Roberta Flack News

Robbi Kumalo will pay homage to Nina Simone at Rockwood Music Hall, Sunday May 20, 2018. The show will begin at 7pm, doors open 6:30 pm.

Acclaimed Jazz harpist-pianist-vocalist Corky Hale will present a 103rd Birthday Show honoring Billie Holiday on Sunday, April 8 at the Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood.  Hale is one of the few people still performing who was actually a close friend of Holiday's, playing for her on the 'Stars of Jazz' TV show, and on several recordings and live appearances, and this will be her fourth annual birthday salute to the singer.

Blue Note Hawaii welcomes some of music's most renowned artists this month, kicking off with the 60th birthday celebration of Loretta Ables Sayre with special guest star Robert Cazimero. The Hawaii News Now Jazz Legends series continues with Freddy Cole, one of the most influential jazz singers in history and the younger brother of musical icon Nat “King” Cole. Local favorite and the 2017 GRAMMY® Award winner from Hawaii Kalani Pe'a is up next, followed by genre-bending blues and bluegrass artists Dirty Cello. Blayne Asing & Alx Kawakami join forces for two nights and innovative African artist Vieux Farka Touré has his Blue Note Hawaii debut. Streetlight Cadence returns home to Hawaii for two nights, followed by artist in residence, Robert Cazimero. Next up is a round of local talent with shows by Keauhou, Josh Tatofi and Makana, which is a fundraiser for the Willie K Cancer Fund. Mike Lewis continues his series of tribute shows paying homage to Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, the music of Roberta Flack, as well as presenting a Big Band Extravaganza, featuring some of the area's most talented high school and collegiate level jazz bands. Josh Kaye and Friends will celebrate the music of Stax Records, which launched the careers of Issac Hayes, Wilson Picket, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave and many more. Gypsy 808 will present the music of Django Reinhardt and the month ends with a bang when HIROSHIMA returns to the Blue Note stage.

Blue Note Hawaii welcomes some of music's most renowned artists this month, kicking off with the 60th birthday celebration of Loretta Ables Sayre with special guest star Robert Cazimero. The Hawaii News Now Jazz Legends series continues with Freddy Cole, one of the most influential jazz singers in history and the younger brother of musical icon Nat "King" Cole. Local favorite and the 2017 GRAMMY Award winner from Hawaii Kalani Pe'a is up next, followed by genre-bending blues and bluegrass artists Dirty Cello. Blayne Asing & Alx Kawakami join forces for two nights and innovative African artist Vieux Farka Toure has his Blue Note Hawaii debut. Streetlight Cadence returns home to Hawaii for two nights, followed by artist in residence, Robert Cazimero. Next up is a round of local talent with shows by Keauhou, Josh Tatofi and Makana, which is a fundraiser for the Willie K Cancer Fund. Mike Lewis continues his series of tribute shows paying homage to Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, the music of Roberta Flack, as well as presenting a Big Band Extravaganza, featuring some of the area's most talented high school and collegiate level jazz bands. Josh Kaye and Friends will celebrate the music of Stax Records, which launched the careers of Issac Hayes, Wilson Picket, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave and many more. Gypsy 808 will present the music of Django Reinhardt and the month ends with a bang when HIROSHIMA returns to the Blue Note stage.

Newcomer, 11-year old rock n roll prodigy, Kjersti Long will headline Friday, March 23rd at 6pm at The Bitter End on Bleecker. Accompanied by Nashville's Born Crooked; Hunter Wolfe (guitar, vocals) and Are Wolfe (drums), Kjersti, pronounced 'care-stee' will perform classic rock and original songs at the iconic club.

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Porter Carroll, Jr in The Evolution of Cabaret. On March 23rd 2017, at 7:00pm. Porter Carroll, Jr. founder of Atlantic Starr the Rhythm and Blues Hit machine from the 70's and 80's and performing world wide in his brand new roll with the number one selling duo in Music history Hall & Oates as their percussionist and vocalist returns to Feinstein's/54 below by popular demand in 'The Evolution of Cabaret', featuring a tasty musical panoply that runs the gamut from R& B and improvisational Jazz to soul, funk, blues, Rock & Roll and more.

This April, The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (18 Bleecker Street, NYC) welcomes in the spring with three special live music events on the stage of the Loreto Theater. Tickets are available at SheenCenter.org, by phone at (212) 925-2812, or in-person at The Sheen Center box office.   

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Porter Carroll, Jr in The Evolution of Cabaret. On March 23rd 2017, at 7:00pm. Porter Carroll, Jr. founder of Atlantic Starr the Rhythm and Blues Hit machine from the 70's and 80's and performing world wide in his brand new roll with the number one selling duo in Music history Hall & Oates as their percussionist and vocalist returns to Feinstein's/54 below by popular demand in 'The Evolution of Cabaret', featuring a tasty musical panoply that runs the gamut from R& B and improvisational Jazz to soul, funk, blues, Rock & Roll and more.

An industry only presentation of Lawdy Miss Clawdy, a new play by B. Jeffrey Madoff and Lloyd Price, will be presented March 1 - 2 at the Theatre Center in Manhattan.

