ASC presents THE WORLD ON STAGE!

The Alys Stephens Center is proud to present the World on Stage. Throughout this festival, you'll witness a sampling of diverse performers that represent unique cultures and artistic expression from around the globe. Festival Events Include:

The Mystical Arts of Tibet

Witness the famed monks from Tibet's Drepung Loseling Monastery as they perform traditional temple music and mystical masked dances. Starting November 9, the public is invited to observe as they create a beautiful Mandala Sand Painting in the lobby of the ASC everyday from 10 AM to 6 PM. November 11 is the ASC performance at 7 PM.

Poncho Sanchez & His Latin Orchestra

Come to a Poncho Sanchez show and you'll hear fragments of Latin jazz, swing, bebop, salsa, and other infectious grooves colliding and churning. His over 20-year relationship with Concord Records has yielded more than two dozen recordings, a Grammy Award and several Grammy nominations. This promises to be a show you don't want to miss! November 12 at 8 PM.

"The Bollywood Experience"

From classical indian dance inspired by ancient texts to modern dance as seen in the Bollywood films of today, dancer Parul Kapoor will take you on a magical journey through time. You won't want to miss this performance that's enhanced by traditional indian costumes and great music! November 13 at 10 PM and 11:30 PM.

African Children's Choir

No other show title has described an artistic endeavor more aptly than African Children's Choir "Journey of Hope." Through glorious performances the choir raises funds to send the members to school, provide housing, and continued leadership training. We hope you will join us in welcoming these amazing artists to the ASC and experience this joyful celebration of the power of hope, compassion, and the arts. November 14 at 3 PM.

Bill Frisell's Beautiful Dreamers

"It's hard to find a more fruitful meditation on American music than
in the compositions of guitarist Bill Frisell. Mixing rock and
country with jazz and blues, he's found what connects them:
improvisation and a sense of play. Unlike other pastichists, who
tend to duck passion, Mr. Frisell plays up the pleasure in the music
and also takes on another often-avoided subject, tenderness." - The
New York Times

Born in Baltimore, Bill Frisell played clarinet throughout his childhood in
Denver, Colorado. His interest in guitar began with his exposure to pop
music on the radio. Soon, the Chicago Blues became a passion through the
work of Otis Rush, B.B. King, Paul Butterfield and Buddy Guy. In high
school, he played in bands covering pop and soul classics, James Brown
and other dance material. Later, Bill studied music at the University of
Northern Colorado before attending Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Over the years, Frisell has contributed to the work of such collaborators as Paul Motian, John Zorn, Elvis Costello, Ginger Baker, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Suzanne Vega, Loudon Wainwright III, Van Dyke
Parks, Vic Chesnutt, Rickie, Lee Jones, Ron Sexsmith, Vinicius Cantuaria, Marc Johnson (in "Bass Desires"),
Ronald Shannon Jackson and Melvin Gibbs (in "Power Tools"), Marianne Faithful, John Scofield, Jan
Garbarek, Lyle Mays, Vernon Reid, Julius Hemphill, Paul Bley, Wayne Horvitz, Hal Willner, Robin Holcomb,
Rinde Eckert, The Frankfurt Ballet, film director Gus Van Sant, David Sanborn, David Sylvian, Petra Haden
and numerous others, including Bono, Brian Eno, Jon Hassell and Daniel Lanois on the soundtrack for Wim
Wenders’ film Million Dollar Hotel.
This work has established Frisell as one of the most sought-after guitar voices in contemporary music. The
breadth of such performing and recording situations is a testament not only to his singular guitar conception, but
his musical versatility as well. This, however, is old news by now. In recent years, it is Frisell's role as
composer and band leader which has garnered him increasing notoriety.

Bill Frisell brings a rich palette of colors and textures to the ASC on Friday, November 5 at 7:30 PM in the 350 seat Sirote Theater. Tickets will go fast so get yours today at the box office. http://alysstephens.uab.edu/events/?id=81

Greatest Songs Ever!!

Wow! The response to our contest to win tickets for Rosanne Cash has been overwhelming! So many of you have shared your "Greatest Song Ever" with us and that's all it takes to enter. Join the fun and give us your pick for a chance to win at: http://alysstephens.uab.edu/events/?id=79

My 'current' personal favorite is "Call Me" by Al Green.

Here is just a a sample of some of your responses:

Cyndi Lauper's "Time after Time"
"Crying" by Roy Orbison
George Jones, "He Stopped Loving Her Today"
"Unchained Melody""Seven Year Ache"
"The Man Comes Around"
"I Walk the Line" by Johnny Cash
John Denver's "Take Me Home Country Road"
"May the Circle Be Unbroken"
"Son of a Preacher Man"
Elvis Presley's version of "How Great Thou Art"
"You Don't Have to Call Me Darlin', Darlin" by David Allen Coe
"She's Got You"
"God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys
"Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow"
There were many more and the entire list will be posted on the blog on October 15 when the contest ends!
In the meantime, see if one of yours made this list at squido.com!
http://www.squidoo.com/100songs

ASC screens documentary, Burning In The Sun!

