George Duke, the Grammy-winning jazz keyboardist and producer whose sound infused acoustic jazz, electronic jazz, funk, R&B and soul in a 40-year-plus career, has died. He was 67.
A representative for Duke said the performer died Monday night, Aug. 5, in Los Angeles. Duke was being treated for chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Duke’s son, Rashid, thanked his father’s fans in a statement Tuesday. […]
By Ben Minnifield
Over 540,000 attendees from around the globe descended upon New Orleans this Fourth of July weekend for the 19th annual ESSENCE Festival, making 2013 the largest in the event’s 19 year history.
With an expanded cultural focus and renewed emphasis on family, the 2013 ESSENCE Festival celebrated its community of ESSENCE readers with an exciting array of entertainment and empowerment events; featuring more than 50 world renowned and up-and-coming performing acts and over 120 of the world’s top artists, speakers, authors, leaders, innovators and celebrities…. […]
When Starkville-native Robbie Montgomery launched her “Welcome to Sweetie Pies” on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), it quickly became one of their most successful shows to date. And now with the Food Network premiering The Shed this Sunday night, television viewers will get another look at how good old-fashioned Mississippi country cooking is done.
Based in Ocean Springs, The Shed, is the dreamchild of founders Brad Orrison and his sister, Brooke Lewis.
For the Orrison family, barbecuing isn’t simply a habit; it’s a way of life, the Food Network said in a release. This loveably quirky and offbeat bunch is known for their over-the-top personalities and offers food to match, specializing in finger-lickin’-good ribs and from-scratch barbecue sauce. […]
The Ashbury Foundation has given $277,000 to the Hattiesburg Zoo to help complete work on the zoo’s highly anticipated education building.
The money will be used primarily to finish the interior of the 2,200 square-foot facility. It will open in April of 2014 as part of the zoo’s annual Birthday Bash celebrations and will be known as the Asbury Discovery Center.
The new state-of-the-art facility will feature viewable housing for the zoo’s education animals, as well as viewable offices and labs. It will also serve as the new home and play yard for the Zoo’s Galapagos Tortoises, and a venue for zoo classes, camps, special events and corporate meetings. […]
The NAACP Board of Directors awarded opera singer and honorary UN Ambassador Jessye Norman the 98th Spingarn Medal, the Association’s highest honor. Norman became the 98th recipient of the award, and she was honored during the NAACP National Convention in Orlando July 17 at the annual Spingarn Dinner.
“Jessye Norman is a true inspiration,” stated Chairman Roslyn M. Brock. “Her work embodies the power of music and its ability to serve as the soundtrack to our movement for social justice.”
The Spingarn Medal, first instituted in 1914 by then NAACP Chairman Joel E. Spingarn, is awarded to an American of African descent who has demonstrated outstanding and noble achievement during the preceding years. […]
One of Vicksburg’s music legends will be honored Aug. 4 with a concert, discussion panel and art exhibit.
The Vicksburg Blues Society and Vicksburg Heritage League are hosting the Fourth Annual Hank Jones Memorial Concert and Festival from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 4 at Vicksburg City Auditorium, said event organizer Shirley Waring.
Jones was a jazz pianist and composer whose 70-year career included a stint as Ella Fitzgerald’s pianist and Marilyn Monroe’s accompanist when she sang “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy. […]
Dennis Farina’s doctor says the actor died while being treated for lung cancer.
Farina, who died Monday after suffering a blood clot in his lung, had been under treatment for the cancer for several months, according to his cardiologist, Dr. Marc A. Kates.
Thirteen years ago Farina had been diagnosed with “a small cancer that was treated and cured with surgery,” Kates said in a statement on Tuesday. […]
A memorial service was held in Lexington, Kentucky on July 13 for Millersburg native Jim Kelly. A 1970s black action hero, Kelly starred in at least 12 films including “Melinda“, “Three the Hard Way” and “Enter the Dragon” with Bruce Lee.
Kelly died of cancer at his San Diego home on June 30 at the age of 67.
Sporting an Afro hairstyle and sideburns, Kelly and his lanky 6-foot-2 frame made a splash with his one-liners and fight scenes in the 1973 martial arts classic “Enter the Dragon.” […]
The head of a Hattiesburg children’s home says five “Duck Dynasty” stars helped raise $280,000 to $300,000 for Homes of Hope for Children.
Michael Garrett says officials are still tallying proceeds from the fundraiser Saturday night at the Forrest County Multi Purpose Center.
People and companies paid $30 to $1,000 per ticket to see members of the big clan from Monroe, La., featured on the A&E reality show. […]
A union representative said the production of “Artists Die Best in Black” will replace the crew filming in south Mississippi because they may seek union representation.
The Sun Herald reported that shooting, which began in mid-June, was set to run about five weeks.
Scott Harbinson, who is with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts, told the The Sun Herald that producer that Billy Badalato and film financier Paul Bongé announced to crew members they were flying in replacements from Los Angeles in late June […]
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