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Phyllis Hyman
Releases First
Lp In Four Years
By Loretta Richardson
Post Staff Writer
' Once Phyllis Hyman proceeds
.to belt out a song, even the chirp-,
ing birds stop to listen. It's been
that way , since the sultry
singer's career started with a top
i 40s'group, The New Direction,
that the country and theCa
rib
getting her own group
going, Ms. Hyman was affiliated
with All the People. Then she
formed the Phyllis Hyman Fac
tor.
While dementing her career in
the upper westside of New York
City around 1075, Ms. Hyman
caught the attention of Norman
Connors who immediately
signed her as the featured vocal
ist on his "You Are My Starship"
album.
Hearing her voice on wax obvi
ously whet Ms. Hyman's appetite
to pursue recording ventures.
'Within two years, Ms. Hyman
rslsased her debut album which
included the classic "Laving
'You-Losing You* and "I Don’t
Want To Lose You." „
I The albums that Ms. Hyman
has recorded since that time,
"Somewhere in My Lifetime,"
"Yon Know How To Lev# Ms,"
j "Can't We Fall In Love Again"
and "Goddess of Love" testify to
• 1 the increasing vocal maturation
of an exceptionally talented per
former .
By 'Al the album production
■lowed. As a matter of fact it was
in 'AS that her last album, before
thl* year's was rseordsd. Phyllis
. jfi ,, ••■xsjJ t-. '
took a new direction. Broadway
and the Duke Ellington musical,
“Sophisticated Ladies" became
the focus of Ms. Hyman's profes
sional energies. So outstanding
was Ms. Hyman's performance,
she won a Tony nomination for
Best Supporting Actress in a mu
sical and a Theatre World
Award for Most Promising New
Talent.
After a four year hiatus from
recording, Ms. Hyman, now ap
pearing on the road with the
"Jazz Explosion* tour with jazz
greats Jean Carne SUnley Tur
rentine and Ramsey Lewis has
released her most reeent record
ing endeavor, “Living All
Alone*.
Still diversifying, Ms. Hyman
has scheduled her first speaking
engagements. "I'm about to em
bark on my first two lectures, one
on the music business, being a
black woman who heads her own
company and the other on the im
portance of a new sickle cell fa
cility in Pittsburgh.
“Despite her success, Phylljs
Hyman still fsals the need to
achieve, to grew. She isn't satis
fied."
"Never satisfied," she said. "I
am plaaaed. I am happy. 1 feel
confident about the fature. And
I'm never satisfied, no. Never
going to be satiefied until I get my
fair share. As long as they take
talentless people you see every
day-you know what I'm talking
about— and make those people
stare, I'm never going to be satis
fied." W; ,
Ebony JoAnn mm May Ann, Louis Arnudrong'g mother and Kenyatta as
deal celebrating the life and times of the Jazz great, Louis Armstrong
the young"Satchmo" share a tender moment in this scene from the mu
Ebony Jo-Ann Portrays
* Louis‘Armstrong’s Mother, Wife
By Loretta Richardson
Post Staff Writer
On the upper level of Ovens Au
ditorium voices can be heard dis
cussing script changes in the up
coming musical, "SATCHMO:
An American Musical Legend."
In another part of the auditorium
the young lad portraying Louis
Armstrong as a child rehearse a
scene where Armstrong gets a
chance to show off his trumpet
playing.
The meeting upstairs finally
breaks. Descending from the
stairs is Ebony Jo-Ann, the ac
tress who plays not only, Louis
Armstrong's mother, but his wife
as well.
The dual roles Ebony Jo-Ann.
plays almost went to another ac
tress. According to her, when she
found out about the musical there
wasn't the slightest possibility
that she could audition for the
part.
"I just happened to run into
Maurice Hinee, the choreograph
er of the show and he was telling
me about it At that time, though,
the musical was hiring nonunion
actors and actresses and I am a
member of the Actor's Union,"
commented Ms. Jo-Ann.
Not giving the musical a sec
ond thought Ebony went on to au
dition for and land a part in a
play called, "Waking Women,"
written by Cassandra Medley.
"The play was wonderful. It was
the most challenging piece I've
been in. The play centered
around a woman named Ms.
Edie who ofTers condolences to a
neighbor. She has a 30 minute
monologue and I loved every
minute of it."
But that wasn't tha and of
"Satchmo". Nor was that tha and
of Ebony Jo-Ann. Tha musical
began using union actors and ac
tresses and .the production stag*
director, Jerry Cleveland
Pressed to the producer end direc
tor that they see Ebony.
From tha beginning the dual
roles of MayAnn, Louis Arm
strong’s mother and Lucille, his
wile, ware to be a packaged deal.
Having had to embody these two
powerful figures, Ebony has only
had to draw upon her own expsri
enss. "For MayAnn who is a
sassy and articulate person, I've
drawn from my family environ
ment I go with what 1 know. Lu
High spirited dance scenes like the one pictured
Hines.
above were expertly choreographed by Maurice
"SATCHMOt Amarlea'i Moateal Ufnd*.
Jmm»m Bowen ee Jo* "King” Oliver In
ciua, who la moru boiataroua
'makaa ma raach back to my up*
bringing in Connecticut.”
-Far Ebony, portraying black
woman and •specially black
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