toronto that
used to be. "If you were from outside Toronto, Sam's was magic,"
Leblanc continues. "Sam's had Sam."
That would be founder and lifelong Canadian music booster Sam Sniderman, who on
any given day for more than 40 years could be found just inside the door
checking the comings and goings of his customers and staff, making sure you got
what you came for and who would take things into his own hands if you didn't.
"I swear, he knew every item in the building, and where it was,"
LeBlanc says. "And if he couldn't find a particular record, he'd make sure
to get it for you, usually in a matter of days." Sure, Eaton's and
Simpson's carried the latest 45s back when LeBlanc ventured in from
Peterborough in his teens with his paper route cash in hand – "39 cents
for a 45-rpm single, $3.98 for an LP" – on a Saturday morning. And
A&A's, Sam's archrival, was just a few doors north selling records and –
yuck! – books. But if you wanted real music, not just the hits, not
the records your parents would buy, but the music that came over your radio
late at night from Detroit and Chicago and New York, or poured through the
doors of nearby rock 'n' roll, R&B and folk joints, Sam's was the only
destination. "You'd go with your buddies," LeBlanc explains. "There
was always a queue at the counter. We'd never seen so many records in our
lives, and Sam always met you at the door, like P. T. Barnum pitching a show.
He was proud to be a retailer. He used to say, `Anyone can sell you a record,
but it takes a salesman to sell you two.' “And a lot of what Sniderman sold was
music made by local artists who had no major label deals. The first time Gordon
Lightfoot's music reached the record-buying public was when his Two-Tones
singles on the independent Chateau label appeared at Sam the Record Man on
consignment. "The same with Raffi's first album, before he became a
children's entertainer," continues LeBlanc. "If you were a Canadian
artist with records to sell, Sam's was the first place to stop. He'd take your
stuff, front-rack it, put up a sign, point it out to customers. He'd put band
gig posters in the front window or on the wall near the cash registers. He knew
all of Canada's music stars before anyone else. He was a friend to musicians.
They loved him.
"On a Saturday afternoon during matinee breaks, Sam's was where the
musicians playing in the local bars went to stack up on the latest records. It
was a gathering place. It felt like home to them." Veteran Toronto
guitarist and songwriter Danny Marks remembers those days well. "Sam's was
my store," he says. "I could walk there. I could find just about
anything I wanted. They sold my records. They made me feel as if my music
mattered. Like Sam Shopsy, Ed Mirvish and Bargain Benny, Sam Sniderman was one
of those eccentric and inventive Jewish entrepreneurs who gave Toronto its
character. He was a real hands-on guy. You don't see that any more." Sam
the Record Man was where Canadian blues legend Donnie "Mr. Downchild"
Walsh remembers buying The Coasters' Greatest Hits in his teenage years. "You
couldn't get it anywhere else. Sam had all the music I listened to, stuff that
was way off the beaten path, in every category. He put Downchild's first album,
Bootleg, in his window, and a pile right inside the front door. If you
heard bands anywhere on the Yonge St. strip, you could walk down to Sam's and
buy their music." It was where Arkansas rocker Ronnie Hawkins and The
Hawks – later The Band – bought the elemental R&B, blues and rockabilly
records that inspired their raw and vital style. "If it wasn't in
stock, Sam would order it for you," says Hawkins, who first met Sniderman
in 1958, when his store was a "hole-in-the-wall," a radio shop.
"Robbie Robertson learned a lot of licks from the records we found
at Sam's. It's a shame that it's gone ... it was a huge part of what made
Toronto interesting."
The Art of Giving Back with Christopher
Cathcart
Source: The Robertson Treatment, www.eurweb.com
(July 3, 2007) *I began working with Christopher Cathcart
in the late 80’s when he use to pitch me coverage opportunities on the many
projects and personalities he represented as a leading entertainment
publicist. As I grew to know him better what always struck me was his
strong sense of self and dedication to a set of principals, values and beliefs
that are very similar to my own. Another thing that’s impressed me
about this Howard grad and New Jersey native is the way in which he’s grown his
career—evolving from entertainment to corporate publicist; developing into a
popular college lecturer and his dedication as a community
activist. I often tease Chris about being an “All American Black
Man” but the truth of the matter is he really does set an example that more
black men need to follow. Currently promoting is first book, “The Lost Art of Giving Back: A Helpful
Guide to Making a Difference,” this
brutha is doing what he does best – DOING SOMETHING to make a difference. It
gives me great pleasure to share this platform with Chris as he discusses what
motivated him to write this book. Enjoy!
