Ancient Futures Show

Last night the Sophie's Parlor collective was thrilled to cover Willard Jenkins' spot at 10 PM - Midnight,

Helen's view of Tim!

Ancient Futures. In keeping with his format, we had music from the past, and current voices who are our classics of the future. Helen and Tim were the Divas of the Night, and Kim, Lakeisha and Deb kept us on task at the engineering board. It was a night of laughter, of good music and of fun!

Here is the playlist:

• Sophie's Theme, Pam Parker, Imagine
• Spring Is Here, Ella Fitzgerald, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Songbook
• Feelin' Good, Carmen McRae, Women Talk (Remastered)
• A Woman's Place Is In the Groove, Ginger Smock, Ginger Smock 1946-1958 Los Angeles Studio and Demo Recordings
• Ain't Nobody's Biz-ness If I Do, Bessie Smith, The Very Best Of
• Lullaby Of Birdland, Sarah Vaughan, Sarah Vaughan Verve Jazz Masters
• Honeysuckle Rose, Hazel Scott, This Is Jazz
• Wholly Earth, Abbey Lincoln, Wholley Earth
• Aries, Mary Lou Williams, Zodiac Suite
• Here Comes the Sun, Nina Simone, The Very Best of Nina Simone: Sugar in My Bowl (1967-1972)
• Here's to Life, Shirley Horn, Here's to Life
• It Might As Well Be Spring, Cassandra Wilson & Jacky Terrasson, Rendezvous
• La vie en rose, Melody Gardot, The Absence
• Younger Than Springtime, Amel Larrieux, Lovely Standards
• I'll Remember April, Grace Kelly, Mood Changes
• A Taste Of Honey, Lizz Wright, The New Jazz Divas
• Light Above the Trees, Keiko Matsui, The Piano
• Grass Roots, Terri Lyne Carrington, Money Jungle: Provocative In Blue
• Feelin' Good, Meshell Ndegeocello, Pour une âme souveraine - A Dedication to Nina Simone
• A Change Is Gonna Come, Anat Cohen, Notes from the Village
• Apple Blossom, Esperanza Spalding, Chamber Music Society
• Walkin' Shoes, Jen Krupa - Leigh Pilzer Quintet, JLQ
• Spring, Heather Rigdon, Young & Naïve

Check out the video of Melody Gardot singing La Vie en Rose!

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A September Song, Diva of the Day-Andrea

credit: designerfied.com

This afternoon, Diva of the Day Andrea, although under the weather, brought such soothing and inspiring sounds to the parlor.  Thanks for joining us once again in Sophie's Parlor.  The show today, entitled "September Song" was that wave of change we all feel about this time of year, whether it be leaves on trees, academic school years commencing or cooler nights, Fall is coming.

We hope you enjoyed the time with us today in the parlor and know that we gladly announce and post all of this music so you can enjoy, support and spread the music of these talented women who tirelessly provide amazing soundscapes for us all.

Be sure to listen to the entire show online until at http://bit.ly/u2MAq8 just scroll down to the Thursday Sep. 13, 2012 slot from 1-3pm and click play, it's that easy.  This show will only be up about 10 more days, then it will be removed.

As always please contact Sophie's Parlor Women's Radio Collective in the following ways

Email-sophiesparlor@gmail.com

FB-facebook.com/SophiesParlor

Twitter-@sophiesparlor

Here's to your most successful September ever, thanks for sharing this day with us here in the parlor!


Check out the playlist below...

	Artist	Song Title	Album	Label
	Pam Parker	Sophie's Theme	Imagine	Pam Parker	69
	Sarah Vaughan	September Song	Sarah Vaughan Verve Jazz Masters	Verve	68
	Tracy Chapman	At This Point in my Life	New Beginning	Elektra/WEA	69
	Nnenna Freelon	America the Beautiful	Homefree	Concord Jazz	70
	Sara Tavares	Planeta Sukri	Balance	Times Sq Records	70
	Esperanza Spalding	Wild is the Wind	Chamber Music Society	Heads Up	74
	Aisha Khalil	Dreams Songs	Journey to My-Ka	Thunderhead Music	74
	Ledisi	Dreaming Interlude	Soul Singer	Ledisi	70
	Lynne Arriale Trio	Lean on Me	Arise	Motema Music	72
	Geri Allen	Portraits and Dream	Timeless Portraits and Dreams	Telarc	69
	Jen Krupa-Leigh Pilzer Quintet	Opus One	JLQ	Krup-Pilzer	71
	Anat Cohen	A change is gonna come	Notes from the Village	Anzic	71
	Phyllis Hyman	Betcha By Golly Wow	The Legacy of Phyllis Hyman	Arista	73
	Eva Cassidy	Over the Rainbow	The Other Side	Liaison	73
	Melody Gardot	Over the Rainbow	My One and Only Thrill	Verve	76
	Carmen Staaf	Reflection	Reflection	CD Baby	74
	Chaka Khan	Teach Me Tonight	Classikhan	Music World Music	78
	Elizabeth Sheperd	Higher Ground	Parkdale	Linus Entertainment	79
	Concha Buika	Luz De Luna	De Ultima Trago	WM Spain	83
	Hailey Naiswanger	Serenity	Confeddie	Hailey Naiswanger	92
	Marta Gomez	La Ronda	Women of Latin America	Putamayo	86

