Features

The Ru Report #147

Ray Of Light
An all-out renaissance celebrating the artistry of the late, great musical genius Ray Charles is in full swing.

And you'd literally have to be under a rock not to feel it.

Just this week, it was announced that his critically acclaimed duets album, Genius Loves Company, was certified platinum, signifying sales of more than one million copies. The excellent opus, which was released posthumously in late August, features collaborations with such world renowned artists as Natalie Cole, Elton John, Norah Jones, B.B. King, Gladys Knight, Diana Krall, Michael McDonald, Johnny Mathis, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt and James Taylor.

The album is said to be the very first platinum selling record in his entire five-decade career. Genius… debuted at number 2 on the Billboard Top 200 chart with first week sales surpassing 200,000 copies. According to a spokesperson for Concord Records, who released the album, this set marks the very first time that Mr. Charles had been in the Top 10 since 1964.

"Getting to record with Ray has been a lifelong dream and being part of this project has been one of the proudest and most moving moments in my life," shared Ms.Raitt, who collaborates with Mr. Charles on the track "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind." Mr. John offered: "It was amazing to sit in the studio and sing with him. It's so incredibly impressive to be with someone to whom music had meant so much. It was a very emotional experience." The British rock & souler collaborated on "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word " from the Genius… set.

The considerable sales of the album were facilitated in part by a unique distribution and marketing relationship between Concord and Starbucks Coffee Company, who was responsible for nearly 30 percent of the total sales of the album. More than two million albums were shipped to retail.

And next week, the hugely hyped Ray, a new movie based on Mr. Charles' life that is distributed by Universal Pictures and starring Jamie Foxx will open nationwide in 1800 theaters. The two-and-a-half hour biopic is a poignant and heart-wrenching story that follows most of the highs and lows in Mr. Charles' extraordinary life.

Filmed on location in New Orleans last year and originally titled Unchain My Heart: The Ray Charles Story, the film is directed by Taylor Hackford, who helmed the critically acclaimed An Officer and A Gentleman.

"When I read the script I realized that this was a really phenomenal story, not just about music, but about a man who overcame all kinds of difficulties to become a real leader of the culture," Mr. Foxx said in a recent interview. "The way he intertwined everything he experienced in his life to make this amazing music, it was really something special."

For many people, the birth of American Soul music can be traced directly back to 1954 and the incendiary Atlantic Records single "I've Got a Woman," performed by a rising young artist named Ray Charles--born Ray Charles Robinson in Albany, Ga. This was followed by a string of unforgettable smash hits, including "What'd I Say," "Drown in My Own Tears," "Unchain My Heart" and "Hit the Road Jack." By his early 20s, Mr. Charles was being described by those in the business with a word that was then rarely used: he was called "the genius."

"You hear it in all those great songs," added Mr. Foxx, who spent weeks during rehearsal and production walking around with his eyes sealed tight for 12 hours a day, to gain an intimate understanding of what it really means be blind. "Now, I look at Ray Charles' legacy and I realize that he was so necessary…necessary for all of this music he helped create, for all the inspiration he brought, for the moment he carved out of history. He left behind a real mark and it's exciting to have gotten to know him as I did."

Throughout his illustrious career, Mr. Charles earned 12 Grammy Awards, as well as a 1988 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He placed 76 singles on the best-selling charts and recorded more than 75 albums. He was a Kennedy Center Honors recipient, received the National Medal of the Arts and was an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Blues Hall of Fame and the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame.

As a humanitarian, he raised more than $20 million for Black charities, education and arts. His influence can be heard nearly every time a song plays on the radio, as his musical inventiveness washed over generations of Rock, Soul, Jazz, Gospel and Country artists.

"From the minute I first heard Ray Charles sing, I knew there was an extraordinary fire there," offered Mr. Hackford, "and I followed his career from then on. His place in the pantheon of culture is monumental."

Though Mr. Hackford was eager to bring the gripping story to the silver screen, the film project languished in development and pre- production phases for more than 15 years – with several high profile studios passing on it. Universal Pictures eventually picked up the project –which stars a stable of Hollywood's best Black talent including Kerry Washington, Clifton Powell, Aunjanue Ellis, Bokeem Woodbine, Regina King, Harry Lennix, Larenz Tate and newcomer Mary Ann Fisher--repackaged it and threw some huge marketing machinery behind it.

Oscar buzz is already heating up for Jamie Foxx's undeniable performance in this remarkable work of cinematic art.

And to coincide with the Ray blitz, CBS will air "Genius: A Night for Ray Charles," a special tribute on October 22 featuring performances by Mary J. Blige, Kenny Chesney, Al Green, Norah Jones, B.B. King, Reba McEntire, Usher and Stevie Wonder among others. Hosted by Mr. Foxx, himself, the special will also trace Ray's rise to superstardom from his poverty-stricken roots, as well as celebrate the major influence he had on several generations of music fans. His longtime friends and co-musicians Quincy Jones and David "Fathead" Newman will reminisce about Ray's life.