Robertson Treatment: Why did you write this book?
Chris Cathcart: The idea for the book had been haunting me for
a longtime. After years of volunteering myself in one way or another, I
wanted to help encourage other folk to get involved. So, I figured I’d
simply take all the things I’ve been telling my friends and family for years
about how they can get started and put that in some organized, framework, and
that provided the basis for the book. I wanted to make a concrete contribution
in the effort to get folk active.
RT: How does philanthropy benefit Black America?
CC: It’s hard to answer that question with any one specific example, simply
because it helps on so many fronts and in so many ways. We often lament,
and justifiably so, about the many ills that still beset our
community. Whether it’s challenges in education, healthcare, employment
opportunities, or other basic quality of life issues, we all know our community
still carries a disproportionate amount of the national burden.
By giving back, by engaging ourselves individually on some level, not only do
we bring much needed energy and insight to the many issues we face, we also
underscore our sense of shared responsibility in addressing the adverse
conditions affecting our community, and our
world for that matter. It is a fact that we are responsible for each other, and
for the condition of our community.
RT: Why aren't more Black Americans engaged in philanthropy?
CC: Again, there are any host of reasons a social scientist could give to best
answer that question, but I have a few theories. Chief among them is we
have allowed our values to get skewed. Like most folk in the larger
society, we have bought into the concept of “me” first, “me” last, and “me”
always – we are paralyzed “me-ism.”
The fact remains that most of the rights and benefits we enjoy as a community
came by way of shared sacrifice and common struggle. While it was easier
to see the collective problem when we were dealing with legal segregation and
other forms of overt racism, the realities of today offer more than enough
reasons to help each other – as in more mentors and tutors for our youth,
greater support for our non-profits, increased fundraising efforts, etc.
The trick, in this day and age, is to understand that you can successfully
pursue and enjoy all your individual aspirations AND participate in
philanthropic, community enhancing efforts as well, they are not mutually
exclusive concepts. In fact, they are complementary in most cases.
RT: Most people associate philanthropy only with the rich and famous. Has
that connection intimidated most blacks from getting involved?
CC: I believe it’s preventing many people from getting involved, Black and
otherwise. People have a tendency to think giving back is the domain of
the rich and famous, a function reserved for the Bill Gates and Oprah Winfreys
of the world (and God love them for what they do). But we can’t fall prey
to the convenient excuse of waiting to be billionaires; we have to understand
that our time and energy are as valuable and as needed as any financial
resource. In fact, that’s one of the key points made in the book – that
everyone, regardless of their education or income, has something of value to
offer, and, through that, everyone can be special.
RT: In what ways can Black Americans become involved in philanthropic
pursuits?
CC: The simplest approach is to merely get started, and to get started by doing
something you like or are interested in already. Try working with an
existing youth program at church, or an intern program at the job, or even via
a hobby or other personal interest (think HIV/AIDS, illiteracy, homelessness,
breast cancer, etc.). Using familiar or passionate launching points makes
it easier to both get started and stay active once there.
Also, the needs in our communities’ schools are so great, that a simple visit
to a nearby guidance counsellor’s office will most likely present a wide range
of possibilities. The most important thing is to get going in a way
that’s convenient, and then build from there.
RT: In addition to your book, what other resources are available for blacks
looking to become involved in philanthropy?
CC: I didn’t realize how many books and manuals there were on volunteering
until I wrote one, so there’s no shortage of resource guides out there, for all
categories. Also, many of our local and
national organizations have programs, as well as our religious institutions,
and public health programs. Indeed, the need for volunteerism is so vast,
that one can find a resource at nearly every turn and in every category.
The key is for the individual to take the initial step and make the commitment
to get involved, after that, the pieces will fall into place.
