Wanda's Picks

Today we will speak to James Brooks, actor, along with the director and principle actress of a production of "Aida" on stage through this weekend at Mills College in Oakland, CA.

We will reflect on the Gulf Region, 4 years later on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. We will speak to policy makers and activists, those affected who left and those who now live elsewhere. We will talk about the cultural legacy of New Orleans and the South, what is needed to preserve this legacy and how people can help. Guests are: 6:00-7:00 AM Carole Bebelle & Viola Johnson: Aché Cultural Center and the New Orleans Rebuild-a-thon, New Orleans natives, Jordan Flaherty, Left-Turn Magazine, CeCe Campbell-Rock, Survivors for Survivors, Antor Ndep, Executive Director, Common Ground Health Clinic, and Malik Rahim, co-founder, Common Ground Relief, Katrina survivor. 7:00-8:00 AM Lolis Elie, Dawn Logdon, director, producer/subject: Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans with Angela Wellman, musician, scholar, founding director, Oakland Public Conservatory of Music. There is a benefit this evening for OPC. Visit www.opcmusic.org. Sunday, August 30, 2009, is "Maafa 2009: Hurricane Katrina,

We celebrate the legacy of Casper Banjo this morning with Akili Banjo (Casper's niece), and friends Lee Williams, Tomye, and Charles Blackwell. We'll speak about Casper's life and work which is being celebrated in the exhibit: "3 Worlds, Myth, Bricks, Prints," Arias, Fuentes, Banjo, August 14 - September 19, 2009, at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, 2868 Mission Street, San Francisco. The commemoration is Saturday, August 29, 3-5 PM., (415) 821-1155, www.missionculturalcenter.org. Next we are joined by scholar poet, Kathryn Waddell Takara and her daughter, poet, educator, activist, Karla Brundage. They will speak about the Hurricane Katrina Fundraiser/Reportback, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009, 3-5 PM, at Shashamane Restaurant, 2507 Broadway in Oakland. Big Chief Kevin Goodman speaks to us about the Mardi Gras Indian tradition and his life now in the Diaspora post-Katrina in Austin. Visit http://www.myspace.com/bigchiefkevingoodman We close with a conversation with David Alston, archivist, journalist, phot

We will speak to directors featured in the upcoming film festival: Women Make Movies at the Roxie Theatre in San Francisco beginning Friday, August 28 through Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009.

Carmen Lundy is in town Thurs.-Fri., June 16-17, 2011, with her trio featuring Anthony Wonsey on piano, Corcoran Holt on bass, and Jamison Ross on drums. I have tickets for her 10 PM show at Yoshi's Jack London Square. If you are interested drop me a line at wanda@wandaspicks.com Here's the plan, but as with all things, stay loose just in case something changes (smile):Carmen Lundy, composer/singer, "Solamente," 8 AM, Ms. Lundy will be performing at the Culver City Club, lobby, Radisson Hotel, 6161 W.Centinela Avenue, Culver City, August 22, 7 PM. The cover is $15, (310) 649-1776 x4137. Visit www.carmenlundy.com Next in the studio is Mary Monroe, author of God Ain't Blind. She will be at Marcus Books in Oakland, 3900 MLK Jr. Way, (510) 652-2344, Aug. 21, at 6:30 PM. and Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009, 12:30 PM, at the Alexander Book Company, 50 Second Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, (415) 495-2992.Visit www.marymonroe.org and email her at authorauthor5409@aol.com. She answers all mail. Black August honors the memor

Special broadcast

This morning we will speak to Ulysses Owens Jr., drummer, about his work and the legacy of Rashied Ali who passed from this life a week ago. Ali played with John Coltrane and Coltrane's late wife, Alice Coltrane. We'll play some of Ulysses' favorite Rashied tracks along with some of my Ulysses's favorites, from his latest, "U.O. Project 'It's Time for U." "It's Time" is a wonderful work featuring vocals as well as instrumental work, all peppered with Owens' distinctive or perhaps the correct term is signature percussion. We'll take calls if you want to share Rashied Ali memories or reflections. We played music from a number of albums, many from: "No One In Particular" Rashied Ali Quintet featuring:Ravi Coltrane on saxes, Gene Ess on guitar, Greg Murphy on piano, Matt Garrison on bass and the unstoppable spirit of Rashied Ali on drums. Visit http://bitmunk.com/media/6341966. Thursday, August 20, we'll have a special broadcast from 1-3 PM. Guests will be from SF Playhouse's current staging of "One Flew Over th

