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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 29, 1997)
*JL.A NMMNM m T he P ortland O bserver • O ctober 29, 1997 P age B3 (Tin' Jllovtlanb (Ohsevuvr ENTERTAINMENT Kevin Mahogany m orecorrect in his assessm ent o f Kevin M ah o g a n y . T h ere has been a d earth o f N ew fem ale ja z z sing ers seem to ap p ear regularly, but for a long tim e the space behind Joe W illiam s (now y o u n g m ale singers. S tylists w ho m a sev en ty -six ) and M elto rm e (sixty- o n e) and Ray C h arles (six ty -fo u r) tu red long after the g o lden era o f Tin Pan A lley, have d ev elo p ed not w ith has been em pty. A co u p le o f y ears ago, the (th en ) th irty -six -y ear-o ld the B roadw ay so n g b o o k that trad i tionally ad ap ted so w ell to jazz , but rath er w ith the pop, soul and rock m usic o f the sixties, seventies, and K ansas C ity singer K evin M ahogany arrived in N ew Y ork. T h ere is little he can n o t do. H e has ab so rb ed B illy E c k stin e , W illia m s , C h a rle s, A1 H ib b le r, B etty C a rte r, a n d L eo W atson. He can sing the blues, and he can sing ballads. H e can scat. He can sing M onk and G illesp ie and John L ew is and M iles D avis, an d he can sing soul so n g s an d novelty songs, and he is a startling, gospel singer, w ho shouts, hum s, bends notes in tw o, grow ls, an d locks every syllable to five o r six notes... —W h itn e y B a llie tt, T h e N ew Y o rk er, Ju n e 5, 1995 C e le b ra te d c ritic a n d a u th o r W hitney B alliett could not have been Happy Birthday Elizabeth Washington From your family &frieiu FM eig h ties. U ntil now . K evin M ah o g an y , born July 30. The JAZZ Station 1958, in K ansas C ity - that m o st v en erab le and h istorically sign ifican t o f ja z z “crad les” - is a pro d u ct o f the p rev io u s three decad es. A lth o u g h he p o rtray s a c h a ra c te r m o d eled a lte r Big Joe T u rn e r in R obert A ltm a n 's u p co m in g film , K ansas C ity. K evin grew up in the afterm ath o f the c ity 's all- night, baw dy, n o -h o ld s-b arred h ey day. K evin arrived durin g a tim e w hen classic R & B leaned tow ards M em p his an d M otow n, and soul co -ex isted w ith ro ck n ' roll. “T h e stan d ard s stand the test o f with DINNER JAZZ in the evening from 6 :3 0 -8 :3 0 p.m . fine d in in g ... fine w ine... fine iazz Kevin Mahogany tim e." he states, ad d in g that, “m elodi- cally, lyrically, a song has to have so m eth in g extra. T h is helps g u arantee that it's co n tin u ally perform ed. Even though we don' I have as many musi cals today as the industry did in previous periods, we do have great songwriters" they go together! COMMUNITY COLLEGE • GRESHAM TEARS OF JOY THEATRE Celebrating 25 Years o f Puppetry in the Northwest! ince his au sp ic io u s e m e r gence in 1985, L L C ool J has catapulted from overnight hip-hop sensation to bonafide cross-cul S ... tural phenom enon. A seasoned enter tainer at the tender age o f 28, his lengthy list o f accom plishm ents boggle them ind: JUNGLE 4 . BOOK 4 1 two-time G ram m y A w ard winning rap per, star o f a hit television series, feature film actor, trusted advertising pitchm an, author, com pany chairm an, hum anitar ian and devoted husband and lather. Indeed, as LL sw aggers confidently into the next m illennium som e fans m ust wonder: W hat unexplored challenges remain for the undisputed king o f hip- M pY l Columbia Arts Center - V ancouver November 14 - November 30 Winningstad Theatre - P o rtla n d nitely want a lot m ore,” the hip-hop legend admits. 