Listen & Be Heard Weekly Archives

Re: luncheon article posted yesterday

Thanks so much Martha! Nice article and beautiful photos!

Ruth Gardner Begell

Thanking editors and staffers of Listen and Be Heard for the spotlight you published highlighting the Dixie Hummingbirds’ Nov. 11 show at Rancho Nicasio.

With appreciation,
Kim Taylor, publicist

Dear Editor:

I appreciated your article of the discussion with Babatunde Lea and his efforts to maintain a ‘cultural literacy’. ‘Tunde and I have a dear friend in common, the belated Edsel Matthews who was Executive Director for Koncepts Cultural Gallery, and a champion for achieving “Cultural Equity”. I would invite you and your readers to revisit Edsel’s writings (available online) in context of the state of arts and culture education today; it all underscores a lot of what Babatunde brings attention to.

Babatunde’s article also comes at point just as we’ve recently experienced the loss of another important SF Bay institution, the Machete Ensemble led by percussionist, educator and ethnomusicologist John Santos. Machete performed at least twice the Vallejo Jazz Festival, bringing to the community and festival patrons its unique blend of and rhythms from Afro-Cuban, Afro-Borinquen (Puerto Rico), Brazilian, Jazz / Bop, and Funk; and Santos, forever the natural educator, spoke and demonstrated how these genres have contributed to the musics of the Americas (yes north & south).. The group has played it’s memorable last concert on Sunday November 12th, and represents yet another void during a time when support for The Arts and Artists are being starved out, while the mushrooming mediocrity of corporate mass media threatens our cultural literacy and heritage.

Tonight at 7pm on Ozcat radio on my program, the Latin/Jazz Mecca (on web at www.ozcatradio.com), I will offer a second installment of a three-part series dedicated to Machete Ensemble, including a statement presented by John Santos at a recent press conference discussing the demise of Machete. I think listeners will find Santos’ statements as a good counterpart to Babatunde Lea’s article.

- Clayton Leander
Host, “Latin/Jazz Mecca”
Ozcat Radio

Hi Ho to Listen & Be Heard:

A short note to add to what’s happening on Marin Street. Vallejo Music Theatre, owner of the old Federal Building at 823 Marin Street now has the go-ahead from Chief Buiding Inspector Gary West to hold events in our building. So, the first event, which we hope will bring lots of people to Downtown Vallejo will be our Inaugural Founder’s “Hard Hat” Art Auction, November 17 from 6: 00 PM until done. We are offering up works by Carlo Calucci, donnio, Molly Barr, Sarah Nichols, Larry Stevens and many others as well as art from an art dealer. We’re also aucting off other things including dinners, trips and “stuff” which people will find great for Christmas presents. We’ve been working hard to make the place look good; getting our flag pole operational, putting up a permanent sign, cleaning up the landscaping, shooing out the local wild life, etc. The possibilities of making Marin Street a destination will expand as we expand our businesses, hold events and have a welcoming friendly and open atmosphere in the air. I agree with the writer who wrote it isn’t “us” against “them;” its all in how we present outselves, provide a loud and lovely squeak to be greased (in a positive way) that will make people sit up and take notice that … hey, stuff’s happening on Marin Street. And, by the way, there is a charge to get into the art auction – have to pay for the eats and drinks, y’know. Tickets are on sale now at the building and will be on sale the 17th until we reach our maximum load of around 200.

All my best,
Judith H. Brown
Managing Director
Vallejo Music Theatre

Judith H. Brown, Managing Director
Vallejo Music Theatre – 707.649.2787
Offices & Costume Shop located at
823 Marin Street, Vallejo, 94590
Theater Message Line 707.552.ARTS; FAX 707.552.2789

Comment: For Kirsten Lunde:

That was an excellent article you wrote on “Company” at the Masquers. Thank you for your insight and attention. As Music Director, it would be helpful for me to know more precisely what you mean by “tempos were occasionally troublesome.”
Pat King

Comment: Theater and Gladiators in the Coleseum

Now, during my youth, I never had the opportunity or encouragement combination it takes to drive a young man into organized sports. However, I did follow baseball sometime, and collect cards with my friends in the neighborhood, Jon and Fred. It should be noted that Little Jon as we called him then got in some trouble with the Vallejo Target for his particular method of collection, but that was long ago and is another story.

Only once have I ever had a fortunate opportunity to go to a real NFL game. I was invited by my friend Todd C. A member of the regular board of a theatrical organization I once co-founded and proud member of the Raider Nation.

Well, I was invited to watch another game this week. It was Raiders vs. Seahawks, and I watched it in front of a nice big Sony Trinitron, over brews and barbecued steak. It sparked my interest that the announcers brought two actors up to be interviewed.

The first was Christian Slater. You could tell he was ?pretending? to have a macho facade around these NFL dudes. They asked him the same question that has plagued him throughout his career. Was he imitating Jack Nicholson?s voice when he did the movie Heathers? To this he graciously replied, yes. He admits to being quite an admirer of the veteran actor, although I expect that having his mother as a high powered casting agent has done more for his career than his Nicholson imitations. Then he bragged about how his movie reminded him of the thrill of being on stage, and how he recently received his first standing ovation. I did find this odd that he has gone so far in his career without one standing ?O? as I myself have had a several, but that is another story as well.

Then they brought up former NFL superstar, and former actor Brian Bosworth, or the ?Boz?. They not only did a nice pictorial retrospective of his acting career, but told him his movie was their favorite and they watch it every week. They jokingly asked him how many of today?s action heroes does he think he could beat up, as the Boz was an action star.

Graciously he replied, that although he enjoyed films, the real adrenaline rush came from playing on the football field. Nothing could compare to that. Of course the NFL announcers loved this as he was one of them. It should be noted that during this game, the Raider Quarterback was sacked a horrendous 8 times. And although he threw some nice passes, most of the time his teammates dropped the ball.

Then I noticed Andrew Walter, the quarterback?s number. He had chosen ?16? and he was a quarterback. He had taken the number of the most famous quarterback of all time 49er Joe Montana. Also he had taken the number of the most famous quarterback of one of the Raider?s most rival teams.

Just some observations as we usually think of the ancient Rome as the place where sports and theater share the same arena.

Mark F. Homayoonnejad-Walker