Music,
Dance Mark Diana's Birthday
Excerpt
from www.thestar.com
- Associated Press
(July 02, 2007) LONDON–Waving their arms in
the air with 70,000 fans at London's
Wembley Stadium, princes William
and Harry celebrated the life of their mother, Diana, on what would have been the Princess of Wales' 46th
birthday. William, 25, rocked his hips as Canadian pop star Nelly Furtado belted out her song "Maneater"
– to the embarrassment of younger brother Harry, who shook his head and
laughed. The concert was organized by the princes. "This evening is about
all that my mother loved in life: her music, her dance, her charities, and her
family and friends," William told the crowd, thanking them and millions
more who watched the show on television. Diana died Aug. 31, 1997, along
with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed and their driver when their Mercedes crashed in
Paris. Security for the concert was increased after the discovery of two
unexploded car bombs in central London on Friday and an attack on Glasgow
airport on Saturday. At least 450 officers patrolled the event.
The concert mixed rock, pop, hip hop and classical ballet, and featured
some of Diana's favourite acts, including Duran Duran and Tom Jones. In honour
of her love of dance and theatre, there was a performance of an extract from Swan
Lake by the English National Ballet and songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Among the 24 performances were songs by Rod Stewart, Kanye West, Joss Stone,
Lily Allen and Sean "Diddy" Combs, who performed an emotive rendition
of "Missing You" – a cover of The Police's 1983 "Every Breath
You Take." The crowd cheered as Elton John opened the show, playing the
piano and singing "Your Song." Ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair
was among those who recorded a video greeting. His message was booed as he
appeared onscreen, but the crowd cheered when he paid tribute to William and
Harry – the second and third in line to the British throne, respectively.
"I know their mother would be very proud of them," Blair said.
William's former girlfriend Kate Middleton attended the concert, further
fuelling rumours that the couple, who announced their split in April, have
reconciled. Tickets for the concert cost $95 (Canadian) with proceeds going to causes
Diana supported. A memorial service is planned in London Aug. 31, the
anniversary of Diana's death.
::MUSIC NEWS::
Sam Roberts, K'Naan Among Canadians
Performing Overseas For Canada Day
Source: By Cassandra Szklarski, Canadian Press
(June 28, 2007) TORONTO (CP) - Shaggy-haired singer Sam Roberts,
rapper K'naan and country rocker Johnny Reid are among the Canadian
musicians set to mark Canada Day in London this weekend, joining thousands of
expats expected to gather at a bash in Trafalgar Square on Friday. The
Canuck contingent takes over one of London's most familiar landmarks with a
free evening show that will cap off a day of Maple Leaf fun - including First
Nations dancing and drumming, a street hockey tournament, full-dress Mounties
and a specially brewed Canada Day beer. It's believed to be the largest
Canada Day party outside of the country, with roughly 30,000 people turning out
for last year's inaugural bash, says Nim Singh of the Canadian Tourism
Commission. The strong ties between Canada and Britain make the London
party a natural fit, and Trafalgar Square an especially suited venue since it's
home to the Canadian High Commission. "The square has always been
synonymous for a lot of people with Canada anyway," Singh says from
London. This year, the commission has stocked the celebrations with a
slate of burgeoning talent eager to break big in Britain.
"We're just hoping we can surprise them with a new, fresh face,"
Singh says of the British music market. "They know that Canada is
synonymous with good music but we hope that we just can present a vibrant,
youthful, fresh face of Canada and move away from some of the more stereotypical
views that some may have." The Scottish-born Reid said he was
looking forward to honouring his adopted homeland, where he launched his music
career and started a family. "I was born and raised in Glasgow, came
to Canada when I was 17," Reid says in his lilting brogue. "So
the chance to come back here and celebrate Canada Day, a country that's given
me nothing but opportunity and allowed me to live out my dreams ... is a wee
bit ironic but most enjoyable at the same time." Reid says he came
from a family of tradesmen and most likely would have followed in the footsteps
of his father and uncles had he stayed in Scotland. In Canada, a bursary
allowed him to study music and business in Quebec and government funds helped
him build a music career. "(Canada has) a lot of government-funded
arts programs that has allowed me to travel the world and play music, which has
allowed me to record records, which has allowed me tour support," says
Reid. Other Canada Day events set for London include a riverboat cruise
on the Thames, and pub parties in Covent Garden. But come July 1, the
biggest show in town will be the Concert for Diana. Canadian superstar Nelly
Furtado is set to represent the Maple Leaf at the star-studded fundraiser at
Wembley Stadium. Canadian music will also be the focus this weekend in
New York, where the Canadian Consulate General puts on its annual showcase of
the best new artists.
