Thursday 26 Book signing Borders Eastside Bookstore presents a Book Discussion and Signing with Joe Trotter and Jared Day of CMU for their book “Race and Renaissance: African Americans in Pittsburgh since World War II” at 6 p.m. at 5986 Penn Circle South, East Liberty. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 412-383-2493.
Shawn Hopson, Charles Carter and Warren Wilson formed the group called Club Duo to bring the community together with a sophisticated and classy event called Smooth Jazz Fridays. This event is held each first Friday of the month at the Holiday Inn in Oakland. Line dancing, a deejay and a live band make up the itinerary for this event. The live bands range from jazz to hip-hop and R&B music. Fifteen years ago Shawn Hopson and his partners decided to do a First Friday’s event at the Braddock Hills Holiday Inn. In the beginning it was a deejay and a jazz band. The deejay played on one floor while the jazz band was on another floor. It was a nice flow because it gave people options to hear jazz, hip-hop or R&B. SERENADING THE LADIES—R&B/soul singer Danny Boy, formerly of Death Row Records, performs at Smooth Jazz Fridays.
This week I visited the William Pitt Student Union in Oakland, the Bynum Theater in Downtown Pittsburgh, Holiday Inn in Oakland, Schenley Park in Oakland and the Montage in Wilkinsburg, Pa. My first stop was at the William Pitt Student Union where the Darkins Group held their annual Pittsburgh Music and Entertainment Conference with music execs giving aspiring artists tips on how to be successful in the music industry. Actress LisaRaye, singer Newland and Mr. Ross were panelists for this event. Intrinsiq from Washington, D.C., performed live on stage at the 7th Annual Black Family Reunion at Schenley Park.
Dear Gwendolyn: I was at a restaurant two weeks ago and there was a lady sitting next to my booth talking on her cell phone. I did not purposely listen, but could not avoid it because she was talking loudly. The lady was on the phone when I was seated and she was still on the phone when I left which was about 45 minutes later. I don’t know who was on the other end of the call, but I do know the conversation was all gossip. Gwendolyn, it was obvious that someone she knew was on Facebook announcing his engagement.
by Charles Gans NEW YORK (AP)—Abbey Lincoln, a jazz singer and songwriter known for her phrasing, emotion and uncompromising style, died Saturday in New York at age 80. “AMAZING GENIUS”—In this Sept. 17, 2005 photo, jazz singer Abbey Lincoln performs during Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert in New York. She had been declining in health for the past year. Her death was confirmed by friend and filmmaker Carol Friedman, who has been working on a documentary on Lincoln’s life. Lincoln made records and acted in films in the 1950s and ’60s, then saw her career surge again in the 1990s when she found new voice as a songwriter.
NEW YORK (AP)—An 11-year-old girl who played young Nala in “The Lion King” on Broadway is getting a potentially lifesaving procedure. Shannon Tavarez...
You should never have eaten that last slice of cake. Once you got the shirt home, the color looked awful on you. Yes, those pants make you look fat. Dating that geeky guy from the office seemed like a good idea at the time. You wish you had listened to your instincts. Throughout your life, you’ve had a thousand regrets. But, as you’ll see in the new novel “Big Girls Do Cry” by Carl Weber, things could be worse. You’ve never asked your sister to carry your baby.
Thursday 19 Lunch on Liberty The August Wilson Center for African American Culture presents Lunch on Liberty from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at 980 Liberty Ave., Culture District. Every Thursday individuals can enjoy lunch and then steppin’ with Pittsburgh’s Dancing DJ Roland Ford. Food is available for purchase and the event will run through Sept. 2. For more information, call 412-258-2700 or visit www.AugustWilsonCenter.org.
by Jocelyn NoveckAssociated Press Writer NEW YORK (AP)—It’s hard to forget the haunting photo that leaked out early last year: Pop star Rihanna, her elegant face bruised and battered after a violent assault by her then-boyfriend, R&B singer Chris Brown. Now, she’s appearing in something else shocking, though thankfully fictional: Rapper Eminem’s chart-topping “Love the Way You Lie,” a song (and now video) that graphically depicts a physically abusive relationship. And the debate has begun: Is the song a treatise against (or apology for) domestic violence or an irresponsible glorification of it? Or is it something uncomfortable in between? And how exactly to explain the role of Rihanna, who has said she aims to help young people learn the lessons of her ordeal? RIHANNA, EMINEM
