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Ms. Ferneasa Cutno will perform with Marsalis inWynton’s
Bittersweet Saga of Sugarcane and Sweetie Pie March 25-29.
Photo by Gloria Nelor , i :
By Gloria Nelor
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
5
‘The Augusta Ballet presents
Wynton....and Ferneasa Cutno.
Although the face remains name
less on the billboards, Cutnoisone
of the featured dancers in the pro
ductionWynton’s Bittersweet Saga
of Sugarcane and Sweetie Pie.
“Dancingtotheillustrious sounds
ofthe Marsalis Septet, Cutno will
portray “Sweetie Pie,” one of the
imaginary lovers, in the perfor
mance.
#“l'm am truly excited about this
opportunity,” said Cutno. “This is
my second time working with
Wynton, but I've never had a part
written especially for me,” Cutno
explained.
Cutno is the second African
American to be a featured dancer
with the Augusta Ballet since its
establishment.
“Ihope that my presence on stage
will inspire the children and show
them something,” Cutno said.
Billowy ballet, juicy jazz, murky
modern and tantalizing tap rou
tines will accompany the Septet as
they bring tolife the dramaticstory
of Sugarcane and Sweetie Pie. The
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performance is scheduled for the
week of March 25-29, with four
special shows for local school chil
dren.
“Musicand dance arevital today
and this performance will display
just how special and rewarding it
reallyis,” Cutno explained.
Currently ateacher at Davidson
Fine Arts Magnet School and co
founder and dance director of Au
gusta Dance and Music, Cutno’s
enthusiasm about the performance
isas great as her passion for dance.
At the age of 16, Cutno opened
her first dance studio in her
mother’s home in New Orleans.
Later she operated her studio while
attending the New Orleans Center
for the Creative Arts where she
majored in dance. Throughout the
years, she hastraveled abroad and
performed with numerous dance
companiessuch asthe Garth Fagan
Dance and the Lula Elzy Dance
Ensemble, showcasing her talent
and spreading her love for the art.
“Dancing brings so much color to
music... so much color to life. It is
my job as ateacher and adancer to
make sure that color radiates to
my students and my audience,”
said Cutno.
l€ SUIE.
Its Qur-P
Legacy rolls out the carpet
for the women of royalty
New releases from Aretha Franklin,
Patti Laßelle, Teena Marie and R&B
pioneer Hadda Brooks have palace
watchers buzzing '
Sounding a regal note for
the newyear, Legacy Record
ings is releasing new compi
lations by the Queen of Soul
(Aretha Franklin), the Em
press of Emotion (Patti
Laßelle), the Duchess of
Dance (Teena Marie) and the
Grand Dame of Blues &
Boogie (Hadda Brooks).
Beforeshe was crowned the
Queen of Soul, Aretha
Franklin was a young prin
cess filled with promise.
When she was signed to Co
lumbia Records as a pop art
ist in 1960, the legendary
John Hammond brought her
and her pulpit-shaking voice
to New York. Columbia
Recordscould feel her power.
The transition for Minister
C.L. Franklin’s beautiful
daughter was difficult, but
Arethasangit all, from stan
dards toshow tunes to bebop
toblues. Producer Clyde Otis
recognized that underneath
the polish was a gritty soul
about to take flight, and
Aretha Franklin: The Early
Years (Columbia/Legacy)
documents Franklin’s for
mative period as she
struggled to find her voice in
the ghosts of Dinah Wash
ington, Billie Holiday and
Bessie Smith. .
As a wizened 19-year-old,
Aretha carried their mantle
while exploring her own path
to greatness on “This Bitter
Earth,” “Muddy Water,”
“Drinking Again,” “Nobody
Knows The Way I Feel This
Morning” and “Skylark.”
Refreshing and startling in
its maturity, The Early Years
is the voice of the Soul Queen
shimmering on the thresh
old of womanhood.
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Pattie Laßelle
Like Aretha, Patti Laßelle
is no stranger to the blues. In
the ’7os, she moved moun
tains with Nona Hendryx and
Sarah Dash, her sisters in
Labelle. Strutting their way
through songs in the key of
life, they brought sass, soul
and realism to pop with “Lady
Marmalade.” Labellebecame
the sequined heroines of a
thriving underground and a
mainstream that just wanted
to dance. On her own, Patti
became a healing force to a
generation facing the trauma
and politics of AIDS and alien
ation. Her passio; anfi;o;y
passion consume You
Friend: The Ballads (Epic/
Legacy). :
As observed in the liner
art e music e literature o theatre
notes by culture critic Brian
Chin, Patti is more than a
singer: she represents a bea
con of light and love in a cold
worll. On You Are My
Friend,shelaysdown ablan
ket of ballads to renew the
loving and the wounded. Di
rected by the guiding hands
of superior producers like
Skip Scarborough, David
Rubinson, Allen Troussaint,
Vicki Wickham and James
Ellison, Patticaptures a well
spring of emotion. There is
passion turning to silence
(“Loveand Learn”), the out
stretched arms of a lover
(“You Are My Friend”) and
the breathless discovery of
peace (“Love Has Finally
Come”). The package in
cludes a treat for the faith
ful: Labelle’s time-honored
“You Turn Me On” and the
soul-searing “Last Dance,” a
rare track from the trio’s
much-loved and long-out-of
print 1973 classic, Pressure
Cookin’.
