I
PiMff 8
P o rtam i Observer
Thursday. March ». 1978
'Mixed Company’: Local group shows fashions
Formed in September of 197«. Mixed
Company ia a troupe of fifteen profes
sional models. Mixed Company derives
its name from its members, who repre
sent different races and creeds. Earh
brings varying degrees of experience...
ranging from modeling for other agencies
to free lancing in the area of television,
radio and newspaper and magazine lay
out.
Founder and Director Gene Holmes is a
world wide professional entertainer. In
addition to being a choreographer, dan
cer. actor, singer and local disc jockey
(K B O O F M ). he has done several T V
specials. T V pilot films, and television
and magazine commercials.
Born and
raised in Seattle. Holmes holds a Bache
tors degree in Music and Dance and a
Master degree in Psychology from the
University of Southern California. He
also studied at the Julliard School of
Music in New York and has received
several honorary degrees.
Under Holmes' direction. Mixed Com
pany is also backed up by a modeling
instructor, secretary treasurer, public
relations department, make up deyart-
ment a second group of models currently
being trained at on going weekly classes.
For those who missed the first show in
December, well. Gene Holmes will pre
sent "Mixed Company modeling troupe"
Part 2 at the Paramount Heathman H tr
tel. Friday. March 10th at 8:00 p.m.
Tickets will be »3.50 advance and »4.00 nt
the door. A disco styled dance will follow
Call 281 «176
, Inc. will a;«;«
E ntertainm ent Guide
ies j Director 1, I
Wooley, and 1
« b t| Nedra Pa
S T A N L E Y T U R R E N T IN E - S P E C T R U M IN B I T E
“West Side Highway" is Stanley T u r
rentme's seventh album for Fantasy
Records, and like his previous LP "Night
wings,” it was arranged and conducted by
Claus Ogerman. Turrentine's full-bodied,
robust tenor sound is featured in a purely
instrumental setting - an unbeatable
combination.
Stand-out cuts on the
album include a new recording of "Su
gar," a song Turrentine almost owns, and
a powerful version of the jaxz classic
"W alkin'," which has been released as a
single.
Some of the musicians on “West Side
Highway" are well-known leaders in their
own right - Eric Gale, Cornell Depuree,
Ron Carter, and Hubert Laws, to name
but a few.
T v e received some criticism for using background vocalists on earlier albums, but
that's not why I chose to omit them this time. It was purely a musical decision. After
all. if you're working with a genius like Claus Ogerman, why bother with adding
singers? Besides, 1 believe that anyone who dug “Pieces of Dreams" will also enjoy my
last couple of albums. They're different, but they’re both me."
Stanley Turrentine, as one of the more prominent "crossover" success stones of the
Seventies, has paid his share of dues. "But 1 don't like that concept of paying dues,
because it implies great suffering. To me, paying your dues is that period of time
when you're learning your craft - becoming a professional. Sure. I've had a lot of bad
times, but then who hasn't? A musician probably doesn't suffer any more than a guy
on the line in Detroit!"
So success has not spoiled Stanley Turrentine. His way of blowing a saxophone has
not changed that much through the years, although the specific types of music he
chooses to play have, of course, developed steadily. He can play a Stevie Wonder tune
as easily as the jazz classic “W alkin' ” (included on “West Side Highway"), but there’s
one thing the listener always knows: Turrentine plays from his soul.
Turrentine signed with Fantasy in 1974 and his first LP. “Pieces of Dreams."
became his all-time best-seller.
Alvin Aflcv
‘ Night Creatures
•nee Theatre - Sarita Allea, Ulyaaes Deve, Donna W ood in
hy Alvin Afley, Music by Dnke Ellington [Photo: Mario Roixj
Alvin Ailey dance troupe returns
The much-awaited return of the Alvin
Ailey American Dance Theatre to the
stage of the Portland Civic Auditorium is
scheduled for Thursday. Friday and
Saturday. March 9 th -llth , with all per
formances slated for an 8:15 p.m. curtain.
The company comes to Portland under
the auspices of Celebrity Attractions in
cooperation with Lewis and Clark Col
lege. The project is sponsored by a grant
from the National Endowment for the
Arts, the Western States Arts Founda
tie r and the Oregon A rts Commission.
This company of exciting young dan
cers has electrified audiences and stun
t ie d critics into superlatives since its
birth in New York City in 1956 Alvin
Ailey has presented a unique form of
dance, combining modern, jazz and classi
cal, reflecting the American heritage,
both Black and white. The music is jar?
symphonic, blues, spirituals. The dancing
by the multiracial group is ecstatic,
dramatic and vital. The whole experience
is total dance theatre.
The Ailey Company comprises 25 su
perb dancers - ballet trained, most of
them. W ith them. Ailey has achieved a
synthesis of ballet, modern dance and
contemporary jazz rhythms into a'style
which is brilliantly dynamic and exuber
ant.
