June 19, 2022
December 21, 2020
Merry Christmas
Christmas is my least favorite time of the year. The coronavirus pandemic has eliminated a lot of the fake cheerfulness.
While I don’t like the commercialism, I love the reason for the season – and Christmas blues.
June 21, 2020
Must–See TV: Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
Toni Morrison was a writer, book editor, college professor, activist and visionary. Morrison’s much-loved novel, Beloved, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. In 1993, she became the first black woman of any nationality to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Morrison received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civil honor, from President Barack Obama during a White House ceremony in 2012. President Obama said:
Toni Morrison's prose brings us that kind of moral and emotional intensity that few writers ever attempt. From Song of Solomon to Beloved, Toni reaches us deeply, using a tone that is lyrical, precise, distinct, and inclusive. She believes that language “arcs toward the place where meaning might lie.” The rest of us are lucky to be following along for the ride.
American Masters presents the U.S. broadcast premiere of the documentary Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am on Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at 8:00pm ET on PBS.
December 30, 2019
November 26, 2019
July 28, 2019
2019 BlackStar Film Festival
The 8th Annual BlackStar Film Festival will be held August 1-4, 2019, in Philadelphia. The film festival “is an annual celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of the African diaspora and of global communities of color, showcasing films by black, brown and indigenous people from around the world.”
The four-day festival features 115 films, eight panels and conversations, workshops, pitch session, marketplace and opening night party. Highlights include BOSS: The Black Experience in Business, directed by Stanley Nelson, and the Philadelphia premiere of When I Get Home, directed and edited by Solange Knowles, and The Apollo, the story of the iconic cultural mecca.
I am particularly interested in the panel discussions and the sneak preview of Hip Hop: The Songs that Shook the World, co-executive produced by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter. The six-part AMC documentary series will explore the socioeconomic and cultural conditions that gave “voice to the voiceless and the have-nots.”
This year marks the 30th anniversary of Do The Right Thing. Filmmaker Spike Lee and Tarana Burke, founder of the #MeToo movement, will be in conversation about art, social justice and social change.
For the full schedule and ticket information, visit BlackStar Film Fest.
April 29, 2019
International Jazz Day 2019
All good things must come to an end, including Jazz Appreciation Month. But the celebration of America’s gift to the world will end on a high note at the International Jazz Day Global Concert in Melbourne, Australia.
In November 2011, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated April 30 as International Jazz Day “in order to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe”:
International Jazz Day brings together communities, schools, artists, historians, academics and jazz enthusiasts all over the world to celebrate and learn about jazz and its roots, future and impact; raise awareness of the need for intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding; and reinforce international cooperation and communication. Every year on April 30, this international art form is recognized for fostering gender equality and for promoting individual expression, peace, dialogue among cultures, diversity, respect for human dignity, and the eradication of discrimination.
Jazz pianist Herbie Hancock (USA) and trumpeter James Morrison (Australia) are artistic co-directors of the All-Star Global Concert; John Beasley (USA) is the musical director. Confirmed artists include: Confirmed artists include: Cieavash Arian (Iran), William Barton (Australia), Brian Blade (USA), Dee Dee Bridgewater (USA), A Bu (China), Igor Butman (Russian Federation), Joey DeFrancesco (USA), Eli Degibri (Israel), Kurt Elling (USA), James Genus (USA), Paul Grabowsky (Australia), Antonio Hart (USA), Matthew Jodrell (Australia), Aditya Kalyanpur (India), Ledisi (USA), James Muller (Australia), Eijiro Nakagawa (Japan), Mark Nightingale (United Kingdom), Chico Pinheiro (Brazil), Tineke Postma (Netherlands), Eric Reed (USA), Antonio Sánchez (Mexico), Somi (USA), Ben Williams (USA), Lizz Wright (USA) and Tarek Yamani (Lebanon).
Feeling down because you can’t make it Down Under? No problem. The concert will be webcast on YouTube.