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Love & Light with Helen, February 2, 2012

Thanks to all who joined me for this show! I really enjoyed sharing the below music. There's several performers who had something fresh to share in 2011, and others who are classics. The main theme was Love & Light in honor of both St. Valentine's Day and Imbolc...

To hear the show, make sure to check it out in the next two weeks at http://wpfw.org.

Artist	Song Title	Album
Pam Parker	Sophie's Theme	Imagine
Etta James	Sunshine of Love	Heart & Soul
Joan Armatrading	A Woman in Love	Into the Blues
Mary Lou Williams	Aquarius	Zodiac Suite
Amy Winehouse	Cupid	Back to Black: B-Sides
Cassandra Wilson	My One and Only Love	Blue Skies
Meklit Hadero	Soleil Soleil	on a day like this
Amber Rubarth	Light	A Common Case of Disappearing...
Cindy Blackman	My Funny Valentine	Someday...
Amy London	You Taught My Heart to Sing	Let's Fly
Janice Whaley	Golden Lights	The Smiths Project Box Set
Heather Rigdon	I Miss You Like Paris	Young & Naive
Lea DeLaria	I Can Cook Too	My Favorite Broadway
Freshlyground	The Dream of Love	Radio Africa
King Kong	the girl that got away	Sounds of Self Defense (EP)
Etta James	Out of the Rain	Heart & Soul
Meklit Hadero	You and the Rain	On a day like this
Anat Cohen	Until You're in Love Again	Notes from the Village
Claudia Acuna	Arrimate Mi Amor	Luna
Lydia Cole	Love and Loss and Love	Me and Moon
Eliane Elias	Light My Fire	Light My Fire
Sarah Bettens	I Can't Make You Love Me	Never Say Goodbye
Catherine Russell	Thrill Me	Sentimental Streak
Natalia Zukerman	Favorite shirt	Brand New Frame

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Call for Proposals

"Sophie’s Parlor Politics: 40 Years of Women in Radio"

A conference sponsored by the women of Sophie’s Parlor

Saturday - March 10, 2012

Sophie's Parlor Women's Radio Collective will be presenting special programming to honor the Fortieth Anniversary of the collective. We are planning to celebrate Women's History Month by hosting a weekend of music and dialogue featuring local artists, music experts, and female radio programmers. This event is in honor of International Women's Day (March 8th), Women's History Month (March), Sophie’s founders and alumnae, and female musicians, artists, and activists who have collaborated with Sophie’s over the years.

Sophie’s Parlor is the oldest continuously running women’s music radio collective in the United States. Founded in 1972 at Georgetown University, Sophie’s has been a part of the Pacifica Network on WPFW, 89.3 FM in Washington, D.C. since 1977. Sophie’s Parlor presents an eclectic mix of women’s music from around the world every Thursday from 1-3 pm. Additionally, we host and produce compelling discussions on women’s issues ranging from music, to domestic violence, to health, to social justice.

We invite scholars, artists, activists, and professionals to submit proposals for presentations, workshops, papers, or exhibits. [NOTE: Individuals submitting papers for consideration must be prepared to present a speech/synopsis of the paper in panel sessions rather than merely reading the paper aloud.]

The first half of the conference will be focused on women and the arts/music. The second half will focus on women’s social and political issues.

Deadline – January 15, 2012

Proposals should be submitted to:

sophiesparlor@gmail.com

(electronic submissions only please)

Please include a short description of each presentation and a one-page c.v. for each presenter.

We are looking forward to a fabulous conference!

Sincerely,

The Women of Sophie’s Parlor

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Grammy - Nominees and Recipients (Helen, November 10, 2011)

I selected my music from those who have been nominated and/or received Grammys for their recordings, with a special nod to those in the Native American (First Nations) category as it's Native American Heritage Month! If you want to listen to the show, visit the archives and look for this:

Mid Day Jazz

Thursday, November 10, 2011 12:00 pm 1:59:31

13

Play

I spoke to Maimouna Youssef about her Grammy nomination a few years ago and about what she's up to now. You can hear three cuts from her latest oevre, The Blooming!

