Latin Music Captures the Heart of the Bronx

By Deardra Shuler

Saturday, October 28, at 8pm, 3-time Grammy Award winner Oscar Hernandez, will be celebrating the 15^th Annual Anniversary of the renowned Spanish Harlem Orchestra, at Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, located at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West in the Bronx where Oscar will be sharing the bill with Cuban bandleader Elito Reve with his band Charangon. The show is produced by Lehman Center and Leo Tizol.

“I grow up in a family of 11 children with none of them musically inclined. Someone gave me a piano and that was Divine intervention with God saying '...this is what you will be doing for the rest of your life.' I started at 14 and by 17 years old, I was playing professionally, earning a living and traveling with bands as a pianist. Playing with so many popular musicians was an education one cannot even buy. In those days I was playing with some of the top notch bands.

Oscar Hernandez and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra have traveled all over the world: Russia, Israel, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia and many other countries internationally, as well as in America and Latin America. “I grew up at a time in the 1960s and 70s with Fanna Records, a prolific recording company that promotede Spanish music. I came up when people like Tito Puento, Celia Cruz, Ray Baretto, Willie Colon, Ruben Blades, et al,were the royalty of Spanish music. I worked with all the Latin greats whether via recording, arranging, travel or music directing.” claimed Hernandez.                 

“The Spanish Harlem Orchestra came about in the year 2000, we put arrangements and musicians together, went into the studio and recorded our first record project as the band with Warner Bros. Warner Bros ended up putting the recording on the shelf. However, in 2002, Ropeadope Records put our record out and low and behold it was nominated for a Grammy. The second time through our recording Across 110^th Street we won a Grammy.

In addition to having worked with Rubén Blades as a pianist, arranger and musical director, Oscar Hernández has enjoyed a prolific musical career recording and performing with such world renown artists as Latin music artists Juan Luis Guerra, Earl Klugh, Dave Valentin, Johnny Pacheco, Ismael Miranda, Pete"Conde" Rodríquez, Oscar De'leon, Luis "Perico" Ortiz, "Libre' "Grupo Folkorico Experimental, Willie Colón, Latin Pop Star Julio Iglesias, and Kirsty MacColl. Oscar's musical exploits include working as Musical Director for the show “Four Guys named Jose & Una Mujer uctor, arranging and producing the music for “The Capeman,” pop-rock icon Paul Simon’s Broadway musical. In addition, Oscar was also the music producer of “The Capeman” cast recording. He was Musical Director/Arranger for the hit shows “Quien Mato A Hector Lavoe” and “La Lupe” at the 47th Street Theatre.

His recent CD “Oscar Hernandez: The Art of Latin Jazz” played with the Oscar Hernandez Quintet, came out 6 months ago with 10 original compositions. It can be found on his website and on Amazon. “This CD was an opportunity for me to put my stamp on Latin Music in my own special way.” claimed Oscar.

Spanish Harlem Orchestra is comprised of some of the top notch musicians within the Latin Music genre including vocalists Jeremy Bosch, Marco Bermudez, Carlos Cascante, George Delgado, congas; Luisito Quintero, Timbales; Jorge Gonzalez, percussion; Gerardo “Jerry” Madera, bass; Mitch Frohman, saxophone/flute; Reynaldo Jorge, trombone; Doug Beavers, trombone; Hector Colon, trumpet; and Manuel "Maneco" Ruiz on Trumpet.

“The members of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra are passionate and have a deep commitment to the history and legacy of what Latin music is all about. The Orchestra has played world stages, world festivals, jazz festivals and have proven our weight as a band. I am a proud member of that sector of folks who came from poor beginnings and went on to do really well in the world. There is no experience that comes close to listening to live music and I invite the audience in behalf of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra to join us on October 28^th with Elito Reve and his band Charangon to hear the most exciting Latin Music they have ever heard. The important part is to be able to share the music and have that exchange between artist and audience. My music goes beyond earning money it is my joy.”


