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Boney James
SEDUCTION
Seducuon is so sex? , it could
make Boney James a household
name.
Not only does Boney James’
Seduction confirm him as chairman
of the board of contemporary jazz
sax, it suggests he’s chairman of the
boudoir.
The modest Boney reserves his
comments for the music, however.
“My producer Paul Brown and I
write songs and I also collaborate
with friends,” Boney explains. "I pick
the songs that I like best, then sit back
and listen to what we have and then
try to decide the vibe of the record.
Somehow the songs that were most
appealing to me this time turned out
to be the sexy songs.”
The appealing and sensual Se-
bone, James’ Warner Bros. Records
debut, and the buoyant Trust (origi­
nally release on Spindletop records
and then later re-released on Warner
Bros.). Backbone featured the bouncy
“Trinidad,” the sweet “Just Between
Us” and the street-savvy “Bleecker
Street,” and climbed to Number 5 on
Billboard’s Contemporary Jazzchart.
It also spent five weeks at Number
I on Radio & R ecords’ New Adult
C o n te m p o ra r y c h a rt. T ru s t
yielded such hits as “A nother
Place, A nother T im e,” “ K yoto”
and Stevie W onder’s “C reepin’,”
and reached Number 2 on Radio &
Records’ NAC chart and Number K
on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz
chart.
When asked about his first three
J a iiu ft/
solo efforts, Boney says, “Trust was
about blindly entering into the solo
artist’s world; Backbone was about
having the strength to persevere
through adversity. Now, coming off
a hit record, everything is beautiful,
so we can just have sex.”
With Seduction, Boney eases
into an endless reservoir of laid-back
mood and style—with a new depth
and maturity evident on every cut.
The album blends gorgeous origi­
nals like “Lights Down Low” and
“Seduction” with original interpre­
tations of such soulful classics as
“Sara Smile” and “Ain’t No Sun­
shine.”
The album also features a veri­
table Who’s in contemporary music.
Me’shell Ndege’Ocello plays bass
on “Got It Goin’ On”; Tony Maiden,
the guitarist who powered Rufus,
contributes to the sneaky “Camou­
flage”; and Bob James, a great pia­
nist who Boney considers both friend
and mentor, colors the atmospheric
"Washington Bridge." Peter Erskine,
Paul Jackson Jr. and Rick Braun also
contribute their legendary artistry to
the mix.
Boney was born in Lowell, Mas­
sachusetts, later moving to New
Rochelle, New York. He first learned
clarinet in elementary school and
then graduated, grudgingly, to saxo­
phone at the insistence of his music
teacher. His parents move the family
to L A. in 75. (“They can’t carry a
tune, so I must be an aberration!”
asserts Boney.) He kept up his music
through a succession of bar bands
and later a fusion band, Line One,
that opened for such acts as Airto &
Flora Purim and the Yellowjeckets.
Prior to his solo career, Boney
James also built a reputation as an in-
demand session and tour musician,
sculpting (hematics on the tenor and
alto sax, (lute, clarinet and keyboards.
His versatility guaranteed him
work with such acts as Morris Day,
Ray Parker Jr., The Isley Brothers,
Teena Marie and Randy Crawford. It
also made it hard for him to take the
plunge as a solo artist. It was up to
chance to step in.
TOWI
The Delta Mothers’ Annual Breakfast
A beautiful and typical rainy
day in Portland brought out the
community in full force to the Delta
Theta Sorority’s annual Mothers’
Waffle Breakfast. Delta Mother
Anna Mae Lee started the affair 22
years ago.
About 500 hungry syrup pour-
ers and fork lifters reacquainted
their friendships during the Nov.
11 event.
Originally, the sorority ob­
tained a control reader for handi­
capped children as a benefit of the
breakfast. This year, the event
raised $2.000 for the sorority’s
scholarship fund.
Alene Grice directed the Del­
tas and Mothers who seated their
anxious guests. The generator
breakdown caused some waiting,
but never mind, everyone was there
to visit anyway.
President June Kent. Clarine
Smith, Alyce Robinson, and
Frances Johns (birthday lady), were
all smiles, suited with hard work
and total commitment. The break­
fast was held at the Urban League
o f Portland Multicultur­
al Senior Citizens Cen­
ter on Martin Luther King
Jr. Blvd. and Killings­
worth.
