Saxophonist Isaac Edwards Is Out 'On The Town'

 

After nearly twenty years as a recording artist plus four months of persistence, patience, and promotional pushing from his new record label, soul-jazz saxophonist Isaac Edwards has hit the Billboard singles charts for the first time. Released in early February, “On The Town” finally debuted on the Billboard chart last week at No. 24. The funky R&B instrumental, Isaac’s first single after inking with Next Paradigm Records, was written by the saxman and produced by label head, Jacob Webb, who has produced several Billboard chart-toppers.

As the world emerges from coronavirus restrictions, the marketplace - and the Billboard charts – have become quite crowded with new releases, especially from marquee artists, which makes Edwards’ chart debut that much more of an accomplishment.

“It has been a huge battle at radio this year with just about every A-lister releasing a track, sometimes more. Due to COVID, most of the artists were at home, not touring, and presumedly finishing their tracks, and now they're releasing them. To give you an idea of how hard it has been to hit the Billboard charts this year, this is our 19th week promoting the single at radio! It took this long to debut on Billboard, but we never gave up! It is rare for a single to take this long to hit the charts and there were lots of moments when we thought that we weren't going to make it, but we did. Now we are on the chart with a bunch of A-listers,” said an excited Isaac. 

“On The Town” features Isaac’s alto saxophone engaging in a discourse with Randall Haywood’s flugelhorn. The groove is anchored by drummer Kevin Bowden and Webb’s rubbery basslines with melodies added by Webb’s keyboards and programming along with Sonny Dumarsais’ piercing electric guitar riffs. COVID precautions and geographic distance required that all of the tracks except for sax be recorded at Webb’s New York studio compound while the saxophone tracks were laid down in a vocal booth set up in Edwards’ San Diego home.      

Edwards has released three albums since the early 2000s, juggling his desire to be a jazz musician with busy days in court as a litigation attorney. His recording projects have incorporated jazz, R&B, pop, rock, and gospel, and have included collaborations with GRAMMY-winning saxophonist Kirk Whalum, multiple GRAMMY nominee Darren Rahn, and Joel Kibble, a 10-time GRAMMY-winning member of Take 6. Edwards’ 2002 gospel-jazz album, “Here,” was nominated for a Vibe Award, Canada’s Dove Awards equivalent. He studied under the tutelage of noted saxophonists Eric Marienthal and Jeff Clayton and has opened concerts for multiple GRAMMY winners Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith. 

Last July, Edwards dropped the independent single, “Bird Rock,” which not only garnered national airplay from SiriusXM’s Watercolors but captured Webb’s attention, leading to the recording pact with Next Paradigm.   

    

For more information, please visit https://isaacedwardsmusic.com.

 

'Summer of Soul' Set To Open July 2 For Special Engagements At Cinelounge Outdoors

 

'Summer of Soul,' the music/documentary directed by Questlove (Ahmir-Khalib Thompson) is set to open July 2 for special engagements at Cinelounge Outdoors and Cinelounge Sunset. 

The film, rated PG-13, stars B.B. King, Sly and the Family Stone, The 5th Dimension, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Hugh Masakela, David Ruffin, Mavis Staples, Moms Mabley, The Chambers Brothers, Babatunde Olatunji, Herbie Mann, Cal Tjader, Mongo Santamaria, Mahalia Jackson, and Abbey Lincoln. 

'Summer of Soul' is part music film, part historical record created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture, and fashion. Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, just one hundred miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). The footage was never seen and largely forgotten until now.  

The film shines a light on the importance of history to our spiritual well-being and stands as a testament to the healing power of music during times of unrest, both past, and present. The feature includes never-before-seen concert performances.

July 2- July 8, 2021. For information about reservations and screening times at each venue, go to http://arenascreen.com or call (323) 924-1644.

What was formerly Cinelounge Drive-In is transitioning to Cinelounge Outdoors, an outdoor venue with lawn-chair seating (on artificial turf) for 200 people. The venue has a privacy wall, wireless headsets, a pizza truck with a wood-fired brick oven on-site, and more amenities. Cinelounge Outdoors is in the lot adjacent to 1625 N. Las Palmas Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90028. Capacity is limited, to 200, and tickets and refreshments must be purchased in advance.

Cinelounge Sunset, 6464 Sunset Blvd., Lobby Level, Hollywood, CA 90028. Capacity is limited, and tickets and refreshments must be purchased in advance. Cinelounge Sunset is an indoor venue.

