| Greetings!
HM157 in Lincoln Heights is hosting a wonderful holiday event on Saturday, December 4, 2010: Christmas With Bessie.
A diverse group of Los Angeles artists will come together at the gathering to honor the life and spirit of jazz legend Bessie Smith. This year's event includes interpretations of Smith favorites incorporating a unique kaleidoscope of experimental music, indie, jazz, folk, swing blues, puppetry, dance, and burlesque, interspersed with stories about Smith's life amid the old-time ambiance of HM157. Performers include Dorian Wood, Suzy Williams, The Evangenitals, puppet troupe Unknown Hands, Ruby Friedman, Prix de Beaute, and trumpet virtuoso Charles de Castro, to name a few. Bessie details are below.
Coming Soon to HM 157 -
A
couple upcoming events to keep on your radar ...
- Sunday, December 19, 2010 - HandMade157* Women's Craft Event
DIY craft sale spectacular featuring handmade gift items by local crafters, art, literature, live musical performances, and edible treats ... just in time for the last-minute shopping
- Weekends in January 2011 - Get Independent @ HM 157 Permaculture Workshops
Learn how to make bicycle generators,
water catchment systems, and more to get our collective asses off the grid. Workshops led by the Los Angeles Permaculture Guild.
See details soon to come at http://thechurchoffashion.com/ and/or contact hmonefiftyseven@gmail.com.
Please let me know if I can provide further info or you'd like to be added to the media guest list.
Best,
Charlene
310-291-5104
For Immediate Release:
Thursday, November 18, 2010
3rd Annual Christmas With Bessie
A Holiday Tribute to the Jazz Legend Bessie Smith
At HM157 in Los Angeles
Saturday, December 4, 2010
LOS ANGELES, CA - In what has become a local holiday tradition, a diverse group of Los Angeles artists will gather for a lively holiday celebration, Christmas With Bessie, honoring the life and spirit of jazz legend Bessie Smith at the intimate HM157 on Saturday, December 4, 2010. Now in its third year, the night features an array of multi-genre performances by local talent truly inspired and influenced by Smith’s body of work. Curated by Xmas With Bessie Productions, this year's event includes interpretations of Smith favorites incorporating a unique kaleidoscope of experimental music, indie, jazz, folk, swing blues, puppetry, dance, and burlesque, interspersed with stories about Smith's life amid the old-time ambiance of HM157. Performers include Dorian Wood, Suzy Williams, The Evangenitals, puppet troupe Unknown
Hands, Ruby Friedman, Prix de Beaute, and trumpet virtuoso Charles de Castro, to name a few. HM157 is located at 3110 North Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90031. Show starts at 9:00pm. Admission is $10. For additional event details, please see http://www.myspace.com/christmaswithbessie or contact Xmas With Bessie Productions at 323-378-8273 / xmaswithbessie@gmail.com.
Bessie Smith -
Often referred to as "The Empress of the Blues," Smith is one of the greatest blues singers of all-time, credited for revolutionizing the vocal end of blues music in the 1920s. Her voice was remarkable, filling even the largest of halls without amplification with her trademark earthy tones and incomparable phrasing. The venerated chanteuse was born into poverty in Chattanooga, Tennessee, one of seven children of William and Laura Smith. To earn money for their impoverished household, Smith and her brother Andrew busked on the streets as children. At age eighteen, she worked with the Moses Stokes traveling minstrel show, then later with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels under Gertrude "Ma" Rainey. The minstrel show (based on African American music and humor) circuit was a difficult life where late hours, low pay, gambling, fighting, and substance abuse were commonplace.
When Smith went solo, she signed with Columbia Records, where she recorded 160 songs. She met and fell in love with Jack Gee, a security guard whom she married just as her first recordings were being released. The marriage was a stormy one, with infidelity on both sides. During the marriage, Smith became the biggest headliner on the black Theater Owners Booking Association vaudeville circuit and the highest-paid black entertainer of her day. Her songs, which include "Downhearted Blues," "Gulf Coast Blues," "Jealous Hearted Blues," and "Cold in Hand Blues," were about poverty, oppression, and unrequited love. Her rendition of "St. Louis Blues," with Louis Armstrong, is considered by critics to be one of finest recordings of the 1920s. Her brilliant career was tragically cut short by a fatal automobile accident. Recordings of Smiths have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/bessie-smith-p526
Coming Soon to HM157 -
A couple upcoming events to keep on your radar ...
- Sunday, December 19, 2010 - LOLA*SLICE (Ladies of Los Angeles Shop Local Independence Craft Event)
DIY craft sale spectacular featuring handmade gift items by local crafters, art, literature, live musical performances, and edible treats ... just in time for last-minute shopping
- Weekends in January 2011 - Get Independent @HM157 Permaculture Workshops
Learn how to make bicycle generators, water catchment systems, and more to get our collective asses off the grid. Workshops led by the Los Angeles Permaculture Guild.
See details soon to come at http://thechurchoffashion.com/ and/or contact hmonefiftyseven@gmail.com.
HM157 -
HM157, aka Historical Monument #157, has become the center of the Lincoln Heights art community, operating as a catalyst for culture. The creative community, housed in an eclectic Victorian mansion, propagates positive possibilities. Voted "Best Underground Date Night 2009" and "Best Escape From Corporate Entertainment 2010" by The LA Weekly. The HM157 art community is run by Reid Maxwell and Charon Nogues. http://thechurchoffashion.com/
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For additional information or to arrange an interview, please contact Charlene at 310-291-5104 or hm157pr@gmail.com
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