Grammy, Stellar and Dove Award-winning Richard Smallwood,
indeed one of the true innovators of gospel music, comes to Chicago on July 19
for the release of his 15th studio album “Promises.” He will sit with Dedry
Jones, host-creator of The Music Experience, in celebration of Smallwood’s
first CD recorded since the 2005 passing of his mother. The Experience will be
held at Trinity United Church of Christ, 400 W. 95th St. Rev. Otis Moss III,
senior pastor, said, “We are honored to have the opportunity to offer this free
music evening. Smallwood’s divine music talent is a precious and transforming
gift to humanity.” Doors open at 6 p.m.; the program begins 7 p.m. followed by
a CD signing. Recorded “live” in the studio with Vision, the CD features some
of the industry greats, including Daniel Weatherspoon, Donald Lawrence and Lalah
Hathaway, who were previously featured by The Experience. To preview the lead
single, Trust Me,” log on to www.youtube.com and go to Richard Smallwood &
Vision: Trust Me.
Hats Off – to
Steven V. Hunter, partner in the Chicago office of the law firm of Quarles
& Brady LLP and a 2011 Chicago Defender “Men of Excellence” honoree. He’s
been named “2011 Nation’s Best
Advocate: 40 Lawyers Under 40” by the National Bar Association, the oldest and
largest network of predominantly African American attorneys and judges, and
IMPACT, a non-profit organization founded by a group of young professionals of
color in 2006. Hunter and other recipients will be honored at the NBA’s 86th
annual convention on July 31 in Baltimore.
The awardees were selected based on achievement,
innovation, vision, leadership and involvement in the legal community. Each has
demonstrated a strong commitment to empowering and uplifting the legal and the
African American community at large. The recipients represent a cross-section of
legal professionals: solo practitioners, government lawyers, judges,
academicians, corporate counsels, young elected officials and other lawyers who
use their law degrees in innovative and progressive ways.
Hunter, the 2006 recipient of the Chicago Bar
Association’s “Exceptional Young Lawyer Award” received his undergraduate
degree from Brown University and his law degree from Georgetown University Law
Center. He recently became an e-discovery certified specialist and authors a
bi-monthly column related to discovery in the digital age. Also, he is on the
board of several organizations, including the Illinois Attorney Registration
and Disciplinary Committee (hearing officer), Chicago Sinfionetta,
HealthConnect One Inc., Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms and
Chicago Volunteer Legal Services.
NBA, founded in 1925, represents some 44,000 lawyers,
judges, law professors and law students and has over 80-plus affiliate chapters
across the U.S. and around the world. Quarles & Brady, a full-service law
firm with 425 attorneys, offers legal services to corporate and individual
clients that range from small entrepreneurial businesses to Fortune 100
companies.
Newsy Names – Get well to “Big John” Wilson, CPA and CEO
of the accounting firm that bears his name, on the mend from spinal surgery at
Northwestern Hospital, room 1655. Send cards! ... Dominique Chaleeta Kizer, a
Citizen Bank account specialist, and Christopher Evone Claiborne, self-employed
carpenter, “jump the broom” on Saturday during a wedding ceremony at Belvedere
Chateau in Palos Hills. The bride is the daughter of Lauren Scott, the groom’s
parents are James L. Buchanan and Phillicia Nicole Claiborne-Davis ... Mayor
Rahm Emanuel, a former dancer, has been named honorary chair of The Joffrey
Ballet Board of Directors after a unanimous executive committee vote. And Jason
Tyler, senior vice president of the investment committee and Ariel Investments’
director of research options, was elected the board’s working chair. He
previously was treasurer of the Joffrey ... Happy b’day to Santita Jackson,
Michael House, Jerome Butler, Ald. Leslie Hairston, Ansel T. Johnson, Kimberly
Carmen, Patricia Andrews-Keenan, Sam Greenlee, Desiree Sanders, Sarah Greene,
Lesley R. Chinn, Khalid Scott, Lillian Jones, Onjalee Lashay, Chris Ruys,
“Cousin Annie” Fambro, Helen Sinclair, Archie Singleton, Robert Williams and
Quinton de’Alexander ... The Bronzeville Children’s Museum Women’s Board hosts
its annual “Kwanzaa in July” Dream Makers Awards Luncheon on Saturday noon at
the Oak Lawn Hilton Hotel preceded by an Afrocentric Marketplace. Spearheading
the yearly benefit are Consuelo C. Williams, Blanch Adams Body, Shaughn Smith
Bunton, chairs; Arlene Sykes Alexander, president; and Peggy A. Montes, founder
and museum president
Tribute Time – Two all-star jazz artists, Ray Silkman and
Skinny Williams, both on sax, pay tribute to John Coltrane, Charlie Parker,
James Moody, Lester Young, Sonny Rollins and Stanley Turrentine on July 20,
5:30 p.m., at DuSable Museum during “The Sounds of History,” Fifth Third Bank’s
free jazz music series supported by Chicago Park District and Grey Goose. The
series continues Aug. 17 as award-winning Tammy McCann-Simpkins sings
chart-topping tunes made famous by legends Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn and
Dinah Washington.
