Pianist Alfie Pollitt and his band perform at benefit for the John Coltrane House, Philly

 

Brewerytown Living, The John Coltrane House and Philadelphia Jazz Project are proud to announce a John Coltrane tribute and benefit concert taking place July 18th from 6-8pm at Veteran’s Memorial Park, 31st Street and Girard Avenue in Brewerytown. The concert is also being sponsored by the local Brewerytown businesses and nonprofits MMPartners, RyBrew, Shifty’s Tacos, Dhengi Brand, GAMBA, Fairmount CDC and Give and Go Athletics. Saint Benjamin Brewing Company is also a sponsor. Free to the public, this concert will feature performances of Coltrane’s music by Alfie Pollitt and his band, and is intended to both build awareness and raise funds for The John Coltrane House. Local restaurants Shifty’s Tacos and Rybrew will provide food, and Saint Benjamin Brewing Company will provide beer to taste. The John Coltrane House is a National Historic Landmark, and is located at 1511 N 33rd Street in Brewerytown. The legendary saxophonist purchased it in 1952. After his passing, the house was lived in by his mother and well as his Cousin Mary, also the title of a well-known composition of Coltrane’s. The house fell into disrepair over recent decades, and now the recently formed non-profit The John Coltrane House, led by Lenora Early, is working to restore it and open it to the public as a museum and center for Jazz studies. Poet Marvin X reading with Alfie Pollitt at Cleff Jazz Club, Philly, March, 2013, at the Black Love Lives Conference, University of Penn   Entertainment by Alfie Pollitt's Jazz Quartet Tenor/Saprano Sax - George Barron Bass - Lee Smith Drums - Allen Nelson Piano - Alfie Pollitt

Oakland Celebrates International Nelson Mandela Day, Thursday, July 18

We are Oscar Grant: Film Fruitvale Station opens at Grandlake Theatre, Oakland

BAY   Grand Lake Theater - Oakland     LA   ArcLight - Hollywood   Landmark - West Los Angeles

Marvin X Reads Parable of Woman on Cell Phone at Brecht Forum, NYC

Marvin X, veteran poet /activist of the Black Arts Movement reads poetry with Ras Moshe on tenor saxophone. 

This was recorded at "Our Americas: A Tribute to Pablo Neruda and Louis Reyes Rivera" October 25, 2012 at the Brecht Forum, New York City.

