Indomitable: James Brown is a testament to the musical, political and entrepreneurial impact of James Brown’s indomitable spirit, creativity and business wiles on American culture from the 1950s to the present.
The format of the show, moving from hard hitting and precise musical homage to direct testimony to innovative remixes of his biggest hits, provides for a spectacular experience that is dramatically riveting, visually stunning, highly danceable and searing.
Burnt Sugar’s full complement of male and female vocalists, instrumentalists and dancers allows the show to deftly portray those aspects of Brown’s life and lifestyle that provoked his variations on the battle of the sexes.
Featuring Brandon Victor Dixon as James Brown, Dixon’s stellar possession of Brown as a performer and complex human being, will leave audiences in awe.
Director Patricia McGregor’s brilliant shaping of dramatic elements including music, dance, and video projection set against a back drop of critical historical moments creates a vibrant, fast-paced, deeply moving, and unforgettable concert event.
Burnt Sugar Freaks the James Brown Songbook (An Opera in Progress) was originally presented as part of the Apollo Theater Salon Series. The original music was commissioned as part of a national series of works from Meet the Composer/National Commissioning Network program.
Tickets $15.00
In person at the Apollo Theater Box Office
By phone call Ticketmaster 1-800-745-3000
Online at Ticketmaster.com
Burnt Sugar freaks the JB Songbook: An Opera In Progress
Burnt Sugar will re-orchestrate several medleys taken from James Brown’s three “Live At The Apollo” albums, and re-imagine them in the styles of Brown contemporaries such as Miles Davis, Sun Ra, John Coltrane, Nina Simone, Jimi Hendrix and Chaka Khan.
The unique program for these performances have been subtitled JB’S FUNKY DIVAS VS THE REVOLUTION OF THE MIND as it will not only feature music made famous by Mr. Brown himself but the productions and compositions he developed for his premiere female vocalists as well–notably Vicki Anderson, Lyn Collins and Marva Whitney.
Featuring The Burnt Sugar Arkestra
Special Guests Imani Uzuri, Brandon Victor Dixon, Shelley Nicole, Luqman Brown, V. Jeffrey Smith and Tarrah Reynolds
October 8 & 9, 2010
7:30pm
www.apollotheater.org
www.burntsugarindex.com
Produced By: Greg Tate and Jared Michael Nickerson
Directed By: Patricia McGregor
Written By: Patricia McGregor, Greg Tate & Nicole A Watson
Projection Designer: Molly Murphy
Videographer: Cauleen Smith
Apollo Theater Foundation Executive Producer : Laura Greer
Apollo Theater Foundation Director of Production: Steven R. Jones
Act 1: Mind Power
(a/k/a JB’s Original Funky Divas Vs. The Revolution Of The Mind)
Narration: Brandon Victor Dixon
Conduction Greg Tate and Mikel Banks
Electric Bass Jared Michael Nickerson
Drums Chris Eddleton – Swiss Chris
Acoustic Bass Jason Di Matteo
Trumpet Lewis “Flip” Barnes Jr.
Alto Saxophone & Bass Clarinet Avrem Fefer
Tenor Saxophone V. Jeffrey Smith
Alto Saxophone Micah Gaugh
Baritone Saxophone “Moist” Paula Henderson
Freak-a-Phone Mikel Banks
Guitar Andre Lassalle
Guitar Asim Barnes
Keyboards & Percussion Bruce Mack
Keyboards W. Myles Reilly
Violin Tarrah Reynolds
Cello Will Martina
Tambourine, Percussion & Go-Go Dancer Shelley Nicole
Live Dub Efx Latasha N. Nevada Diggs
Featured Vocalists
Lisala Beatty
Karma Mayet Johnson
Imani Uzuri
Shelley Nicole
Bruce Mack
Lewis “Flip”Barnes
Mikel Banks
Latasha N. Nevada Diggs
V. Jeffrey Smith
Luqman Brown
Derrin Maxwell
Featured Actor: Christopher Randolph – Auctioneer
Dancers: Eddie Brown, and Shantrelle P. Lewis
Songs ‘Please Please Please’, ‘Give It Up Or Turn it Loose’, ‘Its A Mans Mans World’, ‘Cold Sweat’ , ‘There Was A Time’, ‘Licking Stick’, ‘Say It Loud ( I’m Black And I’m Proud)’, ‘Down And Out In New York City’, ‘Escape-ism’, ‘Get Up Get’ Into It Get Involved’. ‘Make It Funky’ ‘Hot Pants’, ‘You’re Welcome/Stop On By’, ‘Think’, ‘Put It On The Line’, ‘Land Of Milk And Honey’, ‘If You Don’t Work You Don’t Eat’, ‘Message From A Soul Sister’, ‘Mama Feel Good’, ‘I Don’t Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing’ , ‘Rock Me Again’, ‘The Big Payback’, ‘Living In America’.
