Portland Observer Thursday. April 20. 197ft
Wilson presents
Charley’s Aunt
Wilson High School drama department
will present Brandon Thomas' classic
comedy-farce. "Charley’s Aunt.“
“Charley's Aunt“ is the world famous
comedy farce which never fails to bring
the audience into roaring laughter. Its
hilarious situations hinge on the maneuv
ers created by the delayed arrival of the
famous aunt from Brasil.
' The production, under the direction of
Julie Accuardt, will be presented to the
public on May 11th, at 3:30 p.m., May
12th and 13th. at 8:00 p.m.. in the Wilson
High School Auditorium. 1151 S.W. Ver
mont Street. Portland. TkkeU available
at the door.
Vancouver
NAACP meets
Award» t erem oai t t the
kera H al «4 Fame" return» ta PBS Channel II.
nary, the 197b edition t i thia annan I salute la
<t Carter. franklin Mickey hwkand W die late
The Vancouver Branch of NAACP will
hold its April meeting at Pacific First
Federal Savings Community Room. 915
Broadway. Sunday. April 23rd at 4:00
p.m.
Vernon Stoner. Assistant City Man
ager of Vancouver, will speak on his
involvement in city government and the
future of Blacks in local government.
The public is invited to attend. Re
freshments will be served.
a Nina Mae M cKm nei ). artara Laaia C aaa et t . J r_ and
Petera, teievhuon personality Dan ( am eba» and
a/pianist Hazel Scott, a Hall at Fame inductee. (Ta be
i aa April 23rd. 1:00 p m
. Channel 10. 90 minute».)
Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Band schedules McMinnville concert
The Thad Jones Mel Lewis Band will
be presented in conceS by the McMinn
ville High School Bands.
The band that created their own
success in a musk world that had no room
for big bands, is the Thad Jones. Mel
Lewis Orchestra. Their formula was
simple..."the need to play music we liked
and admired "...From the start it was a
senous organization. not a fun thing.
On a steaming July night in Detroit in
1955 during a so-called "Battle of Bands",
a drummer with Stan Kenton and a
sademsr with Count Basie met and
communicated. It was right then and
there that the idea for Thad Jones Me!
Lewis Orchestra was born.
The drummer, was Mei Lewis who firs:
saw the iigh: ol day in Buffalo. New York
on May 10. 1929. Lewis has been playing
since grade school and became a profes
sional at the age of fifteen. He has since
sparked the rhythm sections of such
top-notch musical aggregations as those
of Bpvd Raeburn. Alvino Ray. Ray
Anthony. Tex Beneke and Stan Kenton,
and served with distinction as staff
musician in Hollywood doing work for
films, recordings, and television. He has
loured Europe with Benny Goodman, and
Dizzy Gillespie, and served a long stint
with Gerry Mulligan s big band where he
teamed with Thad Jones.
Thad Jones hails from Pontiac. Michi
gan. and was bora on May 28. 1922. An
old trumpet given to him by an uncle
started Thad blowing and be hasn't
stopped since. He starred nine years
with the great Count Basie Band on both
cornet and Oeugelborn, before joining
Gerry Mulligan. Working side by side
with Mei. Thad dedicated himself to
making their dream become a reality.
Thad is Mie of the most refreshing
arrangers today. He takes on the job of
arranger for the band and really does his
own beautiful thing. Since the bands'
inception. Thad has written many tunes,
going back to "Don't Get Sassy." "Mean
What You Sav.“ “Once Around." and
“Don't Ever Leave Me," to name a few.
Once stated in an interview. “I have
always been interested in the overall
sound rather than any one particular
sound. What I strive for is a uniformity
in sound, an overall personal thing. 1 try
to write for each individual and I think of
the musicians personally ...you have to
gear your writing to two different people,
and still retain your overall technical
sound." In this day of negatism, Thad is a
man who would rather accentuate the
positive.
Thad Jones Mei Lewis Orchestra are
now very much m existence. They have
their own distinctive sound. It is the
music of today, tomorrow and yesterday,
all grouped into one tidy package of big
band style. It is jazz at its finest. It is “in"
jazz with a special emphasis on sound and
feeling. Its membership consists of New
York's finest musicians, all of whom
strongly feel the need for an outlet.
The response to Thad Jones Mel Lewis
and "The Jazz Orchestra" is the talk of
the jazz world and the biggest thing to hit
in many seasons.
Their impeccable
musicianship, their unique sounds are
showcased here tor the very first time,
but certainly not for the last.
The concert will be held on Monday.
April 24th at 7:30 in the McMinnville
High School Gym. A jazz clinic will be
held at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are 52 for the
clinic, 54 for the concert, or 55 for both
For tickets write Mac High Bands.
McMinnville High School. McMinnville.
Oregon 97128 or call 472 8626 or 472 9665.
Entertainment Guide
At 26, Ben Vereen was Broad way's
newest and brightest star.
