Anya M. Wassenberg's Blog: Art & Culture Maven, page 44

Nu Pop/Nu Soul Ava Cherry Returns With 'Testify Love' (Wake Up! Music - March 27, 2020)

Nu Pop/Nu Soul
Ava Cherry Returns With 'Testify Love'
(Wake Up! Music - March 27, 2020) 
• Stream it on Spotify

If you like classic Chicago house-disco vibe updated for the 21st century, you'll find yourself dancing to Ava Cherry's Testify Love. The lyrics are positive and empowering, and the beat is relentless.

Chicago based Ava Cherry has a long history in the music business. From 1974 to 1978, she was one of David Bowie's back-up vocalists, both live and in the studio - including on his classic album Young Americans. She later returned to Chicago, where she signed with Curtis Mayfield's Curtom label, where she wrote/co-wrote and released a series of solo albums. She sang backing vocals with Luther Vandross in the mid-1980s while continuing to release solo records.

Ava recently signed with Pepper Gomez's Chicago-Miami based record label Wake Up! Music and this single is her first release with them. It's an ear worm track that you'll find yourself humming along to on the first listen.

Personnel:
Vox - Ava Cherry; BG vox - Richard Rogers
Track by Craig J Snider; Track Mix and Production: Craig J Snider, Ralphi Rosario and Harvey Summers; Produced and Directed by Ava Cherry and Pepper Gomez

Official Website: https://avacherry.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/avacherryofficial
Twitter: @avacherry
Instagram: www.instagram.com/avacherryofficial/

#QuarantineLife: Stay-At-Home Cinema From TIFF & Crave

From a media release:

#QuarantineLife
Festival Films
From TIFF & Crave 
The Toronto International Film Festival and Canadian streaming service Crave have teamed up to bring viewers their film festival fixes while we're all stuck at home — including special guests and interviews in real time.

Stay-at-Home Cinema
We want to share the magic of filmgoing together while we watch from home. With this in mind, TIFF has curated a series from Crave’s extensive selection of titles, accompanied by conversations with special guests via Instagram. Ask questions and share your thoughts @TIFF_NET.

We — and a few thousand friends — will be watching with you.

Upcoming Events
Toronto International Film Festival Stay-at-Home Cinema, screening on Crave, shares the magic of filmgoing, together at home.

During every film, follow along on Twitter with #TIFFAtHome.

ANTHROPOCENE: The Human Epoch — Wednesday, April 22

On National Canadian Film Day and Earth Day, join us at 7pm EDT for an Instagram Live (@tiff_net) virtual Q&A with Cameron Bailey, Jennifer Baichwal, and Nicholas de Pencier. At 7:30pm EDT, audiences can watch the documentary on Crave.



The Hate U Give — Friday, April 24

This Friday, join us for a screening of George Tillman, Jr.’s gripping adaptation of Angie Thomas' novel. Cameron's guest is to be confirmed.



Bad Education — Saturday, April 25

Join us at 8pm EDT for an Instagram Live (@tiff_net) virtual Q&A with Cameron Bailey and actor Geraldine Viswanathan. At 8:30pm EDT, audiences are invited to join us on Crave for the film’s premiere.

#traveltomorrow Explore The Czech Republic Virtually

From a media release:

#traveltomorrow
Explore The Czech Republic Virtually
Right now, it's important to stay home and stay safe. But, while you're on the couch, you can visit some of the Czech Republic's most celebrated sights and via your computer screen.

All you need for an aerial exploration of seven Czech destinations is an internet connection and a bit of curiosity. Click through to the video, press play, and use the buttons in the upper-left corner of the video to turn your gaze  in any direction, as if you were there in person.

• Bustling city streets of Prague
• Kayaking and castles in Český Krumlov
• Natural beauty of Moravian Karst, Punkva caves
• Expansive elegance of the Lednice Chateau and gardens
• Bohemian spa town of Karlovy Vary
• Hiking the hills of Hřensko, Bohemian Switzerland
• Following the Royal Route through Prague


There are even more ways to explore the Czech Republic and it's culture while we all stay at home.

UNESCO Sights
Start planning your future trip with virtual visits to the Czech Republic's UNESCO sites, including the gardens of Kroměříž, the Olomouc Astronomical Clock, and the pastel facades on the streets of Telč. You can also take a virtual tour of Brno's famed example of modern architecture (normally booked out for months in advance).

Monuments & Museums
The Prague Castle website is open for virtual tours including garden strolls and a crowd-free look at the golden glow inside St. Vitus Cathedral. Check out the 360-degree views from the top of both Charles Bridge Towers (Old Town and Lesser Town), see the bright colours and arched ceilings of the Ctěnice Chateau, and step inside the unassuming Podskalí Custom House at Výtoň.

