Colors: Red Color

Birmingham Hippodrome was ‘proud’ once again to be a part of the UK’s biggest two-day LGBTQ Pride festival that attracted a record number of 100,000 people lining the streets. This year the theatre brought some Latin flavour to the parade on Saturday 25 May with a themed float from Gloria and Emilio Estefan’s smash-hit musical On Your Feet!

The theatre’s colourful float blasted popular hits from the musical such as Rhythm is Gonna to Get You, Conga and Get On Your Feet, while energetic performances from dancers entertained crowds. The Broadway and West End production of On Your Feet! is the inspiring true love story of Emilio and Gloria and charts their journey from its origins in Cuba, onto the streets of Miami and finally to international superstardom. The show hits the Hippodrome stage on Tuesday 3 September and runs until Saturday 7 September.

Laura Smith, Head of Communications commented “It was amazing to once again take part in Birmingham Pride and celebrate the event’s incredible atmosphere with thousands of people across our city. Last year we brought Lola’s Angels from Kinky Boots which was a real crowd-pleaser and this year was no different with the phenomenal dance moves and hits from On Your Feet! Pride takes place on our doorstep so it is great to support our neighbours and get our staff and shows in the party!”

On UNESCO International Jazz Day (Tuesday 30 April), Royal Birmingham Conservatoire has announced that acclaimed musician and broadcaster Soweto Kinch is to join its Jazz Studies team as a Visiting Tutor.

The multi award-winning saxophonist and MC, who has strong connections with Birmingham, brings close to two decades of experience in international touring, recording, composition and radio work to the course, beginning with a public performance alongside two bands drawn from the school at the Conservatoire’s Eastside Jazz Club on Thursday 30 May.

The announcement of Soweto Kinch’s appointment is the latest in a series of academic and industry developments that are helping to establish Birmingham as a new centre of the UK’s contemporary jazz scene, as well as contributing to the genre globally. A considerable community of jazz musicians, academics and industry professionals are now embedded at the state-of-the-art facilities at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and within the leading Jazz Research Cluster at Birmingham School of Media to collaborate and innovate internationally.

Soweto said: "I’m honoured and excited to join the Jazz Studies team. Having had a loose connection with the Faculty of Arts, Design and Media for over 15 years, it's great to formalise what’s been a fruitful relationship, and to build on great musical partnership. I’m looking forward to joining some inspirational teaching staff as well as connecting the dots of arts and music across Birmingham’s communities with this vibrant faculty to help develop a music scene that occupies a vital place within the national jazz landscape.”

The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s Jazz Studies course, led by Jeremy Price, has a student community of around 80 students at any one time and has produced a number of notable alumni over the years including Percy Pursglove, Mark Hanslip, Alcyona Mick, Alex Woods, Tom Syson and Tim Thornton. The core department team consists of Andrew Bain, John O’Gallagher and Percy Pursglove with many international names in jazz also on the Visiting Tutor team including Jean Toussaint, Liam Noble, John Turville, Mark Hodgson and Clark Tracey.

Head of Jazz at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Jeremy Price, said: “The opportunities and resource of talent we have here is truly exceptional. When you couple that with the international jazz venue that is Eastside Jazz Club, the whole package becomes an indisputably world class proposition. On International Jazz Day it’s well worth noting that in this academic year alone we have sent students and staff to Siena Jazz, European Jazz Lab with Hamburg Hochschule and the Elb Jazz Festival, Thai International Jazz Conference in Bangkok, the jazz composition and arranging conference in Denver Colorado, Bogata Colombia exchange, Paris Conservatoire collaboration at Cheltenham Jazz Festival and a big band project with Milan Conservatorio.".

A significant number of international projects are being delivered by jazz researchers across Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Arts Design and Media including the development of a ground-breaking app exploring the experience of jazz festivals in online environments and the use of digital technologies in the planning and management of music festivals. The technology is being researched by Professor Nicholas Gebhardt and Dr Craig Hamilton and tested in partnership with Cheltenham Jazz Festival with the latest version in use at the 2019 edition which starts this week.

The annual music festival is also a project partner for an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) research project led by Dr Sarah Raine. This project will explore the experience of women jazz musicians active in the UK as a means to support Cheltenham Jazz Festival in their Keychange (PRS Foundation) pledge for a 50/50 gender balanced programme by 2022.

"As a major international music event, Cheltenham Jazz Festival has an important role to play in developing artistic and research-led relationships with key institutions. We have a strong focus on talent development and offering unique content to our audience, and our partnership with staff and students from schools across Birmingham City University, in particular Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Birmingham School of Media, enriches the programme and develops artists through an exchange project, jam sessions, free stage gigs, the festival app and research around career progression for women jazz artists. This can only come about due to the depth and breadth of jazz talent in the city of Birmingham," Emily Jones, Head of Programming at Cheltenham Jazz Festival, added.