We'll be speaking with former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and Opal Palmer Adisa about the legacy and work of the Hon. Marcus Mosiah Garvey, founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Organization. He was the first victim of FBI surveillance (COINTELPRO). Next we'll be joined by Maalak, Soul Chi and Colette Winlock to speak about "Be Still Meditation" tomorrow. Judith Offer, playwright, "Compared to What," at the Oakland Public Library, 8/15, 2-4 PM at the Main Branch, 125-14th Street, West Auditorium, and Ronnie Stewart, founder, Bay Area Blues Society, which hosts the Blues Stage at Art and Soul in Oakland, 8/15-8/16. We close with a conversation with artists participating in Diáspora Negra - The African Legacy in Music and Dance in Latin America, at La Pena Cultural Center in Berkeley, Friday and Saturday, Aug. 15 & 16.

Recently there was a historic gathering of African-centered Restorative Justice practioners. We will speak to Fania Davis, Jacqueline Roebuck Sahko and Yusufu Mosley and other guests that weekend at the start of the show. The circus is in town and we might have an opportunity to speak to a clown who is veteran of the Gulf War. Lastly, Oakland's Art and Soul is this weekend, August 15-16, and the Blues Stage is what's happening. A pared down band toasted Avotcja at her 68th Leo Birthday Celebration August 2 at La Pena Cultural Center. Hopefully Ronnie Stewart, Bay Area Blues Society Caravan of All Stars might be up early and prepared to share the amazing lineup with us.

Special guests today include: Janeen Africa and Ramona Africa, of the MOVE organization. Janeen's is a part of MOVE 9. We will talk about the case, MOVE and her upcoming parole hearing. The show will start a half hour later as Janeen will call from State Correctional Institution (SCI) Cambridge Springs. We will also speak to Kiilu Nyasha about Black August and her friend, comrade George Jackson. Our final guest is Jean Claude, Banyamalenge Tutsi, who will speak about the Banyamalenge Tutsi massacre, 117 killed, 166 wounded in a Burundi refugee camp, August 13, 2004. There is a program this weekend, August 8, 3:30-5:30 at the West Auditorium at Oakland Main Library, 125-14th Street @ Madison. The call in didn't work on the live show, but we will see about scheduling something for a later date.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi'a film: Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love, opened with much success July 31 in the San Francisco Bay Area and has been held over at United Artists Stonestown Twin and the Osio in Monterey, and expanded to other venues beginning August 7: The Roxie Cinema in San Francisco and The Cerrito in El Cerrito, as the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival comes to a close. I was able to speak to two directors whose films screen today, Thursday, August 6 and Saturday, August 8: Beth Toni Kruvant, dir, "Heart of Stone" (JCCSF 8/8, 4:45 PM) & Shai Carmelli Pollack, dir. "Refugees" (Berkeley Rep, Roda Theatre, 2:30 PM, 8/6). Part 2 of this series will feature directors: Simone Bitton, dir. Rachel, which is an investigative film about the death of American peace activist, Rachel Corrie, and Helmer Pablo Trapero, dir. "Lion's Den," which explores Argentine prisons where women are allowed to keep their babies. I am trying to secure an interview with Ada Ushpiz, dir. "Desert Brides." Another film I

Today we'll be speaking to Alicia Jrapko, the United States Coordinator of the Internat'l Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban Five based in Oakland, CA. The artist and his four brothers are serving long sentences. He is serving a life sentences in Florence, Colorado. Visit www.thecuban5.org "Original paintings by Antonio Guerrero Exhibit opens Thursday, August 6, 2009, 7:30 PM at La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley. The keynote speaker is Alice Walker, novelist, poet and author of prologue to "Letter of Love and Hope, the Story of the Cuban Five. There will be remarks by Gayle McLaughlin, Mayor of Richmond , California, along with music, an excerpt from the video "Against the Silence." Donations at the door $10 - $20 sliding scale. We are hoping to speak to Rea Dol, who is with a coalition of grassroots women’s organizations in Haiti and also director of a school in Port-au-Prince before she returns home this weekend. She was in the San Francisco Bay Area last week. We close the

Afro Solo 16 Afro Solo: Morrie Turner, Thomas Simpson, Jewel Gomez, Lance McGee, Raja Rahim, Lauren Whitehead, Kai Hazelwood, and playwright, Judy Juanita.