Covid safety protocols in effect on screening days will be observed at both venues.

 

 

 

Guitarist-Composer Ken Ramm Signs With Bob Frank Entertainment For Catalog Reissues And New Album

 

  

While Euphoria’s eclectic records may be somewhat underground and better known in the art-rock-pop world, there’s a good chance that you’re familiar with Emmy nominated guitarist-composer Ken Ramm’s music, thanks to Euphoria’s tracks being licensed for use in high-profile television and film projects in addition to serving as the soundtrack for Apple campaigns and keynote speeches by Steve Jobs. Mainstream music fans have the chance to discover and delve into the Euphoria catalog now that four of Ramm’s albums have been reissued by Bob Frank Entertainment leading to the release of a new album, “5 Times A Charm,” this Fall.

 

The Euphoria projects recently reissued are “Dragon” (1981) and “Ramm” (1984). Albums “e4 Instrumental” and “e4 Vocal” (both 2013) will be reissued later this year followed by the new recording.

 

Throughout his lengthy and diverse career path, Ramm has been crafting imaginative sonicscapes drawn from broad palates of electronic, trip hop, jazz, fusion, Americana, progressive rock and pop. Releasing a catalog of adventurous albums as Euphoria, the audacious alchemist found inventive ways to set his predominantly twelve-string acoustic guitar among lavish aural tapestries, use gauzy electric slide guitar to texturize experimental audio files, and dispense improvised melodies amidst danceable grooves.

 

“We are thrilled to be working with Ken Ramm (Euphoria) on his new music as well as his catalog. For the first time ever, it will be marketed together, and we hope to bring his beautiful compositions to a wider audience,” said Bob Frank, CEO and founder of Bob Frank Entertainment.

 

“It is a great privilege to be working with an experienced music man such as Bob Frank and his Bob Frank Distribution team,” said Ramm, a global artist based in Toronto and New York who often records in London. “Their alliance with SONY and The Orchard makes for a powerful combination. To have a historical perspective of my music, aligned with the upcoming new material from my music project, ‘5 Times A Charm,’ gives the music buying and listening public a chance to experience my growth as an artist both past and present.”

 

Ramm’s first offering “Dragon” was mixed by GRAMMY winner Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel). He has collaborated with Rush’s Geddy Lee and Neil Peart, and vocalists Tracy Bonham and Tina Dico (Zero 7) are featured singing on Euphoria albums.   

 

Filmmakers and television music supervisors have been enamored with Euphoria’s striking and visually compelling material, which runs the gamut from high-energy club bangers to moody atmospherics. Euphoria tracks have been heard on “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Malcolm in the Middle,” “The Expendables 3,” “Roswell” and “Oprah.” Academy Award-winning director Michael Mann used Euphoria cuts “Devil May Care” and “Blue” for the HBO series “Luck,” which starred Dustin Hoffman. Apple and Nissan are among the companies who have featured Euphoria’s music in commercials while Steve Jobs used the single “Sweet Rain” as the soundtrack for the 2002 MacWorld launch in addition to selecting the song “Delirium” as the backdrop for a keynotes address.

 

Ramm performed live at dublab’s 20^th anniversary in 2019 and frequently serves as a guest host on the Los Angeles-based radio outlet’s shows, including “In His Own Words,” “Patrick Gleeson” and “Songs For Film And Television,” which can be found archived on the dublab website.   

 

For more information about Ramm and Euphoria, please visit https://euphoria.to.

 

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Artistic Director Michael Ritchie To Retire From Center Theatre Group

Michael Ritchie

Michael Ritchie has announced that he will retire as Artistic Director of Center Theatre Group on December 31, 2021. Having taken over the position from Founding Artistic Director Gordon Davidson in January 2005, for more than 16 years, Ritchie has led one of the country’s largest nonprofit regional theatres, producing and presenting 266 productions—which included 49 world premieres, four Pulitzer Prize finalists and led to 59 Tony Award nominations—while programming the Ahmanson Theatre and Mark Taper Forum in downtown Los Angeles at The Music Center and the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City.

