Category Archives: Harlem People

Joe Live in Harlem

Joe2
日本語

Joe performed a free show at the Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem last Tuesday in association with WBLS.

Our harlem2nippon team was entering on 124th and 5th Avenue and heading straight in to the available seats. To our surprise, despite the stormy weather, a lot of people showed up  at the outdoor theater in the park with umbrellas.  I guess Joe was worth sitting on a wet bench for and some rain.

Joe is The Man….I’ve been following his career since 1993 a performer to the fullest.  Over the course of 20 year of his career he has released 11 albums.

Dressed in white summer suite and a hat fashionable Joe entered on stage and opened his show with ”Stutter,” one of his hits from his 3rd album, “My Name Is Joe,” followed by “Don’t Wanna Be A Player” later bacame a hip-hop anthem with late Big Pun featured on remix.

He performed “Ride With U,” “All That I Am,” and all songs we loved. He is very engaging and his vocals were outstanding. He really showed us what good R&B music is about.

Joe_crowd2
Joe’s cover version of the signature song by Frankie Beverly and the Maze, “Before I Let Go” was truly one of the highlights of the show.

He wound up jumping off stage and spent the last half of his performance in the middle of the audience. He sang “I Wanna Know,” “All The Things”, “ What If A Woman”, “Doubleback” and encouraged us to sing along with him. You could tell, he really appreciates his fans.The show was amazing. Joe sang his heart out and was extremely personable with fans.

He is one of the few artist that is so humble – love him….

Legendary Actress Ruby Dee Dies At 91

ruby-dee2

日本語

Ruby Dee 1922-2014

Actress Ruby Dee died on Wednesday at her home in New Rochelle, surrounded by all her children and ground children. She was 91 years old.

She achieved her breakout role in 1959 opposite Sidney Poitier in the Broadway drama, “A Raisin in the Sun” . . . roles they reprised two years later on film.

A Raisin in the Sun was the first play written by a then 29 year-old black woman Lorraine Hansberry to be produced on Broadway, as well as the first play with a black director (Lloyd Richards) on Broadway.

Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee

Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee

Born in Cleveland she considered herself a native New Yorker as she was raised in Harlem.

Her career as an actress paralleled her work as an activist, often done with husband of 57 years Ossie Davis at her side until his death in 2005. She and Davis were close friends with both Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, whose eulogy Davis gave in 1965 — two years after Dee delivered a stirring reading at King’s March on Washington.

After her husband’s death, Ruby carried on, winning an Oscar nomination for her role in the 2007 film, “American Gangster.”

Broadway theaters dimmed their lights briefly Friday night to honor the memory of one of their best.

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Important collaboration was OFF screen, where they were life-long leaders of the civil rights movement, including the 1963 march on Washington.

Mama I Want To Sing’s Gospel For Teens Appears@The Rockefeller Christmas 2013

Ariana Grande Stole The Show With The Aid Of Gospel For Teens!

Read in Japanese

 

Reckefeller Christmas Tree

Reckefeller Christmas Tree

Today, the Rockefeller Christmas is a New York’s tourist-filled, multimillion-dollar special yearly event.

Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey

The holiday special boasted a slew of performers. The highlight performances include Mariah Carey, performing her classic “All I want for Christmas is You”; Tony Braxton and Babyface with a duet of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”; Mary J. Blige, Kelly Clarkson and many others.

It was, however, 20-year-old ‘Mini Mariah,’ Ariana Grande who stole the show. The singer wowed the audience with her powerful performance of her hit single “Love Is Everything” with assistance from a choir, Harlem’s own Gospel For Teens. As you may already know that some members of GFT left for Tokyo for “Mama, I Want To Sing!” Japan tour.

「ママ・アイ・ウォント・トゥ・シング」主役ノエル・ヒギンセンからメッセージ“Mama, I Want To Sing” Leaves for Japan!

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“Mama, I Want To Sing” Leaves for Japan!
Read In English

アフリカン・アメリカンのオフ・ブロードウェイ・ミュージカルとしては最長のロングランを誇るゴスペル・ミュージカル「ママ・アイ・ウォント・トゥ・シング」,地元ニューヨーク・ハーレムの今シーズンの公演を終え、12月1日、日本へと出発します。

主演のノエル・ヒギンセンから「ハーレム2ニッポン」をご覧いただいているみなさんへメッセージをもらいました。

1988年の日本初演から25周年となる記念すべき日本公演、「 Mama, I Want To Sing”」に是非お越し下さい。チケットは3000円から、お手頃なハーレム価格でご観覧いただけます。

詳細:mama-i-want-to-sing-japan.com/

Harlem’s “Mama, I Want To Sing” Leaves for Japan!

The longest running black off-Broadway musical in American history

Mama, I Want to Sing wrapped up this season’s shows and the cast members is going to leave for Japan on December 1st.

25 years after its first Japanese tour in 1988, Mama, I Want to Sing returns to perform in Tokyo and Osaka in Japan. The show will open on December 4th at Tokyu Theater Orb. Ticket price starts 3,000 Yen (cheaper than $35 at Harlem’s Dempsey Theater.)

More Info: mama-i-want-to-sing-japan.com/