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Page 6—The Portland Observer—October 24, 1990
Portland Observer
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ENTERTAINMENT
DIRECTOR CHARLES BURNETT TO
PREMIERE NEW WORK AT FILM CENTER
M IL IR A
For a 19-year-old girl to launch her
singing career on the same stage graced
by such legendary singers as Ella Fitz
gerald, Sarah Vaughn and Billie Holiday
is practically a dream, yet, that is exactly
what happened to Milira Jones.
Milira started singing in church at
an early age and by the time she was 11
she was doing studio sessions as a backup
singer for various Gospel groups. It wasn’t
until she won the famous “ Amateur Night
At The Apollo” talent competition though,
that she became convinced that she had
a unique talent. It gave me a lot of
courage as a singer,’ ’ Milira says, of her
winning the Harlem talent competition
in the summer of ’88. Now, Milira steps
into the limelight that has been cast over
so many graduates of the renowned Apollo.
The Manhattan-born songstress was
raised in Queens, NY and comes from a
musical family. Her mother and aunt
were backup singers for Jackie Wilson
as members of the Wilsonettes. They
saw the potential Milira had and encour
aged her to do something with it. Her
aunt told one of her co-workers that he
just had to listen to her niece. Milira
went to sing for him and he got so excited
that he took her to a producer he knew-
Donald Dee Bowden-who turned out to
be just as excited. ‘‘She’s’ able to go
where a lot of artists can’t go,” says
Bowden.
Bowden signed her to a production
deal and began work immediately on
material for an album. Her album con
tains a wide range of flavors, from the
debut single, ‘‘Mercy, Mercy,” a strong
up-beat ballad to ‘‘Till You Come Back
To Me,’ ’ her Jazz-flavored cover of Aretha
Franklin’s ’70s hit. A powerfuljnid-tempo
song entitled ‘‘Waiting Here For You”
features saxophonist Najee. Milira’s ver
satility also includes songwriting. She
penned two of the tunes on the LP, in
cluding the Caribbean-flavored “ That
Man In My Life,” and a moving Gospel
piece, “ That Four-Letter Word.”
Milira is off to a good start. From the
famed stage of the Apollo to the legen
dary Motown label, Milira seems des
tined to follow the path of the great
ladies of song.
Body and Soul Combines Unique Sounds
EVERY GIRL'S DREAM - Miss America 1991 Marjorie Judith Vincent
meets some new friends during a visit to Walt Disney World Resort, one
of her first appearances as Miss America. At the Disney-MGM Studios
theme Park, where she was “Star Today " Sept. 13-15, Miss America
mingled with theme park guests, including (l-r): Lacey Powell of Coconut
Creek Fla.; Stacy Hall of Jamaica, West Indies; and Jamee Lee Powell
of Coconut Creek, Fla. She also participated in theme park ceremonies
and “O & A " conversations with park guests and enjoyed the shows and
attractions.(Copyright 1990 THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY)
“ genius grant” of $275,000. However,
for fifteen years prior to that, Burnett
was writing and directing low-budget,
independent feature films including
SEVERAL FRIENDS (1969), THE
HORSE (1973) KILLER OF SHEEP
(1977) and MY BROTHER’S WED
DING (1984). Burnett has been praised
by critics not only for his perceptive
portrayal of black culture, but for his
universally moving depictions of the
human experience. KILLER OF SHEEP
won the Critics Prize at the Berlin Inter
national Film Festival in 1981 and first
prize at the U.S. Film Festival in Park
City that same year. Burnett is also the
recipient of a Guggenheim Foundation
Fellowship (1981), a National Endow
ment for the Arts grant (1985) and the
Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship
(1988).
The Oregon Art Institute’s North
west Film & Video Center welcomes
director Charles Burnett to premiere his
new film, TO SLEEP WITH ANGER,
Saturday, October 27 at 8:00 pm as part
of its NEW BLACK CINEMA series.
TO SLEEP WITH ANGER is a captivat
ing drama that follows a South Central
Los Angeles family which finds itself
tom apart by seeds of mistrust and al
ienation when a mysterious and seduc
tive stranger (played by Danny Glover)
comes to visit. The film will screen in the
Art Institute’s Berg Swann Auditorium,
1219 S.W. Park Avenue. Admission is
$4.50 general; $3.50 OAI members,
seniors and children.
Writer/director Charles Burnett came
to public notice in 1988 after being
awarded the prestigious MacArthur
Foundation Fellowship, the so-called
STERNWHEELER
COLUMBIA GORGE
HENRY WEINHARD
DANCE CRUISES
Call them blue-eyed soul.
Imagine the sound of Huey Lewis and
Aretha Franklin together. Piece together
three horns; trumpet, saxophone and
trombone, add electric bass, drums, lead
guitar, keyboards and four incredible
vocalists. Bring in the influences of
jazz, pop, big band, funk, gospel, and
rock. Mix it together, turn the music on
high and hear them boil over with a
^ound that can only be described as
JJody and Soul! A sophisticated mix of
¿motown and original dance music that
fwill capture the hearts of a discerning
^generation.