Tickets for the Alvin Ailey American
Dance Theatre, priced at »9.00, »7.50 and
»€.00. are on sale now at Celebrity
Attractions. 1010 S.W. Morrison. P o rt
land. OR. 97205.
1® I* 1« summer 1977, "Nightwings" was released - one of Stanley’s most acclaimed
albums, and his first collaboration with Claus Ogerman. The haunting title track was
penned by the arranger especially for Turrentine.
The real resurgence in jazz during the mid Seventies has made it possible for artists
like Stanley Turrentine to have a larger impact on the listening audience. “It's very
interesting to watch where music is going Stanley muses, "and it’s reassuring to
know that somebody out there is listening."
i High School March 10th lor Al.dia Ka.i.ta Al,dia
Theatre group presents history
“Voices, Inc ", the only professional
year around Black Musical Theatre in the
United States, will present "Journey Into
Blackness" Friday Evening at Jefferson
High School.
Zeta Sigma Omega Chapter of Alpha
Kapa Alpha is sponsoring the event as a
benefit for its scholarship fund.
“Journey Into Blackness" is a musical
theatre production tracing highlights and
achievements in Black History. Group
singing, choreographed movement, solo
work and brief dramatic sequences are
molded into a two hour theatre piece that
enlightens and entertains. The acts are
entitled: African Sequence showing A fri
can heritage and captivity. Slavery Se
quence: Emancipation. Migration. Blues
and Jazz, the Religious Experience.
Voice, Inc. has a long list of credits
including a 1964 Peabody Award and a
Thomas A. Edison Foundation Citation, a
performance at President Lyndon B.
Johnson's 1964 Birthday Party, repre
sented the US at the Spring Festival of
International Association in Paris in 196«,
featured in the off Broadway hit “The
Believers" which ran nearly a year, one of
five groups selected by the National
Endowment for the A rts for the “Child
ren's Theatre Fair." cited in 1976 by the
National Endowment for the Arts as one
of the tw enty "exemplary" education-
via-the-arts organizations in the US. The
group has toured schools and universities
extensively.
A K A is the oldest sorority for Black
women, formed in 1908 at Howard U ni
versity. I t is made up of college and
professional women, dedicated to service
to the community.
Local officers are: Basileus. Mary Hen
demon; A nti Basileus. Geraldine Ham
mond: Grammateua. Pat Dobbins: Anti
Grammateus. Florice W alker: Tameou
chos, Rita Bell: Parlimentarian, Olive
Manning. Ivy Leaf Reporter. Maerice
Smith) Hodegoa. Roberta Vann.
The committee for Voices. Inc. is Betty
Gilliam. Chairman: M argaret Carter;
M artha Jordan: Rita Bell; Maerice Smith:
Florice W alker: Deborah Berry.
"AU Kinds of Action" wiU serve as
usherettes.
The performance will be presented at
Jefferson High School at 8:00 p.m. A
limited number of tickets will be available
at the door.
OLIVIA on WH
A TRAVELING FESTIVAL
OF WOMEN'S MUSIC ft POETRY
F E A T IR IN G L IN D A T IL L E R Y A N D P A T P A R K E R
Sunday MARCH 12,8 pm
1410 S. W. Morrtaon. Portland
»5.00 adutta; $2.50 under 16
Childcare at 2707 S.E. Clinton from 7PM
Tickets
Available at:
A Woman's Place Bookstore. Long Hair Music, Mountain Moving Cafe,
the Upper (Music Millenium) 3156 E Burnside, House of Sound 3606
M. WUHams. Everybody's Records 9517 S.W. Canyon, Beaverton
C elebrity A ttractions Presents
ALVIN
AILEY
AMERICAN DANCETHEATER
Thurs., Fri., Sat.
March 9-10-11
Civic
*
Auditorium
PROGRAM
T h u rs d a y, M a r c h 9
N igh t C reature,
The Time B efore the Time A fte r
(A fte r the Tim e Before),
B u tte rfly , Suite O tis
Friday, M arth 10
The Lark Ascending, Cry,
R ainbow R ound M y Shoulder,
R evelations
Saturday, March 11
Gazelle, Icarus, Suite O tis,
\
R evelations
Tickets $9.00, $7.50, $6.00, Boxes $10.00
on sale at C e le b rity A ttra c tio n s , 1010 S.W. M o rris o n ,
226-4371, M e ie r & Frank, D o w n to w n & S tatew ide; Stevens
& Son, A u d ito riu m M ail O rd e rs enclose a self-addressed
stam ped e n v e lo p e and 25* fo r h an dling
Presented in <o o p e 'a h o n w ith Lewis & Clark C ollege, This prenet t is sponsored bv 4 grant
i r d c the S t A the W estern States Arts Foun da tio n and the O re g o n Arts C om m ission
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