Individuals who want to know more about the Spanish Harlem Orchestra can look the orchestra up on http://www.oscarhernandez.com and/or http://www.Spanishharlemorchestra.com

The Hidden Lore of “Daughters of the Mock”

L-R Edythe Jason and Kristin Dodson in Daughters of the Mock

By Deardra Shuler

Photo supplied by Jonathan Slaff

I took the L Train to First Avenue to get to Theatre 80 on St Mark's Place where the Negro Ensemble Company is presenting playwright Judi Ann Mason's play “Daughters of the Mock,” until June 10, 2017.

Directed by Denise Yvonne Dowse, this saga is a bit of a puzzle in its complexities. One that perhaps can only be unraveled by a casting of the runes. Shrouded in mystical tradition, the play follows the line of the matriarch. It is Grandmother MauMau who starts the ritual of the Mock, so named, to represent the grief and suffering MauMau experienced through the abusive treatment of her husband. A pain she felt so deeply she attributed it to the suffering all women experience under the dominance of men. She decides to protect the women in her family against ill treatment by men, albeit taking it to the extreme.

Skilled in knowledge of herbs with some voodo thrown in, MauMau (Edythe Jason) keeps the village and her family in check with the powers she wields, whether by herb, superstition or by fear. Whichever, her power is as real as those who believe in it.

Tied together by respect, family, fear and ritual, MauMau's daughter Oralia (Brenda Crawley) and granddaughters Amanita and Mandea, portrayed by Kristin Dodson and Claudia McCoy sacrifice love to keep the family tradition of women going.

Whether blessing or curse “The Mock” to the daughters is a yoke, love lost, a grievance they wish to cast aside but it has become so deeply rooted in family tradition that despite their struggles against it, they are bound to it. Its curse mocks them, but despite their heartbreak, inability to break away from its insidious influence results in deadly outcome.

“Daughters of the Mock” is a drama filled with mysteries and concealment. The Mock is a family ritual kept hidden from each daughter in succession until it becomes their turn to learn of and accept the family's vile secret. Amanita, the youngest, finds herself visiting home and about to be married when she is forced to face the Mock, something unknown and unbelievable to her. Even when her childhood friend Gail, played by Lynne Michelle, reveals to Amanita (who had been attending college), the village gossip about MauMau and the lack of male influence, Amanita does not see the correlation. Although the odd behavior of her sister and mother give rise to suspicion. However, to Amanita's consternation and frustration no one in her family will confirm or deny the truth of the gossip.

It is not for this journalist to deprive the audience from discovering the secrets hidden within this production set in Louisiana and wrapped in Creole tradition. Whether puzzled, confused, intrigued and/or entertained “Daughters of the Mock,” is worth its unraveling. Go see it!

Prince Reborn at Lehman Center

By Deardra Shuler

 Vocalist and front man for The Purple Xperience, Marshall Charloff was a teenager when he first met Prince. Little did he know that 30 years later he would perform as Prince in The Purple Xperience, a tribute act fostered by Matt "Doctor" Fink, Prince's Revolution band scrubs-wearing keyboardist.

The Purple Xperience band is on tour presently and will be appearing at Lehman Center for the Performing Arts located at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, in the Bronx, on Saturday, May 20^th at 8:00 pm. Therefore, interested parties can go on line at www.LehmanCenter.org or call 718-960-8833 to secure tickets to The Purple Xperience and tribute to Prince.

“I was in a band with Prince's cousin but I didn't believe Prince was really his cousin. So his cousin decided to prove it. He took me a private personal recording space where Prince was recording. I met Prince and also Matt “Doctor” Fink there and later performed with him but I never was a member of the Revolution. I am the front man of The Purple Xperience, a band that came together in 2010. I saw Prince several times and did recordings at the Paisley Park studio. In fact I was on the recordings with Prince for the 94 East Series. I performed with Matt Fink on several occasions and later Matt and I talked about whether we wanted to perform the Prince Catalog. In 2011, we put together the rest of The Purple Xperience band consisting of Cory Eischen on keys, Tracey Blake on guitar, Ron Long on bass who also worked with Prince's father, John Nelson, and Ron Caron on drums. 

