Hip-Hop With a Higher Purpose: Mission-Driven Music Inspires Listeners
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When award-winning hip-hop artist Brinson Wright was just 4 years old, he was given a cassette tape containing the song “Bible Break” by Stephen Wiley (regarded as the godfather of Christian rap), and a seed was planted. Brinson grew up knowing that the spoken rhymes of rap and the spoken words of the gospel were not mutually exclusive, and that music and ministry could be intertwined and used to edify and reach the often unreachable youth audience.
“Rap, honestly, is motivation music,” Brinson said in a recent interview. “I’m going to motivate people to chase God.”
Brinson’s just-dropped album, Before He Cracks the Sky, is his 11th solo project and 80th overall release from GodChaserz Entertainment, the record label he founded in 2006. On it, he offers a prophetic voice along the lines of Malachi, who fervently attempts to share the good news that his neighbors can indeed be saved.
As with his past projects, Before He Cracks the Sky features top-notch sounds (including contributions from multi-platinum-selling producer Frank Nitty) and guest performances from Christian hip-hop veterans like Corey Red & Precise and Knine, and newcomers Porsha Love, Bri, Lu the Great and TC the Collector.
And like his last two albums, Before He Cracks the Sky is wrapped in a vivid cover designed by notable Marvel/DC/Image comic book artist Ken Lashley (of Black Panther, Star Wars and Spawn fame).
Brinson’s work in other areas has been gaining considerable attention. His GodChaserz documentary has won over 40 awards, and his entrance theme for Serena Deeb was featured on All Elite Wrestling. Plus, his book, 10 Things Every Christian Hip Hop Artist Should Know, provides valuable direction for others who want to enter the music industry without compromising their Christian values.
Using multiple forms of media to share his message comes naturally for Brinson, who is also an avid comic book collector, movie buff and ordained minister.
“It’s time for listeners to lend their ears to Before He Cracks the Sky,” Brinson said. “This is where it all began — telling stories about God’s good grace.”
About Brinson Wright Brinson is an award-winning Christian hip-hop artist from Jacksonville, Florida. He has dedicated his ministry to serving families and hip-hop fans through his music and unashamed love for God. He is an ordained minister and has studied music business at Belmont University in Nashville. When his passions and gifts are used together, he creates music that edifies and reaches those who would otherwise be unreachable. He is the founder of GodChaserz Entertainment (GCE) and with that has been able to facilitate more than 20 Christ-centered hip-hop albums. He has traveled the globe spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. Brinson’s music has been seen and heard on ESPN, NPR, BET, MTV, New York’s Hot 97 and TBN, and he is the host of the GodChaserz Podcast.
Before He Cracks the Sky is available on GodChaserz.com, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music and Tidal.
Trish Stevens Ashley Rockwell Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
All the World’s a Stage for Precocious Ballerina Lilly Nilly
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Enter the mind of spunky and precocious 6-year-old Lilly Nilly in the delightful new children’s book, Pardon My French – It’s the Language of Ballet: The Adventures of Lilly Nilly, from author/illustrator and former NYC-based dancer and choreographer Nancy Paris.
Lilly Nilly is a wickedly smart, determined young dance student whose self-appointed mission is to figure out what the heck ballet –– and coincidentally life –– are all about. She sees the world in a unique way, wears her curiosity on her sleeve, and approaches life with a joie de vivre that kids and adults alike will find entertaining and inspiring. In her musings, Lilly asks burning questions like, “Why can’t you hang upside down on a ballet barre if it looks just like an ordinary bar?” Or, “If you’re going to travel in a carpool, should you wear a bathing suit?”
“Young readers will find Lilly’s stories funny and very relatable, especially if they are ballet students themselves,” Paris said. “Adults will find her sharp wit and strong-willed spirit a charming reminder of just how empowering a joyful approach to life can be.”
Pardon My French – It’s the Language of Ballet is complete with illustrations that only Lilly Nilly could have drawn — with a little help from Paris, of course, who used her own experiences as a professional dancer and teacher to inform her narrative. Her mission, Paris said, is to encourage all readers to trust their instincts, seek their own answers, and be kind to all.
“I want people to know that although it was written as a children’s book, I always had an adult audience in mind,” Paris added. “And — it’s funny!”
Author Nancy Paris is an alumna of The Juilliard School and has performed professionally across the U.S. and Canada. As a dancemaker, she has choreographed industrials and private events in New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Palm Springs and Puerto Rico. Most of the incidents in her stories are based on personal experience, with the names changed to protect the innocent.