Here's what I played:

-->

Artist	Song Title	Album	Label
Pam Parker	Sophie's Theme	Imagine	Pam Parker
Joanne Shenandoah	Help Us Be Peaceful	Covenant	Silver Wave
Dee Dee Bridgewater	A Foggy Day	Eleanora Fagan (1915-1959): To Billie with love from Dee Dee	Emarcy / Pgd
Maimouna Youseff	Black Magic Woman	The Blooming	Maimouna Youssef
Esperanza Spalding	Knowledge of Good and Evil	Chamber Music Society	Heads Up
Dawn Avery	Onkwehon:we (First Peoples)	Our Fire	CDBY
Terri Lyne Carrington	Transformation	The Mosaic Project	Concord Jazz
Madeleine Peyroux	Standing on the Rooftop	Standing on the Rooftop	Decca
Patti Austin	I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise	Avant Gershwin	Rendezvous
Mary Youngblood	Dream With Me	Beneath the Raven Moon	Silver Wave
Shirley Horn	My Funny Valentine	I Remember Miles	Verve
Joni Mitchell	Chelsea Morning	Hits	Warner Bros / Wea
k.d. lang	Hallelujah	Hymns of the 49th Parallel	Nonesuch
Angelique Kidjo	Djin Djin	Djin Djin	Razor &Tie
Maimouna Youseff	Thank you	The Blooming	Maimouna Youssef
Cassandra Wilson	Gone with the Wind	Loverly	Blue Note Records
Maimouna Youseff	Gypsy Woman	The Blooming	Maimouna Youssef
Dinah Washington	What a Difference a Day Makes	Compact Jazz: Dinah Washington	Polygram Records

I also played this at the end...

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The Cover Up - Sep. 8, 2011

This show will explore the land of musical versions, covers and remakes. These covers will be done by a host of women in different languages and with different instruments. Some of the covers will be well known, some will be standards in any person's music library, and hopefully some will be brand new music.

We also will be interviewing 19 year old musical phenom Grace Kelly Be sure to listen in today and see what covers you know about and the ones you don't know. Remember the show is available to listen after the show online at http://bit.ly/o7xI5i just scroll down to the Mid Day Jazz Thursday 1-3pm and hit play.


Andrea, Diva of the Day

	Artist	Song Title	Album
	Pam Parker
	Mo' Horizons	Hit the Road Jack	Cover the World
	Sarah Vaughan	September Song	Sarah Vaughan Verve Jazz Masters
	Regina Carter	Ain't Nobody	Regina Carter
	Nnenna Freelon	America the Beautiful	Homefree
	Kelis	So Be It	Red Hot & Riot
	Esperanza Spalding	Wild Is The Wind	Chamber Music Society
	Afro Blue	It's A Matter Of Pride	It's A Matter Of Pride
	Lynne Arriale Trio	Lean On Me	Arise
	Bugz in The Attic (F/Wunmi)	Zombie (Part One)	Red Hot & Riot
	Jen Krupa - Leigh Pilzer Quintet	Opus One	JLQ
	Sinéad O'Connor	War	Throw Down Your Arms
	Eva Cassidy & Chuck Brown	Over The Rainbow	The Other Side
	Me'Shell Ndegéocello	Who Is He And What Is He To You	Peace Beyond Passion
	Phyllis Hyman	Betcha By Golly Wow	Under Her Spell: Greatest Hits
	Chaka Khan	Teach Me Tonight	Classic Khan (feat. The London Symphony Orchestra)
	Cassandra Wilson	Time After Time	Traveling Miles
	Concha Buika & Chucho Valdes	Luz De Luna	El Último Trago
	Joy Denalane f/Sara Tavares/Chioniso/Deborah	Vier Frauen	Women's World Voices (Vol. 5)
	Me'Shell	Fellowship	Comfort Woman

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New Beginnings - September 1!

Today's theme was New Beginnings - both the first day of school (September 1) and some new music, most notably Terri Lyne Carrington's Mosaic Project. The coolest thing was ending the two hours perfectly! To listen to the show, visit here: http://www.kpft.org/wpfw_archive/m3u.php?mp3fil=3377.

