| Wanda’s Picks |
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| by Wanda Sabir | |
| Tuesday, 29 January 2008 | |
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 Muziki Roberson and I had an interview last year at his lovely studio home in East Oakland. It’s a museum – in the hallway upstairs masks from all over Africa and the world line the walls. Downstairs looks like a conservatory. Family pictures mingle with the more abstract aesthetics, and the kitchen ... to die for. Photo: Wanda Sabir "Camaraderie" closes at Joyce Gordon Gallery on 14th Street near Broadway in Oakland. This is your last chance to see the wonderful work of sculptor Yusuf Al Waajid and the paintings of his friend, Woody Johnson. The reception for the art exhibit: "Americans Who Tell the Truth" is also Feb. 1 at the African American Art and Culture Complex. The exhibit is up through April 6. Cassandra Wilson is in town Jan. 29-Feb. 3 at Yoshi's San Francisco. Southern born, Ms. Wilson is a great way to sample Black heritage. The following day, Feb. 2, is the 18th Annual African American Celebration through Poetry at the West Oakland Branch Library, 1801 Adeline St., in Oakland, so come on through. Everyone is welcome. The phone number is (510) 238-7352. Billy Childs at San Francisco Performances Saturday Pianist, composer Billy Childs' latest work, "Lyric," is a lovely meditation on friendship, love, tragedy and the human spirit. It's a celebration of the nuances inherent in stringed instruments, of which the piano certainly is one. Childs composed six of the nine tracks in a very short span of time for musicians Carol Robbins on harp, Bob Shepard on reeds, Larry Koonse on acoustic guitar and Scott Colley on acoustic bass whom he'd known for minimally 25 years each. The composer said he wanted to "with Lyric to put something out there which was as beautiful as he could make it," something that was healing rather than startling. "Well, I didn't want it to be something that slapped you in your face," he said. "I wanted it more that got under your skin." It certainly does. As we spoke on the phone a week ago - Sonny scooting around at his dad's feet - the conversation moved between the lofty and the profane, social critique minus political assessment.
Instead of Bush, we discussed Eminem, drum machines, boarding schools, graphic novels, upcoming projects with Imani Winds, Regina Carter and poet Ruth Foreman - we even spoke about Bobby Fisher. Who knew it would be the last day of Fisher's life. Read more of the lovely interview with Childs at www.wandaspicks.com. Dwight Tribble and Muziki Robeson Quintet: two shows, two locations The legendary Dwight Tribble has worked with everyone from Bobby Hutcherson and Charles Lloyd to Harry Belafonte. He is the vocalist with the Pharaoh Sanders Quartet and vocal director for the Horace Tapscott Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra. Not content to use his music just to entertain people, he uses his music to bring people together, to heal the human heart. The concert is at Anna's Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way, Downtown Berkeley. Reservations are recommended. The Friday, Feb. 1, show begins at 8 p.m. Call (510) 841-5299 after 5 p.m. for information. You can also visit www.AnnasJazzIsland.com. The Muziki Roberson Quartet with special guest Dwight Tribble will also be at EastSide Arts Alliance this weekend: Sunday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. The cost is $10. ESAA is located at 2277 International Blvd., Oakland. For information call (510) 533-6629 or visit www.eastsideartsalliance.org. Vote Yes! On Prop. 92! For Community Colleges