26-year-old charmer Daniel Dembele is equal parts West African and European, and looking to make his mark on the world. Seizing the moment at a crossroads in his life, Daniel decides to return to his homeland in Mali and start a local business building solar panels – the first of its kind in the sun drenched nation. Daniel’s goal is to electrify the households of rural communities, 99% of which live without power. BURNING IN THE SUN tells the story of Daniel’s journey growing the budding idea into a viable company, and of the business’ impact on Daniel’s first customers in the tiny village of Banko. Taking controversial stances on climate change, poverty, and African self-sufficiency, the film explores what it means to grow up as a man, and what it takes to prosper as a nation.

http://alysstephens.uab.edu/events/?id=106

African Children's Choir's Journey Of Hope

In 1984, in the midst of Uganda’s bloody civil war, human rights activist Ray Barnett was called on to help the many thousands of orphaned and starving children, abandoned and helpless to feed and protect themselves.
Realizing the enormity of the task Ray and his team came up with a unique approach. The only way to make a meaningful difference was to impact the lives of these children, one child at a time.
Inspired by the singing of one small boy, he formed the first African Children’s Choir to show the world that Africa’s most vulnerable children have beauty, dignity and unlimited ability.

They immediately impressed audiences with their vibrancy and outstanding musical talent and quickly became a mouthpiece for the plight of the many thousands of vulnerable children like them in Uganda. The funds they earned through donations provided for their own support and education and more!
The proceeds of the first African Children’s Choir tour also funded the building of an orphanage back in Kampala from which a second African Children’s Choir was selected.

In the early years they would tour principally in United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The proceeds of their tours and the sponsorship support they would attract funded a growing program of establishing literacy schools to enable the very neediest children to get a foot up into proper education.
Meanwhile, the continuing care, education and development of returning Choir children was assured through the proceeds of Choir tours and the generosity of sponsors and donors.

The African Children's Choir comes to the ASC on Sunday, November 14 for an exciting performance in the Jemison Theater and a Meet-The-Artist show on November 15 for area students! http://alysstephens.uab.edu/events/?id=75

Poncho Sanchez and HIS LATIN ORCHESTRA come to the ASC!

If music were about pictures, percussionist Poncho Sanchez's music would best be described as a kaleidoscopic swirl of some of the hottest colors and brightest lights to emerge from either side of the border. At any given show, on any given record, fragments of Latin jazz, swing, bebop, salsa and other infectious grooves collide and churn in a fiery swirl, with results that are no less than dazzling.

Although born in Laredo, Texas, in 1951 to a large Mexican-American family, Sanchez grew up in a suburb of L.A., where he was raised on an unusual cross section of sounds that included straightahead jazz, Latin jazz and American soul. By his teen years, his musical consciousness had been solidified by the likes of John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Cal Tjader, Mongo Santamaria, Wilson Pickett and James Brown. Along the way, he taught himself to play guitar, flute, drums and timbales, but eventually settled on the congas.

Whether it's salsa, straightahead jazz, Latin jazz, or even elements of soul and blues, the mesmerizing array of sounds and colors from Poncho Sanchez's youth have telegraphed across the decades and continue to inform his creative sensibilities to this day. "There's room for a lot of different sounds in our music," he says. "I think people have come to know that that's what Poncho Sanchez is all about. We put it all together in a pot, boil it together and come out with a big stew. This isn't some marketing strategy to sell records. These are the sounds I grew up with. So when I play this music, I'm not telling a lie. I'm telling my story. This is the real thing."

Poncho brings his distinctive sound to the ASC on Friday, November 12 at 8 PM. Tickets are on sale now at the ASC box office. http://alysstephens.uab.edu/events/?id=74

Rosanne Cash sings from "The List"!

Her last name recalls a towering American cultural icon, but Rosanne Cash has carved out a distinctive career on her own as an innovative and idiosyncratic songwriter.
From the three years she spent after high school graduation on tour with her father -- from handling the tour‟s laundry duties to her promotion as a backup singer -- the daughter of Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Liberto, has forged her own place in American music.
She was nominated for a 2010 Grammy Award for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals" for "Sea of Heartbreak," a duet with Bruce Springsteen that appears on her critically acclaimed album The List - her ninth career nomination.

And this in a career that spans 12 albums, two of which went to No. 1 on the Billboard charts. Her records spawned 10 No. 1 Billboard singles and 21 Top 40 singles-- and earned her a Grammy in 1985.
But it wasn‟t until now that she was able to record "The List," a deeply personal album that Rolling Stone has awarded 3½ stars--a paean to her father.

Produced with her Grammy-nominated husband John Leventhal, "The List" includes tunes by Bob Dylan ("Girl From the North Country"); Jimmie Rodgers ("Miss the Mississippi"); Patsy Cline ("She‟s Got You"); Merle Haggard ("Silver Wings); and, of course, the Carter Family‟s "Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow." The last was her most personal; June was her stepmother, and Maybelle and Helen taught her to play guitar and proved heavy influences on her as a songwriter.

The new CD is garnering critical raves: American Songwriter says the album is "imbued with tremendous life force." Rolling Stone says, "These imaginative interpretations would make Papa proud."

Rosanne performs in an intimate duo setting at the ASC on Friday, October 22 at 8 PM. Tickets are onsale now at the box office!

http://alysstephens.uab.edu/events/?id=79