“It has been an honor working at Center Theatre Group over the past 16 years and I’m extremely proud of what our organization has accomplished during that time,” said Ritchie. “Especially over the past 15 months, when we were forced to shut down due to COVID-19, our staff, Board of Directors, and the entire community have rallied around the organization in a collective desire to continue our educational programming, deliver artistic work through the Digital Stage and bring groundbreaking theatre back to our stages in Los Angeles. This critical period also gave me time to contemplate my future as the leader of this extraordinary theatre company.

“After some reflection, I feel it best that I retire as Artistic Director of Center Theatre Group at the end of this year, following our celebratory reopening of the Ahmanson Theatre. I want to give the organization an opportunity to seek out a future vision and make space for new leadership to be successful. When our industry fully reopens, it will certainly be time for a rebirth as arts leaders dream up a new era of American theatre. Those responsible to carry out that new vision should be in position as soon as possible.

“With so much vital attention and focus being placed on the future of theatre leadership across our field, I recognize the need for new and diverse voices. I’ve had the incredible opportunity to run major regional theatres for the past 25 years and have always believed that our art form has the power to transform society. I’m absolutely certain that Center Theatre Group’s next Artistic Director will expand that vision in ways that will enrich Los Angeles and the American canon of theatre.”

Throughout his time as Artistic Director, Ritchie produced celebrated world premieres including the musicals “Soft Power” (Pulitzer finalist), “13” and “Sleeping Beauty Wakes,” and the plays “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo” (a Pulitzer Prize finalist which moved to Broadway), “Water & Power,” “Yellow Face” (Pulitzer finalist) and “Marjorie Prime” (Pulitzer finalist). He also produced many notable productions, including “Black Rider,” “Clybourne Park” (which moved to Broadway), “Red,” the revival of “Zoot Suit” (which also had its world premiere with Center Theatre Group), and most recently “What the Constitution Means to Me.”

Under Ritchie’s leadership, Center Theatre Group also premiered such celebrated musicals as “The Drowsy Chaperone” and “Curtains” (both of which moved to Broadway and received a total of 21 Tony Award nominations, more nominations at the time for any other theatre company outside of New York), a reimagined production of “Pippin” with Deaf West Theatre, as well as “Leap of Faith,” “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” and “9 to 5: The Musical,” all of which moved to Broadway.

In addition, Ritchie inaugurated Center Theatre Group’s Artistic Development program designed to foster the creation of new works and to nurture the field’s existing and next generation of theatre artists. Through this program, Center Theatre Group formed many long-standing relationships with leading artists. Recent Associate Artists include Sir Matthew Bourne, Danai Gurira, Casey Nicholaw, Phylicia Rashad, Anna D. Shapiro, and Paula Vogel. More recently, Ritchie formed the CTG Creative Collective, which includes Luis Alfaro, Culture Clash, Elephant Room, Lars Jan, Daniel Alexander Jones, Miwa Matreyek, Dominique Morisseau, and Kristina Wong. Ritchie also launched the Edgerton Foundation Playwrights Initiative in 2017, establishing individual co-commissioning partnerships with Chicago’s Goodman Theatre and New York’s Second Stage Theater as well as London’s Royal Court Theatre and National Theatre to develop multiple works over the next decade from artists including Jon Robin Baitz, Will Eno, Young Jean Lee, Lynn Nottage, and Paula Vogel.

Center Theatre Group recently announced that the Ahmanson Theatre will resume in-person productions on November 30, 2021, after its unprecedented closure since March of 2020 due to COVID-19. Ritchie’s final Ahmanson season will open with Jack Thorne and Matthew Warchus’ acclaimed “A Christmas Carol” and includes “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie,” “The Lehman Trilogy,” “The Prom,” “Hadestown,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!” and “Come From Away.” He is also working with the artistic team to complete programming for his final seasons at the Mark Taper Forum and Kirk Douglas Theatre, which will be announced in the coming months.

“I’ve had the distinct pleasure of working closely with Michael through many pivotal moments in Center Theatre Group’s rich history,” said Kiki Ramos Gindler, President of the Board of Directors since 2015. “Michael has been instrumental in keeping Center Theatre Group thriving for nearly two decades—from his stewardship of the Kirk Douglas Theatre—which he has led for nearly its entire existence—to the expansion of our education and community partnerships programming, and of course leading our sensational 50th-anniversary celebration a few years ago. I have been moved by his devotion to Center Theatre Group’s artists and creating a home for them in Los Angeles as well as his focus on supporting the next generation of artists. On behalf of the Board, I wish to thank Michael for his dedication to creating an enriching home for playwrights, pushing us to take bold and exciting risks on the stage, and caring for one of Los Angeles’ vital cultural organizations. He will leave Center Theatre Group in a strong position as we begin to plan for a new defining era.”