Paris lives in Manhattan with her husband, Charles Yurick, and loves writing and drawing because she can do it sitting down! Pardon My French is the first of at least three books in The Adventures of Lilly Nilly series.
For more information, please visit www.lillynilly.com, or connect with Paris on Facebook at @adventures.of.lilly.nilly.
Pardon My French – It’s the Language of Ballet: The Adventures of Lilly Nilly ISBN-10: 0578316889 ISBN-13: 978-0578316888 Available from Amazon.com
The Unmistakable Sounds of Nelson Riddle Transformed Generations of Music
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Frank Sinatra’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” Judy Garland’s “Come Rain or Come Shine” and Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable” would not be the same immortal melodies without the musical genius of prolific composer and arranger Nelson Riddle, arguably the greatest of his era.
Riddle collaborated with the biggest musical stars of his time, including Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald. But it was his work with Frank Sinatra that made him a household name the world over. By the time his career was winding down, Riddle was working with new names on the scene like Linda Ronstadt. He also wrote the hit TV theme “Route 66” from the 1960s series of the same name, composed the score to Batman: The Movie (1966) and turned down an offer from Paul McCartney to collaborate on a song. His shelf included Grammy and Oscar awards.
A revealing new biography from Geoffrey Littlefield, Nelson Riddle: Music with a Heartbeat, takes readers inside the world of the wildly successful but enigmatic Riddle. With the help of the late composer’s musician son, Christopher, Littlefield shares first-hand anecdotes, never-before-seen photographs and stories of some of the 20th Century’s biggest names in entertainment.
Littlefield traces Riddle’s life from the small town of Oradell, New Jersey, through a career that saw him hailed as the veritable king of what came to be known as the Great American Songbook — the canon of the most important and influential American popular songs and jazz standards from the early 20th century.
But Littlefield reveals that, like so many creative souls, Riddle was a complex and troubled figure. His marriage to Doreen, with whom he had seven children, was rocky and constantly under threat from his numerous affairs.
“A complex and often forlorn genius, he will forever be remembered for his work with Sinatra,” Littlefield says. “But like fine wines, his later vintage was just as palatable, if somewhat of a surprise.”
Author Geoffrey Littlefield is a baby boomer born in London, England, whose lifelong passions include soccer and music. His first magazine article was published when he was just 13 years old, featuring interviews with Chelsea FC and England soccer players. His love of music grew simultaneously, with particular focus on the Great American Songbook. Geoffrey eventually moved into professional music management and record production, and his written works include an exclusive interview with singer Vic Damone. He has been the subject of several radio and television interviews about the Great American Songbook, both in the U.K. and U.S. Littlefield continues to write, produce and direct. He has two movie screenplays in development and a documentary set for release later in 2021.
Follow author Geoffrey Littlefield on Instagram at musicheartbeat1; on Twitter at @GeoffreyLittl13; and on Facebook at NelsonRiddleBook.
Nelson Riddle: Music with a Heartbeat Publisher: Grosvenor House Publishing ISBN-10: 1839754400 ISBN-13: 978-1839754401 Available from Amazon.com, BN.com, www.getmybook.tv and many other outlets
Trish Stevens Holly McClure Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
Accomplished Musicians Honor Family’s Legacy with Three Tributes
For brothers Robert and James Freeman, who are both accomplished musicians, music and family mean everything. To honor their family’s musical legacy, which spans three generations, the brothers commissioned three breathtaking, original scores included on Three Tributes, a music CD (with an accompanying booklet), which would make a welcome addition to anyone’s collection of beautiful new music.
Three Tributes features award-winning composers Kevin Puts, Andrea Clearfield and Gunther Schuller, along with a host of world-class performers. The CD will immerse listeners in the magnificent sounds of an emotional violin solo, stunningly prestissimo strings, and the layered splendor of four hands on two pianos.
For Robert and James, a music CD seemed an appropriate way to honor their family’s multigenerational love and appreciation of music. Their parents, Henry and Florence Knope Freeman, were both children of musicians and graduated from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester in 1930.
Both Robert and James studied piano and theory at Cambridge’s Longy School while graduating from Milton Academy, and studied performance during the summers at Tanglewood, Blue Hill and Marlboro. They went on to Harvard, where each graduated with honors, followed by travelling fellowships for study in Europe.
Robert took his Ph.D. in music history at Princeton and taught there for five years before moving to MIT, where he made tenure just before moving for 24 years to the directorship of the Eastman School — his parents’ alma mater — followed by two years as president of the New England Conservatory and six as dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin.
