T he P ortland O bserver • F ebruary 09, 1994
• V/Ó
P age B3
ENTERTAINMENT
Blues Greats B.B. King, Ruth Brown Introduce “ The Blues Story”
m r convinced
o n v i n r p d t that
h a t t the
h e future
fu tu re
“I a am
m usic of this country must be founded
on w hat are c a lle d N egro
melodies...There is nothing in the
whole range of composition that can
not find a thematic source there.”
Antonin Dvorak Czech composer,
“Symphony in E Minor, From The
New World” (December, 1893).
Blues greats b.B. King and Ruth
Brown w arm ed up a corner o f
Manhattan’s bitterly cold business
district with arecent impromptu “con
cert” that introduced the radio docu
mentary series, “the Blues Story: Tri
umph Of An American Music Form .”
Scheduled to air on 480 radio
stations nationw ide, “The B lues
Story,” a series of six one half hour
audio tapes, was produced by radio
America and underwritten by Philip
Morris Companies Inc., to commemo
rate ‘Black History Month, February,
1994.
The series was introduced to the
public during a reception for more
than a hundred supporters who braved
New York City’s Arctic winds to
reach the Sculpture Court, Whitney
Museum, a the Manhattan offices of
Philip Morris ‘companies Inc.
The spacious atrium then rocked
fora time as B.B. King sangout,“But,
if it’s no tasking too much, please
send me someone to love....” Ruth
Brown later thrilled the crowd with:
“You’re the best thing that ever hap
pened to me.”
The host for the evening, George
L. Knox II, Vice President, Public
Affairs, Philip Morris Companies
Inc., told the guests: “To many of us
the blues are about more than music-
-they are about the triumphs of Afri
can Americans, the human stories
that are sad and harsh, and at the
same time, sweet and joyous.
Ruth Brown, B.B. King centered behind portrait
Knox said earlier: “Philip Morris
is pleased to help develop educational
projects and give all people a deeper
understanding of the contributions of
African Americans to the mosaic of
our country.”
The radio documentary series,
which will be given, without cost to
schools and other not for profit orga-
nizations, explores the birth and evo
lution of the blues. Placing the music
in an historical context, it features
entertaining and informative inter
views with such legendary blues mu
sicians as B.B. King, Buddy Guy and
Junior Wells, as well as successful
modern-day blues artists like Robert
Cray.
Noted blues scholars help trace
the blues’ journey from the Mississippi
Delta to urban ‘American cities and
to England, where the Rolling Stones,
the Beatles and the Animals adapted
the form and helped popularize it
among whites.
The series producers note that at
its birth, the blues reflected the social
isolation and adverse circumstances
of its creators; but the blues also of
fered encouragement to be strong and
to overcome obstacles. Thorough its
music and poetry the blues expressed
life’s struggles and celebrations, tra
vails and victories. It expresses sad
ness and joy. The message of the blues
today is the same and its resonance is
felt around the world.
As an en d u rin g A m erican
m usic art form , the blues co n tin
ues to inspire m usicians and fans
w orldw ide.1 A nd--as the late jazz
trum peter M iles Davis noted in
his c la ssic c o m p o sitio n , “ All
B lues”— the blues still lies a the
heart o f much good m usic, its
influence extending beyond the
narrow confines o f its genre.
O thers heard in the rad io s e
rie s are: H enry L o u is G a te s,
C hairm an, D epartm ent o f A fri
can-A m erican studies, H arvard
U niversity; Jude Peiser, D irector,
C en ter for Southern F o lk lo re;
Am iri B araka, poet and author,
“ Blues P eople”; Pete Seeger, m u
sician; John Hope Franklin, James
B. Duke Professor of history, Duke
U niversity; Jim O ’Neal, form er
editor, Living blues M agazine;
Sid Greaves, Director, Delta Blues
M useum ; Sam uel C harters, au
thor, “The C ountry B lues” and
P eter G uralnick, author, “ :The
Blues: Searching for R obert John-
_ son.
__ »»
Philip Morris Companies Inc.
has underwritten radio America’s
series of Black History Month docu
mentaries every year since 1989 and
each production has won a prize for
excellence.