Among those who fell un
der Patti’s spell was a blond
California girl from sun
tanned Santa Monica. Lis
teningto “Lady Marmalade”
on a bed piled'With 458 and"
notebooks brimMifng With"
poems and promise, the
sounds of the surf were no
match for the grit of urban
grooves. TeenaMarie’sheart
was rooted in the soul of the
Motor City, where she would
make her mark at Motown.
But at Epic Records she ex
perienced anewfound cre
ative freedom.Lovergirl: The
Teena Marie Story (Epic/
Legacy) fuses the funk and
feeling that only maturity
can bring.
Combining the heart of a
poet and the pipes of a
preacher, Lovergirl commu
nicates the brainsand beauty
of Teena Marie. She could
spar in the power game
(“Shadow Boxing”), flirt with
love (“Ifl Werea Bell,” “Just
Us Two”) and still be vulner
able (“My Dear Mr. Gaye”).
Like Aretha and Patti, she
could also belt the blues
(“OutOn aLimb”). Written,
arranged and produced by
Teena, Lovergirl also fea
tures several rare club mixes
to show off her lasting fire
and desire.
Desire is caught by its slip
pery tail in the torch songs of
pianist and singer Hadda
Brooks. Born Hadda
Hopgood in 1916, she was
trained as a classical pianist.
But Los Angeles in the early
’4os was a hotbed for the
early sounds of R&B, and
when a jukebox salesman
nameddJules Bihari heard her
stomping out the blues on
Central Avenue, herecorded
her rhumba-and-boogie
vg)ogie insttll'!umentals like
“Swinging the Boogie” for
~ Known as the “Queen of
the Boogie,” Hadda soon
turned to crooning emotive
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ARETHA: Queen of them all.
songs about love, long
ing and the blues. At
OKeh Records, she
stretched her style and
persona and cultivated
her velvety voice. Jump
Back Honey: The Com
plete OKeh Sessions (Co
lumbia/Legacy) is a por
trait of a pioneer mixing
it up in the masculine
province of a cutthroat,
rough-and-tumble
record world.
A model of California
cool, Hadda was a dy-
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Hadda Brooks
AUGUSTA FOCUS MARCH 20, 1997
namo when women were
still in the kitchen. Her
career took her to Holly
wood; she was seen on
the big screen with
Humphrey Bogart in the
1950 film In a Lonely
Place. That success
brought her to OKeh,
where she cut a string of
sultry 78s. Available for
the first time on DC, the
sides capture a time and
place carved out by a
modern American origi
nal. Hadda moves from
vocal standards (“Trust
In Me,” “Remember,”
“My Song,” “Leave The
World Behind”) to her
own “Jump Back Honey”
(covered by Jimmy
Dorsey,amongothers) to
her signature song, the
instrumental “Brooks
Boogie.”
Though she retired in
1971, Hadda was coaxed
back to the stage, and for
the last few years has cast
her spell for the Martini
crowd at the Algonquin
Hotel in New York and
the Viper Room in L.A.
She’s made two come
back CDs for DRG and
Virgin. But Jump Back
|3
Honey is where it all be
gan.
Jump Back Honey was
compiled by Grammy
nominated producer
Nedra Olds-Neal and mas
tered by engineer Dawn
Frank at Sony Music Stu
dios in New York. Aretha
Franklin: The Early
Years; Patti Laßelle: You
Are My Friend/The Love
Album and Lovergirl: The
Teena Marie Story were
compiled and produced by
Leo Sacks and mastered
at Sony Studios by engi
neer Tom Ruff.
Aretha, Patti, Teenaand
Hadda join a select hand
ful in the royal court of
Legacy’s Rhythm & Soul
Series. They include The
Emotions (Bestof My Love:
The Best of The Emotions,
Columbia/Legacy), Cheryl
Lynn (Got to Be Real: The
Best of Cheryl Lynn, Co
lumbia/Legacy), “The
Three Degrees (When Will
I See You Again: The Best
of The Three Degrees,
Epic/Legacy) and Denice
Williams (Gonna Take a
Miracle: The Best of
Denice Williams, Colum
bia/Legacy). .
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