ENTERTAINMENT
Essence Awards Honors
African-Americans
Cassandra Wilson
“The w hole album really is about
c y c le s ,” sa y s s in g e r- s o n g w r ite r
C assandra W ilson o f N ew M oon
Daughter, her second recording for
Blue N ote “ It’s about the cycle o f
relationships, how th e y ’re into an
ebb and flow, how it’s up and dow n
with the phases o f the m oon . . .the
different energies that those phases
represent and how the culm ination o f
that is a fullness and d e a th -th e com ­
pletion.”
On New M oon D aughter, W il­
so n ’s five originals sh o w a leap in her
developm ent as a songw riter and lyr­
icist that adds to her grow ing rep u ta­
tion as “the m ost accom plished ja z z
vocalist o f her generation” (Tim e
m agazine). As on 1993’s B lu e Light
til Dawn, she also exam ines her
musical roots w hile putting her own
stam p on an eclectic m ix o f pop, folk,
country and blues tunes by H ank
W illia m s, N eil Y o u n g , H o a g y
C arm ichael, U2, B illie H oliday, Son
House and the M onkees. Blue Light
til Dawn, W ilson’shig hlyacclaim ed
Blue N ote debut, has sold in excess
o f2 5 0 ,0 0 0 copies w orldw ide and led
to her recognition as "F em ale Singer
o f the Y ear” in 1994 and I9 9 5 ’s
Down Beat R eaders Poll.
In the January 1995 issue o f Down
Beat, editor John Ephland w rote “N ot
Continued from Metro
since Billie Holiday has a ja z z singer
criss-crossed the boundaries between
ja z z and pop with such reverence and
authenticity." But perhaps producer
C raig Street put it best in evaluating
W ilson’s talent. “ It d o esn ’t m atter
w hat C assandra does, ¡tall com es out
sounding like Cassandra, and it all
com es out sounding like jazz. The
nature o f ja z z to me is that it d o esn ’t
have any ru les...it’s about going out
on a limb. And to hercredit. especial­
ly being som eone who was imm ersed
in Jazz, she was w illing to push to
som e places on this record that other
people probably w ou ld n ’t push to.”
HolbrookRcturnsToSchnilzcrAsriark Twain
Hal Holbrook
Tickets are now on sale for the Hal
Holbrook, Tony aw ard-w inning one-
man show , “ M ark Tw ain T onight,”
scheduled at Schnitzer C oncert Hall
at 8 p.m. Friday, April 19.
H o lb ro o k , w ho has w on five
Emmys. is in his 4 1 st year o f portray­
ing Twain. He has perform ed soldout
show son Broadw ay and is acclaim ed
for his depiction o f the legendary
author in Europe, as well.
The acto r returns to the Mark
Tw ain repertoire every year, editing
and changing to fit the tim es; this
being an election year will no doubt
bring out the Twain hum or in that
area. H olbrook has unearthed more
than 12 hours o f the h um orist’s m a­
terial w hile continuing to find new
topics for use every year. He has no
set show , preferring to fashion it as
he goes, ensuring each perform ance
Contemporary Jazz Quitarist
to be unique.
H o lb ro o k a c te d on th e B urt
Reynolds series, “ Evening Shade,”
for fouryears. appeared with his wife,
D ixie Carter, on “ D esigning W om ­
en ,” stars on the Perry M ason M ys­
tery M ovie series and was featured in
the film “The F irm .”
B e s id e s m o v ie s a n d T V ,
H o lb ro o k ’s ta len ts have w ell-re­
ceived on stage. He was Shylock in
“ M erchant o f V enice” and V anya in
“ U ncle V anya” and played the title
role in S h ak esp eare’s “ King L ear.”
C ontinuing not to be typecast, he was
W illy Loman in "D eath o f a Sales­
m an.”
C i m s s r o o i y \J e w :
A A
D oug Smith will perform selec­
tions from his new H onestJazzz re­
lease- Deep H e a rt-a stu n n in g c o lle c -
,
tion o f original com po sitio n s and
■■ -
unique arrangem ents o f popular hits
S»
Jd
Jin
Smith is a m aster o f the steel-string
’ ’ I
g
e 1 1
finger picking style that he has created
,
from a variety ol classical, folk, conn-
try and jazz influences. I he perlor-
manee is free to the public on Satur-
day, A p ril 1 3,19 9 6 at 2 :00p.m . Loca-
turn, Borders Books& Music 708 SW
w
3rd Ave., Portland, O R 97204.
He (Doug Smith), explores some
m b
more inviting melodies with his intri-
-T n f f T 1 *"
cate, finger-picking technique. Ac-
I
com panied by sparse percussion and
keyboards, he explores som e fanciful evocations on origi­
nals, such as “ M ystic M orning,’ and show s his M ichael
hedges-inspired tapping technique on Tw o handed Para­
d o x .’ He also turn the M oody B lues” N ights In W hite S atin ’
into a subtle reverie and reinvents the old easy-l istening tune
Ebb T id e.’
SNI
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purchased at the M adison Square G ar­
den box o ffic e o r by ca llin g
TicketMaster: in New Jersey, (201
507-8900; in Manhattan, (212) 307-
7 17 1 ; on Long Island, ( 5 16)888-9000:
or in Westchester, (914)454-3388
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The 1996 Essence Awards Honorees: Oseola McCarty, Ketrick
Jordan. Carol & Hurt Porter Congresswoman Maxine Waters. The
1996 Essence Awards is sponsored by: AT&T, Chrysler Corporation.
Clairol, JCPenney. Johnson & Johnson, Kraft Foods. Inc., Pepsi Cola,
Revlon and Toyota.
Video Production Services
& Storyboards &
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Ji
giving their tim e and energy to work
on ensuring the future for them. T o­
d ay ’s young people need our love
and guidance now more than ever,
and we as a nation must hold o u r­
selves to a higher m oral standard and
give them the support they need to
thrive."
The 1996 Essence Awards, in its
ninth year, is a production o f Essence
Television Productions, and is spon­
sored by AT&T, Chrysler, Clairol,
JCPenney, Johnson & Johnson, Kratt
Foods, the Pepsi-Cola Co., Revlon
and Toyota.
The Essence Awards, which high­
lights the contributions o f preeminent
African-Americans, was first held in
1987 and has become one o f the coun­
try’s most highly regarded aw ards
shows. In 1995 The Delaney Report,
the international newsletter for m ar­
keting, advertising and media execu­
tives, named the Fox broadcast o f the
tw enty-fifth an n iv ersary E ssen ce
Awards (which aired last June 13)
"B est B roadcast” in its q u arterly
awards.
Ed Lewis, Chairman and C EO o f
Essence Communications, Inc. (ECI),
said, “throughout the years the Es­
sence Awards has honored the well-
known and the not-so-well-known,
each and every one o f them having
made tremendous contribut ions to our
community We have been proud and
honored to recognize such great achiev­
ers.”
Clarence O. Smith, President o f
ECI, said: “The Essence Awards show
is unique in that we reach a national
audience o f people who would other­
wise not be aware o f the great hum an­
itarian efforts made by our honorees.
And we take great pride in the act that
other awards have tried to em ulate our
successful format.”
Tickets to the Essence Awards are
$ 150, $ 100, $75 and $35 and can be
Tickets: $13, $11 and $7.
Available at all Fred Meyer Fastixx outlets:
224-TIXX or at th« PCPA Box Office,
All tickets subject to additional service charges
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