’ * è .’- I ••» V W I V V ' M ay 28, 1997 • T he P ortland O bserver P age A6 (Tljc Jdortlanb (iDbscrurr Zi ENTERTAINMENT e r J ! When you have the vocal chops, your choice of material becomes as wide open as your potential. Just ask Joose, Oklahoma's new­ est singing sensation who happened to be blessed with an amazing vocal talent and a musical imagination to match. The versatile vocal group, who co-wrote, co-produced and ar­ ranged their self-titled debut album, has recorded a memorable version of country icon Garth Brooks' hit "Tomorrow Never Comes," adding a unique angle to the already multi­ dimensional debut. The talented foursome, which features Leonardo Pettis, Rocky McKaufman, Trell Lewis, and Jay Farmer, were all heavily influenced by Gospel music. Leonardo and Trell began their singing careers in the Gospel group The Final Call. "We sang in Gospel shows in Oklahoma for quite awhile. We would get such a good reaction that we started to think about expanding our direction. We wanted to branch out to pop and R&B. Back when I was little all my people sang in At the tender age of four, the Atlanta-born singer was perform­ ing gospel music in her local church and with the M oms Brown college choir. By age seven, she had won $2,000 on Ted Mack's "Amateur Hour" national TV show. In 1952, she became a found­ ing member of The Pips and nine years later, Gladys Knight & The Pips enjoyed their first hit record with "Every Beat of My Heart." Other hits followed throughout the 60's and early 70's:..."Letter Full of Tears," "Giving Up" and a slew of best sellers for Motown including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "Friendship Train" and classics like "If I Were Your Woman," "I Don't Want To Do Wrong" and "Neither One O f Us" Constantly in demand for their exciting, dynamic live shows, Gladys, brother Bubba and cous­ ins William Guest and Edward Patten broke through to main­ stream and international success in the mid 70's with a nonstop run of hits for Buddah Records which included such great songs like "Midnight Train To Georgia," "I've Got To Use My Imagina­ tion," "Best Thing That Ever Hap­ pened To Me" and "On and On.' Gladys Knight always the great singer & performer Ms. Knight has one particular performer, is appearing May 30 and 31st at The Chinook Winds reason to mighty happy: Just For Casino and Convention Center in You is a true celebration of her Lincoln City. She's doing one show soulful and enduring artistry. on each night. Tickets are $30.00 Gladys Knight, the consummate Joose Going for it. All the way. church. My uncles, my grandmother - I've been singing in church since I was ten years old. My voice ma­ tured so quickly they had to put me in the adult choir. I couldn't forget what I learned back then even if I wanted to," says Leonardo. Leonardo Trell toured with Gos­ pel legends such as D orothy N orw ood and the Jackson Southemairs before venturing into the more choppy waters o f secular music. Ability? Talent overflows on this LP. All group members share lead vocals, as well as writing credits. A s u m m e r is .a t e r r i b l e t h i n g to w a s t e . UP to host benefit Natalie Cole at Rose Quarter K103-FM is proud to announce the highlight of the summer concert season - Grammy Award winner Natalie Cole. Ms. Cole is coming to the Rose Garden's Theater of the Clouds Sun­ day, July 6 at 8 p.m. Natalie Cole, known for deliver­ ing a lyric with an intensity few singers have ever matched, was hon­ ored for her first gold album and the first of her many Grammy awards for her debut album "Inseparable" in 1975. By 1991, Natalie signed with Elektra Records and launched her biggest project ever. The "Unforgettable with Love" album sold over 11 million copies and eventually pushed Natalie's to­ tal career album sales over 31 mil­ lion worldwide. The critically acclaimed tribute to her father's genius has become one of the signature albums of the decade, netting seven Grammy Awards, including Record of the Yeah, Song o f the Year and many more. Proceeds from the concert ben­ efit The Parry Center for Children, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing caring mental health ser­ vices to emotionally disturbed chil­ dren and their families. The University of Portland will host a benefit performance of tradi­ tional Japanese dance at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Buckley Center Au­ ditorium on campus. Tickets are $8 per person or $15 per family at the | door. The Taiko performance will ben­ efit the Portland Sapporo Sister City Association. The Captain’s Global Grooves CD ARTIST Ir li ColfiN E n ^ em H e ....... LABEL TI if CUyioN B rothers ..........."E xress I ons " ........................ Q west /W B C I iar I ìe H unier Q uartet .........."N atty DREAd"....................... BI ue N ote EI íane EI ía s ...................... ........ "Solos & D u n s" .................... BI ue N ote B illy M arcus .................. ............... "H a m p " ..................... C ontemporary M ar I< C a r y ..................... I "OuTsidi TI tf U nes " ................... A rti FI ex ................... "LiSTEN" ........................ARAbESQUE JAZZ ........ "PERsoN-ifiEd"........................H iqh N ote H ouston P erso n ........... S teve T urre ......................................... "S teve T urre " V erve S cott H ami I ton ................................ "A I ter H ours " ........................ C ow oR d M ilo P eterson & J azz DisciplEs’ TRibuTE: JAckiE M c L ean " P assage J 7 TI te N ew Yofik HARdbop Q u I ntet .. "RokERMOTiON* .........................A rti FI ex Abby U nco I n ............................"W ho Ussd To D ance " V erve M ic k l C am II o ................................. "TI tru M y Eyss" B ar I tara M o rriso n ............ "I’ m CETTiNq ‘L onq A ll RiqLn » Tuopi-lAZZ .........ChARiMAkE D o c C llE A TA M ....................................... "N ic b o lA S PAyTON" ................................VlRVE O /?z i/As A7i s//c Vo\ \(,i /s A/ril O/V ÁA///Z9