The Birmingham City University Jazz Research Cluster is also home to several major international publications, has an excellent track record of being awarded external funding and provides committee members and regular participants for the Rhythm Changes conference, now the largest gathering of jazz scholars globally.

Parkside, the University’s important new arts, design and media facility is now home to an archive of written, printed and visual materials on jazz, blues and related music, from the 1920s to the present day. The substantial British Institute of Jazz Studies collection also acts as a satellite of the National Jazz Archive, together with other jazz-related materials and collections held at the Parkside Building.

The materials at the ADM (Arts, Design and Media) Archives are accessible to the public by email appointment (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and are managed by Dr Pedro Cravinho – who also leads the pilot research project in partnership with professional jazz photographer Brian Homer, ‘Everyday Jazz Life: a photographic project on contemporary jazz musician’s lives in Birmingham’.

Alongside Birmingham City University’s jazz studies, research and performance output, lies a flourishing jazz scene. Venues including Town Hall & Symphony Hall, The Spotted Dog, midlands art centre, The Lamp Tavern, 1000 Trades, Hare & Hounds, The Jam House, PizzaExpress Live and the CBSO Centre regularly host performances by local, national and international artists and bands, promoted by organisations such as Jazzlines, Birmingham Jazz, Fizzle, Leftfoot and TDE Promotions. Record labels, collectives and festivals including Stoney Lane, BRC, Mostly Jazz, Funk & Soul, Surge Orchestra and Birmingham Jazz Festival continue to offer opportunities and employment for industry professionals, including in retail, production, programming, composition, touring and marketing.

Established by the General Conference of UNESCO in 2011 at the initiative of UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock, and recognized by the United Nations General Assembly, International Jazz Day brings together countries and communities worldwide every 30 April to celebrate the art of jazz, highlighting its important role in encouraging dialogue, combating discrimination and promoting human dignity.

Grammy-winning songstress Ella Mai will be extending her wildly successful, sold-out The Debut Tour. The tour is in support of Ella’s self-titled album, which was executive produced by 10 Summers’ label head, Mustard. The album features Ella’s latest single, “Shot Clock” as well as the record-breaking hits, “Boo’d Up” and “Trip.”

Chart-topping success aside, Ella Mai has also had an amazing reception on the awards circuit. In 2018, she took home the Soul Train Awards for Best New Female and Song of the Year (Boo'd Up) and, last month, “Boo’d Up” yielded her Best R&B Song at the 61st GRAMMY Awards. Ella also took home iHeart Radio awards for R&B Song Of The Year and R&B Artist of the Year, as well as Outstanding New Artist, Outstanding Song and the prestigious Outstanding Album at the NAACP Awards. The UK native who took to the stage at Coachella will be supporting Ariana Grande on the European leg of her Sweetener tour which kicks off in London on August 17 at the O2 Arena.

An RSPCA film which tells the tale of an abandoned Christmas puppy who is thrown out with the rubbish has been named a winner at this year’s Charity Film Awards.

Stars, the tear-jerking short video, shows Woody the Christmas pup being abandoned before he is rescued and taken in for care by the RSPCA.

The touching film was made by the charity’s small in-house team to highlight the Kindness at Christmas campaign. It was filmed at the charity’s RSPCA Newbrook Animal Centre in Birmingham.

The soundtrack features an acoustic cover of the Simply Red song Stars, written by Mick Hucknall, and was performed by up and coming singer Lucy Ellie, who works for the RSPCA.

Films were split in to categories depending on the charity’s annual turnover and the RSPCA won the top award in the Charities with a £50,000,000+ category.

Broadcast manager at the RSPCA, Alan Laxton, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have won the Charity Film Award and to have such lovely comments from the judges.

“When we made Stars we wanted to reflect the incredible work that staff and volunteers across the RSPCA do all for animals in need 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The story tells the tale of a toy dog - but what happens to him is very real. We rescue, rehabilitate and rehome dogs just like Woody every day, all year round.

“It was lovely to show all the different aspects of the work we do - from the inspector rescuing the dog, to him being treated by vets, looked after by our canine carers and volunteers before being rehomed.

“Staff gave up their own time to help us with the filming and while this story is of a toy dog - with a twist at the end - this story is played out every day across the RSPCA, but for real. We take in the most cruelly treated and neglected animals from across England and Wales and work hard to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome them.”