This ten-piece musical exuava-
•ganza has appeared on national televi
s i o n including the Today Show and Pat
£ Sajak. They have performed with Gary
•; Puckett, Three Dog Night, and The
{ Kingsmen during the Crestwood Fcsti-
jv a l in Crestwood Illinois. Body and
5>Soul also performed with the Four Tops,
zThe Temptations and Etta James,
j
It began as just another good
idea of leader Mark Bosnian. Mark is
known for his good ideas and believing
that achieving your dream is what life is
all about. Mark believed that a 10-piece
band could work, with just the right
players and the right attitude. After
weeks of auditions, Mark found his play
ers. Now they work as a team with each
member having an equal say. It is their
mutual respect and admiration for each
other that contributes to how well they
cooperated and work together. Under
standing that ‘‘the whole is greater than
the sum of its parts” , each member
brings a special and unique contribution
to Body and Soul. Because of this, they
have achieved the ideal definition of a
true band. The proof is in the music.
Their sound is pure, genuine, live, clean,
exciting, and tight. They return to tradi
tion by avoiding the trendy gizmos and
gadgets of today’s electronic toys. You’ll
hear no drum machines or sequencers,
just the straight-ahead sound of 10 tal
ented musicians coming together to form
one Body and Soul.
October-Novem ber Schedule
Oct. 28
Blues Cruise featuring
Curtis Salgado and the
Stilettos
Nov. 4
Rock and Roll Cruise featuring
Johnny Limbo and the Lugnuts
Nov. 11 Blues Cruise featuring
Lloyd Jones/Jim Mesi Band
Nov. 18 Country Western Cruise
featuring McKenzie River
Band
Nov. 22 Thanksgiving Gospel Cruise
featuring Curtis Salgado and
the Stilettos
Contact: Doug Fish (503) 221-0244
Mike Higgins (503) 223-3928
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November 1-24,1990
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---------------------------- K ------------------------------------------------ —
•IAM»)
•
For him to share the spotlight with show
man of the caliber of a Sammy Davis, Jr.
and Cab Calaway, Ella Fitzgerald is a su
prem e
h o n o r,”
says
C harles
Huggins president of Hush Productions.
The Walk O f'
Fame not only cele
brates black histori
cal figures, but will
also acknowledges
young black indi
viduals who are cur
rently making con
tributions to the
comm un ity-Freddie
Jackson. The inau
guration ceremony
took place on Octo
ber 2nd, in front of
the Apollo theater
j where the walk
J l begins and brought
H out some of the big-
gest names in the
black community,
including Bobby
Humphrey and Pierre Sutton.
Freddie Jackson also will present a
check for $500.00 to Mother Hale at
Hale House, the first charity chosen to
receive a donation from the Harlem Walk
Of Fame.
KBOO Plans
Halloween Festivities
O R IG IN A L
or M ILD
WHOLESALE & RETAIL
HUNDREDS OF WIGS
z
Young superstar recording artist
Freddie Jackson-a Harlem native-was
the first inductee into the Harlem Walk
O f Fame.
The
Harlem
Walk Of Fame bares
the foot imprints of
great leaders in black
culture and history
who have made im
portant contributions
to the black commu
nity and paved the way
for the youth of today
and tomorrow. The or
ganizational commit
tee for the Walk in
cludes such commu
nity leaders as Bill
Tatum, publisher of
The
Am sterdam
News, radio legend
Hal jackson, actor
C harles W arfield,
Lloyd Williams, presi
dent of the Uptown
Ch;amber of Commerce, and Percy Sut
ton, president of Inner City Broadcast
ing.
‘‘This is the first of many names to
pave the sidewalk at 125th Street and we
are happy and proud that Freddie has
been chosen for his role model status.
KBOO 90.7FM will hold its
9th annual Boo Ball, Saturday, October
27th, 9:00pm-2:00am at the Union Train
Station. The Boo Ball has become Port
land’s largest Halloween Masquerade
Party with over 1300 people dressed in
the most creative and outrageous cos
tumes dancing the night away.
MOVIE STARS,
EGGPLANT LIVE
IN STORE
MRS C’S WIGS
(A
FREDDIE JACKSON NUMBER ONE
IN THE HARLEM WALK OF FAME
a • I . M
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Music Millennium is pleased to
announce a live in store featuring two of
California’s most promising independ
ent bands. Playing at 5pm will be Dr.
Dream records recording artists Egg
plant. A four piece band from Hunington
Beach, California, Eggplant’s latest re
lease “ Sad Astrology” was produced by
Russ Tolman (formerly of the band True
West). Their sound is a self described
combination of “ rocking guitars...(and
an) interest in the dangerously stupid.”
The band features Jeff Beals (guitar),
Jon Mclkerson (guitar), John Kelly (bass),
and Dave Tabone (drums). Following
Eggplant’s set will be the San Francisco
based band The Movie Stars. The Movie
Stars mix a number of influences (coun
try, pop, neo-folk, surf, tex-mex) into a
spirited good-time sound that at times
has been compared to such diverse acts
as The Swimming Pool Q ’s, X, Scruffy
the Cat, and even Portland’s won Crazy
8’s. Their 1989 debut album “ Heck-
Ola!” (on the bands won Lucky Pierre
Label) received very favorable reviews
and their new album “ Head On A Plat
ter” should be released by the time the
band reaches the Northwest. The Movie
Stars feature Jull Olson (Vocals, bass),
Brad Williams (Accordion/madolin),
Michael Montallo (Guitar), Damon Gadon
(drums) and Steve Cornell (Multi-in
struments).
k
K&y LAR
31 NW FIRST
223 9919
October
Wed. 24
LIP TO LIP
Thors. 25
BIG HOUSE
I ri. 26
QUARTERFLASH
Sat. 27
DUB SQUAD
Sun. 28
ANNUAL
PORTLAND
BLUES I ES I
(MUSIC STARTS
AT 5 PM)
Mon. 29
T.B.A.
Tues. 30
T.B.A.