"At first we did infrequent shows with the emphasis being that when performing Prince's music it would be with a high level of musical execution. We determined that it would be done with a great deal of respect, thus our presentation would not be corny or cheesy. And also, that we would perform Prince's music with the blessing of Prince,” said Charloff of how The Purple Xperience came together.

After Prince died on April 21, 2016, interest in the band exploded and the band began to perform more frequently. The Purple Xperience has performed all around the country and in Canada. Since the band is comprised of family men they have remained mostly in the US but do not discount overseas tours in future.

Charloff resembles Prince in stature and looks and also vocals. Like Prince, Charloff plays all the instruments in his band. “In Prince's case, he was music! If you understand the language of music it does not matter what instrument you pick up because if you have something to say, you just communicate and interpret the music through that instrument. I am unaffected so try not to put on an affect since my vocals are very similar to Prince. It is such a blessing because I can sing as myself which happens to sound like Prince and thus come off respectful while emulating Prince,” remarked the Minneapolis Purple Xperience lead.

The Purple One sold over 100 million records. A consummate and flamboyant showman, Prince was a prolific songwriter, producer, singer and virtuoso self-taught instrumentalist. He was an innovator whose music combined a variety of styles, including funk, rock, R&B, new wave, soul, psychedelia and pop.

“Prince was all-encompassing. His image and music was always cutting edge and unique. At this point it's almost iconic when you think of the color Purple you think of it in association with Prince. Prince owns the color Purple.” stated Charloff.

Josh, Roof-top-at Theater for the New City

By Deardra Shuler

This writer had the opportunity to check out some off-Broadway productions last week. Often Off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway is just as stimulating as anything you would see on the Great White Way and such was the case with a production entitled “Josh: The Black Babe Ruth” a show that tells the story of baseball player Josh Gibson.

For those who may not be familiar with Gibson, he was a member of Negro League Baseball, who was considered a brilliant power hitter and catcher. He played for the Homestead Grays, Pittsburgh Crawfords and in 1937 played for Ciudad Trujilo in Trujilio's Dominican League for one year. He also played the Mexican League and served as a manger of the Santurce Crabbers, a franchise for the Puerto Rico Baseball League. He was known as the Black Babe Ruth, and in some circles Gibson fans called Babe Ruth the white Josh Gibson. Gibson's deepest desire was to play in the Major Leagues but despite his hopes once Jackie Robinson opened the door, Josh was ignored and never got to play due to a Major League ban on non-white players at the time.

Michael A Jones, the playwright also starred as Josh. Mr. Jones and director Betty Howard should be commended for scripting and staging a very tight and well thought out production that starred Percival James Prince as the Guitar Man, Daniel Danielson as Satchel Paige, another great baseball player of that era; the delightful and amusing Daphne Danielle who performed as Hattie and brought levity to the play and Mildred Victoria who played Grace, Josh's married girl friend. I also liked the 1940 era hairstyles, especially the one worn by Mildred Victoria as Grace, and the 1940 era clothing created by Katherine Roberson. Set design by Martin Campbell.

The production runs until May 7^th at the Theater for the New City, located at 155 First Avenue (9^th and 10^th Streets) NYC. For tickets call 212-234-1109.

On the same day and at the same theater, I took advantage of being there and also attended a play entitled Roof-Top Joy that ends on April 30th. Written by Andrea J. Fulton and directed by Ward Nixon, the cast consists of Denise Fair Grant, Benjamin Rowe, Chaunice L. Chapman, Mark Solari and Roland Lane. The premise of the show concerns an African American concierge (Benjamin Rowe) with the appropriate name of Uncle Thomas. Thomas works in a luxury building and due to watching his father's humiliation and sycophantic behavior, developed a hatred for African American men. Unwittingly, Thomas demonstrates his own obsequious behavior when fawning over white skin while harshly judging individuals of black skin. Box office number is 212-234-1109.