Brooklyn's Prospect Park will feature Montreal acts the Stills, Sam Roberts and
Malajube for an outdoor show Saturday that typically draws 10,000 fans, says
consulate spokesman Jeff Breithaupt. On Sunday, veteran singer Carole
Pope of Rough Trade joins established local acts in a tribute to Canadian
songwriters at Joe's Pub in Greenwich Village. It will be followed by another
showcase featuring Serena Ryder, Peter Elkas and Wil and broadcast by Sirius
Canada satellite radio. Last Saturday, the consulate brought Canadian
acts Sloan, Apostle of Hustle and the Duhks to Central Park for a free outdoor
show held annually for the last nine years.
Chantal Accuses Avril Of Crossing
'Ethical Line'
Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com -
Geoff Nixon
(July 4, 2007) Two of Canada's most well-known
chanteuses, Chantal Kreviazuk and Avril Lavigne, share the same orbit in the Canadian music scene.
Both are signed to Sony BMG Music, both have management through Vancouver's
Nettwerk Music Group and the two have even collaborated from time to time. But
now an apparent rift has emerged between the two, with Kreviazuk taking aim at
Lavigne and her work in a recent interview in an American music magazine. In
the June, 2007, issue of Performing Songwriter, Kreviazuk pokes fun at
the notion that Lavigne is a songwriter and suggests that the pop singer from
Napanee, Ont., may have lifted a song title from Kreviazuk's own work. "I
mean, Avril, a songwriter?" Kreviazuk is quoted as saying. "Avril
doesn't really sit and write songs by herself or anything." Kreviazuk goes
on to say in the interview that she sent Lavigne a song called Contagious
two years ago and that Lavigne then included a song by the same name on her
most recent album, The Best Damn Thing. "Avril will also cross the
ethical line, and no one says anything," Kreviazuk said in the interview.
"That's why I'll never work with her again. I sent her a song two years
ago called Contagious and I just saw the track listing to this album and
there's a song called Contagious on it - and my name's not on it. What
do you do with that?" In a response to a question from the interviewer,
however, she said she would not seek legal action. Lavigne's
Toronto-based entertainment lawyer, Chris Taylor, said yesterday that he had no
comment on the remarks made by Kreviazuk. Both Sony BMG and Nettwerk were
similarly mum about the tiff between the two stars. Evan Taubenfeld, who
collaborated with Lavigne on four songs included on The Best Damn Thing
and who is the singer for the L.A.-based band Black List Club, said the Contagious
that made Lavigne's record was one that did not involve Kreviazuk. "I
honestly can't speak as to the song that Chantal is claiming to have sent or
not have sent," Taubenfeld said. "The only thing I can say is that
Avril and I wrote a song called Contagious for my record. We started it
from scratch. We wrote it at her house and we wrote a 100-per-cent original
collaboration that only her and I were part of, and that we came up with the
concept for it on the spot. I was going to use it for my record, and then at
the last second she used it on her record."
As for the relationship between Lavigne and Kreviazuk, Taubenfeld said he could
offer no explanation as to what led to the dispute between the two musicians.
"Av is probably my closest friend in the world and I think she's always
treated Chantal fairly and with great amounts of respect and dignity," he
said. "I'm not sure what happened. I know they had a great relationship
for the last record and they wrote some really good songs together. But I'm not
really sure, exactly, what happened on this record." He reiterated,
"I can say that Contagious was 100 per cent between [Avril] and I.
Chantal had nothing to do with it." Rick Taylor, managing editor of Performing
Songwriter, said Kreviazuk's comments simply came out in a regular
conversation between the singer and freelance writer Bob Cannon. Cannon said he
felt the controversy between the two stemmed more from the fact that Kreviazuk
was not mentioned as an influence on Lavigne's song. "I think Chantal,
without saying so, ... was a little bit hurt by that," he said, adding
that feuds over credit are common in the music industry. Neither Lavigne nor
Kreviazuk could be reached by The Globe and Mail yesterday for comment.
At 64, Sly Stone Prepares To Cut A New
Album
Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com -
Associated Press
(July 4, 2007) Los Angeles — After 25 years, Sly Stone
speaks. The famously reclusive funkster
broke his silence by granting his first interview since the eighties to Vanity
Fair. In the magazine's August issue, the front man of the late-sixties band
Sly and the Family Stone talks about his music, his disappearance from public
view and his long-awaited return. Stone, 64, who made a brief, blond Mohawked
appearance at the 2006 Grammys, says he plans to start work on a new album in
the fall. But after more than two decades away from the spotlight, why come
back now? " 'Cause it's kind of boring at home sometimes," he says.
