| Sept.
1, 2000 – (Lexington, Ky.) – Lainie
Kazan, who has reached the pinnacle of virtually every area of performance from jazz
singing to television, hit the theaters this week in the new Burt Reynolds movie "The
Crew." Kazan's long-time fans will
get a chance to see her in person Thursday, Sept. 14, when she performs in a world
premiere jazz concert with the Ladies of Note. The
other members of the Ladies of Note are Melba Moore, who began her career in Broadway's
groundbreaking rock musical "HAIR," and Nnenna Freelon who was nominated three
times for a Grammy Award. Their Lexington
appearance is the first-ever combined performance by these jazz giants as the Ladies of
Note.
The Ladies of Note concert begins at 8 p.m. in the Concert
Hall of the UK Singletary Center for the Arts. Concert tickets are $25 for
general admission, $10 for UK students, and are available
from the UK Student Center Ticket Office at 257-TICS
(8427).
Some of the songs to be performed during the Ladies of Note concert include
Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies," Duke Ellington's
"Don't Mean A Thing," and such Cole Porter
tunes as "Anything Goes," "What Is
This Thing Called Love," and "My Heart Belongs
to Daddy."
Moore
also will sing a medley of tunes from "HAIR" including the highly popular
"Aquarius."
The
Ladies of Note concert is a spotlight event of a weekend in which the University of
Kentucky will kick off the most ambitious fund-raising campaign in the history of the
Commonwealth of Kentucky. The effort is called “A Call to Greatness.”
Kazan,
Moore and Freelon are strong supporters of education in America. Freelon currently serves on the board of Partners
in Education, a grassroots member group that provides a direct link to local school
districts and community leaders throughout the country.
Partners in Education's mission is to connect
children and classroom teachers with corporate, education, volunteer, government and civic
leaders to enhance the delivery of education services to children and their families.
The
three singers will meet Wednesday, Sept. 13, with students from UK College of Education to
discuss ways to improve and enhance education in America.
At this 3:30 p.m. session in the Recital Hall of the UK Singletary Center
for the Arts, UK President Charles T. Wethington, Jr., will present each singer with an
award for their continuing efforts to support education at all levels.
UK
music students will meet with the singers from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, in the
Recital Hall of the Singletary Center. UK
music professor Jefferson Johnson said, "Nothing can compare with hearing the
perspective of full-time professional performers who are doing what many of our students
hope to do one day."
Kazan
stormed series television, receiving an Emmy Award nomination, for her role in the hit
television series St. Elsewhere. More
recently, she has been featured on Beverly Hills 90210 and has a recurring role as Aunt
Freida on The Nanny.
Nnenna
Freelon was nominated three times for the Grammy Award, twice for the "Lady of
Soul" Soul Train Awards. She won the
Billie Holiday Award from the Academie du Jazz in France.
Her
newest recording, "Maiden Voyage," includes original jazz songs and is a project
she describes as a "joyous celebration of feminine spirit and passion…stories
both new and familiar."
During
18 months with the musical "HAIR," Melba Moore played a variety of roles and
eventually became the first African-American actress to play Broadway's lead female role. From "HAIR" came the role of Lutiebelle,
the innocent southern girl who falls in love with a fast-talking preacher, in the long
running musical "Purlie." For
her performance she won Broadway's coveted Tony Award as best supporting actress in a
musical.
Moore
took over the role of Fantine in the Broadway musical "Les Miserables" in 1990.
Among
Moore's many pop/rhythm and blues hits that make up her roster of more than a dozen albums
are "This Is It," "You Stepped Into My life" and the Grammy-nominated
signature song "Lean On Me."
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