James went straight from Harvard to Swarthmore College, where he taught and conducted for 37 years, served as departmental chair for 16 years and as Daniel Underhill Professor of Music. In 1988 he founded Philadelphia’s new music group Orchestra 2001, directing it until 2015 when he resigned to take on a new ensemble, Chamber Orchestra FIRST EDITIONS. In 1991 he was a Fulbright lecturer and conductor at the Moscow Conservatory, and has returned to Moscow many times since then to give concerts of new American music.
Both brothers have made lots of recordings, and have published their share of well-reviewed books and articles. When the idea arose to commission some original scores to honor their family legacy, Robert and James sought out music’s finest to bring their vision for Three Tributes to fruition.
Two of the composers featured on the CD have won the Pulitzer Prize. Kevin Puts is currently at work on an opera for the Metropolitan Opera. Andrea Clearfield, who took her DMA at Temple, is the founder of the Philadelphia Salon Concert Series, featuring contemporary, classical, jazz, world and electronic music, together with multimedia and spoken word arts. The late Gunther Schuller was one of the 20th Century’s music stars as composer, conductor, author and administrator. He was a great admirer of their father’s bass playing, and a good friend.
Robert and James hope that Three Tributes will inspire others to undertake similar projects. Neither of them is aware of any similar event in the history of music where two brothers from a family of professional musicians — spanning at least two generations before them — have commissioned significant works as a tribute to their parents and for future generations to enjoy.
Award-Winning Composers and World-Class Musicians Bring Three Tributes CD to Life
Immerse yourself in an emotional violin solo, get swept up by stunningly prestissimo strings, and experience the layered splendor of four hands on two pianos. Three Tributes is a music CD (with an accompanying booklet) featuring three breathtaking, original scores that would make a welcome addition to anyone’s collection of chamber orchestra music.
The CD features award-winning composers Kevin Puts, Andrea Clearfield and Gunther Schuller, along with a host of world-class performers. Three Tributes was commissioned by fellow musicians (and brothers) Robert and James Freeman as a way of honoring their family’s musical legacy, which spans three generations. Their parents, Henry and Florence Knope Freeman, were both children of musicians and graduated the Eastman School of Music in Rochester in 1930.
Both Robert and James Freeman studied piano and theory at Cambridge’s Longy School while graduating from Milton Academy, and studied performance during the summers at Tanglewood, Blue Hill and Marlboro. They went on to Harvard, where each graduated with honors, followed by travelling fellowships for study in Europe.
Robert took his Ph.D. in music history at Princeton and taught there for five years before moving to MIT, where he made tenure just before moving for 24 years to the directorship of the Eastman School — his parents’ alma mater — followed by two years as president of the New England Conservatory and six as dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin.
James went straight from Harvard to Swarthmore College, where he taught and conducted for 37 years, served as departmental chair for 16 years and as Daniel Underhill Professor of Music. In 1988 he founded Philadelphia’s new music group Orchestra 2001, directing it until 2015 when he resigned to take on a new ensemble, Chamber Orchestra FIRST EDITIONS. In 1991 he was a Fulbright lecturer and conductor at the Moscow Conservatory, and has returned to Moscow many times since then to give concerts of new American music.
Both brothers have made lots of recordings, and have published their share of well-reviewed books and articles. When the idea arose to commission some original scores to honor their family legacy, Robert and James sought out music’s finest to bring their vision for Three Tributes to fruition.
Two of the composers featured on the CD have won the Pulitzer Prize. Kevin Puts is currently at work on an opera for the Metropolitan Opera. Andrea Clearfield, who took her DMA at Temple, is the founder of the Philadelphia Salon Concert Series, featuring contemporary, classical, jazz, world and electronic music, together with multimedia and spoken word arts. The late Gunther Schuller was one of the 20th Century’s music stars as composer, conductor, author and administrator. He was a great admirer of their father’s bass playing, and a good friend.
Robert and James hope that Three Tributes will inspire others to undertake similar projects. Neither of them is aware of any similar event in the history of music where two brothers from a family of professional musicians — spanning at least two generations before them — have commissioned significant works as a tribute to their parents and for future generations to enjoy.
Three Tributes CD Available at: https://www.innova.mu/albums/james-and-robert-freeman/three-tributes
Trish Stevens Teresa Hinojosa Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 832.569.5773 Direct 281.333.3507 Phone [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com
Trish Stevens Jenny Crain-Harrison Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet, or used by any means of social media sharing)
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Global Collection Of Timeless Affirmations Brings Guidance And Wisdom
The timeless wisdom of Gandhi, Goethe, Confucius, Hugo and Nietzsche is just as meaningful today as when their words were first spoken — perhaps even more so, as humanity struggles to right its moral compass in the face of so much uncertainty in the modern world.