Jean and Ernest
H a rtg o z w ere seen
beam ing along with
son, Danny, over the
birth o f their newest
g ra n d d a u g h te r
“ D a n ie lle .” S haron,
Jennifer, Sammantha
and N icole were as proud as
mother Brenda, in St. Vincent
Hospital, who began to revisit
the m otherhood process. G rand­
father Bill Council, form er ad­
m inistrative assistant o f the Port­
land O bserver, was there with all
o f his gran d ch ild ren , C onrad,
Ramon, M ario and Andrea, ex­
plaining this was his third time
around for parenting g randchil­
dren. H ow ever, his w orkload
d o esn ’t prevent his involvem ent
in com m unity activities - most
recent project is the Lutheran
Inner City Strategic Conference,
which is a outcom e
o f the M illion Man
March in W ashing­
ton, D C .
R osem ary H ar­
ris, form er D e lta’s
M others’ C o o rd in a­
tor, was busily serv­
ing as well as Leslie
Houston, and Lolita
Darby.
Politics as usual
- a visitation to the
n eig h b o rh o o d s ta rre d G rey
Panthers A dvocate and C on­
gressman Ron Wyden who is
seeking en d o rsem en t o f the
U.S. Senate seat recently va­
cated by the “kisser” Robert
Packwood.
As usual the breakfast was a
fabulous success and was filled
with the spirit o f community.
I hroughout the years many stu­
dents in the northw est have
benefitted from this waffle event!
And th a t’s the way it was
‘round about town in the com ­
munity.
J'/tect'af
The perfect fam ily gift
fo r any occasion.
2 - 8x10 prints
4 - 5 x 7 prints
25 Holiday Photo Cards
Only $75.00
(No sitting fee)
♦ D J M E S T IZ O
It's rriY kind
of foce!
HONQUI
© F R I NOV 17
S p e c ia liz in g in P e o p le o f C o l o r
Must schedule by 12-8-95,
PRESENTS
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to recieve your order by the Holidays
TKKtTS At A ll 6.1.10B TICKETMASTER OUTLETS OR CHARGE-BV PHONE 224 4400 SUBIECT10 SERVICE CHARGE. OPINING ACTS SUBJECT10 (HANGE.
424 N. E. Killingsworth St. Walnut Park Center
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(503) 284-9570
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK!
ART OF THE HUICHOL INDIAN MASTERS
November 18th, 1995 to January 10th, 1996
DEBORAH COX
“ O U R D R E A M ” G A L L E R Y A N D F IN E G I F T S
Join us opening night,
November 18th, from 6pm
to 9pm, or during regular
gallery hours from 10am to
6pm,, Monday-Friday and
Noon to 5pm, Saturday,
closed Sundays or by
appointment. Wine, juice
and hor d ’oeuvres will be
served.
4356 N. E. 33rd Ave.,
Portland, Oregon 97211
(503) 288-3024
“Art of the Huichol
Indian Masters” will be
shown between Nov. 18,
1995 ThurJan. 10, 1996
T H I S T U N N IN G D IB O T ALBUM PROM
T H I M OST SOULFUL M CN A R O U N D
F e a tu rin g the hit single T O N IT I,
LIT'S TA K I A DIF a n d H A V I I N I V I I
$8 - $12
Cassette
M
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99
Compact
Dise
At age 2 1, its Deborah Cox’s turn to stand in the
spotlight. Flic Toronto-bred songstress was exposed to
an electric mix ol Jazz, Reggae, R&B and Pop music
from birth, and began singing at the age of live. Her
debut features production from Babyfacc, Dallas Austin
(TLC, Madnna) and Vincent Herbert (Toni Braxton)
$81,
D
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tEN T IM FN T A l
Originating from Indianapolis and
Atlanta, A Few Good Men were brought
together by long-standing songwriter and
producer Daryl Simmons. Their special sound is
matched only by a powerful passion. As band
member Aaron puts it, “everything wc pul into
the music we want people listening to feel."
W HO D O U LOVI
$12??.
I'M TOUR NATURAL
WOMAN
MT FIRST NIGHT
W ITH TOU
W HCRf DO W l C O
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Offer good thru 11-7-95
East Portland
32nd & Burnside
231-8926
tz ; i
MUSIC MILL6NNIUM
NW Portland
23rtl & NW Johnson
248-0163
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