Arts & Culture
Bring the legends of Czech Opera into your home by streaming:
• Antonin Dvořák's "Rusalka"
• Bedřich Smetana's "The Bartered Bride"
• Leoš Janáček's "Jenůfa"

Standing ovations in your living room are still welcome and encouraged. 

Curious About Seeing Prague Without the Crowds?

No need to risk your health (or others) to see the empty streets of the Czech Republic. We'll bring them straight to your screens. Janek Rubeš of the Honest Guide, complete with a state-mandated mask required in public spaces, captured the eerily quiet streets of Prague on video.

#traveltomorrow Castles And Palaces You Can Explore From Your Couch

#traveltomorrow
Castles And Palaces
You Can Explore From Your Couch
The travel and tourism industry has practically grounded to a halt within a few weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But that doesn't mean we stop dreaming...

While we're all stuck indoors, you can experience some of the world's most breathtaking castles and palaces from your living room.
Neuschwanstein, Bavaria, Germany Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria - Image by WikiImages from Pixabay Walt Disney based his Cinderella castle on this impossibly ornate fairy tale castle in the 19th century Romanesque Revival style. Perched on the top of a steep hill in the village of Hohenschwangau, Bavaria. They didn't call Ludwig II of Bavaria "Mad Ludwig" for nothing - the sheer mania that must have been behind the construction of a palace in that location must have been formidable.
Neuschwanstein interior courtyard - Image by ian kelsall from Pixabay Luwwig, aka the Swan King or der Märchenkönig ("the Fairy Tale King"), Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, Duke of Franconia, and Duke in Swabia, drained his personal fortune on various palace building projects, and once threatened to commit suicide if his creditors took them over.
Singer's Hall, Neuschwanstein Castle - Image by 272447 from PixabaySadly, in the end Ludwig only spent 11 days in the not-yet-finished castle before his death at age 41 in 1886 in what was deemed to be suicide by drowning. Shortly before his death, the Bavarian parliament had him declared legally insane. The drowning verdict didn't hold up under scrutiny, and anecdotal testimony says he was shot trying to escape the virtual coup.

Ironically, it is tourism revenues from his palaces that funded the House of Wittelstein until after WWI, when the state took control of the heritage site. From the entrance to the highest turret, it's a fantasy come to life.

• Check It Out At The Link
The Taj Mahal, Agra, India Taj Mahal, exterior - Image by Volker Glätsch from Pixabay The iconic spires of the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, have captured the public's imagination since it was built in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as the world's most romantic mausoleum. It was built to house the remains of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth, and eventually became Shah Jahan's tomb as well.
Taj Mahal colonnade - Image by DEZALB from Pixabay At the time, it was said to cost 32 million rupees, or about $960 million in today's USD, and is an excellent surviving example of Persian and Mughal architecture of the time. The use of white marble set with semi-precious stones is said to have been the Shah's own idea.
Taj Mahal exterior detail - Image by Balaji Srinivasan from PixabayThe large marble dome is perhaps its most well known and renowned feature, with a dome about 35 metres high, and the minarets reach more than 40 metres into the sky. Intricate decorations on the exterior as well as interior make it one of the most celebrated works of architecture throughout history.

• Check It Out At The Link
Versailles, France Chateau Versailles - Image via www.all-free-photos.com through a CC licenseThe Palace of Versailles became the principal residence of the French royal family from the days of Louis XIV, the Sun King, until the French Revolution in 1789.
Cour de Marbre du Château de Versailles - Image by Kimberly Vardeman under a CC licenseThe site had been used by the royal family as a hunting lodge, and a small château occupied the area until The Sun King decided on a super-royal makeover in 1661. It took about 21 years until he deemed the palace large enough to house the entire royal family and their entourage.
Galerie des Glaces du Château de Versailles, à Versailles en France - Image by Myrabella / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0Built in the opulent French Baroque style, some of the original furnishings were made of solid silver - but had to be melted down and sold in later years to help cover the costs of war. It was designed and supervised by architect Louis Le Vau, with subsequent work by young architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart.

• Check It Out At The Link
Bran Castle, Romania Castle Bran - Image by MMZ84 from Pixabay Interestingly, Bram Stoker never actually visited Bran Castle in Romania before writing his seminal novel, Dracula, but went only by descriptions he found. The castle is surrounded by the five villages that make up the commune of Bran, near the city of Brașov.
Castle Bran - Image by danieldudu from PixabayStoker's Dracula is often thought to be based on Vlad Tepes, aka Vlad the Impaler of Vlad Dracul, a Walachian Prince whose castle ruins are in Transylvania. Castle Bran came to be associated with Stoker's novel and the growing vampire legend because its location corresponds to the book's description:  “...on the very edge of a terrific precipice...with occasionally a deep rift where there is a chasm [with] silver threads where the rivers wind in deep gorges through the forests.”
Bran Castle, interior courtyard - Image by falco from PixabayOld supersitions in the area do speak of strange spirits who live as humans by day and evil demons as night. Thought to have been built around 1377, the castle became a royal residence in 1920, and today houses a collection of period furnishings and art.