Time	Artist	Song Title	Album	Label
1:06:30	Pam Parker	Sophie's Theme	Imagine	Pam Parker
1:09:31	Terri Lyne Carrington	Magic and Music	The Mosaic Project	Concord Jazz
1:14:24	Tia Fuller	Decisive Steps	Decisive Steps	Mack Avenue
1:20:31	Natalia Zukerman	Come Undone	Gas Station Roses	Weasel Records
1:27:49	Sweet Honey in the Rock	Breaths	Breaths	Rounder
1:31:56	Jill Barber	Daydreamin'	Mischevious Moon	PID
1:36:05	Youn Sun Nah	My Favorite Things	Same Girl	Act Music & Vision
1:40:01	Valaida Snow	Sing, You Sinners	Cocktails for Two	Asv Living Era
1:42:25	Eliane Elias	Take Five	Light My Fire	Concord Picante
1:51:18	Mary Lou Williams	Virgo	Zodiac Suite	Smithsonian Folkways
1:54:09	Catherine Russell	So Little Time (So Much to Do)	Sentimental Streak	World Village USA
1:56:38	Erin McKeown	Something Comes	Small Deviant Things	TVP Records
2:01:52	Freshlyground	The Dream of Love	Radio Africa	Wrasse Records
2:05:21	Emilie-Clair Barlow	C'est Merveilleux	Haven't We Met?	PID
2:09:07	Mavis Staples	Have a Little Faith	Have a Little Faith	Alligator Records
2:16:03	Cassandra Wilson	Shall We Dance	Blue Skies	Polygram Records
2:23:45	Nina Simone	For Myself	Four Women: The Nina Simone Philips Recordings	Verve
2:25:50	Kellylee Evans, Marvin Sewell, Francois Moutin & Andre Ceccarelli	Feeling Good	Nina	Plus Loin
2:31:39	Suede	New Coat of Paint	Dangerous Mood	Easily Suede
2:36:19	Terri Lyne Carrington	Crayola	The Mosaic Project	Concord Jazz
2:45:40	Ellis	Right on Time	Right on Time	Rubberneck
2:51:05	Catherine Russell	My Old Daddy's Got a Brand New Way to Love	Sentimental Streak	World Village USA
2:54:23	Elizabeth Shepherd	It's Coming	Heavy Falls the Night	Do Right! Music

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Final Night of 2011 Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival

Last night I (Helen) was joined by Diva Lakeisha at the show. We were both so happy to be at a performance where women and jazz were emphasized!

Our first performer was Corky Hale with a trio of valiant musicians. Corky is like your favorite great-aunt who tells too many stories and then sits down at the piano to belt out a few songs, only she also played harp! Looking at her website, I see that her stock-in-trade is "An Evening with Corky Hale;" it seems like we saw a greatly abbreviated version of that last night. Tell a few stories, play a little, tell some more stories, play some more.

Here's a video of Corky playing the harp with Tony Bennett on the Tonight Show.


The next performers were pianist Peggy Stern and "Sweet" Sue Terry on the clarinet and sax. Both performers are virtuosos and it was a very pleasant performance! Sue Terry admitted that performing as the duo was both very exposed (that you are hearing only them - missteps would be more obvious, I guess) and very liberating, because they could experiment and have more opportunities to go a different way, because there is only one other person who could adjust. I appreciated it!

The final performance was Five Play, a quartet made up of members of the DIVA Jazz Orchestra, who we heard at last year's Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival. Led by Sherrie Maricle, one of the top women drummers of all time, they played a few numbers, and then were joined by Marlena Shaw. Marlena immediately took over the stage, actually telling Sherrie after the first number that there could only be one leader, and so they better pay attention to her! Wow. I love anything that Sherrie Maricle does, so I was a little sad for her!

I have to say looking back at the entire three night experience that the favorite night was definitely Friday. It made me wonder how performers for this festival are selected. Is there a committee? Do they have nominations? What is the over-arching goal, besides presenting women in jazz?

Please, be on the lookout for the sale of next year's tickets! Again, I will be buying them as soon as they are available!!!

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Night Two of the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival

Two Sophie's Divas, Andrea Thompson and Helen Viksnins, share their impressions from the second night of the 2011 Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival, a tribute to Abbey Lincoln, at the Kennedy Center.

Andrea: The Abbey Lincoln tribute can not truly be summed up in one word, one sentence, even one article, but I do know this, if you missed this, you MISSED IT!!!!

Helen: And we know you missed it, because again we didn't see you there! (Warning: I have nothing but great things to say about last night's performance, so beware of gushings!)

Andrea: Jazz vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dianne Reeves, and Cassandra Wilson teamed up for a trinity of talent that was only heightened by drumming sensation and Music Director Teri Lynn Carrington.

