Harlem Arts Alliance Presents: On the “A” w/Souleo
At some stage in the careers of arts professionals, there is a point where they reach the crossroads of art and commerce. For singer-songwriter, Vivian Green that moment came following the lackluster response from fans of her previous album, “Beautiful.” After receiving some backlash for it’s more “pop” sound she is now returning with a decidedly more R&B and soul affair on the forthcoming release, Green Room.
“I think ideally you want the audience to love whatever you do but that’s not the reality,” she notes. “The sound of Beautiful was very pop and this album is not at all ‘cause my fans do not like that. This one is very R&B and soulful.”
Green adds that getting to that point involved learning to accept what her fans expect of her without comprising her creative freedom. “It took me a minute to get there ‘cause creatively I feel like I should do whatever I want. I am an artist and not in a box. But I think there is a way to do it where I am satisfied and the audience is satisfied.”
The New York Film Festival has announced that the documentary, The Savoy King: Chick Webb and the Music That Changed America, will be screened at the 50th Anniversary of the New York Film Festival. The film, co-executive produced by Voza Rivers (chairman of the Harlem Arts Alliance) and Jamal Joseph, presents the musical and social impact of Webb, who established one of the most celebrated jazz orchestras in America, whose home base was at Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom. He is also credited with discovering and mentoring the legendary Ella Fitzgerald. The documentary includes the voices of Bill Cosby, Janet Jackson, John Legend, Billy Crystal and more along with period footage, interviews with those who were close to Webb, and a focus on the power of art. To coincide with the film screenings, are a series of events including a panel discussion at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture which you can learn about here.
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