Portland observer., July 22, 1998, Page 11, Image 11

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ENTERTAINMENT
M
(E m brya
E m b ry a, the second studio al­
bum from Maxwell, is a recording
that embodies the complexity o f a
remarkable artist. Stylistically con­
nected to I t han H ang S uite, his
debut album, E m b ry a features
Maxwell's smooth, sensual vocals
riding on w arm keyboards and hon­
eyed strings, funky bass lines and
strong grooves. While (irmly rooted
m thetimeless foundation ofsoulful
rhythm & blues. E m bry a also shows
Maxwell lookingahead. with ideal­
ized lyrics and detailed production
pointing to the future.
Maxwell, originally his middle
name and now his first, is a tribute
to the two namesakes (his father
anil godfather) who w ere taken from
earth when he was very young.
"Everything I was comes after that
because everything I am now' is
because o f them,” he says. “ I'nt
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that make you want to get to the next
moment. But I 'mat the mercy ofw hatever
inspiration I’m under.
As for what lies next tor M ax w ell
he refers to the title track o f the al­
b e c o m in g th e m o tiv a tio n th e y
sparked in ntc at an early age to reach
for the things unseen." Along with
this com m em oration com es his un­
deniable female influence that em ­
bodies his every w ork to date.
To record this album . Maxwell
started w orking in the studio in Janu­
ary 1998. having already w ritten
sketches o f songs at home. As on his
debut. M axwell produced the m ajor­
ity o f the songs, co-produced three
tracks with Stuart M atthcwm an (who
has w ork cd with Sade and was also a
collaborator on U rban Hang Suite),
played keyboards and handled pro­
gram m ing and horn and string ar­
rangements.
“When I work, I ’m an insomniac. I can
go and go and go with just some key­
boards and a mike, and everyone else is
sleeping," he says. “The recording and
writing process can be so draining be­
cause. in each song. I'm always trying to
create those tw oor three special moments
G a lo r e P aging
I.
(Ale
G ra n d
O p en in g
S p e c ia l!!!
K e rn s
N e ig h b o rh o o d
A s s o c ia tio n
H o s tin g
“N a t i o n a l N i g h t
O u t ” P ic n ic
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e a v e
t o r e s
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(From left to right) Lorraine Toussaint and Annie Potts star and
Shari Dyon Perry and Mae Middleton co-star in “Any Day Now." the
all-new original one hour drama series.
“ A ny D ay N o w ” could not exist
on any o f the b ro ad cast n etw o rk s,”
says Potts. “ L ifetim e is allo w in g
us to ex p lo re a w ide ran g e o f co m ­
p ellin g stories d ea lin g w ith th e is­
sues facing w om en in both the past
and p rese n t.”
“ I ju m p e d at the o p p o rtu n ity to
get involved in this project because
it gave m e the ch an g e to play such
a strong w o m an ,” says T oussaint,
w ho plays R ene Jack so n , a su c­
cessful attorney w ho returns to A la­
bam a follow ing her fa th e r's death.
“ Y ou d o n ’t see en ough A frican
A m erican w om en like this on tele-
visio n -R en e is a strong, p ro fe s­
sional w om an; she is not the typical
one dim ensional character you u su ­
ally see depicted in a d ram a se­
( E lje
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'C fc L C U C A lt S t f L V I C E T O
A u jy o N E T m e L a w A l l o w s '
ries.
T he com plex in terw o v en style
o f “ A n y D ay N o w ” required a
u n iq u e b rand o f sto ry tellin g .
As adults, M ary E lizabeth w orks
on her strain ed rela tio n sh ip with
her ad o lescen t d au g h ter, tries to
send h e rse lf back to sch o o l, and
p u rsu e som e o f the in terests she
had let slid e for so m any years.
