The Queen Left Her Imprint

[caption id="attachment_261" align="alignnone" width="288" caption="The Queen poses with ASC Exec Dir Caron Thornton and John Thornton"][/caption]

Just imagine, hundreds of Birmingham's biggest arts supporters dressed in their red-carpet finest with hands in the air, grooving to the funk and soul of Queen Latifah.  It was a great sight to see!

Here's some of the feedback coming our way today.  Everyone seems to have enjoyed the performance and full gala experience (with the noted exception of Mary Colurso, review link below.)

"What a wonderful Gala! Queen Latifah was fabulous. I can't remember a show that I have enjoyed more than this performance." - Judy Moriarty Lewis, ticket buyer 

 

"Queen Latifah's performance at the StarLight Gala last night was, as expected, another jewel in the crown of...the Alys Stephens Center." - Phyllis McCombs, ticket buyer  

 

 

 

 

[caption id="attachment_262" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="After performance dinner"][/caption]

"Queen Latifah needed a better sound mix at Stephens Center gala in Birmingham." - The Birmingham News, Mary Colurso, http://blog.al.com/mcolurso/2009/04/queen_latifah_saturday_night_a.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trav'lin' Light Reviews

Queen Latifah is one of those rare pop celebrities that doesn't fuel her success by putting her personal life in the spotlight.  She's always let her music take the stage. 

Here's what's being said about her new disc Trav'lin' Light.

Amazon.com
With Trav'lin' Light, singer/actress/rapper/Cover Girl Queen Latifah (née Dana Owens) continues her chameleonic pan-stardom. The latest musical chapter in Latifah's success-studded career began with 2004's The Dana Owens Album, on which she emerged as a nuanced crooner of jazz and R&B standards. She continues this mode on her Verve records debut, adding ample individuality to such well-loved classics as Johnny Mercer's title track, Nina Simone's "I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl," and Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars" (with legendary harmonica pioneer Toots Thielemans). Steve Wonder's own harmonica playing lends nostalgic ornament to an otherwise rather forced "Georgia Rose," and much of the album languishes in similarly downbeat fare, though Latifah's voice is never wholly unbecoming of her song choices. Toward the album's end comes a welcome swerve for the energetic. Inspiring takes on the Pointer Sisters' "How Long" and Curtis Mayfield's "Gone Away" lead into the soaring choruses of "I Know Where I've Been." Taken together, these three songs superbly straddle the spectrum from the former rapper to the still-newly minted singer with a long lease on success and a peerless sense of how to grow older gracefully. --Jason Kirk

The Boston Phoenix

Queen Latifah is never going to be Billie Holiday or even Macy Gray, but 2004’s surprise hit, The Dana Owens Album, proved she had a set of pipes. Trav’lin Light, her second set of standards and first recording for Verve, vindicates the rapper-turned-actress-turned-diva from any lingering charges of crossover pandering; she’s obviously as serious about this as any of her other pursuits. Abetted by a small army of producers and support players, Latifah croons her way through tunes by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Nina Simone, Peggy Lee, and the Pointer Sisters respectfully, enthusiastically, and competently, albeit not particularly distinctively. Stevie Wonder’s harmonica on “Georgia Rose” is so immediately identifiable that it threatens to steal the vocalist’s thunder, and Latifah’s foray into Motown territory, Smokey Robinson’s “What Love Has Joined Together,” would have been a buried Tammi Terrell B-side had Latifah been working for Berry Gordy. But her blues is formidable on Simone’s “I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl,” she swings like crazy on the Sarah Vaughan vehicle “I’m Gonna Live Till I Die,” and the über-production of the Impressions’ “Gone Away” justifies the Queen-sized vocal Latifah brings to it.

Put on your dancing shoes…

And get ready to SALSA! To really enjoy the pulsating and addictive rhythm of SALSA, you have to dance to it! You’ll get a chance to learn how to dance SALSA this Saturday, March 21 at the Alys Stephens Center before Spanish Harlem Orchestra hits the stage at 8 p.m. I’m excited to teach you the basic SALSA step and a simple combination that you and a partner could enjoy. There is nothing like dancing to a great SALSA band like SHO. After Saturday you too might become a “salsa addict” like me. The lessons start at 7 p.m. in the lobby. We shall see you on Saturday!

John "salseroblanko" Morey
SALSA SPECIALIST

John Morey is a Salsa Specialist from Huntsville, AL. To learn more about salsa lessons, please contact him at salseroblanko@yahoo.com or go to his website at www.salseroblanko.net. John taught the first Beginner Salsa boot camp in Huntsville and in Birmingham. John will have a Beginner Salsa boot camp on the same day as SHO at Magic City Ballroom. The boot camp starts at noon. For more info about registration for the Beginner Salsa boot camp, contact Magic City Ballroom at (205) 238-9008, website is www.magiccityballroom.com/index2.html.

All Hail the Queen

I love to see an artist evolve and show me what they can do. You really don’t see it often, but the ones that can do everything, usually try it. Some succeed and some do not. Have you seen anything from Vanilla Ice since he did the movie “Cool as Ice?” I didn’t think so. Britney Spears, although she’s had some success on the small screen, hasn’t done anything on the big screen since “Crossroads” and for good reason, because that movie was really a stinker . What about stars crossing over from the screen into the music world? Sometimes I want to say…. “Oh, no you didn’t.”