"I got a lot of songs I want to record and put out, so I'm gonna try 'em
out on the road. That's the way it's always worked the best: Let's try it out
and see how the people feel."
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Rasheeda Wants To Know: What Kind Of
Gurl Are You?
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com -
July 2, 2007) NEW YORK, NY -- Rasheeda, the Georgia Peach from Atlanta
has just launched a contest to discover the next generation of female MCs with
her latest on line contest. As an example of exactly what type of
girl Rasheeda is, she has created a contest where fans can log on to her My
Space page and record their own versions of her latest single "Type Of
Girl" to get the opportunity to make a studio recording with a certified
rap star. Rasheeda, who’s new album Dat Type of Gurl on D-Lo/Imperial
Records dropped June 19, has created an innovative new contest to help create a
new niche for female MCs that want to legitimately get into the rap
game. Via her MySpace Page, http://www.myspace.com/RasheedaGaPeach,
Rasheeda has created a contest for her fans to log on and submit an original
verse (16 bars) to win an official Rasheeda prize pack. The prize pack
includes a poster, a personal phone call from Rasheeda and the opportunity to
record their verse with Rasheeda! Currently, Rasheeda’s MySpace page has some
impressive numbers, 97,000 friends, 2.2 million views of her MySpace page, and
over 192,000 plays of her new video “My Bubblegum” on MySpace. The theme
of the freestyle is “What type of girl are you?” and as excited fans leave
rhymes and entries the competition continues to produce glimpses of emerging
talent.
Rasheeda, the famous female MC hailing from Atlanta , Georgia has been cranking
out hits since the early 90s. As a teenager while her friends were
transitioning from Barbie dolls to make-up, Rasheeda was busy writing rhymes
and perfecting her craft as an MC. Rasheeda has always ruled as the Queen
of Crunk but she has also established herself as one of the sexiest women in
hip hop. Her latest album Dat Type of Gurl includes her new single, “My
Bubblegum” and it is quickly climbing up the charts. Rasheeda started out as a
member of the teenage hip hop trio Da Kaperz. when she decided to launch her
solo career she was snatched up by Motown Records and she released her solo,
debut album Dirty South in 2001. The album contained the dirty south
anthem, “Do It (Do Da Damn Thang)” with Pastor Troy. Her follow up was
2002’s A Ghetto Dream released on the Atlanta based D-Lo Entertainment
label. That album featured collaborations with the superstars of crunk,
Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz and secured Rasheeda’s place as one of most
talented rap artist in the game. Georgia Peach, was her third successful
album containing the critically acclaimed singles, “Vibrate” featuring Petey
Pablo and “Rocked Away” with Lil Scrappy. Her latest endeavour Dat Type
of Gurl has guest appearances from southern favourites, Baby, Jazze Pha and
Fabo of D4L. Rasheeda has grown as an artist, person and young woman and
she can’t wait to let the world know everything that she has been going through
with her latest hip hop masterpiece. Rasheeda has also remained with D-Lo
Entertainment and Dat Type of Gurl will be released through that entertainment
entity. Imperial Music will provide marketing, publicity, on-line and
radio promotions for the project. Rasheeda says, “I’m extremely excited
about D-Lo Entertainment and Imperial teaming up on my project. I finally
feel like, together, we will be able to fill the void with what’s been
missing.” Her new album is the next chapter in Rasheeda’s exciting career
as a rap artist. “I feel really good about my new project and confident
with who I am and what I have accomplished over the last couple of
years.” There is still time to enter the contest and for more information
on Rasheeda log on to http://www.myspace.com/RasheedaGaPeach or
contact Zenobia Simmons, zenobia.simmons@imperialrecords.com,
212-786-8496.
