Wanda's Picks  

Today we will interview singer, songwriter, Rhonda Benin who has a peformance tonight and later this month; talk to Adam Zucker about his latest film at the Jewish Film Festival screening of Greensboro: Closer to the Truth, in conjunction with the San Francisco Black Film Festival, at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts tonight, Jan. 28, 2009, 7:30 p.m., (415) 978-2787, http://www.ybca.org We close this mornings extended show with a conversation with Mahen Bonetti, the founder and Executive Director of African Film Festival, Inc. (AFF), a non-profit arts organization founded in 1990. AFF showcases works of African filmmakers and develops ways to share the vision and culture of African film with American and international audiences. Currently the African Film Festival is at UC Berkeley's Pacific Film Archive through Feb. 22. Visit http://bampfa.berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-1412. Also visit http://www.africanfilmny.org

This morning we will have a tribute to William B. Lawsha "Prince Lasha," September 10, 1929 to December 12, 2008. Prince Lasha was born in 1929 in Fort Worth, Texas and went to school with Ornette Coleman. In1947, the two of them started playing saxophone in a school band (which also produced great musicians like Charles Moffett and King Curtis). They worked with Harold Land and Red Connors before going their separate ways. He lived in New York, Oakland, Germany, Italy, and France where he had the honor, he says, of playing with many great musicians such as Sonny Simmons who worked with Prince for six years; Eric Dolphy, John Coltrane, and Sonny Rollins recorded together—in fact he wrote “Music Matador that Eric Dolphy made famous. Wanda’s Picks concludes with an excerpt of Matador (from …A True Story).

When he made his transition last month, Prince was working on releasing a new CD on his label Birdseye Records, called “Baritone Madness.” I hope we’ll see this CD in the near future. It features Woody Shaw, Ron Carter, Odean Pope and Eddie Gale. Prince Lasha Jr. said there’s another release coming out in a few weeks and he’ll tell us about it this morning. Perhaps I can get the producer, Prince Jr., to come on the air to talk about the project.

We will be joined this special 1 1/2 hour tribute by Prince’s friends and family, including Odean Pope, Eddie Gale, Sonny Simmons, Chuck Fishman, Oluyemi Thomas, Destiny Muhammad, Leon Williams, Anthony Foster, and sons: Anthony, William and Prince. Wanda’s Picks concludes with an interview with Kelly Whalen, co-director of Tulia, TX, a film about a small town's search for justice in the midst of blatant police misconduct in an attempt to rid the town of drug trafficking. The ITVS film is premiering at the San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, near Civic Center BART. Lanier Pruitt, our beloved friend and colleague died suddenly. His funeral is today, Friday, Jan. 23, 12 Noon, at Cooper Mortuary, 1580 Fruitvale Ave., Oakland, CA.

I plan to play more Prince Lasha music on each show this month, so listen in for the continuation of our musical tribute of this great man’s legacy. As long as we speak their names, play their music, walk in their footsteps, continue their work…those who die are not gone, they live on. Ashay!

This morning we will have a tribute to William B. Lawsha "Prince Lasha," September 10, 1929 to December 12, 2008. Prince Lasha was born in 1929 in Fort Worth, Texas and went to school with Ornette Coleman. In1947, the two of them started playing saxophone in a school band (which also produced great musicians like Charles Moffett and King Curtis). They worked with Harold Land and Red Connors before going their separate ways. He lived in New York, Oakland, Germany, Italy, and France where he had the honor, he says, of playing with many great musicians such as Sonny Simmons who worked with Prince for six years; Eric Dolphy, John Coltrane, and Sonny Rollins recorded together—in fact he wrote “Music Matador that Eric Dolphy made famous. Wanda’s Picks concludes with an excerpt of Matador (from …A True Story).

When he made his transition last month, Prince was working on releasing a new CD on his label Birdseye Records, called “Baritone Madness.” I hope we’ll see this CD in the near future. It features Woody Shaw, Ron Carter, Odean Pope and Eddie Gale. Prince Lasha Jr. said there’s another release coming out in a few weeks and he’ll tell us about it this morning. Perhaps I can get the producer, Prince Jr., to come on the air to talk about the project.

We will be joined this special 1 1/2 hour tribute by Prince’s friends and family, including Odean Pope, Eddie Gale, Sonny Simmons, Chuck Fishman, Oluyemi Thomas, Destiny Muhammad, Leon Williams, Anthony Foster, and sons: Anthony, William and Prince. Wanda’s Picks concludes with an interview with Kelly Whalen, co-director of Tulia, TX, a film about a small town's search for justice in the midst of blatant police misconduct in an attempt to rid the town of drug trafficking. The ITVS film is premiering at the San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, near Civic Center BART. Lanier Pruitt, our beloved friend and colleague died suddenly. His funeral is today, Friday, Jan. 23, 12 Noon, at Cooper Mortuary, 1580 Fruitvale Ave., Oakland, CA.

I plan to play more Prince Lasha music on each show this month, so listen in for the continuation of our musical tribute of this great man’s legacy. As long as we speak their names, play their music, walk in their footsteps, continue their work…those who die are not gone, they live on. Ashay!

