Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Jan. 9, 1997, edition 1 / Page 19
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Cfje CI)arlotte THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 1997 SBIARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Badu looks to be big in coming year By Winfred B. Cross THE CHARLOTTE POST Hit play to have say at Belk theatre Sunday Ok & Ok (icK^ie) ^eiclu *W ^eCSiyutc ^euKzl, frtaduceftA 'K.tdan. SKte>ttUH*KetU ☆ ☆ ☆ this age of sound alike singers, Erykah Badu could be looked upon as a breath of fresh air.She isn’t attempting to sound like Mary J. Blige or Faith Evans. She doesn’t have the pipes to attempt Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey, for that matter. What Badu pos sesses is a voice that doesn’t sound like anyone else’s. You could make the case she’s faintly reminiscent of Billie Holiday. OK, OK, that’s a stretch, but she isn’t afraid to take chances. I cautiously say she could be fresh because I’m not crazy about the single “On & On.” I ■will say it’s different. Badu takes jazz-spiced vocals and laces them with a mellow hip hop jeep beat that’s easy on the ear. But upon closer inspection, it is not quite as deep as it appears to be. The l3rrics hinge on being silly, but they are just the thing the cur rent generation is looking for. The single is already getting tremendous amounts of air play. Included are snippets from her forthcoming CD Baduizm. None of the songs are particularly memorable, except a wretched remake of an obscure Atlantic Starr song “Touch A Four Leaf Clover,” Not to .worry. The single ■will give this woman a mega hit. Marketing is power. IDeKUcc "U/iUiiiuKa. *)t j4tl T>0U€«C 'WiUteUlM, /4(tlK utd /4Ke(>tem fmadueeftt- ; ■ ^eniece Williams has always been able to gra^vitate between the secular and gospel genres. She hasn’t recorded either in years. She’s broken her association with Columbia Records and has hooked up with Upstage Records, a British company. 'The result is Love Solves It AH; a collection of spirited songs that show Williams still has a lot of voice left. She uses all of it on “One More Buss,” which finds her gliding effort lessly skyward toward those big notes she used to hit on songs! like “Sill3^ and “Let’s Here Tt For The Boy.” There are other songs, such as “Why You Wanna Do Me?” and “Fallen Angel,” but none of them have the spark as William^ other hits. Thankful% the last three songs are spiritually-based and have some of the fervor of her gospel recordings. The last song^ “Great Is Thy Fafthfulness,” shows she has at least one gesfiel recording left in her. By Winfred B. Cross THE CHARLOTTE POST N.C. natives Sadie and Bessie Delany didn’t think much of the idea of talking to a New York 'Times reporter about their lives. They didn’t think they had much to say. Were they wrong or what? The sisters gained nationwide notoriety from the article, which led to a best-selling book, which led to a hit- Broadway play that’s leading to a soon-to-be-released movie. The play, aptly titled “Having Our Say,” has left Broadway and makes a stop in Charlotte Sunday for two per formances at 2 and 7 p.m at the N.C. Blumenthal Performing Arts Center’s Belk Theatre. The play centers on the hfe of the country’s most famous cen tenarians. The sisters were the third and fourth children of 10 bom to a former slave. Their father was eventually elected the first black bishop in the Episcopal Church and was a teacher at St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh. Their mother worked at the college as an adminis trator. The sisters were raised in a middle class home that didn’t have lots of money, but their household placed a premium on education. Bessie (who died in September 1995 at 104 years old) graduated from the Columbia Dental School and was one of two black women to be an accredited dentist in New York. Sadie received a master’s degree from ijr , - . -i; f : £' ;■ i't*..'' ‘V'.' • little old ladies talking pleas antly in the living room,” Mitchell said. “But this play is life for the past 100 years.” Emily Mann directs the play. She was nominated for Best Play and Outstanding Director of a Play by the Tony Awards and Drama Desk Awards for “Ha^ving Our Say.” She wrote the script from Amy Hill Hearth’s book “Ha^ving Our Say: 'The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years,” which has sold more than 1.5 million copies in hard copy and paperback. She praised the work as something that transcends race. “It’s not only a portrait of women overcoming barriers with souls and hearts in tact, but one of the greatest mar riages any of us will ever see,” Mann said. “Doing for others. education, God and family — those four pillars gave them the springboard to set extraor dinary standards.” The play opened on Broadway April 6, 1995 and ran for 8 l/2months, giving 302 performances. It garnered tremendous critical praise, receiving nominations from the Outer Critics Circle Awards, Drama Desk Awards, and Tbny Awards. 'Tickets for the “Having Our Sa3f” range from $12 - $34 and are available at the Blumenthal’s box office by call ing (704) 372-1000. Tickets may also be purchased at any 'KcketMaster location or can be charged by calling (704) 552-6500. Micki Grant and Lizan Mitchell from “Having Our Say” Columbia University in New York and was the first black home economics teacher in New York high schools. A quick glance at their lives would make one believe the sisters were privileged. Maybe. But they experienced every facet of of American life from the 1890s to the 1990s. They dealt with racism, Jim Crow, the Great Depression and whatever else life had to throw at them. Micki Grant will portray Sadie. Grant is a four-time Tony nominee and a recipient of an Obie, an NAACP Image Award and a Drama Desk Babyface earns 12 nods in latest Grammy race See SOUNDS page 5B THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK - Producer, songwriter and recording artist Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds was nominated for 12 Grammy Awards Monday, tying a record set 14 years ago by Michael Jackson. Smashing Pumpkins received seven nominations, including album of the year for “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness,” while 'Tracy Chapman