Trends, Travel, Film, History and Books provide readers with information that might be off the beaten path of their traditional news sources.   Whether its innovation, unique travel, classic or new age films and documentaries, looking at history from a different perspective or discovering new and established authors, it brings a fresh look to things that are either old or new again.

SOURCE:  YOSHI’S OAKLAND

WED 4.13

JAMES CARTER TRIO

DOORS: 7:30 PM / SHOW: 8:00 PM

An artist long intrigued by contrasts and hybrids, Carter resists comfortable categorization. Born (1969) and raised in Detroit, Carter grew up surrounded by music, soaking up everything from funk and fusion to rock, soul, and various strains of acoustic jazz. It was the late trumpeter Lester Bowie who first brought Carter to New York, inviting him to perform with his New York Organ Combo. The Bowie connection led to Carter’s debut recording, 1993’s JC on the Set, a quartet tour de force that announced the arrival of a superlative new talent equally expressive on alto, tenor, and baritone sax (though he’s added several other horns over the years, most importantly soprano sax).

Carter always finds a way into whatever musical situation he finds himself in. “You have to be totally comfortable wherever,” Carter says. “I think there’s tremendous beauty in cross-pollinations of music and influences.” In 2000, he released two albums simultaneously that seemed to proclaim everything fair game: Chasin’ the Gypsy, a voluptuous, lyrical session partly inspired by the timeless collaboration between Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, and the groove-laden Layin’ in the Cut, which combines harmolodic freedom with a deep reservoir of funk. He explored the music of alt-rock band Pavement (on 2005’s Gold Sounds), and paid loving tribute to Billie Holiday (on 2003’s Gardenias for Lady Day).

He’s reinvented the organ combo with 2005’s Out of Nowhere, in 2009 with John Medeski on Heaven and Earth and in 2011 with At the Crossroads. At the Crossroads marks the 10th anniversary of the multi-generational James Carter Organ Trio.  READ MORE.

SOURCE:  Alexander Kiselev

SOURCE:  YOSHI’S OAKLAND

FRI 4.15

Jazz/soul vocalist best known for her work with Incognito

MAYSA

DOORS: 7:30 PM / SHOW: 8:00 PM

Maysa is the kind of singer who takes hold of a song and enraptures her audience in the palm of her hands, as she delivers lyrics, phrases, melodies and harmonies in a way that only she can. Blessed with an instantly identifiable honey-toned mezzo-soprano and an undeniably brilliant and magnetic stage presence, Maysa’s alluring vocals, candor, humor and purity as an artist make her a rarity in this business. Having collaborated with everyone from Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan to Incognito and Angela Bofill, Maysa can hang with the best. It is no wonder she is the recipient of Soul Train’s “Soul Approved Underground Singer” Award.

“One of the most identifiable and consistently enjoyable singers in underground soul.” – Jazziz Magazine

“Maysa’s voice is as smooth and as rich as chocolate…its pure, perfect tone is gorgeous and caresses with a languorous sensuality.”-Blues And Soul Magazine  READ MORE.

SOURCE:  MrMusicmanny

SOURCE:  OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB 2.0

The Best Books to Kick Off Spring
Celebrate the start of the season with a captivating batch of must-read titles—from sharp new fiction to thrilling mysteries and even a seriously funny study that’ll make you laugh out loud. Put these on your reading list today and thank us later.

• 18 dazzling books for spring
• 6 uplifting reads that’ll take you far away from the world’s negativity
• “Think” books every woman needs to read
• What’s on Gayle King’s bookshelf?

 

SOURCE:  Jennifer Streaks

Life is meant to be enjoyed, but let’s be honest: It’s almost impossible to live a life of abundance when you are drowning in a sea of debt and suffering under the strain of financial struggle. So many people are not free to enjoy life simply because they don’t have control over their finances. As a result, they go through life surviving and not truly living.

Thrive!… Affordably, takes the headache and the guesswork out of financial management. It is a monthly “how-to” designed to help the reader meet financial goals one step at a time. The book offers tips, advice, and basic financial management lessons geared towards helping the reader highlight strengths, identify missteps, and take control over finances. If you are looking for a way to permanently free yourself from debt, this book is for you. Jennifer Streaks takes the mystery out of management, making financial freedom attainable for anyone willing to do the work. You deserve to live your best life. Don’t just survive… Thrive!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOURCE:   BLACKNEWS.COM

SOUL MUSIC LEGEND CHARLES WRIGHT RELEASES NEW POWERFUL BOOK, “UP FROM WHERE WE’VE COME“

Nationwide — Among the most profound new literary entries to be released in 2016 is a bitter true to life tome from culturally conscious Rhythm & Blues legend Charles Wright, the singer/songwriter/guitarist best known for singing and composing 70s soul smash Express Yourself still heard daily on radio, in movies and dozens of television commercials.

The multi-talented messenger has taken up his pen to complete the first in a planned series of autobiographies that details his painful early life stories as a southern Black man who miraculously brought himself from poverty to prosperity. The inaugural installment, Up From Where We’ve Come, is an up close and intimate telling of the Wright family’s backbreaking struggles as sharecroppers near Clarksdale, Mississippi through the 40s and early 50s. Written in the raw dialects of how Blacks and Whites communicated during that era, it’s a riveting insiders glimpse into the realities of the times.

Do we truly know the full extent of our history? Wright challenges. I’m willing to bet that most of us do not have the slightest idea. Up From Where We’ve Come is the history of me as a child growing up in the cotton fields of Mississippi at a time few, except people such as myself, remember. It’s an intimate slice of Americas history.”