Rene, on the o th e r hand, has her
hands full w hen she tak es o v er her
late fath e r’s law p ractice and m ake
the tran sitio n form h ig h -p ro file
W ash in g to n , D C. cases to the so ­
cial in ju stice she en c o u n te r in Bir­
m ingham . She also w o rk s to rees­
tablish h er frien d sh ip w ith M ary
E lizabeth and b u ild anew life in
th e South.
7
a
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Kerns Neighborhood Association
is hosting its annual National Night
Out Picnic on Tuesday, August 4,
from 6-9 pm at Oregon Park (comer
o f NE
3 0 th an d O re g o n
St.).Neighborhood residents and area
businesses will gather for a potluck
dinner, liveentertainmentandaratfle.
M tsftt
N obody wanted them ...N ow,
they 're on the fo rce!
What happens when tw oofL A P D ’s
finest, funniest and dumbest street
cops B ryant and M urphy (D ave
Fuentes and Conrad Brooks) team up
with “sexy” Sheila (Hope Kelly) and
undercover DEA agent to fight crime
in a big city rock’n'roll high school
when they mistakenly stum ble across
bad dudes! The brainless duo con­
stantly cause pandemonium in the
com m unity, and get reprisals from
Captain Cook (Vernon Wells). How
they graduated from the police acad­
emy is anyone’s guess. Sheila has
more curves than Sunset Drive, with
fists that fly faster than rockets when
it com es to taming street hoods.
bum an experimental instrumental
piece w ith dissonant strings and back-
ward tape looping as an indicator:
"E m brya' is a summation o f the al­
bum, and a hint ot w hat’s to com e.’’
M U S IC G A L O R E '
ADVERTISE IN
F a t k ol
A
-
‘•X
“Any Day Now” Finds History and Drama Intersecting
in Lifetime Television's new Dramatic Series
“B irm in gh am is p ro b a b ly the
m o st th o ro u g h ly se g re g a te d city
in th e U n ited S tates. Its u gly
r e c o r d o f p o lic e b r u ta lity is
kn ow n in ev ery section o f the
cou n try. Its u n ju st tre a tm e n t o f
N eg ro es in th e c o u rts is a n o to ri­
ous reality. There h ave been m ore
u n s o lv e d b o m b in g s o f N eg ro
h o m es a n d ch u rch es in B irm in g ­
h am th an in a n y c ity in th is n a­
tion. These a re th e hard, bru tal,
a n d u n b e liev a b le fa c ts. ”
-M artin L uther K ing, Jr. (1963)
W ith th e d e b u t o f its
g r o u n d b r e a k in g n ew o r ig in a l
d ram a, “ A n y D ay N o w ,” L ife­
tim e T elev isio n tak es a bold step
in its p rogram m ing lineup this fall.
T his h ea rtfe lt series, prem ierin g
T u esday, A ugust 18 at 9 pm E T /
PT, ex p lo re s the rela tio n sh ip b e ­
tw een tw ochildhood friends, Mary
E lizabeth w ho is C a u casian and
R ene w ho is A frican A m erican,
w ho grew up in B irm ingham , A la­
b am a d u rin g th e peak o f th e C ivil
R ights m ovem ent, and are reac­
q u ain ted y ears later as adults.
S t a r r i n g A n n ie P o tts an d
L o rrain e T o u ssa in t, “ A ny D ay
N o w ” focu ses on th e w o m e n ’s
lives as ad u lts in the p resent day,
as w ell as th e ir child h o o d e x p e ri­
en ces in the 1960’s. T o g eth er,
they d isc o v er that m any o f the
sam e p roblem s they en co u n tered
a s c h ild re n s tille x is tto d a y . W hile
P otts copes w ith her d ecisio n to
start a fam ily as a young w om an
in ste a d o f p u rs u in g a c a re e r,
T o u ssa in t deals w ith th e c h a l­
lenges in ta k in g the o p p o site a p ­
proach. T h is leaves P otts to deal
w ith her m a rriag e and th e d iffi­
culty o f raising tw o children, w hile
T o u ssa in t b attle s social inju stice
in th e courtroom .
A
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