The Del Baroni Quartet

Our next artists in The Arts Council’s Evenings of Intimate Jazz Series, The Del Baroni Quartet, get a lot of inspiration from greats like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Harry Connick, Jr., Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald  and more.

Ol’ Blue Eyes

Frank Sinatra began his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey.

Nat King Cole

Nat King Cole first came to prominence as a jazz pianist.  He owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres. He was one of the first black Americans to host a television variety show, and has maintained worldwide popularity since his death.

Harry Connick, Jr.

Harry Connick, Jr. is an American singer, big-band leader/conductor, pianist, actor, and composer. He has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 16 million in certified sales. He has seven top-20 US albums, and ten number-one US jazz albums, earning more number-one albums than any other artist in the US jazz chart history. 

Ella Fitzgerald

 

Ella Fitzgerald is also known as the “First Lady of Song” “Queen of Jazz” and “Lady Ella,” she was an American jazz and song vocalist. With a vocal range spanning three octaves (D♭3 to D♭6), she was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing and intonation, and a “horn-like” improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing.

The Del Baroni Quartet with Vocalist Jennifer Hanson

Del Baroni  has  an appreciation for American standard music, Jazz and the artists who had public impact with both live and recorded performances, Baroni created a concept to recreate the excitement of live broadcasts as well as intimate jazz club settings utilizing vintage equipment and vocal stylings like Frank Sinatra in his shows.

See The Del Baroni Quartet perform Live this Friday, April 20, at 8pm at The Arts Council Smithgall Arts Center

For tickets call The Arts Council (770) 534-2787 or visit our website!

The Arts Council Salutes Strong & Diverse Women

You Don’t Know What I Got, the debut feature from Linda Duvoisin, is a sprightly, candid portrait that examines the thoughts, ideas, convictions and passions of five diverse American women. Her technique shifts our attention at irregular intervals, abruptly changing time and place, mirroring the actual conversation patterns and highlighting the universal aspects of their experiences. She cuts from Tennessee to Minnesota to New Mexico, or joins Ani DiFranco onstage and off. Each of these master storytellers adds her voice to a tapestry of home spun tales, fables, confessions, advice, music, poetry, thoughts and actions. The richly textured portrayal is filled with the unforgettable stories of determined women who share an extraordinary passion for Life. Their wit and wisdom form the foundation of an immensely satisfying film. Features singer/songwriter Ani DiFranco, Linda Finney, a police officer activist/poet, fellow police officer Julie Brunzell who shares her dream of becoming a social worker, Myrtle Stedman, born in 1908, a feisty artist and adobe-architect, and she revisits Jimmie Woodruff, the charming housekeeper who worked for the Duvoisin family.

A must watch for all women (18+ for some language and thematic content) and those who love women!

        

The Arts Council in conjunction with Gainesville State College and South Arts is proud to screen You Don’t Know What I’ve Got and two shorts, We Shall Not Be Moved: The Nashville Sit-Ins and We Shall Not Be Moved: The Chattanooga Sit-Ins on April 12, 2012 at Gainesville State College, Academic Building IV, Mathis Road, Oakwood Ga at 7:30pm. Post screening the audience will have an opportunity to meet the director at a Q&A reception. Tickets $7 adults; $5 students and seniors (65+). To purchase tickets call 770-534-2787 or visit www.TheArtsCouncil.net

For other recent news about women…

THANK YOU TO THE LIKES OF ASHLEY JUDD FOR STANDING UP FOR WOMEN EVERYWHERE!

From The Daily Beast…

Ashley Judd’s ‘puffy’ appearance sparked a viral media frenzy. But, the actress writes, the conversation is really a misogynistic assault on all women.

The Conversation about women’s bodies exists largely outside of us, while it is also directed at (and marketed to) us, and used to define and control us. The Conversation about women happens everywhere, publicly and privately. We are described and detailed, our faces and bodies analyzed and picked apart, our worth ascertained and ascribed based on the reduction of personhood to simple physical objectification. Our voices, our personhood, our potential, and our accomplishments are regularly minimized and muted.

Photo by Richard Drew

As an actor and woman who, at times, avails herself of the media, I am painfully aware of the conversation about women’s bodies, and it frequently migrates to my own body. I know this, even though my personal practice is to ignore what is written about me. I do not, for example, read interviews I do with news outlets. I hold that it is none of my business what people think of me. I arrived at this belief after first, when I began working as an actor 18 years ago, reading everything. I evolved into selecting only the “good” pieces to read. Over time, I matured into the understanding that good and bad are equally fanciful interpretations. I do not want to give my power, my self-esteem, or my autonomy, to any person, place, or thing outside myself. I thus abstain from all media about myself. The only thing that matters is how I feel about myself, my personal integrity, and my relationship with my Creator. Of course, it’s wonderful to be held in esteem and fond regard by family, friends, and community, but a central part of my spiritual practice is letting go of otheration. And casting one’s lot with the public is dangerous and self-destructive, and I value myself too much to do that.