And more: Tammy, with her powerful, soulful and versatile
voice, made her New York City debut earlier this week, performing two sets each at “Five Big Apple Jazz
Clubs in Four Days” (Saturday-Tuesday): Birdland, Blue Note (four sets),
Metropolitan Room, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola and Small’s, accompanied by a select
NYC All-Star Band. The performances celebrated the recent release of her CD,
Never Let Me Go. Legendary pianist- composer, Ramsey Lewis, has said of Tammy:
“For all those who like songs from the great American Songbook sung by a
talented performer who knows how to get the most out of them, check out Tammy
McCann!”
Music Matters – Mother-daughter classical sopranos
Rauquaia Hale-Wallace and Tierra Whetstone appear in concert on Sunday, 4 p.m.,
at Congregational Church of Park Manor UCC, 7000 S. King Dr., as part of its
Young Artist Concert Series, now in its second year. Presented by the Music
Committee, the series hosts three concerts a year. Donation: $25. Whetstone,
19, attends Malcolm X College and plans to transfer to Fisk University to major
in music education and vocal performance. She’s worked with After School
Matters and has performed in The Magic Flute, Alice in Wonderland and Pirates of
Penzance, among other productions. She’s been a student conductor at H.H.W.
School of the Performing Arts and is principal acting instructor at TruVision
Productions in Country Club Hills. Her goals: to become a choral/orchestral
conductor and operatic singer. She continues to train in classical piano and
cello and will perform with the Chicago Ballet as principal guest artist in the
production of Carmen Jones.
Hale-Wallace, a grad of Roosevelt University and a
dramatic soprano, made her Orchestra Hall debut in 1997. She has appeared with
the Millikin Symphony and the Knox-Galesburg Symphony and made her concert
debut in Italy in 1998 during New York’s International Institute of Vocal Arts.
She performed as a soloist in Stabet Mater at the Humanities Festival with His
Majesty’s Clerk’s Choir. A voice and piano instructor at the Van Moody School
of Music, she’s been a featured soloist in many area concerts and has conducted
vocal workshops. Park Manor’s Music Committee includes George Cooper, minister
of music, Irma Copeland, Asula Campbell, Nora Elston, Dr. Annie Lawrence Brown,
Juanita Parrott, Dorothy White, Mary Stacker, Dorothy Thompson and Rev.
Michelle Hughes, interim pastor. Call (773) 224-4700.
Newsy Names II – Kahlil Bell, Chicago Bears’ running back,
called on Corey Wooten, Eddie Williams, Lance Louis and Super Bowl champ Otis
Wilson to coach the Full Ride Pro Football Skills & Speed Training Camp
which he hosts July 21-23 at Sunset Meadows in Arlington Heights. Designed for
students in grades 3-8, the camp has a 12-1 ratio per student to NFL players.
Participants receive an autographed camp team photo. Parents are welcome to
sit-in! Cost: $199 per camper for the three days. A number of inner city youth
from the Garfield Park Gators will be bused in free of charge. Advance
registration is a must. Call (224) 241-2127 or log on to
www.fullridefootballcamp.com ... Jazz-soul singer Lisa Deveaux comes home from
L.A. to DuSable Museum on Sunday, 7 p.m., for her official CD/Release Concert
of Language of Love. Advance $40 admission tickets include priority seats,
reception and CD. Call (773) 233-4246 ... State Rep. Karen Yarbrough,
D-Maywood, assistant majority leader, has been named to the Ill. Sentencing
Policy Advisory Council, a public body created to explore sentencing issues and
practices and how they impact the criminal justice system.