Director of Communications at the RSPCA, Chris Wainwright said: “To have won this award in this category against some very tough competition is fantastic. We are so pleased people were moved by the story - which is so typical of an animal that comes in to RSPCA care - and that hope everyone that watched it was touched by it’s message.”

The Charity Film Awards - the third event of its kind - took place in London on Friday night (26 April) and was hosted by actress Sally Phillips. The RSPCA’s award was presented by Apprentice contestant Daniel Elahi.

Simon Burton, founder of the Charity Film Awards. “The quality of the films in this year’s Charity Film Awards was better than ever. Inspirational, heartbreaking and heartwarming films that make a real difference to incredible causes.”

Award winning singer, musician, philanthropist and reggae icon Rita Marley, OD has released a career retrospective of her most well-known material.

The Best of Rita Marley ‘Lioness of Reggae’ has been released exclusively on limited edition vinyl.

Ziggy Marley says: “I felt this was a project that needed to be done, her musical legacy, message and vibe is unique to her and an important part of reggae’s history. This is a way for us to highlight and share her beautiful art”.

Alpharita Anderson displayed a deep love of music since childhood, singing to her family while working. This passion would ultimately lead her to form The Soulettes, which led to the eventual meeting of local Trench Town musicians Robert Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston – known as the Wailers. Soon after this fateful meeting, the talented young Rita became an integral part of the Wailers musical development, as well as a constant presence and influence in her husband, Bob Marley’s, life and legacy; including as a member of the I-Threes alongside Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt.

Simultaneously, Mrs. Marley forged an extraordinary career as a solo artist, known for upholding the artistic and cultural standards of reggae. Her music reflects the versatility and diversity of reggae through the smooth blends of Gospel, Rhythm & Blues, Jazz and Soca.

Today, no matter where in the world, the name Marley is synonymous with reggae music and the culture of Jamaica.

Rita Marley’s musical career has produced incredible albums including 'Who Feels It Knows It', 'Harambe', the 1992 GRAMMY-nominated album 'We Must Carry On' and 'Spectacle For Tribuffalos', as well as the classic reggae album 'Beginning', with the I-Threes.

Her sizzling 1982 hit ‘One Draw’ created waves around the world, was a bestseller with over two million copies sold and made history as the first reggae single to top the Billboard Dance Charts. . Mrs. Rita Marley, OD continues her legacy today with the Rita Marley Foundation – eradicating poverty and hunger, while empowering communities, in Africa, Jamaica and beyond.

The Best Of Rita Marley ' Lioness Of Reggae' is out now.

Tracklist:

1. Harambe 2. One Draw 3. A Jah Jah 4. That's The Way 5. Who Feels It Knows It 6. King Street 7. Thank You Jah 8. Good Morning Jah 9. I'm Still Waiting 10. Play Play

Tuff Gong Worldwide was founded in 2006, an off shoot of the original Tuff Gong label, which was founded in 1965 by Bob Marley with the vision of producing, distributing and promoting his music free from the constraints of corporate label politics. In a time, decades before, artist-owned record labels were commonplace, the legendary Bob Marley’s vision was characteristically well ahead of its time. Now, nearly a half-century later, his dream is being realized.

Today, Ziggy Marley is a completely independent artist – owning all of his master recordings since 2006 and all of his compositions with Isthi Music – his publishing company. Marley’s robust business goes far beyond music, into book publishing, film and television.

Following a family statement it was confirmed the influential filmmaker John Singleton - known for films including Boyz N The Hood and his remake of detective movie Shaft - has died after been in intensive care following a stroke.

His death came after the Oscar-nominated director's family announced they had taken the "agonising decision" to remove him from life-support.

Singleton, the first African-American filmmaker to be nominated for the best director Oscar with his debut feature Boyz N The Hood, in 1992, "passed away peacefully" shortly after being removed from life support in Los Angeles.

Born in LA, Singleton was considered a trailblazer for African-American directors in the 1990s. Fresh out of college, he also became the youngest ever director to be nominated for the accolade. He also received a second nomination for best original screenplay for the film.

In their statements, the family also took the opportunity to raise awareness around hypertension, or high blood pressure, in the African-American community.

They said the director had "silently struggled" with the condition, and urged people to familiarise themselves with symptoms.

"We are grateful to his fans, friends and colleagues for the outpour of love and prayers during this incredibly difficult time," they said.

"We want to thank all the doctors at Cedars Sinai for the impeccable care he received." Fellow ground-breaking film director, Spike Lee, posted a touching Instagram tribute to the late director, in which he recalled meeting him while he was a film student.

"With His Passion, His Heart, The Way He Talked About His Love For Cinema And Black Folks I Could See John Would Make It Happen, And He Did," the post said.

John was 51.