A DAY IN "THE LIFE OF RILEY"

... IF MISS ROSS GOES!

Though this season of "American Idol" isn't the most exciting, the celebrity coaches - led by Diana Ross - have been adding a certain zest to this otherwise bland cast. Having said that (and now that Sanjaya is gone), the balance of the finalist ballot is beginning to look like a "serious" competition. Some of them are lacking in the way of personality, but clearly there are some talented kids in there. Melinda Doolittle is still turning the kids while LaKisha Jones holds her ground. Meanwhile, Jordin Sparks may be the last "sistah" standing a la the season that Kimberly Locke rose to the top three (just under the radar). But Blake Lewis (though in the bottom three with other favorite LaKisha last week) seems poised to take it - demographically speaking. Plus, he offers something fresh and new that we've not seen elevate to the top in this franchise.

Meanwhile, beyond "American Idol", there are a couple of shout outs I want to make for those who are already established in the industry or aiming to establish themselves outside of the "American Idol" mix:

Last week, after I gave a shout out to Amy Winehouse and her new CD "Back to Black" (on Universal Republic Records), I got a call from Virgin (EMI/Capitol), asking if I liked their blue-eyed soulstress Joss Stone. Though they had sent me a "Valentine's basket", it didn't include the full CD. A day later, the new CD "Introducing Joss Stone" was in my mailbox... and has been on my rotation ever since. Raphael Saadiq produced the project (with Joss Stone credit for Executive Producer). Joss (and Amy) stand on the shoulders of Teena Marie, George Michael, and a host of other white singers who have us asking "Is she white?". She exudes so much soul, sass, and attitude in her vocals. Coupled with Saadiq's contemporary/vintage spin on her voice, she's got a release here that will let us know a bit more about what she's got to offer. (www.jossstone.com/)

Meanwhile, my Anthony brought another artist to my attention via the domain of MY SPACE. Many artists (unsigned, independent, and between projects while in the lab) share their new music on their respective sites. One on which he stumbled and shared with me: MATEO (http://www.myspace.com/mateosongs). As comparisons go, his vocals weave in and out of R&B singers we know and love - like Musiq Soulchild, Eric Benet, and Craig David. But MATEO - via his EP "HUMAN" - is all his own. Born into a family of musicians in Cincinnati, Ohio, Mateo was raised by a single mother where his early musical gifts were cultivated and developed. His site shows that he's a Morehouse brother of mine (younger though). And after he graduated college, he moved to New York City where he worked as a corporate consultant, while also performing at various venues around the city on the side - a trajectory many of us who are singers/artists have taken. (I used to host an event for that demographic here in the city. It was called "Frustrated Artists in Corporate America"). Frustrated no more, Mateo set his sights on Los Angeles to pursue his passion for music full time. And that's what he is doing... BEING THE DIFFERENCE he wanted to see in his world! And now, musically, it is showing up all over. Check him out.                                                                    

MEANWHILE, since Anthony has moved here to the east coast, he's become such a 'pop culture' influence on me (as I think he would say I am on him). During his first week here, we went to karaoke and we have stumbled into a bit of a tradition where he will select a song for me to sing. MAXWELL's "This Woman's Work" is the new hit I do. Another that he stumbled into was DES'REE's "Kissing You" from the movie "Romeo and Juliet" starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Daines. I had not seen the film nor had I heard the song, but Anthony insisted I sing it anyway --- following the melody, his direction, and the lyrics on the screen. With no frame of reference, Anthony says I did a great job. With that, everytime we go to Karaoke, he punches it in for me to sing to him. I did get the chance to hear the song when Anthony insisted - one night - that we watch the DVD of "Romeo and Juliet" at home. I fell asleep the first time, but stayed awake the second time... and I now know why it's his favorite. It's now one of our favorites. And the song as sung by Des'Ree - famous for her 1994 smash hit, "You Gotta Be" - in the movie is beautiful. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G0NHmGcY0M) And Anthony is right. I did nail it (THE SONG... and PERHAPS THE KISS) the first time (if I don't say so myself). With that, "Kissing You" has become OUR SONG (or one of those that we share and are inspired by... in the context of our shared LOVE). Imagine my wonder when I got an e-mail from my nephew that another of my favorite young divas BEYONCE has covered the song on her newly-expanded and re-released B-DAY album (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU5GGiFK5Bc). However, according to a lawsuit filed recently in Manhattan Federal Court by music administators, Beyoncé allegedly never obtained proper clearance to cover the song, which she's re-titled "(Still in Love) Kissing You". In the lawsuit, Des'ree and her reps claim that Beyoncé, along with her record company people, originally tried to work out a deal to use the song. When they weren't satisfied with the proposed terms -- which included not being able to change the title or make a music video for the song -- Beyoncé allegedly blew off copyright law completely, and recorded the song and video without permission. Des'ree is suing to halt distribution of the song, video and album and seeking at least $150,000 in damages. Both versions are beautiful and though I don't necessarily know the reason for needing to change the title, I do know Beyonce is not the first diva to change a song's title when she re-recorded it. I recall Teddy Pendergrass and Whitney Houston's "Hold Me" from 1982. It was a duet that introduced Whitney Houston to the airwaves. Well, Miss Ross re-recorded the Michael Masser composition on her sophomore RCA project "Silk Electric", changing the feel of the song and its title to "In Your Arms". Though I don't think there were any litigious issues that time, Beyonce is yet again standing on Ross' shoulders.  