The programs, in chronological
order, were: “Afro-Americans and
the Evolution of a Living Constitu
tio n ” (1989); “Equal R ights in
America: Desegregation Under Law”
(1990); “Contributions: African-
Americans and the American Mo
saic” (1991); “Mr. Justice Thurgood
Marshall and the Struggle to End
Legal Segregatoin ” (1992) and “Black
Achievers: Prescriptions for Progress”
(1993)
Tears Of Jog Theatre
Take a journey to east Africa and
the American Southland when Tears
of Joy Theatre presents Brer Rabbit
Tales. Brer Rabbit stories in the United
States evolved from African tales
about the antics of along-eared fellow
named Sungura the Hare. Tears of
Joy Theatre’s production includes sto
ries from both continents.
Tears o f Joy Theatre is produc
ing Brer Rabbit Tales as a collabora
tion with African-American story
teller Nyewusi Askari. Askari is an
expert on african-American culture
and a multi-talented performer. In his
creative endeavors, Askari delves into
the role a n plays in educating people,
He uses traditions from Afro-Ameri
can culture, teaching people about
those traditions to help them find
their own ability tocreate art. Askari
will be live, on stage with Tears of
Joy Theatre’s puppets recounting the
outrageous rabbit tales and playing
drums and harmonica.
L au g h as th e re s o u rc e f u l
S ungura the Hare and B rer R ab
bit en list the help o f th eir anim al
friends to get them out o f tight
spots. Y o u ’ll m eetC hew i the leop
ard , W eha the ja c k a l, C hjura the
frog, Pem bele the rhinoceros and
m any, m any m ore.
Brer Rabbit Tales includes three
short stories; Son of the Long One,
Tug-a-War and Signifyin(g) Mon
key. These fiberglass and fabric cre
ations are expertly manipulated by
Mary Harrison and Fred Riley, two of
Tears of Joy Theatre’s staff of profes
sional actors/puppeteers. Harrison and
Riley joined Tears of Joy in 1993 and
toured with Tales of Japan before
beginning work on BrerRabbitTales.
M u sic M ille n n iu m A nd WEA
C e le b r a te
B la c k H is to r y M on th
EARTH, WIND, & FIRE
MIKI HOWARD
MIKI HOWARD
EARTH, WIND & FIRE
M IL L E N N IU M
A Tribute To B illie Holiday
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Featuring: Strange Fruit •
'Tain't Nobody's Birness It I Do
tea I uri ng: SU N D A Y M ORNING •
BLOOD BROTHERS • SUPER FIERO
Guest artist, Askari, with his Tears of Joy Theatre puppet Friends
from "Brer Rabbit Tales"
Brer Rabbit Tales, sponsored by
Target Stores, will be presented at the
Columbia Arts Center (400 W. Ever
green Blvd., Vancouver) February 19,
20, 26, and 27 at 2pm. Portland per
fo rm an ces w ill be held at the
Winningstad Theatre of the Portland
Center for the Performing Arts (1111
SW B roadw ay) M arch 5, 6, 12
and 13. S aturday perform ances
Betty Ferguson,Manager/Buyer
“Giving you the service
that you deserve”
503/284-2435
1615 N.E. Killingsworth,
RECORD SHOP
Portland, Oregon 97211
are at 1 lam and 2pm. Sunday p e r
form ances are at 2pm. T ickets are
available by calling (503) 248-
0557 or (206) 695-0477 w eek
days from 9am to 5pm.
B rer Rabbit Tales is recom
m ended forchildren age three and
older. The play will be interpreted
for hearing im paired audiences
February 26 and M arch 6.
Top Ten R & B
1. R. Kelly
2. Jodeci
3. Domino
4. Eric Gable
6. Toni Braxton
Miss Black Oregon USA 1994 Sponsor 7. Mac Mall
8. Freddie
Jackson
503/283-3212 FAX 503/289-8906
9. Xscape
5828 N. Lombard
10. Joe
Portland, Oregon 97213
Millennium
$8.99 Cassette
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Mikki Sings “Billie”
$8.99 Cassette
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INTRO
GEORGE CLINTON
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fr- Love Thang
Lei Me Be The One
Ribbon In The Sky
INTRO
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GEORGE
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FEATURING PAINT THE WHITE HOUSE BLACK
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Offer Good Through 2-27-94
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