Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 24, 1995 TAG: 9503240071
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: STACY JONES
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT: Mention jazz to anyone and you're bound to hear about Billie Holiday, Carmen McRae and Sarah Vaughan . But what about Charlene Cochran, Deborah Liles, Pier LeFlore and Heather Banker? These local "Ladies of Jazz" will perform Sunday from 4-8 p.m. at the Henry Street Music Center and Jazz Institute. Banker heads her own jazz and blues band, which performs standards and originals. Liles studied jazz in New York City and is a featured vocalist with the William Penn Trio. LeFlore lives in Queens, N.Y., but began her singing career in Roanoke and sings in various nightspots in NYC. Other surprise guests will be on hand to entertain. The Jazz Institute is located at 110 1st Street, Roanoke. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at Books Strings & Things or at the door. Call 981-9110.
GET INTO THE LOOP: Imagine the Sears Tower looming overhead as you amble down Rush Street heady from the blues rifts wafting out of every other club. Now stop imagining. That hard to find Chicago-style sound can be found in Virginia - Lynchburg to be exact-this Wednesday when Lester "Big Daddy" Kinsey and the Kinsey Report perform at Randolph-Macon Woman's College. With its musical roots in the Mississippi Delta, the band will showcase the venerable traditions of the blues. The concerts will be held at 8 and at 9:30 p.m. in Smith Banquet Hall. Admission is free, but tickets must be obtained by calling (804) 947-8808.
NOBEL SCRIBE: With Elizabeth Wurtzel and Tim Allen on bestseller lists, one could get the impression there are no "real" writers living. Wrong. Spend Thursday evening at Lynchburg College where author Joyce Carol Oates will read from her numerous works at 7:30 p.m. Often called one of the greatest writers of our time by her peers, Oates has been granted a slew of awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship and the National Book Award for her novel "them." Twice nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature, Oates should hold your attention and be worth the drive. The lecture takes place in the Hall Campus Center Ballroom. Admission is free. Call (804) 522-8325.
FAHRENHEIT 451 ... NOT: Ray Bradbury could have written his classic with the Virginia Festival of the Book in mind. Beginning Thursday and running through Saturday, the gathering in Charlottesville has only one focus - books. There will be writers, publishers, printers, collectors and library book sales. Some of the 50 writers in attendance will be John Casey, Rita Dove, George Garrett and Joyce Carol Oates. Most of the lectures, seminars and events are free and open to the public. Two Thursday assemblies honoring local writers cost $15 and $25 respectively and require reservations. Call (804) 924-3296.
SEATTLE FOOTLIGHTS: Not all great theater originates in New York, and not all such shows bypass our area. Today, the Seattle Repertory Theatre Resident Company, in collaboration with Seattle Repertory Theatre Artistic Director Daniel Sullivan, bring "Inspecting Carol" to the stage. The play, chosen by Time magazine as one of the best plays of 1991, tells the story of a struggling Midwestern theater troupe desperately trying to impress an NEA inspector in hopes of getting its arts grant reinstated. Quirky characters and mistaken identity add to the plot. The production opens tonight at 8 at Theatre Virginia, in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond. The show runs through April 15, and ticket prices range from $17-$26. Call (804) 367-0831.
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