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The UK Corner: Ring Ring - It's London
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
July 2, 2007) London Calling made its second appearance in London
on June 28-29 at Earls Court exhibition centre. The two-day music
industry conference focused on the future of the business and featured 400
international exhibitors from over 40 countries including the USA, dozens of
seminars, and international speakers such as Chief Executive Officer of Warner
Music International Patrick Vien who delivered a keynote address. He
discussed how the company is restructuring to tap into new business areas and
why such a move is essential for labels to operate successfully in the 21st
Century. The line up also included David Bowie music producer Tony Visconti and
the top music industry bodies’ leaders The International Federation of the Phonographic
Industry (IFPI) Chairman John Kennedy and Worldwide Independent Network (WIN)
President, Alison Wenham who considered Modelling The New Music Economy. Tony
Visconti has helped shape music over four decades and recently published his
critically-acclaimed autobiography Bowie, Bolan and the Brooklyn Boy charting
his early days as a performer, relocation to England as a producer in the late
60s, and development of his pivotal artistic relationships from Bowie and Bolan
through to Morrissey’s 2006 Ringleader of the Tormentors.
Other leading speakers at London Calling included Umut Ozaydinli, Coca-Cola’s
Music Marketing Manager, Afdhel Aziz, Nokia Europe’s Music & Entertainment
Manager, Gerard Grech, Strategy & Business Development Director at Orange /
France Telecom, Prefueled founder Christian Marstrander, Royalty Share Chairman
& CEO Bob Kohn, and Rob Wetstone, eMusic VP. Organisations such as the
Association of Independent Music (Aim), Informal Mobile Podcasting and Learning
Adaptation (IMPALA), and the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) were
represented. There was expert one-to-one business advice, and the line-up of
issues included:
• New technologies and innovation - examining how the
next generation of technologies affected the way the music industry does
business;
• Brands & Bands - where advertising gurus, brand
owners and experts looked at how they embrace music and how the music industry
can benefit; and
• Music Business 2.0 - looking at the new entrants and
new opportunities arriving from all directions.
There were also showcases, gigs, parties and networking events held throughout
the last week in June. Among the artists participating at London Calling
was UK soul star Nate James. Nate performed in the main ballroom on opening
night. At the 2005 MOBO awards he was nominated for best newcomer and best RNB
artist and at the 2006 MOBOs he was nominated for best UK artist. His manager
Anthony Hamer-Hodges also gave a talk at the event. According to David Conway,
a partner at London Calling, "London Calling was the one event this summer
where delegates could hear, see, touch and experience the future of music
business. It was the meeting place for labels, managers, distributors,
forward-thinking brands, service providers, and technology companies from all
over the world who are determining the shape of the new music economy.” London
Calling 2008 takes place at Earls Court on 19 & 20 June. For more
info, visit: www.londoncalling2007.com The UK Corner
covers the UK/British soul/urban music scene and is written by Fiona McKinson.
She is a freelance journalist and creative writer based in London. Contact her
at info@thetalentshow.co.uk.
Garifuna
Songs Inspire With Words, Rhythm
Excerpt
from www.thestar.com
- Staff Reporter
(July 02, 2007) Andy Palacio expects to be stopped at customs. Since
the release of his chart-topping album Wátina four months ago, he has put his country on the map
with world music fans, but most immigration officers have yet to hear of it.
"They look at my passport for 10 minutes," says the singer.
"They say ... `Where is this country?' "I can understand the ordinary
person not being very familiar with it, but it is completely unacceptable for
an immigration officer not to know that there is a place called Belize." Palacio
is the current buzz of the world music industry, touring Europe and North
America with a seven-piece band called the Garifuna Collective, and set to play
Harbourfront Centre this afternoon. He comes from the small Central American
country directly south of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, and from a culture even
most Caribbean islanders have never heard of. He is Garifuna, a minority people
scattered mostly in Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. They trace their beginnings
to 1635, when two large Spanish ships carrying West African slaves sank off
what is now St. Vincent. Half the Africans survived, intermingled with
indigenous Caribs and moved to the mainland coast, where pockets of them still
retain a distinct musical and linguistic culture.
It is to those traditions that Palacio, 46, has dedicated himself. In 1988, he
formed a dance band playing Garifuna rhythms. In 1995, he grew more
serious. With Belizean producer Ivan Duran, he began to explore Garifuna's
music roots, delving into themes of pain, beauty and survival. "Oh
God, please change my life this year," he sings in the Garifuna language
on the title song of the hit CD. "I ask you to change my life, but please
do not take it away." Wátina hit No. 1 on the European world music
chart this month, and won the 2007 Womex Award, the annual prize of the
Berlin-based world music industry association.