Pan African Film Festival at National Black Arts Festival, ATL

Thursday, July 18 12:00pm Pan African Shorts Series  2:30pm Inside Story (2011/South Africa/Narrative Feature/98min) Director: Rolie Nikiwe Dreaming of a professional soccer career, Kalu, a young Kenyan, gets a contract to play soccer in South Africa and begins a promising career and relationship with the coach's daughter. On the verge of soccer stardom, he learns he is HIV positive. Through stunning computer animation, audiences actually go inside Kalu, witnessing the moment of infection and come face-to-face with HIV. A story of triumph in what could have been dispair. Stars Hakim Kae-Kazim. PAFF 2012 Special Jury Recognition-Feature Narrative; ZIFF 2012 Best African Film 4:30pm Mugabe: Villain or Hero? (2012/UK/Documentary/116min)  Director: Roy Agyemang Is there more to Robert Mugabe, the President of Zimbabwe, than is being shown on our television screens? What’s the true extent of Mugabe’s support inside Zimbabwe? What has happened to the country that they all called the bread basket of Africa – and why? These questions and more led British filmmaker Roy Agyemang on a journey to Zimbabwe to make a documentary about President Robert Mugabe. What started out as a three-month mission turned into three life-changing years, culminating in a rare interview with one of the world’s longest-serving yet most reviled leaders. Mugabe: Villain or Hero? Is an epic personal journey, narrated by Agyemang who, together with his UK-based Zimbabwean fixer, found themselves in Mugabe’s entourage, on Colonel Gaddafi’s private jet and around a host of prominent African leaders. PAFF 2013 Special Jury Recognition-Documentary 7:30pm Toussaint Louverture *Opening Night Feature (2012/Martinique/France/Narrative Feature/180min + 15min intermission) Director: Philippe Niang The two-part epic film of the life of Haitian revolutionary, Toussaint Louverture who led the first successful slave revolt in world history by defeating the imperialist armies of Napoleon Bonaparte and setting up the first free Black nation in the Western Hemisphere. Stars Jimmy Jean-Louis, Aïssa Maïga and Sonia Rolland. PAFF 2012 Best Feature; PAFF 2012 CAPRI Capital Partners Award for Best Actor; PAFF 2012 Audience Award--Narrative Feature; AMAA 2012 Best Diaspora Feature; ZIFF 2012 Special Mention - Best Direction Friday, July 19 12:00pm How to Steal 2 Million (2011/South Africa/Narrative Feature/88min) Director: Charlie Vundla Just released from prison, Jack cannot find work until his former partner, Twala, recruits him for a job that should net 2R million. A sexy, modern-day film noir with plot twists that will keep viewers guessing to the end. AMAA 2012 Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress and Best Editing 2:00pm Better Mus' Come (2011/Jamaica/Narrative Feature/104min) Director: Storm Saulter A coming of age drama set in Jamaica's turbulent 1970s against the backdrop of the cold war, a national water crisis, and political corruption that gave birth to the polarized violence gripping the streets of Kingston both then and now. PAFF 2012 Best Director First Feature   4:15pm The Education of Auma Obama (2011/Germany/Documentary/79min) Director: Branwen Okpako An absorbing look at the life and times of Auma Obama told from her homestead in Kenya during the run-up to the 2008 US Presidential elections that brought her brother Barack Obama to power. Wonderful archival footage, including footage of a very young Barack Obama visiting with Michele, helps to unfold the story of a family dedicated to political activism and social engagement and allowing viewers a new appreciation of the President’s African roots. PAFF 2012 Festival Founders’ Award – Documentary; AMAA 2012 Best Diaspora Documentary 6:05pm Stones in the Sun (2012/Haiti/US/Narrative Feature/95min) Director: Patricia Benoit In the midst of increasing political violence, a young couple, two sisters, and a father and son are driven from Haiti to New York, where they must confront the truths of their interlocked pasts. PAFF 2013 Best Feature Narrative; AMAA 2013 Prize for Best Diaspora Feature 8:15pm The Good Wifey (2013/US/Narrative Feature/90min) Director: T.A. Williams A happily married man expecting his first child gives in to the temptation of a beautiful former classmate and has what he thinks is a one-night-stand. Stars Tangi Miller, David Ramsey, Persia White, Chico Benymon and Akuyoe Graham 10:05pm Mama Africa (2011/South Africa/Germany/Finland/Documentary/90min) Director: Mika Kaurasmäki Tracing the life and music of the legendary fabulous Miriam Makeba through more than 50 years of performing. Engaging commentaries from friends and colleagues, some who knew her since she started her musical career. This documentary tells of her remarkable journey as one of the world greatest vocalists and leaders of the Pan African struggle globally, specifically the fight for majority rule in South Africa . With fascinating subject matter and fabulous music, this celebration of a dedicated life is sure to entertain, enlighten and inspire. PAFF 2012 Special Jury Recognition-Documentary; ZIFF 2012 Best Documentary Saturday, July 20 12:00pm Elza (2011/Guadeloupe/France/Narrative Feature/80min) Director: Mariette Monpierre A young Parisian woman of Caribbean descent returns to her native island of Guadeloupe looking for the father she has never known. Stunning visuals and an incredible soundtrack makes this a beauty, not to be missed! PAFF 2012 Festival Programmers’ Award—Narrative; PAFF 2012 Special Jury Recognition-Feature Narrative; FESPACO 2013 Paul Robeson Prize for Best Film of the Diaspora 1:50pm Let Clay Be Clay (2013/US/Narrative Feature/88min) Director: Darryl McCane Twenty-years after her daughter's murder, a still grieving mother has not given up on bringing those she believes to be responsible for her death to justice. A gripping story, inspired by events that are all too true in today’s Black communities 3:40pm Things Never Said (2012/US/Narrative Feature/111min) Director: Charles Murray Kalindra Stepney is an emerging spoken-word poetess, someone who willingly speaks her thoughts, but she's an artist who has yet to find her voice. A native of California, Kal has dreams of taking her poems to New York and the infamous Nuyorican Café stage. Haunted by a miscarriage and saddled with Ronnie, a husband who's angry and without direction - he uses his fists as a form of speech - Kal tries desperately to find an outlet for her struggling voice. Stars Elimu Nelson, Omari Hardwick, Tamala Jones and Michael Beach. PAFF 2013 Special Jury Recognition-Feature Narrative 6:05pm War Witch (2012/Canada/Narrative Feature/90min) Director: Kim Nguyen A poignant and harrowing portrait of Komona, a 14-year-old girl who has been kidnapped from her African village by rebels to become a child soldier. Berlin Film Festival 2012 Silver Bear for Best Actress Rachel Mwanza; Tribeca Film Festival 2012 Best Narrative Feature; Academy Award Nominee – Best Foreign Language Film 8:05pm Otelo Burning (2011/South Africa/Narrative Feature/72min) Director: Sara Blecher Set in 1989, when the fight against apartheid is at its peak, three black South African boys escape their township lives through surfing, discovering something in the waves for which everyone is fighting: freedom. A rich, emotional powerful narrative that resonates teenage male rivalry, love, politics, hard choices and some incredible surfing. Includes music from South African Hip Hop artist Reason. AMAA 2012 Achievement In Cinematography; AMAA 2012 Achievement In Editing 9:50pm Charles Lloyd: Arrows into Infinity (2012/US/Documentary/118min) Director: Dorothy Darr & Jeffery Morse Catapulted to worldwide fame in his 20s, Charles Lloyd was one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 1960s. By his early 30s he abandoned a public life of performance and recording and went into seclusion in Big Sur. Follow the artist’s spirtual quest. PAFF 2013 Audience Award—Documentary Click Here to Buy a Pass to see 6 Films (excluding Opening Night Feature "Toussaint Louverture") for only $45! The PAFF Pass is only available now through July 12th, so get yours today!