Oakland Feather River Camp Rebroadcast with Updates on Oakland Parks and Rec at 100 Years Celebration July-August 2009. We feature music by George Cables and Eric Reed this show.

100 Black Women present: Sistahs Gettin' Real About HIV rebroadcast.

We will feature a prerecorded interview with Ruth Davies and Elvin Bishop. July 22 at Stanford Jazz Festival is Ruth Davies Blues Night with Elvin Bishop, 7:30 pm in Dinkelspiel Auditorium. Tickets are $28 general, $14 students. Ruth Davies has earned serious blues credentials, gigging with such greats as Charles Brown, John Lee Hooker, and Jimmy Witherspoon, and she brings together a sensational lineup of musicians each year at Stanford to celebrate the blues. This year’s special guest is Elvin Bishop, a supreme blues slide guitarist whose recent CD, The Blues Rolls On, was nominated for a Grammy in the best traditional blues category. Listen to audio & view video clips of Elvin here: http://www.stanfordjazz.org/jazzfestival/07_22.html You can also visit www.ruthdavies.com The rest of the band will be Chris Burns on keyboards, Mighty Mike Shermer on guitar Nancy Wright on tenor sax and Ndugu Chancellor on drums.

Ruth Davies Blues Night at Stanford Jazz Festival features Elvin Bishop, Wednesday, July 22, 2009. This annual event has featured many top names from Henry Butler to Brenda Boykin. This is the only show, Ruth says, that she is the leader. Otherwise, she is happy as a sidewoman. The bassist joins Bishop, whose latest album, "The Blues Rolls On," was nominated for a Grammy. Ruth is on the title track on bass. This show will also feature a rebroadcast of the special interview with Jeff Chambers who is hosting a tribute for Buddy Montgomery also Wednesday, July 22, in San Francisco at Yoshi's. Terrence Brewer joins Jeff for a conversation about Buddy's brother Wes, whose work Terrence features on his latest CD.

Today our topics will range from Black Women and HIV to Negro Spirituals and Contemporary Black Music. We are pleased to have as special guests members of Araceli Theater Project, launched in 2002 to serve as an educational and supportive resource for cancer patients receiving medical care from San Francisco General Hospital. Performances are Friday-Saturday, July 17-18, 7:30 at Mission Cultural Center in San Francisco. $15 suggestion donation (or pay what you can). We will conclude with Ebony Iman Dallas (EID) and several other artists and discuss EID's project which is to look at the role of art in mending the breach or separation between Africans in the Diaspora. There will be a presentation/concert at Coffee with a Beat in Oakland this evening.

Today we will be speaking to Pierre LaBoissiere about Haiti. We will also have on the show Kofi Taharka, Houston Black United Front, and Charles "Boko" Freeman, Houston native and one of the founders of the BPP chapter there. The two men will speak about a commemorative program honoring Carl Bernard Hampton, whom Boko says, was "one of Black America's most articulate, courageous and heroic, young leaders was ruthlessly slain by the Houston Police Department's Central Intelligence Division (CID), July 26, 1970. At the age of 21, Carl was a tireless organizer who worked day and night to establish People's Party II[1], a Black revolutionary group modeled after the Black Panther Party (BPP). On Sunday, July 26, 2009 two activities will be held to commemorate the life and death of Carl Bernard Hampton. The Gravesite Remembrance will take place at 3:00pm at Golden Gate Cemetery 8400 Hirsch Road Houston , Texas . The Community Memorial will kick off at 5:00pm at 3212 Dowling Street Houston , Texas next to the PABA

Jeff Chambers is hosting a tribute concert in honor of his mentor, Buddy Montgomery. Terrence Brewer's latest CD, "Groovin' Wes: A Musical Expression of Admiration for Wes Montgomery," presents a perfect opportunity to get the two men in the studio together to talk about two other gifted and talented brothers. If you missed Brewer's awesome CD release party this Spring, the CD is available on his website. However, you don't want to miss Chambers Wednesday, July 22, 8 PM at Yoshi's in San Francisco. Visit www.jeffchambers.com.