This morning we will have a tribute to William B. Lawsha "Prince Lasha," September 10, 1929 to December 12, 2008. Prince Lasha was born in 1929 in Fort Worth, Texas and went to school with Ornette Coleman. In1947, the two of them started playing saxophone in a school band (which also produced great musicians like Charles Moffett and King Curtis). They worked with Harold Land and Red Connors before going their separate ways. He lived in New York, Oakland, Germany, Italy, and France where he had the honor, he says, of playing with many great musicians such as Sonny Simmons who worked with Prince for six years; Eric Dolphy, John Coltrane, and Sonny Rollins recorded together—in fact he wrote “Music Matador that Eric Dolphy made famous. Wanda’s Picks concludes with an excerpt of Matador (from …A True Story). When he made his transition last month, Prince was working on releasing a new CD on his label Birdseye Records, called “Baritone Madness.” I hope we’ll see this CD in the near future. It features Woody Shaw, Ron Carter, Odean Pope and Eddie Gale. Prince Lasha Jr. said there’s another release coming out in a few weeks and he’ll tell us about it this morning. Perhaps I can get the producer, Prince Jr., to come on the air to talk about the project. We will be joined this special 1 1/2 hour tribute by Prince’s friends and family, including Odean Pope, Eddie Gale, Sonny Simmons, Chuck Fishman, Oluyemi Thomas, Destiny Muhammad, Leon Williams, Anthony Foster, and sons: Anthony, William and Prince. Wanda’s Picks concludes with an interview with Kelly Whalen, co-director of Tulia, TX, a film about a small town's search for justice in the midst of blatant police misconduct in an attempt to rid the town of drug trafficking. The ITVS film is premiering at the San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, near Civic Center BART. Lanier Pruitt, our beloved friend and colleague died suddenly. His funeral is today, Friday, Jan. 23, 12 Noon, at Cooper Mortuary, 1580 Fruitvale

This morning we'll reflect on the Inauguration of the 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Hussain Obama. Don't forget the Prince Lasha Tribute this Friday, January 23, 8-9:30 AM PST. Listeners are invited to call in with their thoughts to share. Eddie Gale is guest host with Wanda Sabir, this morning.

 

The two shows scheduled Friday, Jan. 16, 2009 have the Theme: "Martin King to Barack Obama, from 'I Have a Dream' to 'Yes, We Can'”

6-7:30: David Hardiman (prerecorded)

8-8:25ish AM: Marcus Shelby and Ms. Faye Carol; 8:30-8:55ish AM: Clifford Brown Jr., 9:00-9:25ish Kev Choice and Miko Marks; 9:30-9:55 Hodari Davis and Mike Tuenr, a Youth Speaks poet re: Bringing the Noise for Martin Luther King Jr.

Show URL: http://www.wandaspicks.asmnetwork.org

This morning was quite challenging in a good way. I started at 6 AM with David Hardiman, whose Big Band is in its 34th Anniversary Season being celebrated Monday, Jan. 19, in concert, two shows, 8 & 10 PM at Yoshi's San Francisco, 1330 Fillmore. Visit yoshis.com. I wanted to have Melanie Demore on also, but I had technical difficulties so I included her in my regular, 8-10 AM show with Clifford Brown Jr., emcee for the “7th Annual Musical Tribute to Dr. MLK Jr.,” Sunday, January 18, at the Scottish Rite Center, 1547 Lakeside Drive, in Oakland. Visit www.mlktribute.com

I opened the program this morning with Marcus Shelby, who is also participating in the MLK Music Tribute Sunday. He will be premiering an excerpt of a new work honoring Martin King. Ms. Faye Carol, featured in Marcus' new work, joined the musician/composer in the studio and then stayed on when Melanie joined us. We had a fun conversation, so much so, I could barely get a word in to welcome Clifford Brown Jr., into the studio. The three then had a great time conversing until Ms. Carol had to sign off.

Okay, I am trying to let out my breath...whew! Miko Marks calls in on time for her interview at 9 AM, and so do her fans who share with her their appreciation of her work. It was really cool having the live audience. Things were finally moving along well. I’d had to shut the studio down at 8 AM because I could not sign my guest into the studio, but it finally worked out—Marcus Shelby holding on. I couldn’t even take a music break. 

Miko was joined by Kev Choice, and the two to them spoke about their work, Miko as a country western singer, and Kev as a rap artist whose work seeks to uplift the community, his listeners. They are both performing on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at the Oaktown Jazz Workshop fundraiser at Yoshi's in Jack London Square in Oakland. Visit yoshis.com

Wanda’s Picks closed this morning with a conversation with Hodari B. Davis and Mike Turner. Mike is a student at Encinal High School and Hodari is one of the backbones of Youth Speaks as director of National Initiatives. They were speaking to me from an Oakland school where they are hosting a workshop called: Words as Weapons. This workshop, a part of a series, is a precursor to the annual celebration Monday, January 19, called “Bringing the Noise for Martin Luther King., Jr.” The event is at the Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave. Tickets are $16 general, $6 for youth under 20 and seniors. Visit www.cityboxoffice.com and youthspeaks.org. It was a great morning and even though I couldn't play Miko's music or a selection from Kev, you can visit their websites and I'll play a couple of selections on Wednesday, Jan. 21, as a reminder.

I think I’ll stick to having two shows a week, this week I hosted three and extended my Wednesday, January 14, show to 90 minutes so I could speak longer with John Barnes, Jr., artist, who is a part of Prospect 1 New Orleans, which closes Sunday, Januaary 18, 2009 at Hefler, the staging area for the biennel which features artists from throughout the country and the world. Visit www.prospectneworleans.org/