• Check It Out At The Link
Blarney Castle (Caisleán na Blarnan), Blarney, Ireland Blarney Castle - Image by Len Williams (CC BY-SA 2.0)This splendid medieval ruin is located near Cork, Ireland, and was originally built around 1210. That structure was destroyed, and rebuilt in 1446 by Cormac Láidir MacCarthy, Lord of Muscry.
Blarney Castle, interior family room - Image by Ben Snooks (CC BY-SA 2.0)The castle suffered through the ups and downs of the Ireland, taken by Parliamentarian forces in 1646, but given back to Donough KMacCarty, the 1st Earl of Clancarty, after the Restoration. The structure is a partial ruin today, with some accessible areas, and is home - of course - to the legendary Blarney Stone, which is said to bestow the gift of the gab.
View from the top of Blarney Caslte - Imagey by Martie Swart (CC BY 2.0)The grounds include extensive gardens with natural rock formations called the Rock Close, and a collection of native plants. You can explore the grounds through magical pathways in the forest.

• Check It Out At The Link

Indie Film: Still Time To Get In On 7 Days Of Cinema From Filmatique

From a media release:

7 Days of Cinema, Day 4
It Felt Like Love
INTRO BY HEAD CURATOR URSULA GRISHAM

•Stream It Free Today

There's still time to get in on 7 Days of Cinema at Filmatique. Today's offering is It Felt Like Love.

During a long, languorous summer in South Brooklyn, teenage Lila hangs with her best friend Chiara and her new boyfriend, their constant intimacy a constant reminder that she is alone.  When Lila meets Sammy, she becomes determined to prove that she too can be an object of desire.

After her sultry, evocative Beach Rats, Eliza Hittman's newest film Never Rarely Sometimes Always premiered at this year's Berlinale, where it won the Grand Jury Prize.  A haunting portrait of female adolescence, Hittman's debut feature It Felt Like Love was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards and is a New York Times Critics' Pick.

Curator's Talk Online: Vancouver Art Gallery Kicks Off 'Art Connects' Series March 31 & April 3 2020

From a media release:

Vancouver Art Gallery Kicks Off Art Connects Series with
Curators’ Talk: Grant Arnold and Mandy Ginson
March 31 & April 3, 2020
• Pre-register for the Curators' Talk at Zoom

March 30, 2020, Vancouver, BC – In response to temporary closure of the exhibition spaces due to the current global health pandemic, the Vancouver Art Gallery launches Art Connects, a new series of online gatherings that encourage dialogue and connection during this new age of physical distancing.

Starting Tuesday at 1:30 PM and Friday at 4:30 PM this March 31, the Vancouver Art Gallery will stream live conversations on the Gallery's Zoom channel, featuring guests from local and international arts communities. Art Connects is free for everyone to join and the weekly conversations will be interactive in nature. Upon registration, attendees can submit questions and chat directly with fellow attendees during the live stream.

Art has the power to connect individuals, communities and cultures. No matter its form, art encourages communication, broadens perspectives, enriches the mind and renews the spirit. During challenging times, art can uplift the community through enriching and culturally meaningful experiences.

Join us for a special preview of the exhibition, The Tin Man Was A Dreamer: Allegories, Poetics and Performances of Power , with curators Grant Arnold and Mandy Ginson. Together, the curators will walk us through the exhibition and speak to the importance of bringing together recent acquisitions from Gallery’s permanent collection to make exciting exhibitions that deal with contemporary issues of our time.

Harold E. Edgerton, Cock Fight 3409, 1934 (silver gelatin print)Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of Angela and David Feldman, the Menkes Family, Marc and Alex Muzzo, Tory Ross, the Rose Baum-Sommerman Family, Shabin and Nadir Mohamed

Jazz Great Fred Hersch Offers Live Mini Concerts From Home During The Coronavirus Pandemic

From a media release:

Jazz Great Fred Hersch
Live Mini Concerts
Here's a message from renowned jazz pianist Fred Hersch:
Fred Hersch, image ©Martin ZemanMini Concert Every Day

I hope everybody is safe and healthy and will remain that way. This is an unprecedented challenge to everyone on the planet, and we all need resilience and resourcefulness going forward.

Starting this Sunday, every day at 1pm EST 
I will do a live mini concert of piano music from my home.

You can see and hear the concert here:

https://www.facebook.com/fredherschmusic

You don't have to "be" on Facebook or sign in to anything to access the concert. Just click the image below. And if you "like" the page you will be notified each day.

