Page 2
July 12,2000
Focus
Music
Focus
in F elicia I- S lides
A
S U P P L E M E N T
(¡Miseruer
E ditor in Chief,
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Charles H. W ashington
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1999 The Portland Observer
KKJZ’s JazzFest: Temptations,
Boney James, Patrick Lamb
OF
Fortiani»
th e ad.
(Elje ipiartlanä ©beeruer
Presented by Beaverton Infiniti and
P ortland’s prem ier jazz station
K K JZ, Saturdays JazzFest had
babies be-boppin’, husbands &
wives jazz-hoppin’ and the plain
ole’ lovers o f the jazz genre... jovial
at th e o u td o o r S h o w p lace at
Portland Meadows this past July 8
weekend.
The Temptations, Dave Koz, the
Tom Grant Band, Lori Perry &
Brain Culbertson, Joyce Collins and
the list goes on. A nd as
prom ised... KKJZs JazzFest proved
that nothing would come close to
th is ja m b o re e o f ja z z b ein g
Portland’s premier smooth & soul
event o f the summer.
Peaks o f sun, pillows o f clouds,
dews o f rain and dances o f su n ...
th e se w e re the h ig h lig h ts o f
Saturdays weather scene. But for
July 8th’s, high notes, not even the
few ironic rain drops that drizzled
and dropped during the Temptations
serenade o f “I W ish it Would Rain”
could dam pen the spirits their
devoted and smooth jazz fans.
When you ask a lover o f jazz to
define ’’what is jazz music?”, you ’ll
get a kaleidoscope o f answers.
Some will say jazz is cool. Others
will say jazz is phunky. Then again
on one hand, down south, a little
closer to New Orleans, jazz is feisty,
flamboyant and ferocious. But in
o th e r re g io n s o r i f y o u ’re a
generations X, Y, o rZ e r.. .you may
lik e th e m o re m e la n c h o ly ,
mysterious and mellow moods that
jazz evokes. But whatever your
flavor neighbor, contemporarily
cool, big band & jum pin’ jazz, or
the timeless classical jazz eras o f
N an cy W ilson, the late John
C o ltra n e , M iles D avis, D izzy
Gillespie, Grover Washington and
the list goes on.... Whatever formats
your flavor for this genre, JazzFest
2000 represented it all in full
fashion.
And o o h ... were the Temptations,
timeless.
“The legend continues,” writes the
only original Tem ptation, Otis
W illiams, in the liner thank-you
notes o f their recent CD “Phoenix
R is in g ” . From “T his is My
Promise”, and “Stay” from their
nominated 1999 Grammy Award
for Best Traditional R&B Vocal
Performance, to their vinyl classics
o f “The Way You Do The Things
You Do”, “Aint Too Proud To Beg”,
“I C an’t Get Next to You”, and
“ Ju st M y Im a g in a tio n ” , the
Temptations know the recipe and
taste for success.
Otis Williams is the only remaining
member o f the original Temptations
to grace this CD, but new mem bers:
R on T y so n , T e rry W eeks,
Barrington Henderson and Harry
McGillberry compliment theclassic
legacy that each past m em ber
dedicated to the groups history.
When you mention Motown, you
must mention this powerful and
musically provoking dynasty that
started out as a five-man ensemble
from Detroit. Although names have
changed due to personal tragedies
and losses, this male group has
continued to stay am ongst the
chosen few from their hum ble
beginnings in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s
90’s and into the 2G millenium.
From 1961 to present day, there
have been a total o f 15 voices that
have made up M otow n’s fab five,
Temptations. But o f them all, there
are only five that were regarded as
one o f the most prominent black
vocal groups o f the ‘60s. These
black supermen were: David Ruffin
(his raspy, soulful preacher-like
vocals were grossly underrated),
Melvin Frankin, Paul Williams, Otis
Boney James
(Please see ‘J a z z ’ page 4)
«
Left to right: Jackie Dobbins, Gay lea Smith, Nick Nozaki, Roger Shaw. (Bottom Row) Linda
Hoffeditz, Wanda Warren
The Jefferson High School
Class o f 1970
will be celebrating their 3 0 year reunion on August 25, 26 and 27, 2000. Memorabilia
night will be on Friday, August 25 with a dinner and dance at the Red Lion Thunderbird
on Saturday, August 26. On Sunday, August 27, there will be a picnic at Oaks Park. I f
you are a classmate interested in attending, please call Ralph at 249-1721X290 before
July 1, 2000. We are planning a fun event. We hope to hear from you soon!!