However, the recent speculation and accusations in March feel different, and my colleagues and friends encouraged me to know what was being said. Consequently, I choose to address it because the conversation was pointedly nasty, gendered, and misogynistic and embodies what all girls and women in our culture, to a greater or lesser degree, endure every day, in ways both outrageous and subtle. The assault on our body image, the hypersexualization of girls and women and subsequent degradation of our sexuality as we walk through the decades, and the general incessant objectification is what this conversation allegedly about my face is really about.

A brief analysis demonstrates that the following “conclusions” were all made on the exact same day, March 20, about the exact same woman (me), looking the exact same way, based on the exact same television appearance. The following examples are real, and come from a variety of (so-called!) legitimate news outlets (such as HuffPo, MSNBC, etc.), tabloid press, and social media:

One: When I am sick for more than a month and on medication (multiple rounds of steroids), the accusation is that because my face looks puffy, I have “clearly had work done,” with otherwise credible reporters with great bravo “identifying” precisely the procedures I allegedly have had done.

Two: When my skin is nearly flawless, and at age 43, I do not yet have visible wrinkles that can be seen on television, I have had “work done,” with media outlets bolstered by consulting with plastic surgeons I have never met who “conclude” what procedures I have “clearly” had. (Notice that this is a “back-handed compliment,” too—I look so good! It simply cannot possibly be real!)

Three: When my 2012 face looks different than it did when I filmed Double Jeopardy in 1998, I am accused of having “messed up” my face (polite language here, the F word is being used more often), with a passionate lament that “Ashley has lost her familiar beauty audiences loved her for.”

Four: When I have gained weight, going from my usual size two/four to a six/eight after a lazy six months of not exercising, and that weight gain shows in my face and arms, I am a “cow” and a “pig” and I “better watch out” because my husband “is looking for his second wife.” (Did you catch how this one engenders competition and fear between women? How it also suggests that my husband values me based only on my physical appearance? Classic sexism. We won’t even address how extraordinary it is that a size eight would be heckled as “fat.”)

You Don’t Know What I Got

The sixth and final film in The Arts Council’s Independent Film Series is “You Don’t Know What I Got”.

“You Don’t Know What I Got” is a film on life. Love. Passion. Five women lay their heart and soul on the line: singer/songwriter Ani DiFranco, activist/poet Linda Finney, police officer Julie Brunzell, artist/architect Myrtle Stedman and housekeeper Jimmie Woodruff. Through a tapestry of homespun stories, confessions, advice, music and poetry, we discover a cross-section of American women with an extraordinary passion for life.

Along with “You Don’t Know What I Got”, will be two shorts:

“We Shall Not Be Moved: The Nashville Sit-ins”
The Nashville Sit-ins of 1960 were among the most important events of the Civil Rights Movement. Over a period of several months, college students from Fisk University and other schools staged a very well-organized, non-violent protest at downtown lunch counters. The protests caught the city’s white establishment off-guard and culminated in the mayor agreeing to end segregation of lunch counters while facing thousands of protestors gathered on the steps of City Hall and the eyes of the nation watching. It was just the first step in ending segregation in all facets of life throughout the city and it inspired similar movements throughout the South.

“We Shall Not Be Moved: The Chattanooga Sit-ins”
In February of 1960, at the same time that the better-known Nashville lunch counter sit-ins were taking place, students in Chattanooga staged their own, similar protest. As there was no local college for black students at the time, the Chattanooga protests were organized and carried out by Howard High School students. Their inspiring, first-hand accounts of the sit-ins bring to life the dangers and fears they endured to force change in their own community and our country. Their participation in the movement confirmed the endless potential and power that youth can have when it is motivated to do good.

Be Sure to stay after the film for Q&A with the filmmaker, Linda Duvoisin.

The film will begin at 7:30pm on April 12 at Gainesville State College Academic Building IV Oakwood, GA.

Purchase tickets online, call The Arts Council (770) 534-2787, or buy them at the door!

Del Baroni Quartet

The Arts Council is looking forward to presenting The Del Baroni Quartet in our Evenings of Intimate Jazz Series,  performing for Gainesville on April 20!

 Del Baroni is a graduate of the University of Miami where he majored in music (Jazz and vocal). While in Florida he taught college level music as well as performing as a vocalist and bassist both in “live” and studio engagements. Moving to Georgia in 1987 he has been busy in the Atlanta music scene enjoying a special musical relationship with Margaret Perrin as well as other local musicians. With an appreciation for American standard music, Jazz and the artists who had public impact with both live and recorded performances, Baroni created a concept to recreate the excitement of live broadcasts as well as intimate jazz club settings utilizing vintage equipment and vocal stylings like Frank Sinatra in his shows.

