Wanda's Picks

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the writing, visual and performing arts of African people in the Diaspora. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work filled with raw unfettered passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay! Remember to tune in on Wednesdays from 6 AM PST to 7 or 8 AM and on Fridays from 8 AM to 10 AM. We also host special broadcasts from time to time.

We interview Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick about AIDS in the Black Communityand the film ENDGAME: AIDS in the Black Community. Watch ENDGAME at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/endgame-aids-in-black-america/ For San Francisco Bay Area Events visit http://www.aidsmemorial.org/events/19th-annual-world-aids-day-observance and http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=169132

The African Showboyzcombine drumming, dance, magic, and adrenaline in spectacular performances that have taken them around the world. The Showboyz’ five Sabbah brothers – Napoleon, Joseph, Isaac, Moses, and JJ – grew up in Binaba, a tiny village in the bush country of northeast Ghana without electricity or schools. When the Showboyz took their show on the road to the rest of Africa, aided in their early years by Babatunde Olatunji, the “father of world music”  their music and messages of peace and unity connected with audiences everywhere. We are joined by Elder brother/father Napoleon with special guest, musician educator Val Serrant. The show opens with an archival interview with Joanna Haigood and visual artist Charles Tapolin who collaborate in Zaccho Dance Company's The Monkey and The Devil (2011). We close the show with a special interview with writer, visual artist and educator, Opal Palmer Adisa and her two daughters: Teju and Shola Adisa Farrar. Teju Adisa Farrar will graduate from Wesleyan University SPR '13. Teju’s main area of study is Sociology and Political, Critical, Cultural, and Social Theory, but social justice and global awareness are two of her main passions. Opal Palmer Adisa is a writer, photographer and full professor at CCA teaching in the MFA program and undergraduate Writing and literature programs. Her latest, novel is Painting Away Regrets. Shola Adisa-Farrar hails from Oakland, CA. A trained Singer and Actress, Shola Adisa Farrar has studied at Fordham University, where she earned a BA degree in Music.

We open with two songs: Odetta singing Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child followed by Fire from Liz Wright's Salt. The first archived interview with Tim Wise re: Dear White America; Sam Pollard speaks about his film Slavery by Another Name. We interject Sweet Honey in the Rock's Motherless Child between the two interviews. When I cannot find the interview (smile) we are able to enjoy music from Meklit Hadero's Abbay Mado from On a Day like Today; Barbara Hunter's Sarah.

Guests: 1. Destiny Muhammad is Recording/ Performing Artist in Singer-Songwriter fashion on Harp. Her genre ‘Celtic to Coltrane’ is cool and eclectic with a feel of Jazz & storytelling to round out the sonic experience.Destiny is expanding her musical ideals with her project(s) S.O.N.G/ Strings of a Nubian Groove Nubian string ensemble,The Destiny Muhammad Project, & The Richard Howell Quintet (RHQ) Destiny is Governor Emeritus and Educational Chair Emeritus of the Recording Academy, San Francisco Chapter, Jazz Heritage Center of San Francisco Jazz Ambassador and an ASCAP Songwriter Awardee.  3. Ben Vereen archival interview from June 2012. 4. We close with director Greg Kappy, whose film, Shooting for Home, screens in the San Francisco Doc Fest Sun., Nov. 18 at the Roxie and Mon., Nov. 19, 9:30 PM at the Roxie.

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the writing, visual and performing arts of African people in the Diaspora. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work filled with raw unfettered passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay! Remember to tune in on Wednesdays from 6 AM PST to 7 or 8 AM and on Fridays from 8 AM to 10 AM. We also host special broadcasts from time to time.

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the writing, visual and performing arts of African people in the Diaspora. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work filled with raw unfettered passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay! Remember to tune in on Wednesdays from 6 AM PST to 7 or 8 AM and on Fridays from 8 AM to 10 AM. We also host special broadcasts from time to time.

Take 2: Kelly J Richardson, Director | Producer | Cinematographer | Co-Editor of Without a Net, opening at Doc Fest this weekend, Nov. 10 at the Roxie Theatre in San Francisco. On the show last week, we decided to extend the conversation today on her project which lives off the screen as well as on (smile). A graduate from Berkeley High School,  Kelly J Richardson is the founder and executive director of Live Wired Productions, based in San Francisco, California. Her passions in performance art and social justice are expressed through her film work. She has directed and produced several short student films and Without A Net is her feature-directing debut. She has received numerous grants and awards from government agencies and private foundations, including a Fulbright scholarship for the production of Without A Net. She holds a B.A. from U.C. Berkeley. Visithttp://www.withoutanetfilm.com/

STORY: Djeferson, Bárbara, Rayana and Platini live in a drug controlled slum of Rio de Janeiro. Their families are struggling, their homes are physically unstable, and everyone they know has dropped out of school. When a big-top circus tent suddenly appears in a nearby parking lot, they decide to take a chance. They learn trapeze, acrobatics, juggling and contortion, then audition for the end-of-year show, rehearse and prepare for the curtains to part on opening night. Along the way, WITHOUT A NET explores the connections between risk, desire, poverty and circus and celebrates the perseverance and resilience of youth in the face of tremendous odds. We close with an interview with Ava DuVernay, director of I Will Follow which opens nationally this month.

Dwight Trible joins us to talk about his latest project: Cosmic and his concert Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, 7 PM at Yoshi's in SF. Dwight Trible is a singer who combines the best of vocal virtuosity with musicianship and improvisational skills to the delight of audiences and musicians alike. In addition to performing with his own group, the Dwight Trible Ensemble, Dwight is the vocalist with the Pharaoh Sanders Quartet and is also the vocal director for the Horace Tapscott Pan Afrikan Peoples’ Arkestra. Not a newcomer to the music scene, Dwight has worked with such notables as Oscar Brown Jr., Charles Lloyd, Billy Childs, Kenny Burrell, Kenny Garrett, Steve Turre, Harold Land, Harry Belafonte, Della Reese and Norman Conners, John Beasley, Patrice Rushen, Babatunde Lea, Ernie Watts, Kahlil El Zabar, as well as contemporary soul artist like LA Reid and DJ Rogers. Dwight’s collaborations with Horace Tapscott, Billy Higgins, Kamau Daaood and others have produced some of the finest musical moments in Los Angeles in recent years - and his best is yet to come! Like his mentors, Dwight is not content to use his music just to entertain people, although he is quite a dynamic performer. He uses his music to bring people together, to bridge the gap between the races, and to heal the human heart. He has received numerous awards for his humanitarian efforts: http://www.dwighttrible.com/ We rebroadcast an interview with Michele Rosewoman, pianist, composer, bandleader, who is in town to celebrate the life and legacy of Ed Kelly, who is honored tonight at the Oakland Public Conservatory, 1616 Franklin Street, Oakland, CA, 7-9 PM: http://www.reverbnation.com/michelerosewoman

CRUEL AND UNUSUAL, Director Sam Banning; Fay Dearborn, Assistant Director of the San Francisco Independent Film Festival (also known as SF IndieFest), and the Programming Director of the San Francisco Documentary Film Festival (known as SF DocFest); Kelly J. Richardson, Director, Without a Net: http://www.withoutanetfilm.com/trailer.htmlWe open with an interview with Michele Rosewoman who is performing at the OPC tribute to Oakland Legendary composer and musician, Ed Kelly: opcmusic.org