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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 2004)
■ FOCUS pageC4 October 6, 2004 in Chr | j n r t la ttò O ^b a rru rr Ray Charles Remembered at Concert (A P) — An eclectic lineup o f m usicians honored Ray Charles in a tribute concert, praising the late sin g er’s rich life and his ability to transcend race and m usical genres. “ M ake no m istake about it, there will be no pity party,” said music producer Q uincy Jones, who met C harles when the tw o were teens. Jones told the packed audience at the Beverly H ills Hotel that C harles “lived more lives than any 900 o f you. In his last days, he told me, ‘M an, I’ve already lived it a ll.'” Stevie Wonder performs at a tribute to Ray Charles. (AP photo) Performers at the Sept. 29 gala included Stevie Wonder, country singer Travis Tritt, former Doobie Brother M ichael M cDonald, and R&B artists James Ingram and Patti Austin. They sang Charles’ hits, such as “Georgia On My M ind,” “What I’d Say” and “Hit the Road Jack.” Bill C osby w as host o f the event, w hich raised m oney for the $15 million M orehouse C ollege Center for the Arts in Atlanta. C harles gave the black liberal arts college $2 m il lion to help fund the com plex, which will contain a perform ance space in his name. Cosby shared som e o f his favor ite m em ories o f the singer, w ho had been blind since age 7. He recalled how during a jazz festival at the Hollywood Bowl, Charles appeared on stage with a band o f all white musicians. “I said to Ray, ‘Y our band is all w hite.' H esaid, ‘T hat’sfunny.T hey d o n ’t sound w hite.’” C harles was 73 when he died o f acute liver disease June 10. ■■■■■■■■■■I Latifah Adds Jazz to Repertoire (A P)— Queen Latifah Post. “ Hopefully, with is getting a little jazzier. the success o f it, I’ll be in it till I'm dead. I’ve Five albums and 15 years alw ays looked at sing a fte r her h ard -h ittin g hip-hop debut “All Hail ing as som ething I can th e Q u e e n ,” Q u e e n do forever. I don ’ t know if 1 can rap forever. I Latifah has released the d o n ’t know that I can ja z z - o b s e s s e d “ T h e D ana O w ens A lbum .” stay as hot as the hot “T his is definitely not test girl in the gam e.” a o n e-sh o t d e a l,” the It was herexperience Queen Latifah singer, whose real nam e in the 1998 feature film is D ana O w ens, told The D enver L iving O ut L oud,” co-starring Northwest Osteopathic Medical Foundation’s O ctober 16 & 17 9 :J O am * 5 B O pm Presenting Sponsor. V / X E ^PG E , Don t monkey around conie to O.MSl and alongside Holly H unter and Danny D eV ito, that led to her new album. She played nightclub singer Liz Bailey and sang a couple o f jazz stan d ard s. T he new album , w here she tack les so n g s by A1 G reen an d T he M am as & the P apas, is so m e th in g o f a d ep a rtu re fo r an artist w hose last record w as “O rd er in the C o u rt,” one o f 1998’s b etter e ffo rts at co m b in in g R&B and h ip -h o p . SAFETY SAFARI learn how to brave the jungle o f everyday dangers at Safety Safari. • Receive an FBI fingerprint kit and Safety Safari passport • Be a “doctor for a day" at our mini play hospital • Ix'arn how to be sate at PGE’s H azard I lam let • ( Jrctk out emergency vehicles. Search and Rescue dogs, and much more. Plus, see a simulated mountain rescue from OM Sl’s roof! Free Museum admission for kids 3-13 with paid adult Additional Support: Linfield-Good Samaritan School o f Nursing Burgerville U S A K ra ft Nabisco Portland Teachers C redit Un ion Epic Imaging For m o re in fo rm a tio n , call 503.797.4588 1945 SE W a t e r A v e n u e • P o rtla n d , O R 9 7 2 1 4 • w w w .o m s i.e d u Guitars Galore on G-Fire Album Award-winning guitarists and sm ooth ja z z a rtists M ark Whitfield and Vernon Neilly have joined forces for the much- anticipated G-Fire II CD re lease. Both artists have journeymen status in the music industry and have worked with some of the most notable artists in modem times such as Dizzy Gillespie, Herb Hancock, Joe Williams, C h arles “ M erry C hristm as Baby” Brown, Teena Marie, The Drifters and many more. Whitfield has been touted many times as one of the pre mier jazz guitarists in the world and has received several Radio and Records and Gavin awards for his radio charting success. Neilly is the recipient of last year's “Smoothie Award” for being one of the most played new artists in com m ercial smooth jazz radio. G-Fire II is available from B oosw eet R ecords at www.boosweet.com or by call ings 10-613-3535.