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Carole J. Bufford in Come Together: When The 60s Met The 70s on March 10, April 21, May 19, & June 9 at 9:30 PM. After a sold out-run of You Don't Own Me: The Fearless Females of the 1960s, Carole J. Bufford returns to Feinstein's/54 Below with an all new show now exploring the change in the musical landscape from 1965-1975. With music made famous by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Linda Ronstadt, Dusty Springfield, Roberta Flack, Simon & Garfunkel, Carole King, and more, Come Together explores the ever-changing music industry in one of the most exciting, controversial, and impactful ten years our country has ever seen.

The work and life of legendary artist and activist Harry Belafonte will be celebrated during a concert at Aaron Davis Hall on Thursday, March 1, at 7:30 p.m. "Turn the World Around: The Music and Legacy of Harry Belafonte" will present audiences with a special evening of songs and stories in honor of and on the icon's 91st birthday.

The Garifuna people and culture were created by one of the most dramatic ethnic mixings in history: two ships with enslaved Africans were shipwrecked off the coast of what is now St. Vincent and the Grenadines toward the end of the 18th Century, and with the help of the indigenous Carib-Indian population, overpowered the Spanish crew and escaped. Later, due to their continued resistance and rebellions against the British, their mixed progeny would then be exiled to the islands off the coast of Honduras. Instead of being isolated and dying off, their culture and oral language prospered and expanded into the Central American countries of Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, where they still live.

South Orange Performing Arts Center presents Jose James in Lean on Me: Jose James Celebrates Bill Withers.  A deep and soulful young vocalist whose international profile has exploded in the last few years, Jose James will bring a celebration of the music of iconic Soul singer and composer Bill Withers to the SOPAC stage on Mar 2 at 8PM. The three-time Grammy Award winner Bill Withers ruled the airwaves in the 70s and 80s with his classic renditions of "Ain't No Sunshine," "Lean on Me," "Lovely Day," "Grandma's Hands," and many more.

“Sometimes A Rose Will Grow In Concrete” (SRWGC) is the fifth studio album by critically acclaimed progressive soul artist Sy Smith. Often called the “Queen Of Underground Soul”, her previous works include “The Syberspace Social” (named in the top 10 albums of 2005 by The Boston Globe), “Psykosoul Plus” (2007) “Conflict” (2008, with charting radio singles “Fly Away With Me” and “The Art Of You”), and “Fast And Curious” (called “one of the best releases by a female” of 2012 by Soultracks.com). 

Austin producer Robert King and The newly re-opened Ground Floor Theatre presented an original work; THE VOICES OF DANNY HATHAWAY for an extremely limited run of just two performances. Normally we don't review such short runs, but having seen King's first original theatrical effort, FOR THE LOVE OF MAHALIA, which I loved, and I was intrigued by his concept.

Theatre Royal Stratford East today announces a series of one-nighters, expanding the theatre's core programme to include music and comedy. An Evening with Marvin Gaye, Shoot from the Hip The Big Show and An Evening with Stratford East Singers open on 8 February, 17 February and 3 March respectively.

John Pizzarelli returns to Cafe Carlyle with an all-new show, March 20-24. The New York Times recently described John Pizzarelli and his wife Jessica Molaskey as the supreme nightclub act of our time. Jazz Weekly recently raved about John Pizzarelli's Johnny Mercer program: A gig like this oozes with style, class and fun, with Pizzarelli being one of the best ambassadors for the Great American Songbook. One of his best.

Both with The Fugees and as a solo artist, multi-Grammy Award-winning producer, actor, author, and hip hop guitarist Wyclef Jean has successfully blended hip hop with a variety of musical styles. Now for the first time ever, he will perform hits such as Killing Me Softly with His Song and Gone till November with a full symphony orchestra.

The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture has announced its 2018 Winter/Spring season, a rich program of theater, film, music, poetry and talk events featuring artists and thought leaders including NBC's Megyn Kelly, MSNBC host Chris Matthews and CNBC senior contributor Larry Kudlow, indie singer-songwriter mother-and-daughter duo Suzzy Roche and Lucy Wainwright Roche, celebrated author Sapphire,actress-singer-songwriter Grace McLean, Fox News' chief national correspondent Ed Henry, Director of the Vatican Observatory Br. Guy Consolmagno, S.J., author George Weigel, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, and events tackling themes ranging from civility in the American media, race in America, science and spirituality, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, as well as Lessons In Hope.

Cleveland Play House (CPH) is proud to bring George Brant's Marie and Rosetta to the Allen Theatre stage. Marie and Rosetta chronicles the story of 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Early Influence Inductee Sister Rosetta Tharpe and her counterpart Marie Knight as they changed the landscape of modern music. Miche Braden will make her return to Cleveland Play House as Sister Rosetta Tharpe alongside CPH newcomer Chaz Hodges as Marie Knight. Directed by Neil Pepe, Marie and Rosetta runs January 20 through February 11, 2018 in the Allen Theatre at Playhouse Square.