And last but hardly least I caught up with Rome Neal, 5-time Audelco Award winner and Artistic Director of the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe, located at 236 East 3^rd Street (Near Ave C) in Manhattan, where interested and interesting folks can gather to recite their poetry, sing their songs and kick-up their feet while noshing on Rome's famed Banana Pudding. I had great fun there and will go again. I encourage interested parties to make the Nuyorican Poet's cafe your second home. Also to find out more about Rome Neal, check out my show with him via http://www.blogtalkradio.com/blakeradio/2017/04/12/topically-yours—producer-rome-neal

Upcoming events Saturday, May 6 at 9:30pm: Musicians: Andre Chez Lewis (piano); Kim Clarke (bass); Nick Scheuble (drums) Patience Higgins (s). Followed by Open Mic/Jazz Jam, Complimentary Banana Puddin, $15 advance tix at AdvancedTix@Nuyorican.org, $20 at the door. For further information call 718-255-5048.

Productions to See at Theater for the New City

By Deardra Shuler

This writer had the opportunity to check out some off-Broadway productions last week. Often Off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway is just as stimulating as anything you would see on the Great White Way and such was the case with a production entitled “Josh: The Black Babe Ruth” a show that tells the story of baseball player Josh Gibson.

For those who may not be familiar with Gibson, he was a member of Negro League Baseball, who was considered a brilliant power hitter and catcher. He played for the Homestead Grays, Pittsburgh Crawfords and in 1937 played for Ciudad Trujilo in Trujilio's Dominican League for one year. He also played the Mexican League and served as a manger of the Santurce Crabbers, a franchise for the Puerto Rico Baseball League. He was known as the Black Babe Ruth, and in some circles Gibson fans called Babe Ruth the white Josh Gibson. Gibson's deepest desire was to play in the Major Leagues but despite his hopes once Jackie Robinson opened the door, Josh was ignored and never got to play due to a Major League ban on non-white players at the time.

Michael A Jones, the playwright also starred as Josh. Mr. Jones and director Betty Howard should be commended for scripting and staging a very tight and well thought out production that starred Percival James Prince as the Guitar Man, Daniel Danielson as Satchel Paige, another great baseball player of that era; the delightful and amusing Daphne Danielle who performed as Hattie and brought levity to the play and Mildred Victoria who played Grace, Josh's married girl friend. I also liked the 1940 era hairstyles, especially the one worn by Mildred Victoria as Grace, and the 1940 era clothing created by Katherine Roberson. Set design by Martin Campbell.

The production runs until May 7^th at the Theater for the New City, located at 155 First Avenue (9^th and 10^th Streets) NYC. For tickets call 212-234-1109.

On the same day and at the same theater, I took advantage of being there and also attended a play entitled Roof-Top Joy that ends on April 30th. Written by Andrea J. Fulton and directed by Ward Nixon, the cast consists of Denise Fair Grant, Benjamin Rowe, Chaunice L. Chapman, Mark Solari and Roland Lane. The premise of the show concerns an African American concierge (Benjamin Rowe) with the appropriate name of Uncle Thomas. Thomas works in a luxury building and due to watching his father's humiliation and sycophantic behavior, developed a hatred for African American men. Unwittingly, Thomas demonstrates his own obsequious behavior when fawning over white skin while harshly judging individuals of black skin. Box office number is 212-234-1109.

And last but hardly least I caught up with Rome Neal, 5-time Audelco Award winner and Artistic Director of the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe, located at 236 East 3^rd Street (Near Ave C) in Manhattan, where interested and interesting folks can gather to recite their poetry, sing their songs and kick-up their feet while noshing on Rome's famed Banana Pudding. I had great fun there and will go again. I encourage interested parties to make the Nuyorican Poet's cafe your second home. Also to find out more about Rome Neal, check out my show with him via http://www.blogtalkradio.com/blakeradio/2017/04/12/topically-yours—producer-rome-neal

Upcoming events Saturday, May 6 at 9:30pm: Musicians: Andre Chez Lewis (piano); Kim Clarke (bass); Nick Scheuble (drums) Patience Higgins (s). Followed by Open Mic/Jazz Jam, Complimentary Banana Puddin, $15 advance tix at AdvancedTix@Nuyorican.org, $20 at the door. For further information call 718-255-5048.