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Maggie Brown on Oscar Brown, Jr. and The Opportunity Please Knock Chorus
Reclaimed Soul’s Ayana Contreras spoke with Jazz vocalist Maggie Brown, daughter of Oscar Brown, Jr. Maggie is passionate about preserving the legacy of her father’s community-engaged artistry. The Opportunity Please Knock Chorus (a creative collaboration between singer/writer/playwright Oscar Brown Jr. and the notorious Blackstone Rangers street gang) premiered 50 years ago. Mr. Brown stated in…
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Ayana Contreras of Reclaimed Soul talks with Emily J. Lordi, author of Donny Hathaway Live
https://soundcloud.com/vocalo/ayana-contreras-of-reclaimed-soul-talks-with-emily-lordi-author-of-donny-hathaway-live Soul singer/Songwriter Donny Hathaway’s life and untimely death are both shrouded in mystery. Though artists like Stevie Wonder, Amy Winehouse, and Aretha Franklin have called him an influence, there is very little biographical work about him. I sat down with Emily Lordi, author of “Donny Hathaway Live”. Lordi’s recent book uses the album of…
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Donny Hathaway in Chicago.
Donny Hathaway was born in Chicago and raised in St. Louis. Early in his career, he returned to Chicago. During that time period, roughly from 1968 until about 1971, Donny was very prolific. In this hour of Reclaimed Soul, Ayana Contreras explores Donny Hathaway’s early work arranging and writing for other artists in Chicago: from…
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Blind Man: Little Milton’s hooked and he can’t let her go.
This is Little Milton. He’s hooked and he can’t let her go. Of this, I am wholly convinced.
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Dance Chicago Dance.
Back in 1980, Chicago was still a national hub for music (like LA, Nashville, and New York are today). During that time, Producer/Promoter/Entrepreneur Eddie Thomas ran the influential Dogs of War DJ record association. Based out of Chicago, they were a record pool famous for breaking a number of seminal disco recordings. Essentially, a record pool…
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Stretching out the Boundaries of Jazz: 10 years of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival.
The Hyde Park Jazz Festival celebrates its 10th Anniversary with three dozen performances and programs on 11 stages across the neighborhood this weekend. Many of the performances, to their credit, lack easy categorization, and truly exemplify the spirit of Jazz from the South Side of Chicago (multi-layered, collaborative, and connected to the community).
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Reclaimed Soul Live!
This Thursday is Reclaimed Soul Live! Come to the historic Promontory Point Fieldhouse Thursday night at 7pm for live music, DJ sets, and special guests. https://www.facebook.com/events/1103794106380248/
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Darkjive Throwback: La Cade Records.
Back in February of 2012, I posted this story about La Cade Records, a short lived label with a deep backstory. Dig in… La Cade Products was another of many Chicago-based black hair care firms (that I detail here) during the late 60s through the 1970s. Though not as well-known as Supreme Products (who created…
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This is Our (Chicago) Love Story.
Darkjive, dear readers, is strictly a labor of love: simply put, if I love a song from Chicago (or am enamored by a story) I’ll share it. This is no different. “This is Our Love Story” (by the Harvey Allison Experience featuring The Whole Truth) is a luscious soul record that lacks a lot of…
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Three the Hard Way: Breaking the feedback loop of time.
Friday July 10th marks the opening of a culminating group exhibition, part of my artist residency at the University of Chicago. from the show’s description: “Three the Hard Way” is an exhibition takes its title from a 1974 blaxploitation classic in which three action heroes, Fred Williamson, Jim Kelly, and Jim Brown must save the…
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