'T o be honest, I feel like I’m at the beginning again. T h ere’s a desire to im prove what I'v e built thus far For Times & Tickets Call: © status incontemporary culture. W ithover 20 million album s sold h e ’s the m ost successful hip-hop artist in history, yet his fame often threatens to overshadow on “MTV U nplugged." N ow with his m usic and acting ca reers linnly on track, LL finds him self poised on the precipice o f m ultim edia superstardom. His latest album entitled Phenomenon, is another m asterful syn thesis o f accessible rhythm and sublim e rhyme. Featuring contributions by rap and pop lum inaries such as Sean “Putt y" Com bs, Babyface. The Trackm asters, Kirk Franklin & The Fam ily, Busta Rhymes, R edm an and M elhixi M an, LeShawn, The Lost Boyz, Tarnia, Pres tige, L.E.S., D erek Angeletti, B ig Ron and Stevie J., Phenom enon is L L ’s m ost introspective and forthright recording yet. For his part, LL attributes his longev ity to one sim ple fact: “I’ve alw ays been true to what I w as feeling em otionally and artistically," he says. “I d o n 't like violence. I've seen violence, seen people I love be the victims o f violence and there’s nothing cool about it. It plainly just doesn’t interest m e.” “They pushed the lunch rrxim tables together and m e and my DJ, cut C reator, started playing," LL recalls. "A s soon as it was over there were girls scream ing and asking for autographs Right then and there I said’ this is what I want io d o ’.” Season Tickets Available for $8 a Seat! TREATSEATS TREATSEATS coupons fo r t ic k e t discounts a v a ila b le a t T a rg e t. his artistic achievements. His vision and com m itm ent to excel lence have resulted in a senes o f historic firsts. He w as the first rap artist to release asingle andalbum on the now -legendary platinum-plus sellmgal bum s andsix gold 695-0477-Vancouver / 248-0557 - Portland Children $9.00 / Adults $12.00 and make it better.” L L'sinsatiable am bition is admirable, especially consideringhisalready mythic singles. In 1991 he m ade history by becoming llie first rap artist togoacoustic Fridays, Saturdays, & Sundays November 1 - November 9 hop? It's a reasonable enough question, one to which LL replies, “plenty.” Still restless and hungry alter 12 years in the spotlight, the rapper w ants to elevate his gam e to even loftier levels. “I haven’t achieved everything I w ant, and I defi D ef Jam Records label. He w as the first hip-hop artist to am ass six consecutive 6 k . THE HUNTER IS TRACKING THE KILLER. BUT THE KILLER IS SETTING THE TRAP. NABCJ OREGON CHAPTER Presents: The lo th Annual All Male Fashion show and Dance Celebration***** v ’ T ". "Mett in Black" Saturday November 1,1997 Holiday Inn Hotel at 1021 NE Grand Avenue 8:00 to 2:00AM Music, Fun****Door Prizes $10.00 In Advance $15.00 At The Door Music By “The Pitt Doctor” Leslie Taylor Tickets Available At: Geneva’s Shear Perfection -- 5601 N.E. MLK Jr. Blvd. House of Sound-------- 3620 N. Williams Ave. JP ’s Framing & G a llery------418 N.E. Killingsworth Mrs. C ’s W ig s -------- 707 N.E. Freemont DA N N Y VROVER D E N N IS * Q U A ID M 0 Ü N I« « «JfMîfUi -SWIlCHBACr JUBITO110 ITO ' i s a . MllKHffl »Klim SAMPU PRW S MUONS J HRinwma t« l "S A S tarts F riday , O ctober 51 2 2 5 - 5 5 5 5 .4 6 2 7 ' 2 2 5 -5 5 5 5 .4 6 2 9 IH X J T IG A R D W ESTG ATE 5 A C T III T H E A T R E S AC T III TH E A T R E S 6 8 3 -9 9 9 9 OAK GROVE 3¡ I I W i l l T I I I I \ I HI S I 2 2 5 -5 5 5 5 * 4 6 0 0 O » ! M M tM M N M l a«tM W 2 2 5 -5 5 5 5 .4 6 0 2 1 2 2 5 5 5 5 5 .4 6 0 3 THX J ' 2 2 5 -5 5 5 5 .4 6 3 0 IH X , H IL L T O P 9 C O R N E L IU S AC T III T H E A TR E S A C T III T H E A T R E S - n -irrrr. / 2 2 5 - 5 5 6 6 .4 8 1 6 82N D AVENUE t M ALL 2 0 5 • III T H E A T R E S Ä I A C T III T H E A T R E S A N D ATOTH FR SELECT THEATRES ' SPECIAL EN G A G E M E N T- N O PASSEb ACCEPTED
