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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 2005)
February 16. 2005 ______________ M ) B lack H istory M onth .W c o v e r a g e _____________________________________ — Focus Grammys Fitting Ray Charles Eulogy 'Genius Loves Company' wins eight awards Great ideas have no racial bounderies. A tribute to th e late Ray Charles a t th e 4 7th Annual Gram m y Awards. (AP photo) (AP) — On the night when all of music bands together for one genre- busting party, Ray Charles received a fitting eulogy Sunday as his final album, “Genius Loves Company,” won a leading eight Grammys. Much like his career, the album C harles recorded in the final months of his life spans soul, rock ’n ’ roll, R&B, country, jazz and blues. It won album o f the year and best pop album; the song “Here We Go A gain,” with Norah Jones, won record of the year and best pop collaboration with vo cals. “I’m going to cry, actually,” Jones said as she accepted the tro phy for record of the year. “I think it just shows how wonderful music can be.” Other winners included Alicia Keys and Usher, each nominated foreight Grammys. Keys won four while Usher had three. They shared one award, for best R&B perfor mance by a duo or group with vo cals for their chart-topping duet, “My Boo.” U2 won three awards, including best rock performance by a duo or group. Green Day, the most nomi nated rock act with six for their politically charged punk opera “American Idiot,” won best rock album. The most nominated artist o f the year was perhaps the most multi fa c e te d — K anye W est, the songwriter-producer who made his rap debut in 2004 with the cutting- edge CD “The College Dropout.” He was nominated for 1 OGrammys, including album of the year, but only took home three, including best rap album and best rap song for “Jesus W alks.” He was upset in the best new artist category, losing to Maroon 5 in a race that also included country singer Gretchen Wilson, the Los Lonely Boys and soul siren Joss Stone. West went on to deliver an eye popping performance o f “Jesus The son o f a former slave, enlisted in the Navy at age 16 and served as a cabin boy aboard the U.S.S. Massasoit. After the Civil War, he learned mechanical drawing while working in a patent attorney’s Alicia Keys p o s e s with her four Gram m y Awards for b e s t R&B album , b e s t R&B song, b e s t R&B fem a le vocal perform ance and b e s t R&B p erform ance by a duo or group with vocals. (AP photo) system for railroad cars. In 1882, his job with the United States Electrical Lighting Pioneers. Latimer also supervised the installation o f electric lighting in New York City, Philadelphia, and Montreal. His textbook, "Incandescent Electric Lighting: A Practical Description o f the Edison System, ” was published in 1890. U sher a n d J a m e s Brown perform "Caught Up" at th e Gram m y Awards on S u n d a y a t th e S ta p le s C enter in Los A ngeles. (AP photo) ♦ PACIFIC POWER Salutes Black History Month www.pacificpower.net Walks” and an emotional accep tance speech for best rap album. Perhaps the ev en in g ’s most exhilarating performance was from M elissa Etheridge. The rocker, who is battling breast cancer, took to the stage for a Janis Joplin tribute with a shaved head but stro n g v o ice, and receiv ed a standing ovation. But ultim ately, the night b e longed to Ray Charles. “Genius Loves Com pany” sold more than tw o m illion copies — the most of his 60-plus album s. Besides the four aw ards for best album and song, “G enius Loves C om pany” won for best instrum ental ar rangem ent accom panying a vo calist, best gospel perform ance, best engineered album and best surround sound album. Charles was 73 when he died in June, with a total of 12 Grammys in his 50-plus year career. The most he ever won in one night was four in 1960, including two for the classic “Georgia On My Mind.” That was the song performed Sunday by Keys and the actor J amie Foxx, considered an Oscar lock for his portrayal of Charles in “Ray.” Foxx, a more then decent musi cian, sat at a piano opposite Keys as Quincy Jones conducted the orchestra. “For an old friend,” Foxx said as he began to play. “Beloved," which w asn't a hit in theaters. In retro spect, Winfrey said that should have been on TV. “ I thought I was done with my acting days, but I loved being a part of the ‘Desperate Housewives’ so much that I'mthinking I might do something else soon,” Winfrey told re porters Sunday. “You got any ideas?” she asked. “I'm open.” Oprah Winfrey Jazz Pioneer Fused Sounds ( AP)— Jimmy Smith, an award- winningjazz organist who was con sidered a pioneer with the instru ment, died Feb. 8 of natural causes at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 79. “Jimmy Smith transform ed the organ intoajazz. instrum ent. Jazz has lost a pioneering talent, not to m e n tio n a o n e -o f - a - k in d personality,” N ational E ndow ment for the Arts C hairm an Dana G ioiasaid. Bom in Norristown. Pa., in 1925, Smith ruled the Hammond B-3 or gan in the 1950s and 1960s, fusing R&B. blues, and gospel influences Boston law office. He later became a chief draftsman. In 1873 he invented a toilet Co. led him to work with Thomas Edison and become one o f the famous Edison Oprah Wants to Return to Acting (AP) - Oprah W in frey’s been bitten by the acting bug again - and you can thank the des perate housewives. Marc Cherry, creator of the hit ABC show, w ro te a “ D esp e ra te H ousew ives” skit for W infrey's daytime talk show. She got to play several of the roles. Her last acting stint was in the 1998 movie Lewis Howard Latimer (1848-1928) with bebop references. Sm ith's sessions with record la bel Blue Note from 1956 to 1963 in c lu d e d c o lla b o ra tio n s w ith Kenny Burrell, Lee Morgan, Lou Donaldson, Tina Brooks, Jackie McLean, Ike Quebec and Stanley Turrentine. He started playing the Hammond organ in 1951. “Jimmy was one of the greatest and most innovative musicians of ourtime,” said fellow Hammond B- 3 artist Joey DeFrancesco. The two recently recorded an album together called Legacy, which is scheduled to be released next week. BLACK H ISTO RY MONTH 2 0 0 5 Reed College celebrates with an art exhibition & special lectures CORNEL WEST LECTURE & BOOK SIGNING 7:30 p.m . February 18 Raul A uditorium TIM SE1BLES POETRY READING Author of Buffalo H ead Solos 8 p.m . February 24 Vollum Lounge Photographs by Ruth-Marion Baruch & I’ irkle Jones EXHIBITION T hrough February 20 D ou glas F. C ooley M em orial Art G allery A ll event® are fr e e IS o p en to th e public; s e a tin g i® lim ite d . V isit w eb .reed .ed u /b la ck h isto ry m o n th / or c a ll th e R eed event® lin e at 503 /7 7 7 -7 7 5 5 . I fee C o rn e l W est is th e C lass o f 1943 U niv ersity P ro fesso r o f R eligion a t P rin c e to n U n iv ersity . W est's sc h o la rsh ip w eav es to g e th e r th e A m e ric a n tra d itio n s o f th e B aptist c h u rc h , tra n s c e n d e n ta lis m , socialism , a n d p ra g m a tism . H is b est-sellin g book, Race M atters, c h a n g e d th e c o u rse o f A m e ric a ’s dialo g u e o n race, ju stic e , a n d d e m o c ra c y ; th e follow -up, D em ocracy M atters, h a s re c e n tly b e e n p u b lish e d . West re c e iv e d h is b a c h e lo r o f a rts fro m H arv ard a n d h is I’h.D . from P rin c e to n . BLACK PANTHERS 1968: Jimmy Smith A JAMES GIBSON LECTI Rl, “C an 'ITuth R econcile a D ivided N a tio n ? ” 7 p.m . February 28 Y'ollum L ecture H all reed R e e d C o lle g e 3 2 0 3 SE W o o d s to c k B ird P o r tla n d , O r e g o n