and Vince Gill were each nominated for five awards. The televised Grammy Award ceremony will be held in New York’s Madison Square Garden on Feb. 26. Babyface, as he is known, had a role in two of the nomi nees for song of the year, a songwriting award. He was nominated for ■writing “Exhale ( S h 0 0 p Shoop),” sung by Whitney Houston. He pro duced Eric Clapton’s “Change the World,” for which songwriters Gordon Kennedy, Wayne Kirkpatrick and Tommy Sims were nominated. Clapton’s “Change the World” was also nominated for record of the year, along ■with Chapman’s comeback hit, “Give Me One Reason,” Canadian chanteuse Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me,” Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic” and Smashing Pumpkins’ “1979.” Other nominees for album of the year include the ‘Waiting to Exhale” soundtrack, Dion’s “Falling Into You,” Beck’s “Odelay” and “'The Score” by the Fugees. In addition to the two Babyface-related songs, nomi nees for song of the year were “Because You Loved Me,” LeAnn Rimes’ “Blue” and Houston “Give Me One Reason.” Nominees for best new artist were country singer Rimes, the Tony Rich Project, Jewel, Garbage and current chart- toppers No Doubt. Babyface’s record ties Jackson’s high-water mark in the Grammys. Jackson was nominated for 12 and won eight awards in 1983, the year his best-selUng “'Thriller” dom inated the music world. Although he’s a hit-making recording artist in his own right, Babyface is better known for his behind-the- scenes work that drew such stars as Houston and Clapton to him. He’s been nominated for 23 Grammy Awards since 1988, and has won six. . Clapton, Dion, producer David Foster, newcomer The Tony Rich Project and Pierre Boulez were each nominated for four Grammy Awards. Ballots will be sent next week to the 9,000 voting mem bers of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, who determine the award win ners. Nominees for 89 cate gories were announced Monday. The Beatles were nominated for best pop performance by a duo or group for “Free As a Bird,” one of the songs resur rected from old John Lennon tapes with later vocals and instruments added by the sur- ■viving Beatles. They will com pete ■with the Gin Blossoms, Journey, the Neville Brothers, Take 6 and the Presidents of the United States of America. Dion, Jewel, Shawn CoMn, Toni Braxton and Gloria Estefan were nominated for best female pop vocal perfor mance. Clapton, Sting, the Tony Rich Project, John Mellencamp and Bryan Adams were nominated for best male pop vocal performance. The category best pop collab oration with vocals ■'will fea ture some strange pairings: Frank Sinatra and Luciano Pavarotti; Natalie Cole with her late father, Nat “King” See Grammy page 6B Award. Grant wrote and starred in “Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope.” She also por trayed attorney Peggy Nolan on NBC’s “Another World.” Bessie will be portrayed by Lizan Mitchell. Her acting cre dentials are extensive as well. She’s done “Fences,” “Amen Corner,” “Medea” and “So Long On Lonely Street.” She has been nominated for Best Actress by the Outer Critic’s Drama Circle for her role in “So Long.” Mitchell, a Greensboro native, says people will be sur prised by the play. “They think it’s gonna be two The Artist to play Charlotte By Winfred B. Cross THE CHARLOTTE POST His name was Prince and he was funky. Now he’s ‘The Artist’ and he’s still funky, but also more mellow and charitable. So charitable that he’s on a 15-city tour (which started 'Tuesday in Philadelphia) dubbed “Love 4 One Another Charities Tour” that will donate all the money to charity. Tlie concert, stop 11 on the tour, is 8 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Charlotte Hornets Tredning Center in Fort Mill, S.C. 'Tickets are $35 and will go on sale early next week through 'KcketMaster out lets. “He doesn’t get a dime for the tour,” said J. Howell of C&J Concert Promotions, which has a hand in the concert. “He’s not doing anything for the money. He’s putting up a lot of his own money. He really wants to do things for kids. He’s settled, happier and on a mission.” The Artist’s mission so far is a success. Demand for tickets has been incredible. “TheYve been beating down the doors,” HoweU said. One venue sold out in five minutes. The Atlanta event sold out in three. To try to avoid scMpers, Howell said tickets wQl go on sale early next week, not Friday as was previously advertised. All venues range in size from 2,500 to 5,000 seats - small for a performer of 'The Artist’s stature. But that’s exactly what he wants. “He wants to do small clubs because he wants to be close to his people,” Howell said. “The environment is like in the ‘60s. It’s not a con cert, it’s an event. He doesn’t want it to be labeled as a concert. He just wants to enjoy themselves and be happy.” Happy wasn’t a word usually associated with TTie Artist. Always referred to as a brilliant song ■writer and performer, he was reclusive, avoiding the press. Since his marriage to Ma3fte, a dancer from his band, birth of a child, and freedom from his contract with Warner Bros, The Artist seems more open, more acces sible. “His motto is ‘Freedom is A Beautiful 'Thang.’ He waited to do this tour until he was free from his record deal,” Howell said. “He doesn’t believe in being locked down. He has total con trol of everything that’s being done. 'There are no promoters. Everything is done in-house. Anyone connected to the show itself is part of the family.” Doors to the event will open at noon. The Artists paraphernalia will be on sMe and a web site ■will be available. “You will learn a lot about The Artist,” Howell seud. “You’ll find out he’s down to earth and he cares about people.” HoweU said he’s been a part of the family for a year. He met TTie Artist while doing promo tions ■with George Clinton. Howell has been in productions for about 10 years. C&J promotions is about a year-and-a-half old. Crowe said the charities that will benefit from the event have yet to be selected. “That’s up to him,” Crowe said. “We’ve got about five charities who’ve made requests but he has the final say so.”
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Jan. 9, 1997, edition 1
19
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