Civilization’s Quotations: Life’s Ideal is an extraordinary compilation of the most enduring, inspirational quotations from the greatest thinkers in world history.
Created by songwriter/musician and philosophy enthusiast Richard Alan Krieger, Civilization’s Quotations features 8,000 insightful sayings, organized by theme, to help enrich the prose of writers, inspire the minds of public speakers and provide motivational sound bites for anyone needing a meaningful boost to begin their day on the right foot.
Chinese proverbs, Roman maxims and the wisdom of writers from William Penn to Kahlil Gibran cover themes from humility and patience, to courage, will and action. The topics are arranged in a sequence that begins with birth and progresses through the seasons of the “ideal life.” When possible, each quotation flows into the next like a speech being given by one person creating a seamless stream of consciousness that Krieger calls “poetic quotation.”
While it would make a valuable reference volume, Civilization’s Quotations is meant to be read and digested from cover to cover, so that readers can feel inspired and empowered to learn and live by the examples of history’s greatest thinkers. Its wealth of inspirational affirmations offers a blueprint to guide us toward fulfilling our sense of purpose and becoming greater human beings.
Author Richard Alan Krieger (aka “Crane”) is a songwriter, musician and artist. Krieger was the lead singer/bassist/writer of the L.A. rock band Tragicomedy in the 1980s. The group rec-orded the album Homage to Nada on New Alliance Records. He played trumpet and sang back-up vocals with the iconic rock band the Minutemen and jammed on bass with D. Boon of that group in an improv band called Cosmic Joke. He also played in a conceptual art band with multi-instrumentalist and producer Richard Derrick called Another Umbrella. Krieger’s love of nature inspired him to move to Northern Idaho where he continues to enjoy writing and recording his music.
For more information about the author and to see book highlights, please visit his website at https://www.richardalankrieger.com.
Civilization’s Quotations: Life’s Ideal
Publisher: Algora Publishing
ISBN-10: 1892941767
ISBN-13: 978-1892941763
Available from Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and Algora Publishing
Trish Stevens Ascot Media Group Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 281.333.3507 Phone 832.569.5539 Fax [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com
Playing Back the 80s Takes Readers On Nostalgic Romp With Decade’s Most Memorable Hit Makers
Old Forge, PA. From Modern English and the Hooters to Bananarama and the B-52s, the music of the 1980s bounced to a distinctive beat that defined the decade as one of the last great glory eras of pop music. And thanks to the dawn of MTV and shows like “Friday Night Videos,” a generation of music lovers suddenly had faces — and often elaborately staged mini-movies — to make the music’s messages stick.
To get to the heart of what made this decade’s music so special that it still streams endlessly in businesses and on satellite radios everywhere, music journalist Jim Beviglia weaves an en-tertaining narrative of the stories behind the phenomenal pop music era in Playing Back the 80s: A Decade of Unstoppable Hits.
Anyone who’s ever rocked a mullet or painstakingly made a mix tape will find memories in every line of lyrics as Beviglia delves deep into the creative process with artists such as Huey Lewis, Rick Springfield, Kim Carnes, Vernon Reid, Dennis DeYoung, Colin Hay and Eddie Money. All told, Playing Back the 80s features original interviews with more than 60 artists, producers, session players, writers and others who were directly involved with the most memorable songs of the decade, sharing the stories of how they created — often against im-posing odds and in the midst of bizarre circumstances — the unstoppable hits and unherald-ed gems that still enchant so many fans today.
Playing Back the 80s will have music fans pulling their old cassettes out of storage and re-membering when and where they heard the songs first. For those who didn’t grow up in the 80s, this endlessly fun book will show them what the fuss was all about and maybe reveal a few surprises along the way.
Jim Beviglia is the author of Counting Down Bob Dylan: His 100 Finest Songs; Counting Down Bruce Springsteen: His 100 Finest Songs; Counting Down The Rolling Stones: Their 100 Finest Songs; and Counting Down The Beatles: Their 100 Finest Songs, all published by Rowman & Littlefield. In addition, Beviglia is the featured writer at American Songwriter mag-azine, where he writes about both new and classic artists for the print and online editions. He also hosts his own blog at countdownkid.wordpress.com, where he focuses on the back cata-logs of some of rock and pop’s greatest artists and songwriters.
Playing Back The 80s: A Decade Of Unstoppable Hits
Release date: November 15, 2018
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN-10: 1538116391
ISBN-13: 978-1538116395
Available from all online booksellers, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Walmart, plus the Rowman & Littlefield website at rowman.com