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Poet Eugene Redmond returns to the Bay and North Cali

Eugene Redmond, former Sacramento State professor and celebrated author, returns this week to Sacramento to give readings from his newest book, "Arkansippi Memwars: Poetry, Prose & Chants 1962-2012."

Eugene Redmond's poetic voice returns to Sacramento
By Marcus Crowder
mcrowder@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, Jul. 7, 2013 - 12:00 am | Page 10AANDE

Eugene Redmond's essential presence in American letters can be measured equally as a writer, editor, mentor and theorist. While a professor of English and poet-in-residence at California State University, Sacramento, from 1970 to 1985, Redmond won an NEA Creative Writing Fellowship, an Outstanding Faculty Research Award, a Pushcart Prize, and served as a visiting professor in Africa and Europe.

Redmond returns to Northern California this week for a series of readings from his new volume of collected writing, "Arkansippi Memwars: Poetry, Prose & Chants, 1962-2012."

"Arkansas and Mississippi are where my people come from," Redmond said of his book's title.

"Most of the people around here have people from down there," Redmond said of his home in East St. Louis, Ill., where he was named poet laureate in 1976.

Redmond released several volumes of poetry while living in Sacramento including "River of Bones and Flesh and Blood" (1971), "Songs From an Afro/Phone" (1972) and "In a Time of Rain & Desire: New Love Poems" (1973), all published by Black Writers Press, which Redmond established with young writing colleagues Sherman Fowler and Henry Dumas.

When Dumas was tragically shot and killed in 1968, Redmond began serving as the literary executor of the Dumas estate, working with Toni Morrison on publishing much of the prolific Dumas' poetry and prose.

Redmond began writing with a Eurocentric sensibility garnered from his studies at Washington University, where he earned his master's in English literature.

"One of my professors there told me I needed to stop reading T.S. Eliot because I read him over and over," Redmond said. "I asked him how long I should stop for and he said, 'Forever!' "

His early interest in Eliot not withstanding, he has always fused a love and
deep appreciation of African American culture with his creative and academic
sensibilities.

Redmond considers himself a griot or "recorder of deeds" in the African
tradition and his poetry has always had basis in musical rhythm.

"Early on I often name-checked artists in my work, James Brown, the Temptations,
John Coltrane," Redmond said. "Later there was just more a general musical
feeling in the writing."

Redmond has even created his own poetic form called the "kwansaba."

"It's seven lines of seven words per line, of which no word, except proper
nouns, can have more than seven letters," Redmond said. "Kwansaba" comes from
the words "Kwanzaa" and "Nguzo Saba," which are the seven principles of Kwanzaa.

While Redmond's poetry established his artistic voice, in 1976 Doubleday
published his seminal academic work "Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American
Poetry, a Critical History." A rigorously researched survey of poetry from 1746
to 1976 that required eight years of study, the book delves into what Redmond
wrote was the "complex web of beliefs, customs, traditions and significant
practices that tie diasporan black cultures to their African origins."

Redmond returned to East St. Louis in 1986 and has been a professor at Southern
Illinois University since 1990.

His book of poetry "Eye on the Ceiling" (1991) won an American Book Award and in
1993 Pan-African Movement USA awarded him a Pyramid Award for lifetime
contributions to Pan-Africanism through poetry.

Redmond's good friend Maya Angelou once said about him, "His sermons on black
beauty, black brotherhood and black romance have their roots in the black
Baptist church, the Apollo Theater and the Blues joints. Preach it."

APPEARANCES (plus see note at end)*

What: Eugene Redmond reads his latest volume of collected writings "Arkansippi
Memwars: Poetry, Prose & Chants 1962-2012." Guest poets include Charles Curtis
Blackwell, Straight Out Scribes and Vincent Kobelt.

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Brickhouse Art Gallery, 2837 36th St., Sacramento

Tickets: $5, $7, $10

Information: (916) 475-1240

What: Second annual "Drumvoices for Ahaji: A Festival of the Arts" featuring a
panel discussion, drumming, vendors, poetry, art displays, book signings, and
music, with Eugene Redmond, David Covin, Maasai Hatten, Lisa A. Lacy, Lawrence
Dinkins a.k.a. NSAA, Tchaka Muhammed, Lori Jean Robinson, William A. Parker and
many more.

When: 2-5 p.m. Saturday

Where: Women's Civic Improvement Club of Sacramento 3555 Third Ave., Sacramento

Tickets: $5-$15 Call The Bee's Marcus Crowder, (916) 321-1120; Follow him on
Twitter: @marcuscrowder. © Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Read more here:
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/07/5543841/eugene-redmonds-poetic-voice-returns.html#storylink=cpy

*Special SF Bay Area Appearance by Eugene B. Redmond:

Premiere of "Arkansippi Memwars" @ Artinternationale
Sunday, July 14--7:00 pm
ArtInternationale! Gallery and Art Lounge
963 Pacific Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94133
Dorothy (Dottie) Payne
415 596 8424
dorpayne@hotmail.com