Prop. 92 ensures affordability and access to higher education for all Californians, doesn't affect the funding for K-12 or public universities. Presently California's community colleges are too expensive for many students. Prop. 92 will lower fees. "Fighters for Freedom" is a special afternoon to free an innocent man on Pennsylvania's death row for 26 years "honoring Mumia Abu-Jamal and His Friends," who are too many to list, so I'll mention a few: Pam Africa, International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal; attorney Lynne Stewart; singer-songwriter Jonathan Richman; Barbara Lubin, director, Middle East Children's Alliance; Clarence Thomas, ILWU Local 10; Gloria LaRiva, International ANSWER, San Francisco; Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. and Minister of Information JR of the POCC; Noelle Hanrahan, Prison Radio; Jeff Mackler, Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal; Kiilu Nyasha, Free SF 8 activist and producer of SF Live's TV weekly, "Freedom Is a Constant Struggle." A special video, NBC Today Show's incredible coverage of Mumia's case, will be shown as well. It's happening Sunday, Feb. 3, 2 p.m., at ILWU Local 34 Hall, 4 Berry St., San Francisco, near Second and King Street, immediately to the left of AT&T baseball stadium. Admission is $15-$10 sliding scale. No one turned away for lack of funds. Refreshments. For additional information, visit freemumia.org or call (415) 255-1085 or (510) 268-9429. This is a benefit for the Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal. Send contributions to P.O. Box 10328, Oakland, CA 94610-0328. ‘Prince Among Slaves' on PBS Monday Another film that is excellent tells the story of an African Prince, Abdul Rahman, who is captured in 1788, and sold into slavery. Purchased by a nearly illiterate farmer, Thomas Foster, from Natchez, Mississippi. Rahman and his children prove to be the best investment Foster would ever make. Rahman is portrayed with such dignity, even when reconciled with his plight. His decision to labor hard earned Foster's respect for the 40 years he ran his plantation free of charge. The film is one that children would benefit from seeing, especially those impressionable ones between 8-11. The inhumanity of the evil system, the greed that kept it going and the tragic aftermath we still live with today is clear, yet "Prince Among Slaves" shows that even in hell one can create a cool breeze. Prince speaks many languages, published books while enslaved, and is clearly more learned than most of the men in town. Narrated by Mos Def, the historic reenactments were researched by a team comprised of many scholars, among them the late Bebe Moore Campbell, the narrative based on Dr. Terry Alford's biography by the same title. Visit princeamongslaves.tv. Watch the broadcast Wednesday, Feb. 6, at 11 p.m. on KQED Channel 9 and HD (high definition, 9.1, Comcast 709). It repeats Feb. 7, 10 p.m., on KQED Life-Encore and Feb. 9 at 3 p.m. on KQED 9 and HD. African Films at PFA continue on Free First Thursday Paap Alsaan Sow will introduce the program Thursday, Feb. 7, which features two influential early films by African cinema's spiritual father, Ousmane Sembène: "Borom Sarret" (Senegal, 1964, 19 min.) and "Tauw" (Senegal, 1969, 27 min.). Also to be screened that evening is "Menged" (Daniel Taye Workou, Germany/Ethiopia, 2006, 21 min.), an award-winning new film from Ethiopia, featuring music by Tlahoun Gessesse. The Pacific Film Archive Theater is located at 2575 Bancroft Way between Telegraph and Bowditch in Berkeley. Advance tickets are available by calling (510) 642-5249 or visiting http://bampfa.berkeley.edu/tickets. The Afirican Film Series continues through Feb. 28. Human Rights Watch International Film Festival The HRW Film Festival is Feb. 2, 7, 10 and 24 at Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, and March 13, 16, 20, 27 and 30 at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco. Visit www.hrw.org/sanfrancisco for all the details or call (510) 642-1124 PFA and (415) 978-ARTS YBCA. Healing from White Supremacy The next meeting of the Pan African Mental Health Peer Group to Recover from the Addiction to White Supremacy, facilitated by Marvin X, is this Saturday, Feb. 2, 4 p.m., 1425 Oregon St., Oakland, in the Community Room. Near Sacramento St. Call (510) 355-6339 for more information. Adam David Miller at the Oakland Museum's First Fridays After 5