Jennifer Hanson will join Del and the group on vocals.

A little background on Jennifer Hanson: In the rugged landscape of Flin Flon, Manitoba, there are two kinds of people: hockey players and singers. Though she is well known for her goalie skills, Jennifer’s voice is what people remember about her. Her torchy, seductive vocal style is among the finest in the current generation of jazz singers, while her stage presence is that of the classic generation of singers like Rosemary Clooney, Julie London and Vera Lynn.She’s definitely not just another voice in the crowd!

Watch live performances from The Del Baroni Quartet on our website!

Come see The Del Baroni Quartet ”Live On Air” April 20, 8pm at The Arts Council Smithgall Arts Center.

Purchase tickets online or call The Arts Council (770) 534-2787

You Don’t Know What I Got

You Don’t Know What I Got, the debut feature from Linda Duvoisin, is a sprightly, candid portrait that examines the thoughts, ideas, convictions and passions of five diverse American women. Her technique shifts our attention at irregular intervals, abruptly changing time and place, mirroring the actual conversation patterns and highlighting the universal aspects of their experiences. She cuts from Tennessee to Minnesota to New Mexico, or joins Ani DiFranco onstage and off. Each of these master storytellers adds her voice to a tapestry of home spun tales, fables, confessions, advice, music, poetry, thoughts and actions. The richly textured portrayal is filled with the unforgettable stories of determined women who share an extraordinary passion for Life. Their wit and wisdom form the foundation of an immensely satisfying film. Features singer/songwriter Ani DiFranco, Linda Finney, a police officer activist/poet, fellow police officer Julie Brunzell who shares her dream of becoming a social worker, Myrtle Stedman, born in 1908, a feisty artist and adobe-architect, and she revisits Jimmie Woodruff, the charming housekeeper who worked for the Duvoisin family.

A must watch for all women (18+ for some language and thematic content) and those who love women!

The Arts Council in conjunction with Gainesville State College and South Arts is proud to screen You Don’t Know What I’ve Got and two shorts, We Shall Not Be Moved: The Nashville Sit-Ins and We Shall Not Be Moved: The Chattanooga Sit-Ins on April 12, 2012 at Gainesville State College, Academic Building IV, Mathis Road, Oakwood Ga at 7:30pm. Post screening the audience will have an opportunity to meet the director at a Q&A reception. Tickets $7 adults; $5 students and seniors (65+). To purchase tickets call 770-534-2787 or visit www.TheArtsCouncil.net

Jimmie Woodruff

Ani DiFranco

Movie Review

Friday night at The Arts Council, “A Gift for the Village” was shown and enjoyed by all! It was the fifth movie in our Independent Filmmakers Series. We have had so much fun being a part of the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Films and are looking forward to the last one of this season!

Dr. Jeff Marker and “A Gift for the Village” Co-Director, Tom Landon. After each film, Jeff conducts a Q&A with the filmmaker-it is really a great way to gain more insight into the film and learn more about the creative process!

Gainesville State College Film Students filming the interview to be used in future classrooms.

Dr. Jeff Marker, Gladys Wyant, and Film Co-Director, Tom Landon after the film!

Don’t miss the last feature film in the series, “You Don’t Know What I’ve Got”, along with two shorts, “We Will Not Be Moved: The Nashville Sit-Ins” and “We Will Not Be Moved: The Chattanooga Sit-Ins”.

April 12, 2012 7:30 at Gainesville State College Academic Building IV, Mathis Drive Oakwood, GA.

Call The Arts Council for directions and tickets (770) 534-2787

A Gift for the Village

“A Gift for the Village” examines the connections between an American Community and a remote Himalayan region both fighting to heal and deal with different obstacles.

In June of 2007, seven friends traveled from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to the village of Jomsom in the Himalayas of Nepal to deliver a painting by American artist Jane Lillian Vance. The painting depicts Tsampa Ngawang, a Tibetan Amchi, or doctor and mind healer.

   

From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Himalayas

The film is narrated by Public Radio’s Lisa Mullins. The cross-cultural project has received the blessing of his Holiness the Dalai Lama, and examines the connections between an American community reeling in the face of the killings at Virginia Tech, and a remote Himalayan region fighting to preserve its way of life in the face of encroaching modernization.

Meet the filmmakers Tom Landon and Jenna Swann after the film!

Come see “A Gift for the Village” this Friday night, March 23, at 7:30pm atThe Arts Council Smithgall Arts Center

Tickets are $7 adults $5 Seniors (65 and up) and Students

Call The Arts Council (770) 534-2787 or go online for tickets

Don’t hear about it the next day-Be there!