Wishing you all strength and much love,

Fred

Phoenix, Oregon: Stream Indie Film & Support Indie Theaters

From a media release:

Indie Film:
Phoenix Oregon
Starring James Le Gros & Jesse Borrego
• Stream it at the link
• 50% of Fees Go To Indie Theatre Owners

Unprecedented times call for unusual solutions, even when it comes to watching movies in today's uncertain world, where "social distancing" is the new normal.

The new independent film Phoenix, Oregon, scheduled to open in theaters this past Friday, March 20th, will now offer folks who need a break from the constant drumbeat of coronavirus news the opportunity to watch a new release movie from home at a matinée price of $6.50.

They will be helping a hurting number of small businesses and in the meantime, producers will share all revenue on a 50/50 basis with the group of theaters where it would have been shown.

The theatrical-at-home option is available in the U.S. and Canada beginning this Friday, March 20th, at www.phoenixoregonmovie.com.

Any theaters that remain open to the public on March 20th will still have the opportunity to screen the film.

"Phoenix, Oregon" is a funny and bittersweet comedy about two friends, a graphic novelist and a chef, who seize an unlikely opportunity to reinvent their lives, quitting their service industry jobs to restore an old bowling alley and serve the "world's greatest pizza."

The cast includes James Le Gros (Amazon Prime's 'Hunters'), Jesse Borrego (Fox's '24'), Lisa Edelstein (Netflix's 'The Kominsky Method'), Reynaldo Gallegos (Triple Frontier), Diedrich Bader (ABC's 'American Housewife') and Kevin Corrigan (Showtime's 'Ray Donovan').

Phoenix, Oregon, is being released by Aspiration Entertainment in association with Ryan Bruce Levey Film Distribution and was produced by Joma Films with Pied Piper Productions, Lui-G Films, and Sunset Dynamics.

"This is an attempt to alleviate some stress from the locally owned theaters, who are the backbone of independent cinema. We are not offering a 'day and date' option, we are offering an opportunity to see our film and support those in need during this crisis, the small businesses/theaters," says "Phoenix, Oregon" film booker Ryan Bruce Levey of Levey Distribution and PR. "The DVD and video-on-demand release will come later, but for now, we want to stand by those theaters that stood by us."

A "day-and-date release" is a film industry term for when a movie becomes available in theaters, DVD and VOD all on the same day, everywhere.

"We want to encourage safety for our audiences while also supporting the theaters who have committed to our release. We also want to be responsible world citizens while figuring out how to support those theaters, movie fans, and each other. This is different than a 'day and date' release in that all of the digital streaming revenues are shared 50/50 directly with the theaters, rather than cutting them out when they need help the most," says Annie Lundgren, Producer of "Phoenix, Oregon."

Official website: https://phoenixoregonmovie.com/#theaters

Official trailer: 

From Nacional Records: Some Jams For Your COVID-19 Quarantine Listening

A message from our friends at Nacional Records:

Time to listen to more music at home

Indie Music: Patrick Ames - Liveness (Independent / 4 April 2020)

Patrick Ames - Liveness
(Independent / 4 April 2020)
• Stream it on Spotify

Techno-minimalism meets poetic lyrics, with a rhythm and groove thrown into the mix - that's the recipe for veteran Bay Area DIY musician Patrick Ames on his upcoming release Liveness.

The 6-track EP features Ames at his idiosyncratic best, switching up genres between the synth pop/spoken word anti-NRA of Bang Bang Bang and the electro-Bossa Nova I Want You, with its plaintive lyrics. Just Before I Said I Do reaches back into vintage rock musically, with a creepy kind of edge.

Just before we dressed in white,
I whispered in your ears...
I really, really do,
I really, really love you,
Just before I said I do.

He mines nostalgia again in Slow Dancing, a song about watching his parents dancing to the oldies. Want to Believe is a remix of one of his songs from an earlier album, a bluesy song with a heavy does of soul against lyrics about soulless technology.

Chana Matthews and Mikaila Matthews (a mother-daughter duo) add lovely harmonies to Ames' raspy vocals.

Ames is a classic DIY recording artist who accents his DIY recording techniques with lots of live mics. "It's was like recording the process of songwriting," he says in a media release.

Much of Ames's professional life has been in technical book publishing, which accounts for his storytelling lyrics.

"Book publishing is exactly like being a music producer. The end product is a finished work of communication, and the path from early inspiration to finish is a drug. And you keep doing it to get the drug. Writing songs is like writing poems, only with more tools at your disposal: you have melody, rhythm, human voices, syncopation, and on and on. Songs can become these extraordinary 3D poems. And I think a good LP/EP is just like a book, with songs like chapters, and all these themes criss-crossing."

Personnel: 
Patrick Ames: Guitars, midi-guitar synth, vocals; Chana Matthews: vocals; Mikaila Matthews: vocals

Stay in touch:
Website https://patrickames.com/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/2patrickames/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/patrickames/
Twitter https://twitter.com/patrickames