As the
leading player in "Pippin." he won that
year's Tony Award for Best Actor in a
Musical, and has been signed for more
stage plays, movies and recordings. A far
cry from a few years ago when he was
just another unknown chorus boy.
Vereen tells of itis initial interest in the
theatre and confides that he sang his first
sting at age four on a reverend's knee in a •
church in Brooklyn, New York “I loved
being a child, says Vereen. and 1 still love
being a child. I did all the things that
children do; and everyday I'd go with the
other kids down to the shoeshine parlor
and watch the two owners, who used to
be in vaudeville, perform their routine.
One Sunday when I was hanging out in
the streets, a lady asked me why I wasn’t
in church. She went to my mother and
the next thing I knew I was a member of her church. I sang my first solo song in front
of that audience, and she taught me how to stylize, told me what to do with my hands,
how to move my body and eyes. She made it more than just singing a song; it became
a show. And. she is the person who made a performer out of me. Once that inspiration
was planted m me. I just had to entertain."
Kicked out of school in seventh grade because his reading was only at the third
grade level. \ ereen was admitted to a special school He recalls, "I soon learned that if
you had something of your own something other than basketball or football the
little girls in school would go crazy for you - so I faked tapdancing. It not only worked
for the girls but the faculty as well!"
Recognizing his raw talent, his principal suggested he apply to Manhattan's
prestigious High School of Performing Aria. Once accepted Vereen admits that’s
where it all started. “That's when I found out that performing was a lot more than just
fooling around, he says. Il's a culture, and it is senous work."
In his senior year at Performing Aria. Ben met a Pentecostal Bishop's daughter and
married. He moved in with his in-laws and after graduation looked briefly tor show
business work. Having no success he then felt the "Lord's calling." became very
religion-conscious and enrolled in the Manhattan Theological Institute for a while.
Theology wasn't the answer, and neither was marriage. Vereen separated from both
and discovered Arthur Mitchell's Dance Company. After being with the company for
several years he won a job in "Sweet Chanty" and met producer Bob Fosse who
started grooming him tor stardom.
Ben admits he would rather be in a Black-oriented musical, but in “Pippin" he has
found vehicle ia which he has won recognition. Vereen says. "Keep in mind who you
are. but do what you must for your growth. When you've worked your way into a good
poaitkm you can do the things you've always dreamed of doing. But don’t stifle and
limit yourself. This is art
communication, and you’ve got to communicate to ail
people."
I
THE BLUE PENGUIN
Emporium
1
'G rand O pening Sale’
Afro Statu««
Dried Feather Plants
Vases Big and Small
o «m «ntu ho % «
Page 4
W a ll Plaques
Blues singer visits Reed
Fenton Robinson, blues singer and
guitarist, and his Chicago Blues band will
be in concert at Reed College. Saturday.
A pril 29th. at 9:00 p.m. The concert,
sponsored by Reed's Cultural Affairs
Board, will be in the Community Center,
with space for dancing.
Fenton's guitar playing and singing
extend the innovations of T B ooe Walker;
“T Bone was my idol of blues playing..Jt
was always a thing in my mind that
someday 1 would be good enough to play
his licks, and from that I built a style of
my own."
Mississippi born. Fenton Robinson has
N
ew
Offer Expires April 30th
11:00 to 7:00 Tue - Sat. Closed Sun.-Mon. 281-8489
lived and traveled throughout the South,
recording on a variety of Southern labels.
Before forming his own group, he played
in the bands of Otis Rush. Sonny Boy
Williamson and Junior Wells. Two of his
best known recordings are "Somebody
Loan Me a Dime" and "I Hear Some Blues
Downstairs." "Somebody Loan Me a
Dime" was later a national hit for Boz
Skaggs and Duane Allman.
1601 N.E. K illingsw orth
25% O ff W ith T h i. Coupon n
am
The fifth annual Oscar Micheaux Awards Ceremony of the
BLACK FILMMAKERS HALL OF FAME
Celebrate 50 Years
of Black Musical
Achievement
in Film .
Tickets are 53 and are available at
Bird's Suite. Django's, Music Millenium.
Park Avenue Records, and the Reed
Coliege Office at Campus Events.
at
The S a n f r a n c i a
Theatre 1532 S.W .
►upe presenta “Hotel I niverae“ at the Portland Dance
April Zlat. 22nd. and 23rd at 2:00 and 8:00 p.m.
MIRACLE HAIR WEAV-IN Eads Short,
Thin Or Bolding Hoir Problems Forever
Bill Robinson dances King Cole
croons. Ella entrances Hazel Scott
trills Join us this week as som e of
the great Black musical artists,
past and present entertain
us all And celebrate the
installation of this year s
nominees in the Black
Filmmakers Hall ol Fame
, Watch for this PBS telecast.
J h e week of Apr. 22
Check your TV listing lor lim e date and channel
This program made possible by
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