Arts and Culture
Paul Cobb’s Vision for the 50th Anniversary Black Arts Movement
As the Bay Area prepares for the 50th Anniversary of the Black Arts Movement (BAM), the most radical artistic and literary movement in American history, Paul Cobb gave fellow writer and festival producer Marvin X his vision for the celebration.
“My interest is putting books in the hands of young men and women who attend this celebration,” Cobb said. “I said long ago, Crack a book before you’re booked for Crack, so if we focus on high risk young people, lifting their literacy and literary pursuits, I will support this BAM celebration. Otherwise, I don’t have time to sit listening to old men and women pontificate about revolution.”
He added, “I will help raise money for books, not for honoraria for speakers.”
Agreeing with his childhood friend from West Oakland, Marvin X said, “When Paul is right, I acknowledge this. I consider him part of the progressive bourgeoisie. He has been more consistent than some of my so-called revolutionary friends and comrades. He usually does what he says.”
“In the past, he has put his newspapers at the disposal of my radical projects, such as the Tenderloin Black Radical Book Fair we produced in 2004,” Marvin X continued.
Through a series of articles in The Post, Cobb promoted the book fair and will do the same with the BAM celebration.
“We think a book fair must be part of the BAM celebration. We know Dr. Nathan Hare’s Black Think Tank Books and my Black Bird Press will arrange for books to be given to our youth to raise their level of consciousness. We call upon other authors and publishers to do the same,” said Marvin X.
For more information on the 50th Anniversary of the Black Arts Movement, contact Marvin X at @jmarvinx@yahoo.com or (510) 200-4164.
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.
Arts and Culture
Musical Chronicling Life of Betty Reid Soskin Set for Bay Area Debut
Betty Reid Soskin’s storied 102 years includes time spent as a WWII defense worker, activist, business owner, songwriter, National Park Service park ranger and so much more. Now the Richmond icon is the subject of a musical based on her incredible life.
The Richmond Standard
Betty Reid Soskin’s storied 102 years includes time spent as a WWII defense worker, activist, business owner, songwriter, National Park Service park ranger and so much more. Now the Richmond icon is the subject of a musical based on her incredible life.
“Sign My Name to Freedom,” a San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company (SFBATCO) production which will focus on the life, music and writing of Ms. Soskin, will premiere at San Francisco’s Z Space Friday, March 29 and continue through Saturday, April 13. Tickets range from $15–$65 and can be purchased online at https://www.sfbatco.org/smntf
The musical is directed by Elizabeth Carter, while playwright Michael Gene Sullivan integrates Ms. Soskin’s own music throughout dialogue between what SFBATCO calls “The Four Bettys” as they progress through a century of experiences of this awe-inspiring American woman.
The cast of “Sign My Name to Freedom” features Tierra Allen as Little Betty, Aidaa Peerzada as Married Betty, Lucca Troutman as Revolutionary Betty and Cathleen Riddley as Present Betty Reid Soskin, according to Artistic Director Rodney Earl Jackson Jr. and Managing Director Adam Maggio. Other casting will be announced in the future.
Jackson said that having Soskin’s blessing to steward her life’s story is an honor and career highlight for him and that her journey stands as “a beacon for Black Americans, women and people of color all across the world [and] is a testament to the strength of the human spirit.”
San Francisco’s Z Space is located at 450 Florida St. in San Francisco. Check out the trailer here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-ap9N2XBB0
-
Activism4 weeks ago
Oakland Post: Week of March 20 – 26, 2024
-
#NNPA BlackPress3 weeks ago
COMMENTARY: D.C. Crime Bill Fails to Address Root Causes of Violence and Incarceration
-
#NNPA BlackPress3 weeks ago
Mayor, City Council President React to May 31 Closing of Birmingham-Southern College
-
#NNPA BlackPress3 weeks ago
From Raids to Revelations: The Dark Turn in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Saga
-
#NNPA BlackPress3 weeks ago
COMMENTARY: Lady Day and The Lights!
-
#NNPA BlackPress3 weeks ago
Baltimore Key Bridge Catastrophe: A City’s Heartbreak and a Nation’s Alarm
-
#NNPA BlackPress3 weeks ago
Baltimore’s Key Bridge Struck by Ship, Collapses into Water
-
Activism3 weeks ago
Oakland Post: Week of March 27 – April 2, 2024