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ARTheat
Augusta Museum hosts film
series on the Negro Leagues
AUGUSTA
The Augusta Museum of
History is sponsoring a
three-part film series in
conjunction with the spe
cial exhibition, “The
National Pastime in Black
and White: The Negro
Baseball Leagues, 1867-
1955.” The films examine
the history of the Negro
Leagues, some of the
game’s greatest stars and
life as a black baseball play
er prior to desegregation.
All films will be shown in
the museum’s History The
ater beginning at 2 p.m.
The film series is free. The
films' schedule are as fol
lows:
- Sept. 21. There was
Always Sun Shining Some
place: Life in the Negro
Baseball Leagues. This
documentary is narrated by
James Earl Jones and fea
tures interviews with base
ball Hall of Famers, Satchel
Paige, James “Cool Papa”
MCG noontime musical
interlude set for Sept. 19
Fill your prescription for
the arts with the talent of
students, the medical
school dean and the presi
dent of the Medical College
of Georgia Friday, Sept. 19,
at noon in the large audito
rium of the MCG Auditoria
Center.
“‘Performing Live Noon
Arts Conference’ gives us an
opportunity to celebrate the
talent diversity of our stu
dents as we enjoy an hour of
song, dance and fun,” said
Dr. Kathleen M. McKie, a
member of the MCG Arts
Council’s performing arts
subcommittee.
The public is invited to the
event sponsored by Dr. David
M. Stern, dean of the MCG
School of Medicine, and the
MCG Arts Council. Jabaris
Swain, a second-year med
ical student, and Dr. McKie
will emcee the event. -
Very Vera box lunches
will be free to for the first
50 MCG students with
identification. The sale of
additional $5 box lunches
will benefit a fund to help
Test Your Jazz 1Q
1. What year did Woody Shaw sign his first major label
deal with CBS Records?
2. Eric Dolphy recorded an album titled Conversations;
who was the trumpet player?
3. What instrument does Curtis Fuller play ?
4. Who was Blue Mitchell?
5. Who are the following; Art Tatum, Bud Powell, and
Thelonious Monk?
6. Which one of the following is known for being a Hard-
Bop pianist; Andrew Hill, Andrew White, or Andrew Mor
gan?
7. What trumpet player literally performed on 60 albums
from 1955 to 19587
8. What was the home town of the following; Kenny Bur
rell, Sonny Stilt, Curtis Fuller, Paul Chambers, and the
Jones brothers, Thad, Elvin, and Hank?
9. When did Bebop come alive?
10. What pianist was killed in the auto accident in which
Clifford Brown also was killed?
11. What year was the auto accident that killed them?
12. Which one of the following play the bass; Ray Bryant,
Max Roach, or George Morrow?
13. Who are the following; Max Roach, Art Blakey,
Clarence Carpenter, and Elvin Hones?
14. What do the following play; Julian Priester, Curtis
Fuller, Wayne Henderson, and Leonard Giles?
15. How old was Lee Morgan when he made his first
album?
16. What instrument does Frank Strozier, Frank Foster,
and Frank Wess play? '
17. What saxophonist remained with Duke Ellington
from 1928-1970, except for years 1951-55, until his death?
18. What instrument are the following known for; Harry
Carney, Gerry Mulligan, and Nick Brignolu?
19. What do the following have in common; Sam Woody,
Jo Jones, Gus Johnson, and Sonny Greer?
20. What is Mosaic?
See ANSWERS on page 2B
Bell, Buck Leonard and
others. Rare historical
footage shows life on the
road.
- Sept. 28. Only the Ball
was White. This film pays
tribute to the stars of the
Negro Leagues. Former
players give first hand
accounts of their experi
ences in the Negro
Leagues.
- Oct. 5. Kings of the Hill.
A history of the Negro
Leagues as told by veteran
ballplayers and through
video footage and historical
photographs.
The Augusta Museum of
History is located at 560
Reynolds Street, in down
town Augusta. Hours of
operation are Tuesday -
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.;
Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Admis
sion is free on Sundays. For
more information, please
call (706) 722-8454 or visit
the museum’s web site at
www.augustamuseum.org.
the MCG Arts Council pur
chase a piano for future
performances. Reserva
tions are not required for
attendance.
The talent lineup
includes a clarinet solo by
Dr. Stern and a piano-clar
inet duo with Drs. Daniel
W. Rahn and Stern.
Student performers
include:
- The School of Medi
cine’s A Cappella Men’s
Group, Heart Sounds
- Lili Banan doing a
Latin damce
- Amy Elizabeth Vinson
performing some original
work on the guitar, the
“Causeway” and “Getting
There Somehow”
- Jeromie Shoulders play
ing piano and singing Billie
Holiday’s “God Bless the
Child” and a piano jazz
improvisation of “The Pink
Panther”
Reservations are not
required. For more infor
mation, contact Laurie
Lane at ext.l-4056 or
llane@mcg.edu.
Rapper delivers message
from the “dirty south”
By Haley A. Dunbar
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
In an age where the radio
airways are filled with rap
pers touting how many times
they’ve been shot or how
much dope they”ve sold —
all in the name of the “hood”
— it’s rare to find an artist
with something more to say.
But in his debut album For
the .6 Prince Hp A
Louisiana-born, Atlanta
based hip hop artist tells a
different tale about, among
other things, life in the hood.
“Everything in the hood
wasn’t bad. Everybody in
the hood didn’t sell drugs.