Such a deserving celebration.

Serious Business
ESSENCE, which is arguably the best-selling magazine for women of color seems to be on a serious mission. For its December edition, the publication has launched a special HIV/AIDS awareness campaign called "Our People. Our Problem. Our Solution."

Teaming up with The Black AIDS Institute (BAI), the only national HIV/AIDS public policy, training, and mobilization center in the United States focused exclusively on Black people, ESSENCE has agreed to donate 100% of the net proceeds from every new subscription ordered from November 15 through December 31 to BAI.

The objective of this awareness campaign is to expose the devastation HIV/AIDS is causing among African-American women in the U.S., and to raise $250,000 for Black AIDS awareness efforts.
"ESSENCE always seeks to educate our readers about HIV/AIDS, and we are proud to partner with BAI in this critical effort," said Diane Weathers, editor-in-chief of the magazine. "It is our hope that people will support this campaign by giving the gift of life during this holiday season."

On October 23, PacifiCare's African American Health Solutions (AAHS) and LLuminari, Inc., a national health firm with doctors known as O, The Oprah Magazine's, "Dream Team," will roll out a community health initiative to volunteer leaders in Los at The African American Firefighter Museum. The program, called "We Matter," will deliver life-saving diabetes information, prevention techniques and teaching tools to African Americans, a group disproportionately affected by this deadly disease.

Hot Stuff
Last night, Jazz at Lincoln Center kept the grand opening celebration of Frederick P. Rose Hall swinging with the organization's inaugural gala. Hosted by Ed Bradley, the gala featured the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, with special guests Patti Austin, Michel Camilo, Eldar Djangirov, Roy Haynes, who was joined by his grandson Marcus Gilmore, Joe Lovano, Branford Marsalis, Liza Minnelli, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Dianne Reeves. The concert was followed by a festive dinner throughout Frederick P. Rose Hall, the first performance, education, and broadcast facility devoted to jazz.

"This is a joyous occasion as we commemorate the opening of our 'House of Swing' with great jazz and great company," said Mr. Marsalis, who serves as Jazz at Lincoln Center's Artistic Director. "The inaugural gala celebrates everything that we intended Frederick P. Rose Hall to be; a welcoming place where people can come together, feel at home, and get into the spirit of swing."

Designed by world-renowned architect Rafael Viñoly, Frederick P. Rose Hall marks the return of jazz to the area where it was first heard in New York City--at Reisenweber's on 8th Avenue and West 58th Street. In 1917, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band from New Orleans performed at this multi-faceted venue. The Frederick P. Rose Hall is located in the heart of a newly renovated Columbus Circle--home of the brand new AOL Time Warner center, and a recently opened shopping destination and luxury hotel.

It's a spectacular 100,000 square foot integrated performing arts facility that can accommodate dance, theater, opera, classical music and more. The facility extends the campus of Lincoln Center to Columbus Circle and features three main stage performance spaces: The 1,233 seats Rose Theater, The Allen Room, a 500-seat performance space that provides an elegant and intimate setting with views through a 50-by-90-foot glass wall overlooking Central Park, and Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, a 140-seat jazz club providing a down-home, yet sophisticated atmosphere against a backdrop of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline. The facility also houses The Irene Diamond Education Center, The 3,500 square-foot center that contains education, rehearsal and recording studios will house classes, workshops, demonstrations, lectures and student performances, as well as educational opportunities in jazz performance and history. And the Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame, named for Nesuhi Ertegun and a gift from Mica and Ahmet Ertegun, is a multi-media installation featuring a 14-foot video wall, interactive kiosks, touch-activated virtual plaques and the great sounds of jazz.

"Frederick P. Rose Hall affords us new opportunities to further our mission of collaboration and integration with all the arts through the spirit of jazz," said Mr. Marsalis. "The breadth of our performances reflects both tradition and innovation and celebrates the complete integration of ideas, generations and feelings."

Along with a traditional New Orleans second line parade down Broadway led by Mr. Marsalis as an opening kick-off earlier in the week, festivities will be culminated by concerts performed by Cassandra Wilson, Dianne Reeves and Freddy Cole throughout the weekend.

Rumination
Accidentally, I stumbled upon UPN's "New" Wednesday night line-up a few weeks back--and I am so addicted. The Tyra Banks-helmed "America's Next Top Model" is currently my guiltiest pleasure. I hope the Los Angeles-bred Eva, who channels the spirit of a pre-plastic surgery Lil' Kim (circa 1996, Junior Mafia era), gets a chance at the gold. And "Kevin Hill," the small screen TV debut of Black Romance Film star Taye Diggs is great television. One question though. Is it I or has the child cast as his adopted child changed three times over the first three episodes? What's up with that?

"You don't have to live next to me. Just give me my equality."

©2004 The Ru Report™. All Rights Reserved~~P.O. Box #25 Bushkill PA 18324

Message Karu F Daniels or email him directly at therureport@aol.com