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diversity jazz Mack Avenue Records music NAACP Image Awards NBC performances Stanley Jordan television United States

Guitarist Stanley Jordan obtains 2012 NAACP Image Award nomination

Stanley Jordan
Photo by Keith Major

Guitarist Stanley Jordan has been nominated for a 2012 NAACP Image Award in the category of “Outstanding Jazz Album” for his latest Mack Avenue Records release Friends.
 
The NAACP Image Awards, celebrating its 43rd anniversary this year, are presented each year to honor outstanding people of color in film, television, music and literature. In conjunction, the ceremony offers awards to individuals or groups who help promote social injustice through creative efforts. Members of the NAACP vote on the awards, and the process is similar to that of the Grammy Awards and Oscars.
 
The complete awards ceremony will be presented live at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST on Friday, Feb. 17 on NBC.
 
In Friends, Jordan shares the platform with the following musical guests: guitarists Bucky PizzarelliMike SternRussell Malone and Charlie Hunter; violinist Regina Carter; saxophonists Kenny Garrett and Ronnie Laws; trumpeter Nicholas Payton; bassists Christian McBride and Charnett Moffett; and drummer Kenwood Dennard
 
Reflecting on the wealth of music inspired by collaborating with chosen peers on FriendsStanley Jordan says in a news release, “I am so humbled and grateful to all of the wonderful musicians who graced this project. This collection truly speaks to my belief in the integrationist spirit of music. I’d like to move beyond ‘fusion’ and explore the concept of ‘integration.’ When you integrate styles, you combine them into something new while still remaining true to the original sources. The same principal holds for our friendships, which require mutual respect. Our friends are a mirror revealing the diversity within us, and at the same time they give us the courage to share our true selves with the world.”

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Black Liberated Arts Center Inc. Committed Epic Records Frederick Douglass High School Auditorium gospel NBC Oklahoma Oklahoma City performances Sony Music television The Sing-Off United States

Black Liberated Arts Center presents “Sing-Off” Season 2 winners Committed in concert

Committed
Black Liberated Arts Center (BLAC) Inc., in conjunction with members of the Oklahoma Conference of Seventh Day Adventist, will present Sony Music recording artists Committed in concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4 at the Frederick Douglass High School Auditorium, 900 Martin Luther King Avenue in Oklahoma City. 

The concert will benefit the Douglass High School Band. The group – Maurice Staple, Geston Pierre, Alain “Tommy” Gervais, Theron “Therry” Thomas Jr., Robert Pressley Jr., and Dennis Baptiste Jr. – initially started as a quartet 2003 at Forest Lake Academy outside Orlando, Fla., and evolved with the addition of new members over time. With a sound reminiscent of their greatest musical influence, Take 6, the group stole the hearts of America when they walked away as the grand prize winners of the “The Sing-Off” Season 2.
The group earned a contract with Epic Records and a $100,000 cash prize. “The Sing-Off” ranked No. 1 in its timeslot, and Committed received a record number of votes, sold more than 110,000 tracks, garnered 25,000 Facebook friends and 7,000 followers on Twitter.

For more information, call BLAC Inc. at (405) 524-3800.

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education game of your life NBC sweepstakes United States

Vocalpoint presents “Game of Your Life” sweepstakes

Team up with everyone you know for a chance to win* $5,000 for your favorite grade school or high school. All you have to do is register and watch the trailer for “Game of Your Life.” It’s a humorous and heartfelt video gaming drama about a promising young video game designer who has to make a choice that will affect his future and the lives of everyone around him. Then ask all your friends, family, teachers, fellow parents and PTO members – everyone you know – to watch it so they can vote for your school once a day, too. Because if any one of the people you tell wins, your school wins $5,000.







Video synopsis: Zach, a high school gamer who lands a scholarship to an elite video game design program, has a bright future as long as he can survive the intense freshman year project that eliminates half the class in the first three months. But when Zach learns that his father is in financial trouble, he has to make a choice that will affect his future and the lives of everyone around him. This humorous and heartfelt drama is a great reminder to kids – and all of us – that the choices they make impact the people around them. “Game of Your Life” airs Friday, Dec. 2, 2011, 8/7c on NBC.




*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Legal residents of the 50 United States (D.C.) 18 or older as of the last day of the month prior to the date of entry. Ends 12/2/11. To enter and for Official Rules, including odds, and prize description, visithttp://tremor.promo.eprize.com/gameofyourlife/. Void where prohibited.