Join Adam David Miller, author of "Ticket to Exile," for a reading and signing as part of Oakland Museum's Black History Month and First Fridays after Five this Friday, Feb. 1, at 6 p.m. at the Oakland Museum Lecture Hall, 1000 Oak St., Oakland. Your ticket is included with museum admission. For more information, call (510) 238-2200. Visit www.kqed.org/topics/history/heritage/black/tv.jsp for a complete listing of programs for Black Heritage Month, February 2008 ‘Come Home' previews Jovelyn Richards' solo play, "Come Home," opens Thursday,, Jan. 31, 8 p.m., at the Marsh and continues Thursday-Saturday evenings through March 8. "Come Home" is a timeless evocation of how war and violence can change a community and its way of life. Twenty-six Black soldiers leave lynch-torn rural Arkansas to fight in World War II. Thirteen come home. The Marsh is located at 1062 Valencia St. in San Francisco between 21st and 22nd, near 24th Street BART. For tickets and information, visit www.themarsh.org or call (800) 838-3006. Tickets are $15-$35. ‘Sonny's Blues' by James Baldwin Word for Word and Lorraine Hansberry Theatre have teamed up for the premiere of James Baldwin's story "Sonny's Blues." Directed by Margo Hall, with an original score by Marcus Shelby, this production, which marks the 20th anniversary of Baldwin's death, is a great opportunity to remember one of America's finest writers. Baldwin believed in the power of art to save lives. It certainly transformed his. The play runs Feb. 5-7 in previews and, after opening night, Feb. 8, through March 2. There's a gala opening Feb. 15 at $95, featuring a special performance with Ms. Faye Carol and Marcus Shelby. There is a Target matinee where all seats are discounted, followed by a reception, and a special Valentine's Day LGBT performance, followed by a reception and a mixer. Visit www.lhtsf.org or www.zspace.org for tickets or call (415) 474-8800. Dynamic Live Band at Pier 23 Dance the sun up in San Francisco with the Dynamic Live Band, Friday, Feb. 1, 9 p.m., at Pier 23, next to the Embarcadero. For information, call (415) 362-5125. Dynamic is also at Mojito, 1337 Grant Ave. in San Francisco's North Beach, on Saturday, Feb. 2, 9 p.m.. For information, call (415) 398-1120. Dynamic is inventing universal music that can no doubt be labeled as classic. For more information, visit www.dynamicliveband.com or myspace.com/dynamicisth. Poetry reading There's a free poetry reading Friday, Feb. 1, at Lewis Culture Center, 5715 Shattuck, Oakland, 6:30 p.m. until. There will be light refreshments. Donations are always welcome. Sila's Afrofunk Experience: fundraiser for Kenyan youth "We are hoping and praying that President Kibaki and Raila Odinga will put the safety of the country first before their own political ambitions," writes Sila Mutungi, the young bandleader from Kenya who now makes music out of Oakland. "I would also like to personally invite you to join me and my band members, Sila and the Afrofunk Experience, Dj Jeremiah and the Afrobeat Nation, Radioactive and Dj Felina on Saturday, Feb. 2, at the Independent for a fundraiser for Kibera, Africa's largest slum. We are raising money for a non-profit called Carolina for Kibera, which offers health and educational services to youths who have been hardest hit by the recent violence in Kenya. Barack Obama visited Kibera and the center on his trip to Kenya." The Independent is located at 628 Divisadero, San Francisco. Tickets, available at Ticketweb.com, are $16-$35. Donations over $50 will be rewarded with a beautiful book of photos and essays called "LightBox: Expressions of Hope from Young Women in the Kibera Slum of Nairobi" - 100 percent of proceeds supporting the Binti Pamoja Center Scholarship Fund, which helps members attend high school. ‘Eyes on the Prize II' every Sunday in February A promise of change articulated in this presidential election season will help define 2008, and a Black History Month airing of "Eyes on the Prize II" will get us ready. Even as it records important moments in history, "Eyes II" forecasts the present realities of race and class in America. It prophetically reveals the continuing American struggle for racial and economic justice. Watch two segments weekly, at noon and 1 p.m., every Sunday in February on KQED, Channel 9.
Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at
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Visit her website, www.wandaspicks.com, for an expanded version of Wanda's Picks and for exciting "web exclusives." |
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