NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER ARTS & CULTURE MARCH 10-16, 2010 B7
March
70 years after McDaniel’s Oscar
Thursday 11
by Allison Whittenberg
son won perpetually nominated we get the recognition. In
their first (one time winner) Kate the mid-’90s, frustration
Jazz jam
For New Pittsburgh Courier
and (to Winslet. For the large boiled over in a Jesse Jack-
CJ’s Restaurant & Lounge pre-
In 1939, when Hattie date last) part, once a Black actor son led Academy of Motion
sents “The Roger Humphries &
McDaniel made world his- nomina- gets that one chance to Picture Arts and Sciences
RH Factor Jazz Jam Session” at
tory by being the first tions. Best show their chops, it’s over “blackout,” protesting Hol-
8 p.m. at 2901-2911 Penn Ave.,
African-American to win Supporting for the rest of their “ca- lywood’s lack of diversity.
Strip District. There will be live
an Oscar, her “Gone with Actors reers.” Morgan Freeman Since then Black people
jazz and fun every Thursday
the Wind” co-star Olivia super lucky and Denzel Washington still struggle for inclusion
night. Must be 30 years or older
de Havilland reportedly Cuba Good- are the closest Black per- when it comes to positive,
and there is a dress code that
left the ballroom in tears. ing Jr. and formers have gotten to meaningful representa-
will be enforced. No tennis
She, too, was nominated Lou Gos- perennials. Of course, in tions on the silver screen.
shoes, sweats or athletic gear.
as Best Supporting Ac- sett Jr. also 2004, Jamie Foxx, became From time to time we’ve
For more information, call 412-
tress and she wanted to won their the first Black person to been granted guest passes
642-2377 or visit
be recognized for her stel- first and get nominated for a Best but full membership has
www.cjsinthestrip.com.
lar work in this iconic only (so Actor Oscar and a Best been elusive, even in 2010.
film. Of course, Ms. de far) time at Supporting Actor Oscar in Tellingly, in a recent inter-
Friday 12
Havilland had no need to bat. Not to the same year (couldn’t he view when Mo’Nique was
fret for within a few short say that have spread it out?). asked about upcoming
Step up years she would snag sev-
these ac- Since the release of movie roles she quipped,
The Center for Organ & Re-
eral plum roles where she tors are “Birth of a Nation,” the “Ain’t a damn soul called
covery Education will host “Step
could shine and be recog- flashes in NAACP has applied pres- me.”
Up to Speak Up” from 6-8 p.m.
nized. She won the cov- the pan but sure on Hollywood studios (Allison Whittenberg is the au-
at The August Wilson Center for
eted statue not just once more high to offer more diverse roles thor four novels, most recently
African American Culture, 980
but twice. But fate profile bod- to Blacks. Of course, we “Hollywood and Maine” [Ran-
Liberty Ave., Cultural District.
wouldn’t shine upon Mc- ies of work need to get the roles before dom House 2009].)
The event will feature step
Daniel so brightly.
HATTIE McDANIEL
would help
teams from historically African-
For McDaniel, though to further
American fraternities and sorori-
she did work steadily (al- tern set by McDaniel? Of hold their place in film
ties along with spoken word
beit in a maid’s uniform) the few Black performers history yet that fails to
performers sharing their talents
throughout the ’40s until who have won this presti- occur. We have no grand
around the importance of organ
her death in the ’50s, gious award, nearly all the dame like Meryl Streep
and tissue donation for African-
there would be no other performers have won on with gazillion nominations
Americans. These two expres-
role that would grant her their first nomination. or one-Oscar-for-each-
sions will be featured as a part
the attention of Academy Yep, all the female ac- decade-he’s-been-acting
of the state’s effort to raise
voters. The reasons why tresses: Whoopi Goldberg, Jack Nicholson. We don’t
awareness about the importance
there would be no second Halle Berry, Jennifer Hud- even have an ingénue type
of organ and tissue donor des-
chance for this charis-
ignation among African-Ameri-
matic screen presence are
cans. For more information,
at once obvious: American
visit
cinema just wasn’t ready
www.StepUptoSpeakUp.org.
for her. It wasn’t her time.
Flash forward to 2010.
Saturday 13
Two African-American
plus-sized actress were
Film premier nominated for the criti-
Pittsburgh Filmmaker Nikki
cally acclaimed (ungainly
Young presents “Whistle Les-
titled) “Precious: Based on
son” at 4 p.m. at the August
the novel ‘Push’ by Sap-
Wilson Center for African Amer-
phire.” Though this will be
ican Culture, 980 Liberty Ave.,
Mo’Nique’s and Gabourey
Cultural District. This is a 25-
Sidibe’s first time walking
minute film about a young girl’s
the red carpet as potential
special relationship with her
winners that big night,
grandfather, the valuable
their greenness is their
lessons he teaches her and the
strength. If one or both of
enduring strength of family ties
them win, “history” will be
and spiritual bonds. The pre-
made for sure. (Mo’Nique
mier will be followed by a ques-
won for Best Actress in a
tion and answer discussion with
supporting Role for her
Young. The film will be pre-
portrayal of an abusive
miered during the International
mother). But the real
Festival of Children’s Films. For
question is what happens
more information, visit
the day after the cere-
www.nikkiyofilms.com.
mony? Will either or both
Jazz icon
ladies follow the same pat-
The Manchester Craftsmen’s
Guild presents The McCoy Tyner
Quartet at 7 p.m. at 1815
Metropolitan St., Manchester.
Tyner, with 50 years of perfor-
mances, has a blues-based
piano style replete with sophisti-
cated chords and an explosively
percussive left hand, has tran-
scended conventional styles to
become one of the greatest mu-
sicians in improvised music. His
harmonic contributions and dra-
matic rhythmic devices form the
vocabulary of a majority of jazz
pianists.
Sunday 14
Sunday night jazz
The Pittsburgh Jazz Society
presents The Sunday Night Jazz
Concerts from 6-9 p.m. at the
Rivers Casino, 777 Casino Dr.,
North Shore. The featured en-
tertainer will be the Virgil Wal-
ters Trio, remembering John
D’Amico and Bobby Negri,
along with DUQ’s Tony Mowod
as the host. For more informa-
tion, call 412-343-9555 or visit
www.pittsburghjazz.org.
Monday 15
Jam session
AVA Lounge presents a
Weekly Live Jazz/Jam Session
with The Interval Trio & Friends
at 9 p.m. at 126 S. Highland
Ave., East Liberty. Every Mon-
day jazz fans can enjoy great
music from some of the best
musicians. DJ J. Malls will be
spinning the vinyl. Must be 21
years or older. There is no
cover. For more information,
visit
www.shadowlounge.net.
Tuesday 16
JazzLive
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
Education & Community En-
gagement presents JazzLive
from 5-11 p.m. at Backstage
Bar at Theater Square, 655
Penn Ave., Cultural District.
Every Tuesday some of Pitts-
burgh’s most talented jazz musi-
cians will perform. For more in-
formation, call 412-456-6666 or
visit
www.pgharts.org.
Jay-Z
Live Nation presents Jay-Z:
The BP3 Tour at 7:30 p.m. at
the Mellon Arena, 66 Mario
Lemieux Place, Hill District. Jay-
Z, one of hip-hop’s greatest
artists, will be touring to pro-
mote his album, “The Blueprint
3.” With him are Young Jeezy
and Trey Songz. For more infor-
mation, visit
www.LiveNation.com.
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