Last year, Ritchie joined with leaders from across the organization and its Board of Directors in issuing a series of commitments to change as a direct response to calls for the theatre industry, including Center Theatre Group, to hold itself accountable for long-standing systemic inequities, specifically for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) colleagues and artists. This ongoing work has included approving a dedicated budget for equity, diversity, and inclusion programming, establishing a staff-led accountability team and related working groups, undertaking staff and Board workshops as well as creating a standing Board committee dedicated to equity, diversity, inclusion, access, and anti-racism.

“While my time working alongside Michael has been brief and marked by this unforeseen global pandemic, I'm so grateful for his partnership, especially over the past 15 months as we navigated such a difficult time,” said Meghan Pressman, Managing Director/CEO. “Center Theatre Group has a long and significant history as one of this country’s leading regional theatres. I look forward to working with Michael and our remarkable staff in bringing theatre back to Los Angeles audiences as we build the foundation for the city’s next visionary artistic leader.”

Center Theatre Group expects to launch an international search for its next Artistic Director later this summer. The organization is committed to ensuring this search process aligns with its core values and commitment to equity, diversity, access, and inclusion. An announcement on the search firm and timeline will be made shortly.

Ritchie’s professional career in the theatre began in 1979 when he ran a follow spot at New York’s Village Gate for a production of “One Mo’ Time.” The following season, he became a production stage manager on the off-Broadway production of “Forty-Deuce” at the Perry Street Theatre before moving to Broadway in 1981 for “Candida” starring Joanne Woodward in the title role at Circle in the Square Theatre. Over the next 15 years, he worked as a stage manager for more than 50 shows on and off-Broadway, including productions at Lincoln Center Theater, Circle in the Square, Circle Rep, the New York Shakespeare Festival, Playwrights Horizons, City Center, and the National Actors’ Theatre.

In 1996, Ritchie became Producer of the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Under his leadership, the theatre’s mission successfully evolved toward a diverse repertory of new plays, American premieres, major revivals and rediscoveries of American classics, and the development and presentation of new works by Eric Bogosian, Alfred Uhry, Cheryl West, Donald Margulies, Albert Innaurato and Eduardo Machado. Among the many accolades during Ritchie’s tenure, Williamstown Theatre Festival received the 2002 Regional Theatre Tony Award.

Ritchie was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, on October 17, 1957, and attended Assumption College. He has been married to actress Kate Burton since 1985 and they have two children, a son and daughter, Morgan and Charlotte.

Project1VOICE Hosts Juneteenth Celebration

Project1VOICE, an organization dedicated to supporting theatre and the performing arts by people of African descent, will commemorate its 10th anniversary with Us Supporting Us, a free three-day online event for Juneteenth. 

Us Supporting Us begins June 19, 2021, with a 200th-anniversary celebration of the African Grove Theatre, the first Black theatre company in the United States. The theatre was founded by William Alexander Brown, a free Black man from the West Indies, and was in operation at several locations in Lower Manhattan and Greenwich Village from 1821-1826 until it mysteriously burned down. 

In addition to an in-depth conversation about the legacy of the African Grove Theatre, Us Supporting Us events will include an award ceremony honoring the outstanding achievements of Black creatives and a staged reading of Autumn’s Harvest by Dominique Morrisseau. 

All events will be hosted on Project1VOICE’s new virtual performing arts center (VPAC), an online portal that will be renamed in honor of each event. 

For the three-day event, Project1VOICE will rename the VPAC The African Grove. Subsequent gatherings will be renamed to pay homage to the countless shoulders on which we all stand.  All Project1VOICE online events will have an ASL interpreter. 

Erich McMillan-McCall, Founder and Director of Project1VOICE, has dedicated the past 10 years to uplifting other Black creatives and providing education on the contributions of Black artists throughout the history of the United States and beyond. With Project1VOICE’s new virtual performance platform, programming, and initiatives, Mr. McMillian-McCall hopes to continue this necessary work and draw additional support. 

“I believe that the key to continuing our robust and rich history of Black theatre in this country will depend on four areas of action: Sustain, Endow, Access, and Thrive.  McMillan-McCall explains. “This is how we will endure and exceed. These three days are intended to connect us to our varied and robust past, present, and future. During these three days, we will be commemorating the ‘emancipation’ of our collective and individual voices, paving the way for the better future that is always ours to claim.”