I've been a big fan of Patti Austin since the '80s, when her pop repertoire gave us the classic duets "How Do You Keep The Music Playing?" and "Baby, Come To Me" - both sung with the soul-stirring James Ingram. They both came from the camp of Quincy Jones, who I knew was her godfather. Patti would go on to release a string of hits including "The Heat of Heat" (produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis); "Rhythm of the Street" (LOVED THAT VIDEO!); "All Behind Us Now"; and "It's Gonna Be Special". (And how can any of us forget her duet with Narada Michael Walden, "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme"??? Well, maybe you've forgotten it. But it was one of my favorites!!!!- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFwvMEdwXZg). But more than a pop hit or superstardom, Patti Austin is "a premier voice" that has checked its ego at the door. Given that, it sings "jingles" (from radio and TV commercials)... it sings background for icons like Diana Ross... it sings in the choir.... and it sings us lessons of American history, whether from the catalogue of Ella Fitzgerald or her latest (due March 6): "Avant-Gershwin", which pays homage to George Gershwin standads with new and adventurous arrangements to boot. I reached out to her for a feature I'm working on for UneQ Magazine (www.UneQmagazine.com) on Luther Vandross. Those tid-bits will be published in the Summer 2007 issue of that magazine. Meanwhile, "A Day in the Life of Riley: Pop Culture and Possibilities" is happy to share the rest with you. And even post-gastro-bypass and more than a hundred pounds lighter, Miss Austin is still "a voice" that reigns supreme.

"A DAY IN THE LIFE OF RILEY":
Yes, check into that. I just ordered it from the SoulMusic.com store. (http://www.soulmusic.com ) 
But also you're tackling the Gershwin catalog. So, where does your inspiration come from for this new project?

PATTI AUSTIN:
Oh boy, just my childhood. My life. I grew up in a house filled with music. My dad was a jazz musician. He played trombone with Lucky Millinder, Fletcher Henderson, and Father Hines. In addition to that, he was a tremendous music lover. When I was
about three-years-old, he bought me a record player a little victrola and a record collection that belonged to the same person that owned the victrola and it would happen to be a collection of 78s that were all Broadway show tunes. So, the first
music that I really attached myself to was Broadway music. That was when I was in my little play space. Now, when I left my play space and the music was being programmed by my dad, it ranged from Stravinsky's "Firebird" to Patsy Kline to Big Mama Thornton to Nat King Cole to Basie to Stan Kenton to Miles. It was pure...It was music....It was
all about music. Music...music...music...music all the time. So, that's like the foundation
of where I come from. And then, I get thrown into the entertainment business at four and
become a professional at five and worked with people like Dinah Washington who became my
godmother and Quincy who became my godfather and Sammy Davis Jr. who mentored me through
the earlier, earlier years of my career because he started out when he was at the same age and saw this kid kind of echoing whatever talent he felt he had. So he helped usher me in.....just amazing people Ray Bolger, Steve Laurence, Eydie Gorme, Patrice
Monsel...I mean just the list goes on and on and on of the people who said "Hey, kid come here let me help you up another notch." So, that's how I came to the business....And I turned 13 years old and I'm in the business and in the meantime, I have a godfather in the background who is saying to my parents "Don't let her get too big. Let her work at her craft in the summertime and on the weekends. But don't let encroach on who she is as a person. Let her be a person. Don't let her become a huge star. It will ruin her life. She wont have anything to look forward to as an adult. Let this just be her craft...not about her
being a star." My parents listened to that mantra and totally agreed. That's how my career was in
the business it was very much when there was free time, I got to do things that I loved to
do the most. So, my impression of being in the business was always a very joyous one.

