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©bserver
October 13, 1999
When All Hell Breaks Loose
ers were on the rise and m y mother
who performed with Charlie Parker,
Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus and never seemed to be able to penetrate
even Benny Goodman before she was the market in the United States as a
a jazz singer since
twenty years old. These connections recognizedjazz singer. Shehadasound
leaving her family
that floated between the operatic soul-
came about when she was in Monaco
in T e x a s n early
filled Sarah and high-spirited Ella Un
attending
a
music
festival
with
some
o
f
twenty years ago.
her singer friends, hoping to pick up a fortunately, America was already fu ll
His Holy RollersLs-
record deal. Pops
ter. Shreese, com
had a gig playing
plains that A dnan
is too “worldly” for keys fo r a sm all
him. even though group that Miles
Davis anil drum
sheherselfis falling
m
er Roy Haynes
for the shady, char
had put together.
ismatic pastoro fher
Pops had met Miles
church. A n d his
at a rehearsal one
boys - w ho run the
night, a n d fro m
gamut from player
there heplayedkeys
to buffoon - react
with the group fo r
to the news o f his
tw o a n d a h a lf
engagem ent w ith
years. A t the end o f
grief and disbelief.
the seco n d y e a r
tha, s not
they went to Mo
M v ■
enouSh- he s g ° l
naco, P ops was
A drian, w ho has
looking to start his
more skeletons in
own band. H e
her closet than a haunted house W hat’s
formed the Alston
a brother to do .’W hen All Hell Breaks
Jazz Quartet, and
Loose Is a debut novel about black
my mother audi
twenty-somethings that is last and funny
tioned and was the
It’s also a peek into the minds o f young
black men. The author, Camika Spen chosen vocalist.
Back then, Sarah
cer, w on’t just have you laughing -
Vaughan, B etty
she’ 11 have you looking in the mirror tot
Carter,
E lla
see if she’s talking about you.An Ex
F itzgerald, a n d
cerpt: M y mother, Louise Angelina
other fem ale sing-
Alston, beeam eaverypopularvocalist
from France, where
she’sbeen living as
Akimac Publishing; 1999
By Camika Spencer
It’s Sunday morning, and while most
people are thinking about getting the
paper breakfast. Gregory Alston has
something other then eggs on his mind.
Today he’s going to propose to Adrian
Jenkins, his girlfriend o f three years.
But when he actually does, all hell
breaks loose and he gets a lot m ore than
he bargained for. His m other returns
G in g e r s n a p s
Y o u ’ll n e v e r fo r g e t th e m . S ix b la c k
A One World Ballantine Book; 1998
Do you p r o m is e t o
« lo v e , h o n o r an d c h e r i s h y o u r body
f o r th e r e s t o f y o u r l i f e ?
By Delorys Welch-Tyson
A BLACKBOARD BESTSELLER
d e rb y b o o m e r s w h o s e p a th s c ris s c r o s s
an d c o llid e in a w ic k e d ly fu n n y , e m o
tio n a lly c h a rg e d r o lle r - c o a s te r rid e o f
as laatureit in
maaarine
GINGERSNAPS
lo v e a n d h a te , je a lo u s y a n d p a s s io n , a m
b itio n a n d d e s i r e ...
A le th a : T h e r e ig n in g q u e e n o f th e
ta lk sh o w s h a s a ro y a l s n a g in h e r lo v e
life.
D e s ir e e : A s a s i s te r - f r ie n d S ig m u n d
F re u d , m a n y w o m e n “ li e ” o n h e r c o u c h .
o f Sarahs and Ellas. Plus, m y mother
was voung and nobody wanted to deal
with a teenage ja zz singer. Respect in
thejazz scene came with age and expe
rience, neither o f which my mother
had. I suppose that's why she never
could get her big break here.
( I t ’ s tim e t o ren ew y o u r v o w s .)
•» Il
J
?
V e r o n ic a : T h is T V p ro d u c e r is a m a s
te r ju g g le r - u n til th e d a d d y o f h e r b a b y I
ta k e s h is a c t o n th e ro a d .
I
D e b r a : A s s h e p u s h e s f o r ty , h e r
m o th e r ’s p u s h in g h e r to fin d a m a n - in
JOIN A REAL GYM,
a ll th e w ro n g d ir e c tio n s .
J a n e e n : H e r d r e a m b o a t is a b o u t to
c la s h w ith h e r r o m a n tic fa n ta s ie s b ig -
tim e.
L o u ise : W h e n th is c o n tr o v e rs ia l b e s t
s e llin g a u th o r p ro m o te s h e r b o o k , i t ’s a
rio t - lite r a lly .
T h e y ’re g in g e r s n a p s - s p ic y a n d h a rd ,
b ro w n a n d b o ld - w o m e n w h o r e f u s e to
le t th e ir c o o k ie s c ru m b le w h e n fa c e d
ft*
tB*«f**Y M X D » I <rr*tfUhl«
C«URUWf A 8»PAT
w ith a c h a lle n g e .
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