Arts and Culture
BOOK REVIEW: “Stealing the Game”
Oh, how you hate to lose!
You hate it so much, in fact, that it’s not really an option: you’ll do anything and work hardest to make sure that you’re not finishing last. It’s all or nothing for you, and in the new book “Stealing the Game” by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld, it’s about more than how you play the game.
Everyone at Orangetree Middle School knew that 13-year-old Chris Richards was someone they could trust, a decent-enough student, but kind of quiet. Even Chris himself would admit that, and he was okay with it.
He always thought his observation skills were better than anything else he did, except maybe basketball.
Yep, Chris was a good kid. So it came as a huge surprise to everyone when a cop came to algebra class and escorted him to the principal’s office.
The whole mess started four days earlier.
Jax, Chris’s older brother, was the “Golden Boy.” Always likeable, good-hearted, smart, capable, and responsible, Jax had spent the last year at Stanford University on a full scholarship, studying to being a lawyer.
The Richards – both lawyers – were proud of him but when Jax came home and announced that he’d quit school, well, it was like World War III had started in the living room.
Chris had always looked up to Jax, and Jax’s behavior didn’t make sense. Then again, in Chris’s world, not much did. Girls were a total mystery, teachers were a surprise, and most of his classes were a struggle. But basketball… now, that made sense.
For Chris, the only thing better than a good pick-up game was drawing comics.
Ever since his parents started pushing Chris toward college, he wished he could tell them that being a comic book artist was what he wanted to do someday.
He loved comics, loved collecting them, and he loved imagining ways that his own main character, Master Thief, could save the world.
But Master Thief couldn’t save Jax. Jax, in fact, was in big trouble and he needed Chris’s help with a real burglary.
Jax, you see, had a secret life, too…
Ka-thunk-ka-thunk-ka-thunk. If you’ve got a basketball fan around, that’s a familiar sound at your house. But you’ll silence that sound for a few hours, if you can swap the ball for this book.
More than just a basketball novel, “Stealing the Game” is also a mystery, solved by a sharp, smart, funny, and genuinely nice thirteen-year-old.
The real Dream Team of authors Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld introduce readers to that kind of kid, the one you wish your kids would hang out with – but while Chris Richards is surely the star here, the whole rest of the cast of this story appealed to me, too. And the book’s Big Reveal? It’s perfect. Three points.
Another nice thing: there’s a strong girl b-baller here as well, which means that this isn’t just a book for boys. Actually, it’s not just a book for kids, either: for anybody, any age, “Stealing the Game” is a win.
“Stealing the Game” by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld, 2015, Disney Hyperion, $16.99, 293 pages.
Arts and Culture
Kedrick Armstrong: New Music Director for the Oakland Symphony
The Oakland Symphony Announced Kedrick Armstrong as its Next Music Director. In addition to conducting the orchestra’s public concerts, Armstrong will also actively participate in the Oakland Symphony’s many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages.
By Post Staff
The Oakland Symphony Announced Kedrick Armstrong as its Next Music Director.
In addition to conducting the orchestra’s public concerts, Armstrong will also actively participate in the Oakland Symphony’s many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages.
Armstrong is the successor to previous music director and Conductor Michael Morgan, who passed away in 2021 after a 30-year tenure at the Symphony.
Armstrong will open the Oakland Symphony 2024-2025 season on October 18.
Armstrong, who is 29 and hails from Georgetown, South Carolina, is currently the creative partner and principal conductor of the Knox-Galesburg Symphony.
The Chicago Tribune has praised Armstrong for his ability to “simply let the score speak for itself.” He enjoys a wide range of repertoire, spanning early music to premiering new works, using his joy and curiosity for all music to cultivate understanding and collaboration within diverse communities.
“I am deeply honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve as the new music director of the Oakland Symphony,” Armstrong said. “As a Black conductor, I find it humbling to stand on the shoulders of both Michael Morgan and Calvin Simmons,” the most recent and the first African American music directors of the Symphony, respectively.
Armstrong led three programs at the Symphony between 2022 and early 2024, which showcased his broad knowledge of the classical repertoire and enthusiasm for spotlighting diverse voices.