A recent recipient of a generous gift from The Black Seed/Mellon Foundation, Project1VOICE will use the funds as intended: to plant the seeds of growth for Black creatives and arts professionals by honoring Black theatre artists, actively engaging and hiring Black people and specifically Black women for the organization’s initiatives, and using their platform to encourage support for Black creatives and performing arts organizations.

Juneteenth Programming:

Saturday, June 19 - 7pm EDT

Liberation: African Grove Theatre, a conversation on legacy

Us Supporting Us will begin with an in-depth conversation celebrating the 200-year legacy of the African Grove Theatre, founded by William Alexander Brown, a free Black man from the West Indies that was in operation in NYC from 1821 - 1826 when it mysteriously burned down. 

Moderated by Michael Dinwiddie (NYU Professor/Playwright), the panel will focus on the history of Black creativity from 1821 to the present. The panelists will include Awoye Timpo (Director/founder of CLASSIX), Eileen Morris (Artistic Director Ensemble Theatre, Houston), and Marvin McAllister (Winthrop University), a nationally recognized author and scholar on the African Grove Theatre and the American theater. 

For this event, the VPAC will be named the New African Grove Theatre in honor of the 200th anniversary of its founding.  Black Theatre Network is joining as a partner for this event. 

Sunday, June 20th - 7pm EDT

Jubilation: Project1VOICE Honors 

Project1VOICE Honors is an annual award given to organizations and individuals whose contributions to American culture empower and amplify Black agency and expression in the creative and performing arts. Past honorees include Douglas Turner Ward, Irene Gandy, Linda Twine, Wilhelmina “Billie” Allen, Wynn Thomas, The Billie Holiday Theatre, Allen Lee Hughes, and Danny Holgate.  This year's honorees will be announced closer to the date. 

A virtual staged reading of  Autumn’s Harvest by Dominique Morisseau will be presented at 7 p.m., June 21 on the VPAC stage, directed by Jade King Carroll, with cast members from the original production. This play is for young audiences.

Project1VOICE will present additional programming throughout the rest of its 10th anniversary year, including a reading of The African Company Presents Richard III by Carlyle Brown, Richard II on September 17, 2021, and semi-monthly live conversations each highlighting a Black arts organization.

Learn more at www.Project1Voice.org. Free tickets to all of Project1VOICE’s Juneteenth programming will be available for reserve on the website on June 11. 

Biographies: 

Project1VOICE is a 501(c)(3) performing arts service organization based in New York City. Our mission is to provide significant support, accessibility, and adequate representation for the Black experience in the American theater through robust programming and innovative partnerships.

Dominique Morisseau is the author of The Detroit Project (A 3-Play Cycle) which includes the following plays: Skeleton Crew (Atlantic Theater Company), Paradise Blue (Signature Theatre), and Detroit ’67 (Public Theater, Classical Theatre of Harlem, and NBT). Additional plays include Pipeline (Lincoln Center Theatre), Sunset Baby (LAByrinth Theatre); Blood at the Root (National Black Theatre), and Follow Me To Nellie’s (Premiere Stages). She is also the Tony-nominated book writer on the Broadway musical Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations (Imperial Theatre). Dominique is an alumna of The Public Theater Emerging Writer’s Group, Women’s Project Lab, and Lark Playwrights Workshop and has developed work at Sundance Lab, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference. She most recently served as Co-Producer on the Showtime series “Shameless” (three seasons). Additional awards include Spirit of Detroit Award, PoNY Fellowship, Sky-Cooper Prize, TEER Trailblazer Award, Steinberg Playwright Award, Audelco Awards, NBFT August Wilson Playwriting Award, Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama, OBIE Award (2), Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellowship, Variety’s Women of Impact for 2017-18, and a recent MacArthur Genius Grant Fellow.

The Black Theatre Network is composed of artists, educators, scholars, students, and theatre lovers who are dedicated to the exploration and preservation of the theatrical visions of the African Diaspora. For 30 years, the Black Theatre Network has collected, processed and distributed information that supports the professional and personal development of its membership (composed of individuals engaged in the full range of theatre professions, professional and community theatres and organizations, and academic institutions). www.blacktheatrenetwork.org