About the Salon Series
Since 2006, the Salon Series has brought edgy, downtown artists uptown to the Apollo, providing them a space to stretch their creative boundaries and present works-in-progress in/on the Theater’s Soundstage. The Salon Series is the traditional “Apollo Experience” taken to the next level, providing both emerging and established artists with the space, resources, and feedback to aid in the creation of new work. This groundbreaking series spotlights the Apollo’s continued dedication to its performing arts programming and its support of artistic experimentation and dialogue in contemporary culture. The series grows out of the Apollo’s ongoing role as an incubator for new and innovative forms of artistic expression, and its 75-year history of nurturing up-and-coming talent. As with all Apollo Theater programming, the Salon Series recognizes the critical role of the audience in artistic development, and offers artists the opportunity to share new ideas in an intimate setting; with audience members seated no more than ten feet from the performers.
Past Salon Series events have included works from creator-composer Fred Ho, DJ Spooky, poet Jessica Care Moore, jazz musician Russell Gunn, Craig Harris’ God’s Trombones, and a new theatrical staging of Melvin Van Peebles’ 1971 film Sweet Sweetback’s Badasssss Song.
About the Apollo
Having celebrated its 75th anniversary season, the Apollo Theater is one of Harlem’s, New York City’s, and America’s most iconic and enduring cultural institutions. The Apollo was one of the first theaters in New York, and the country, to fully integrate, welcoming traditionally African-American, Hispanic, and local immigrant populations in the audience, as well as headlining uniquely talented entertainers who found it difficult to gain entrance to other venues of similar size and resources. Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, the Apollo Theater has played a major role in cultivating artists and in the emergence of innovative musical genres including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Sammy Davis, Jr., James Brown, Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, and countless others began their road to stardom on the Apollo’s stage.
You most likely can’t travel to Porto, Portugal and witness Burnt Sugar’s performance on June 6th at the 2010 edition of Serralves em Festa. More likely you can come to the Blue Note’s Late Night Groove Series on Friday, May 28th and witness the Arkestra Chamber perform JB’s FUNKY DIVAS VERSUS THE REVOLUTION OF THE MIND, a musical mash-up of the albums, James Brown Live At The Apollo Volume 2, James Brown’s The Revolution of the Mind and James Brown’s Funky Divas.
The JB-edition of Burnt Sugar is a very accomplished crew with playing credits ranging from Cyro Baptistas, Wadada Leo Smith, Claudio Roditi, David Murray and Joseph Bowie, to TV On The Radio, Vernon Reid, the Holmes Brothers, William Parker, Fela on Broadway, The The and Phish. Anchored by the pop and sizzle rhythm section of Jared Michael Nickerson (electric bass) and Chris Eddleton (drums), the ghetto mysticism vocals of Karma Mayet Johnson, Mikel Banks, Mazz Swift (violin), Lewis “Flip” Barnes Jr. (trumpet), Bruce Mack (synthesizer), the drop-step precision of Avram Fefer (tenor sax), “Moist” Paula Henderson (baritone sax), Dave Smith (trombone), Greg Tate (guitar) and André Lassalle (guitar).
You can trust this is going to be “A Funky Good Time!”
Indomitable: James Brown is a testament to the musical, political and entrepreneurial impact of James Brown’s indomitable spirit, creativity and business wiles on American culture from the 1950s to the present.