On his Oakland Symphony subscription debut on Feb. 16, Armstrong led the world premiere of “Here I Stand: Paul Robeson,” an oratorio by Carlos Simon on a libretto by Dan Harder, commissioned by the Oakland Symphony.
Armstrong was selected unanimously by the Oakland Symphony’s board of directors and musicians after an extensive two-year search. “The search committee was overwhelmed by Kedrick’s scholarship and curiosity about all kinds of music, from classical and jazz to gospel and hip-hop,” said. Dr. Mieko Hatano, executive director of the Oakland Symphony. “We are thrilled to have him join us at the Oakland Symphony.”
Arts and Culture
Faces Around the Bay Dr. Carl Blake, Pianist
Born in Liberty, Missouri, Carl Blake, a virtuoso and respected pianist, made his most recent migration to the East Bay in 1999. One might have seen him performing recently at Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, or at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Oakland. He is Director of Music at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. He was also co-organizer and collaborative pianist at Herbst Theater for The Majesty of the Spirituals concert in 2022 and has held several church positions in the Bay Area.
By Barbara Fluhrer
Born in Liberty, Missouri, Carl Blake, a virtuoso and respected pianist, made his most recent migration to the East Bay in 1999.
One might have seen him performing recently at Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, or at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Oakland. He is Director of Music at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. He was also co-organizer and collaborative pianist at Herbst Theater for The Majesty of the Spirituals concert in 2022 and has held several church positions in the Bay Area.
Blake obtained a Bachelor of Music from Boston University and continued post-baccalaureate studies in Jamaica before earning a Master of Arts in Music at San Jose State University. He was the recipient of two Fulbright residencies in Honduras and completed a third residency at the University of St. Petersburg in Russia. He has a Doctor of Musical Arts from Cornell University.
At age 19, Blake, then an undergraduate piano major at Boston University, was “discovered” by Impresario Dr. W. Hazaiah Williams, who is the Founder and Director of Today’s Artists/Four Seasons Arts.
Williams honored Blake by awarding him the first Marian Anderson Young Artist Award. Anderson personally presented the award at the Masonic Auditorium in S.F. Subsequently, Blake was presented by Dr. Williams in his San Francisco debut at The Herbst Theatre. Williams subsidized a year of study abroad for Blake at the Paris Conservatory of Music. Additionally, Williams sponsored Blake’s New York Weill Hall debut, where he has performed twice since. Blake performed several times at the Yachats Music Festival in Oregon.
Blake continues to perform nationally and abroad. His hobbies are reading, baking and travel. He says, “I’m still pumping ivories, as Belgian pianist Jeanne Stark described the disciplined practice of concert piano.”
Arts and Culture
Oakland Jazz Great Offers Master Class as City Declares “John Handy Day”
World-renowned jazz master saxophonist John Handy, a McClymond’s High School graduate, was presented with a Mayor of Oakland Proclamation declaring Feb. 12, as John Handy Day in the city. Handy is most notably known as the featured saxophonist for Charles Mingus on “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” from the album “Mingus Ah Um” (1959) and on “Hard Work” from his own album “Hard Work” (1976).
By Conway Jones
World-renowned jazz master saxophonist John Handy, a McClymond’s High School graduate, was presented with a Mayor of Oakland Proclamation declaring Feb. 12, as John Handy Day in the city.
Handy is most notably known as the featured saxophonist for Charles Mingus on “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” from the album “Mingus Ah Um” (1959) and on “Hard Work” from his own album “Hard Work” (1976).
“John Handy is a jazz icon and an inspiration to musicians everywhere,” said Ayo Brame, a 16-year-old Oakland tenor saxophone player who is enrolled at the Oakland School for the Arts.
In celebration of this day, the reception in downtown Oakland at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle was a gathering of artists, young and old, coming together in his honor and celebrating his 91st birthday.
Handy presented a Saxophone Colossus free masterclass for musicians. This class afforded a rare opportunity to learn about the saxophone from an aficionado. The class was free and open to all – saxophonists, vocalists, aficionados, students, and casual listeners.
“As a longtime friend for over 60 years, and fellow musician who has had numerous opportunities to share the stage with John, it has always been a pleasure performing with him and hearing his creative interpretations of the music and his gift of ease inspiring the next generation of jazz musicians,” said Roger Glenn, a multi-instrumentalist.
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