And then, I turn about thirteen years old and Quincy has got his big band and we go with Quincy. We,  being my parents and I, go on the bus with all the guys in the band and their families will go to Newport, Rhode Island from New York City because Quincy is going to do Newport Jazz Festival. And if you saw the Ray Charles movie, you saw a scene where Quincy is talking to Ray in the tent at the Newport Jazz Festival...that was the Newport Jazz Festival that we were at. And Judy Garland was on the bill. Quincy said "I'm gonna go back and talk to Ray in the tent... You guys need to go check out Judy Garland." My parents and I looked at each like 'who the hell wants to see her' because at that time Judy Garland --- like a week before --- tried to kill herself, she had slit her wrist, she was boozing, and she was carrying on like a lunatic and in retrospect now, we can say she made Britney Spears look [tame in comparison]. She was just out there. Her voice was gone and her chops were shot...and 'who wants to hear this broke down woman sing?'. This is what I'm thinking to myself and my parents are thinking the same thing and we're looking at each other and we reluctantly go and sit down and she starts and by the end of the show of course we're on our feet and we're screaming and crying like lunatics because she was all that and a bag of chips. And I found out from that moment that "Wait a minute! There is something else to singing than singing songs. There is like this thing that you do. Where you're acting and you're telling this story and you're creating this relationship with an audience and you're pretty much standing on stage and draining your blood before an entire room full of people so that they will be able to access whatever it is inside themselves that makes them want to drain their blood. And Wow, is that ever powerful. Now, how do I access that and not have to want to be suicidal to do it." And so, that was an epiphany for me and Quincy. He knew me well enough to know that is exactly what it would be. And it really changed the way that I worked as a performer from that point on. I started to develop this idea that I wanted to sing like Ella and perform like Judy....and bring
all of that together. And the best music that accomplishes that is music that comes from
either film or originally/usually from theater. And a lot of jazz has come from music that was written for theater. It was about black musicians taking that music that was very sanctimonious and playing it down the first time exactly the way it was written and then saying "Okay, we have established your melody. Now here is mine." Since we have Charlie Parker you know just going crazy on some Cole Porter or Miles going crazy on some Gershwin. So, that's the idea of this project was to take the amalgamation of all that knowledge and wisdom... and being at a point in my life where I think I can tell a lot of these stories a lot better
than I told them 20 years ago. And get together with an arranger who understood all of that who I sat in a room with for two days with a piano going through each tune and describing what I wanted to hear with my ears but what I also wanted to see with my eyes if that makes any sense....When I walked into the studio the first time with the whole orchestra there and heard them play down the first arrangement, the first thing they played was "A Stairway to Paradise." I thought I was going to die because I knew what we had talked about. We picked the key and we picked the groove and I said you know just 'think ....Michael (Abene) think about all those great old Bugsy Berkeley movie numbers you've seen and make that but make it modern and put it on this groove...It's jazz..It's...It's we're trying to sell this to an audience that's heard it a million times done.' Like...I'll build "A Stairway to Paradise"....you know like an old Broadway bum ba ba bum-kinda of tune. We gotta get other people to hear this message. So, we want the people that have heard the message that have it fixed in their head how it is supposed to go not to be disgruntle by where we taking this...and we want this other generation that has never heard it before to go what the hell is that.

"A DAY IN THE LIFE OF RILEY":

So, you re-invented basically?

PATTI AUSTIN:
No, I do it all the time. I just did it in South Carolina and the show that I do that is the Patti Austin show is all of that and some Ella...and will be all of that and some Ella and some Gershwin.

"A DAY IN THE LIFE OF RILEY":
That's not coming back???
 
PATTI AUSTIN:
I don't think so. Unless Narada is in the audience and screams from the back row "Do "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme"!", then it might get done....He will have to come up on stage
and orchestrate it all impromptu. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFwvMEdwXZg

Oh! I am so busted....you have totally busted my ass. 

   

MAKE SURE YOU CHECK OUT THE SUMMER 2007 ISSUE OF "UneQ Magazine" (www.UneQmagazine.com) to find out what PATTI AUSTIN has to say about LUTHER VANDROSS.

I got the opportunity to attend one of the first long-lead screenings of Focus
Features’ "Talk to Me", which opens in limited release on Friday, July 20th, 2007. I get invited to screenings all the time. I can't always honor the invites as my schedule can be unpredictable. I went to this one because I was available. Little did I know that I was going to be forever moved.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW9zVyjTZjw

"Talk to Me" is the powerful, real-life story of Ralph Waldo “Petey” Greene
(portrayed by Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle), an outspoken ex-con who talked
his way into becoming an iconic radio personality in the 1960s in Washington,
D.C. At first glance, I wondered if some of the "broad"-ness coming out of Don Cheadle and Taraji P. Henson (his love interest) was perhaps TOO MUCH and NOT REALISTIC. (Though I am a child of the '70s, it has been a minute. SMILE!). BUT THE REALNESS placed against the rest of the world (once he got out of prison) and the HEART in which he played PETEY GREENE landed on me on the reality that I was watching a MASTERPIECE and a MASTER of his craft (DON). And what a RICH and PROFOUND "local" story that has endless national implications for civil rights, black radio, the criminal justice system, etc.

Sparked by both the era’s vibrant soul music and exploding social consciousness, Petey openly courted controversy at a white-owned station. Relying on his producer Dewey Hughes (double Golden Globe Award nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor) to run interference, Petey’s unprecedented “tell it like it is” on-air style gave voice and spirit to the black community during an exciting and turbulent period in American history.

Also starring in the film are BET Award winner Taraji P. Henson, Mike Epps, Vondie Curtis Hall, Cedric The Entertainer, and Martin Sheen. Directed by Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou), Talk to Me is a must-see. Meanwhile, to learn more about Petey Greene, check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w7YPlGRX5w