Helen: I'm in love with these women who are the ultimate in expressing their musical talent and creativity. I also need to acknowledge the performers who supported them. I don't know their names, but even though they are men (in a women's festival), I could sense their reverence for the music and for the beauties on the front of the stage.

Teri Lynn told a story as the evening began. That once Abbey had said to her that "Men play, women sing," and that as a woman drummer she didn't know how she felt about that. My answer to her is that her drums sing. Her heart sings through the drumbeats. Her heart sings through the backbone that she provides to the other artists on the stage.

Andrea: These four women were the four women that they needed to be, that Nina Simone spoke of, that grandma prayed for and that all of us tonight were anointed by. This evening was all a part of the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival that is presented yearly by the Jazz Program at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. This year, due to her recent passing, Abbey Lincoln was the focus of the second night of festivities and although she was not there in body, she was definitely there in spirit. The renditions of songs that Abbey sang, wrote, and often composed brought to mind the following statement.

These conjure women conjured up magic in homage to the conjurer who once taught them. Ethereal, surreal, and elemental. Having only seen these women apart, their trio tripled the energy, raised the bar for the musicians and the audience, and in the end sent many of us out of our seats with a soul stirring version of "Freedom Now".

Abbey Lincoln was a women who moved herself, people, movements, and these women. And boy did they move. Always one to be open to new things, I am totally a FAN, collective energy brings out the best in us and thanks to these ladies many of us left that theater more moved, dusted with a bit of Abbey's magic, and inspired to honor women who matter to us.

Helen: I was properly introduced to Abbey during this concert, and it's going to be one of my greatest pleasures to continue to get to know her. Dianne Reeves commented that Abbey wrote songs in all emotions - lightest love to deepest despair. We heard that and more last night.

There were two songs (besides the encore) where all three singers shared the stage: The River, Caged Bird and Freedom Day. The River is a description of Los Angeles freeways, believe it or not, and concluded with all three talking/chanting rhythmically to paint a picture of masses of people passing by, conjuring the murmuring of a river. [Andrea: Caged Bird is and was an amazing vocal exploration of sound, heart and harmonizing. These divas did Abbey’s tale of the courage and desires of those of “caged-in” with such justice it flowed over the microphones as if a luscious lullaby.] Freedom Day is the exuberance of the newly-freed slaves as they rush about to spread the news of emancipation, and is a part of Max Roach's Freedom Suite.



This was my first time hearing Dianne Reeves and Cassandra Wilson live. I was mesmerized by both, but especially by Cassandra Wilson, whose face was so open and welcoming! When she moved, it was as if she were made of grace.

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Dig Out, Relax or Throw Snow Balls!

So... last night the power was out... people were stuck in their cars and buses stopped in their tracks. Now it is either time to dig out, relax... or for some throw snowballs. Whatever you did hopefully this show was your motivation to do it.
I enjoyed being your Diva of the day... Kimberly C. Gaines until next time.

Tchau
Oh and here is the playlist...

Track	Artist	Album
Hit Me with your Best Shot	Pat Benatar	Back to Back Hits
Clean Up Woman	Leela James	Let’s Do It Again
I Need Your Lovin	Teena Marie	Greatest Hits
Sun Moon Child	Imani Uzuri	Her Holy Water: A Black Girl’s Rock Opera
Live In the Light	Fertile Ground	Black Is…
Chameleon	Dezaray Dawn	Chameleon
New Beginnings	Monday Michiru	4 Seasons
Strawberries In Vinegar	Silouette Brown	Two
Morning Scapes	Jazzanova featuring Bembe Segue	Of All The Things
My groovy Thing	Tweek	Like This
Morning Child	4Hero Feat Carina Andersson	Play with the Changes
Winter Sun	Esperanza Spaulding	Chamber Music Society
Knives Out	Waajeed feat. Monica Blaire	Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads
No Use	Jazzanova Feat. Clara Hill	In Between
The Other Side	Season feat. Mimi Terris	Jazzanova & Dirk Rumpff ...Broad Casting From OFFtrack Radio
Legend	Nelly Furtado	Red Star Sounds, Vol. 1 Soul Searching
Alchemy	Maiysha	This Much Is True
La Vie En Rose	Grace Jones	Island Life
In the Pocket (Remix)	Grillade
Don’t You Agree?	Roisin Murphy	Here Lies Love [Disc 1]
Down to You	Grooveman Spot feat. Muhsinah	SoundBridge
Cold War	Janelle Monae	SoundBridge
Begin	Eric Lau feat. Annabel, Rahel & Sarina Leah	New Territories

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