Reluctant Travelling Jazz Man
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- Greg Quill, Entertainment Columnist
(June 29, 2007) Derek Trucks never went to jazz school. The offspring
of dedicated Southern country rockers – his uncle, Butch Trucks, was a founding
member of the Allman Brothers Band, and his father was a diehard fan and a
fully fledged Fillmore veteran at the age of 16 – the 27-year-old guitar
virtuoso's fate was sealed from the time he picked up his first instrument, a
$5 basher, at a yard sale when he was 9. "It was the music I grew up
with," Trucks said recently in a phone interview on a tour that brings him
and his band to the TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival tomorrow night (8
p.m. at Nathan Phillips Square, tickets $30 at ticketmaster.ca). A
17-year touring veteran, Trucks is used to juggling the schedules of his own
band, The Allmans, and last year as the featured guitarist on Eric Clapton's
world tour. When Clapton called to invite him to join his touring band, Trucks
didn't answer. "It was an international call on my cellphone and I didn't
recognize the number. He tracked me down a few days later."
The Clapton experience was educational and musically rewarding, he added,
"after you get used to the role changes, and to changes in
circumstances." "I'm used to travelling around in the back of a
15-seat van with a bunch of guys, driving hundreds of miles for a gig or on a
bus with the Allmans. With Eric you fly everywhere first class. But the rest is
the same: the same bullshit comes up at every level." Jazz, even the rootsy
blues/folk/world music blend in which the Derek Trucks Band specializes on the
album Songlines, was never on his musical horizon, even though it's a
natural extension for a musician singled out years ago for his superior
improvisational skills. He was named one of Rolling Stone's 100
great guitarists of all time and a new guitar god in the magazine's 2007 list
of contemporary rock deities. "All those accolades are a bit silly,"
Trucks chuckled. "You do what you do, regardless of whether magazine
writers like it. I'm confident in what I do. I don't believe in hype. After 17
years and 300 shows a year, you have to believe there's a purpose.
"I never studied to be a jazz player. I've learned from the guys in my
band and from others I've been lucky enough to record or perform with: McCoy
Tyner, Jack DeJohnette, Wynton Marsalis." Not that he calls what he does
with his band jazz. "We pull in blues and R&B, country and folk,
some rock 'n' roll, and try to incorporate it all seamlessly. We're getting
pretty good at it now." And he works hard at keeping close to his own
family, flying his wife, award-winning blues guitarist Susan Tedeschi,
2-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son to as many band gigs as their schedules
allow. "It's not a normal situation, but if you're focused, it can be done
... you can have a family and a life in music. We find creative ways to make it
work. We make it up as we go."
Simplicity Of A Trio Is Ultimate Test
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- Ashante Infantry, Pop & Jazz Critic
(June 29, 2007) Joshua Redman has performed in Toronto many
times, but tonight's Jazz Festival appearance, his fifth, is unique. It's
the first time the California tenor saxist, accompanied by bassist Reuben
Rogers and drummer Antonio Sanchez, will lead an acoustic trio here. "It's
not something I felt ready to do until now," said the 38-year-old in a
recent phone interview about the format of his new record Back East and
the supporting tour. "The simplicity of the (trio) context makes it
more challenging and complex for us as players and musicians to really make a
strong statement and to give the music life, and to have it make sense, and
keep it interesting and have it varied. "A lot of modern jazz really is
defined by harmony and when you don't have a harmonic instrument, like a piano
or a guitar, there's so much more responsibility that falls upon all the other
musicians. "It's hard as a sax player. I'm not sure I'm ready, but
I'm more ready than I've ever been." Since graduating from Harvard in
1991, turning down Yale Law School and winning the Thelonious Monk
International Jazz Saxophone Competition that same year, the son of legendary
saxman Dewey Redman has developed into one of the most talented horn players of
his generation, whether showcasing acoustic swing-based jazz, or electric
grooves.
His 10th studio album finds him giving a direct nod to a sax titan to whom he's
oft compared: upending the title of a celebrated 1957 Sonny Rollins recording
and including songs Rollins did on that album, his first trio outing.
"I was working on my own originals and I kind of rediscovered a track from
Sonny Rollins's Way Out West when it came on, shuffling randomly through
my iTunes," Redman explained. "I had this inspiration
immediately to do these arrangements of songs (`I'm An Old Cowhand', `Wagon
Wheels') that he had done on that record. "From there I thought `Maybe
I can take on music that's not just my own.' ... "So, this wh