And I'm speaking for the
kids on the sidewalk that
chose not to get caught up in
everything going on in the
street,” Prince Ep told the
Augusta Focus in a recent
interview.
The 24-year-old artist, who
started rapping while a stu
dent at Grambling State
University, says that while
most people recognize his
message as being unique,
they tend to attribute his
flow to east coast rappers —
a notion that he’s worked
hard to dispel.
ENCORE: “From Mozart to Motown™
Russell Brown brings back his
brand of Broadway to Augusta
By Theresa Minor
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
The paparazzi, the limou
sines and the red carpet are
the adrenalin pumping
sights and sounds planned
on opening night for Russell
Joel Brown’s second offering
of “From Mozart to
Motown.”
Brown, an Augusta native,
stunned the theatre commu
nity last year with the one
man show. Not only did it
feature musical and dance
styles that don’t typically
share the same stage but the
production also attracted a
diverse, sell-out crowd in a
community where standing
room-only for arts produc
tions are rare. It received
rave reviews but Brown is
not one to rest on his laurels.
He’s putting together what
promises to be a bigger and
better production.
“Even though I'm very
proud of what we did last
year, there were so many
things that I wanted to have
a chance to correct. And so
many things that I wanted to
improve upon. So I thought
well, if I do the show again I
can make everything right,”
said Brown.
One thing that he corrects
this year is in not taking the
“one man show” too literally.
During the first presenta
tion, Brown admittedly took
on a lot — perhaps too much.
He was the chief fundraiser,
choreographer, stage manag
er and performer. Brown
believes that the show’s tim
ing may have been impaired
because he was being pulled
in too many directions. This
year, Brown says he has
brought in more technical
help, including a stage man
ager, to help clean up what
he feels were a few rough
edges in the previous per
formance.
AUGUSTA FOCUS
Music, Literature, Theatre,
Books, TV, Dance, Film
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(l. to r.) AVS Records’ Promotions and Marketing manager Der
ick “Shadow” Abram and rapper Prince Ep display cover of For
the 6, the rapper’s debut album.
“People just say I sound
like rappers from the north
east because I'm articulate
and I don’t use too much
slang. It’s just how I talk. I
have a southeastern flow and
I lay the tracks as they come
to me,” he said.
And the slang is not the
only factor that makes Ep’s
mostly free-styled debut
effort so different from that
Augusta native, Russell Joel Brown brings down the house during a classical
performance in his one-man-show “From Mozart to Motown.” Photo by Lillian Wan.
“ For example, the pauses
between songs would not
have been there if we had a
stage manager. It would
have been able to move
seamlessly from one song to
the next. So from the tech
nical side, bringing in a stage
manager is one thing that
we're doing differently this
year,” said Brown.
Another notable addition
is an expanded offering of
musical styles. Rock and
gospel have been added to
last year’s jazz, R&B, classi
cal, country, African, Broad
way, spiritual and blues
pieces that received standing
ovations. There is also an
unusual addition to the
dance routines —the Brazil
ian martial arts form known
as capoiera.
But perhaps what Brown
is most proud of is a greater
diversity of performers who
will be taking part in the
production. It is on this point
that Brown the artist yields
to Brown the social activist.
“I have chosen 14 ethnical
of his southeastern contem
poraries. While most lyrics
from the “dirty south” are
littered with expensive cars
and jewelry, the ambitious
young talent makes little
menticn of them; asking
instead, “How many ways
can you talk about sitting in
a Bentley?”
When asked how he
intends to avoid the pitfalls
ly diverse high school per
formers, which last year we
didn’t have. This is going to
help to further the theme
that I have established with
the Russell Joel Brown
Foundation. I want to be
able to provide education,
exposure and performance
opportunities for young peo
ple. And the second tier is to
break down the barriers
within our community —
certainly racial barriers, but
also intergenerational barri
ers and those other arbitrary
barriers that prevent com
munication,” he said.
Brown intends to carry the
production theme into the
holiday season with “A
Mozart to Motown Christ-
E-mail your Art & Entertainment
News to Augusta Focus at
augustafocus@mindspring.com
SEPTEMBER 18, 2003
that have befallen
s 0 many other
artists, Prince Ep
said he’s been for
tunate in being
able to sign with
Atlanta-based AVS
Records, a label
that gives him
artistic freedom as
well as input in
the day-to-day
operations. The
artist says that
that working rela
tionship, along
with his propensi
ty for finding the
spotlight, will keep
him on top.
Although fairly
new to the game,
Ep has already
opened for such
acts as Jagged
Edge, Nas and Fat
Joe and is current
ly on tour with the Young
Bloodz and according to him
that’s only the tip of the ice
berg, “I was made for this. I
see myself doing big things,
maybe even movies someday.
Because to me the only
future that’s predictable is
the one you create for your
self and I intend to create my
future and make it happen.
mas.” And early next year,
he intends to undertake per
haps his most ambitious
endeavor ever. Brown plans
to relocate to Los Angeles to
take a shot at a film career.
He promises though that he
will make an annual pilgrim
age to Augusta to put on the
musical production.
Tickets for “From Mozart
to Motown” can be pur
chased by calling the Imperi
al Theatre box office at 722-
8341 or online at imperi
altheatre.com. The produc
tion takes place on Friday,
October 17 beginning 8 p.m.
The tickets have only been
on sale for a few weeks and
the performance is already
45 percent sold out.
1B