There are those stars that can do everything and succeed. Queen Latifah anyone? If you haven’t heard her early rap work, you should, because it is ground breaking. If you haven’t seen “Chicago” or “The Secret Life of Bees,” you should, because they are both astounding performances. If you haven’t heard her jazz albums, they will amaze you. Queen can do it all. Not many artists can do it all, but she can. I’m happy that I get to hear that jazz soon and very soon. When they announced the ASC gala artist for 2009…. I said to myself… “What better? A Queen!”

Check out Queen Latifah’s version of “Poetry Man” here.

Don't miss her live performance at the Alys Stephens Center on April 4, 2009! Great seats are still remaining! Tickets are $125 each and include a posh pre-show reception with complimentary wine, beer, and hors d’oeuvres and reserved seats for Queen Latifah’s performance. This is the Alys Stephens Center’s only fundraiser of the year and the funds raised benefit the Center’s educational and programming offerings. For tickets, call (205) 975-2787.

The Movie Bug

After last night's wonderful Oscar ceremony, I find myself wanting to skip out on this "work thing" and spend all day seeing movies.  Ah, a girl can dream!

This year's ceremony focused less on trying to be funny (when was the last time it succeeded at that?) and more on the movie-making process and the many elements that have to come together to get a story off the ground, into production, and then into a theatre.  When you think about it, giving all the hurdles in place, it's a miracle that a movie even gets made.  And, when it's finished it does become a work of art - as much as a canvas or a recording. 

That's why I'm happy the ASC is presenting the Short Circuit Traveling Film Festival on Saturday, March 7.  This gives us all a chance to celebrate the art of filmmaking and in this particular case, salute our fellow Southerners and their talents.

Whether you're a film maker, film buff, or just someone who enjoys being a witness to creativity, we hope you will join us for one or both of the short films sections.  

Here's what's in store:

Alys Stephens Center presents a SOUTHERN SAMPLER



This exciting new film festival spotlights recently produced short films by filmmakers from the Southeast. Screening One and Two feature a completely different film lineup. Come to one event or all three!

Tickets are $10 each per event, or you can reserve the full experience for only $25!

Shorts Screening 1 ($10): 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. 

Session 1 Films include:
Crossin' All the Boundaries
Undocumented
Our World
Going to the Beach
Torn Asunder
99 to 1: Ovarian Cancer and Me
Swimming to the Moon

Chat ‘n Chew Dinner Break ($10): Box dinners will be available featuring Southern favorites like black eye pea salad, pecan chicken salad sandwich, fruit, dessert, and iced tea. Cash Bar also available. Plus, check out Southern crafts and artwork. Please reserve your box dinner in advance.

Shorts Screening 2 ($10): 7:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Session 2 Films include:
The Mess
Carnival Picaresque
Category 4
February Stars
I Always Do My Collars First

Click here to read the full film descriptions:  http://www.uab.edu/images/asc/2008/pdf/ShortCircuit_Poster.pdf

Here's just a taste:

99 to 1: Ovarian Cancer and Me
Documentary Short
Directed by Phoebe Brown
Atlanta, Georgia

In the summer of 2005, doctors said they were 99% sure that filmmaker Phoebe Brown did not have ovarian cancer. She turned out to be part of the 1%. "99 to 1" is a quirky, funny self-portrait of a cancer survivor.

I Always Do My Collars First: A Film About Ironing
Documentary Short
Directed by Conni Castille and Allison Bohl
Breaux Bridge, Louisiana

This short documentary follows four dynamic Cajun women in Southwestern Louisiana as they go about their daily lives and their ironing routine. An emotional and cultural process, ironing is performed with an aesthetic sensibility that helps define these women and their families.

Images from "On Stage w/ the Band" to Enjoy

Granted we're a pretty enthusiastic bunch, but that's probably why we work in the arts.  But the level of excitement surrounding the ASC's first "On Stage w/the Band" event has been off the charts.  We developed this concept to meet our pressing desire to present artists in a smaller setting.  And there could have been no better band to join us in this experiement than Cowboy Junkies. 

Check out these cool images!

[caption id="attachment_209" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="The audience up close & personal with cowboy junkies"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_215" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="like seeing a show in a really large living room"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_216" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="our lighting guy rocks"][/caption]

 

Mary Colurso gave the show 4 out of 5 stars
Hurt’s so Good: Cowboy Junkies Go Over to the Dark Side at Alys Stephens Center (Birmingham News)

http://blog.al.com/mcolurso/2009/02/cowboy_junkies_tuesday_night_a.html

Have suggestions for other artists you think would make a good fit for the "On Stage" series?  Email jesssimpson@uab.edu.

Did we just see a genius at work?

All the coffee room chatter at the ASC this morning is about Saturday night's performance of the Punch Brothers.  The expectations for Chris Thile were high coming in...but he just blew everyone away.  Is it possible that his playing has gotten even better from two years ago when he performed here with Nickel Creek? 

And, big props go to Jason Bailey and his band who performed for the after party!  It can't be easy to follow up an act like the Punch Bros, but Jason & Co. put on a fantastic show, even getting praise from the Punch Bros themselves who were in the lobby signing CDs. 

Here are a few photos from the night:

Don't you wish you had a tshirt?

[caption id="attachment_204" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="The ASC staff with the Punch Brothers"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_205" align="alignnone" width="288" caption="Just the guys"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_206" align="alignnone" width="288" caption="Punch Bros with the Jason Bailey Band"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_201" align="alignnone" width="288" caption="Punch Bros take the stage"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_202" align="alignnone" width="288" caption="After Party featuring the Jason Bailey Band "][/caption]