Posted on 08 March 2010
Wynton Marsalis urges action in Washington to address vital national issues.
By Adoria Doucette
Jazz at Lincoln Center Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis and United States Senator Roland Burris
Two Power Source veterans Senator Roland Burris and Wynton Marsalis connected at the Kennedy Center recently as the Washington Performing Arts Society presented Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, featuring Wynton Marsalis.
After working into the night and participating in a late vote on the Senate floor, Senator Roland Burris was welcomed by Marsalis into his dressing room while senior members of the orchestra and the Senators private assistant feasted on authentic New Orleans gumbo. Marsalis voiced his concerns about the state of affairs around the country, and he urged Senator Burris to continue to do all that he could in the Senate to further the cause of those who are most in need. Power Source commends these two gentlemen for their respective examples of excellence in their professions, and their joint devotion to improving the lives of Americans who are currently experiencing difficult times.
Posted on 11 January 2010
The region’s most exciting and intelligent Jazz composer, Marcus Johnson is a true renaissance man.
By Adoria Doucette
CEO, Artist, Renaissance Man: Marcus Johnson
Marcus Johnson is quite popular and the first choice of many people in the area and around the world when a well-rounded entertainer is needed. Mr. Johnson and his wife Rhonda are the quintessential Washingtonians. Highly educated, professionally successful and culturally active, this power couple exudes purposeful movement. Johnson has 11 albums all of which have made their way to the top of Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz chart, evidence that he possesses immeasurable talent. Read the full story
Posted on 07 December 2009
UN Goodwill Ambassador and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer-musician Wynton Marsalis is awarded the French Legion of Honor and has completed a monumental American intellectual achievement, the symphonic work, Blues Symphony.
By Adoria Doucette
Wynton Marsalis
From the moment he was the first artist to win Grammy awards in two different musical categories, Wynton Marsalis has been widely regarded as a musical genius. Marsalis has a constant presence in the nation’s capital at the White House and Kennedy Center, helping preserve and shape the cultural identity of our nation.
Posted on 18 July 2009
Sheila Johnson and Brandford Marsalis
Location: The Kennedy Center
WL SPONSORED – Photos by Kyle Samperton
ALL THAT JAZZ: On the closing night of the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, which included 100 performances in nearly 50 venues across the city, Ellis Marsalis and sons Branford, Wynton, Delfeayo, and Jason, as well as close family friend Harry Connick Jr. and the Kennedy Center’s Billy Taylor, turned Washington into a slice of New Orleans. CELEBRATING A MASTER: Ellis Marsalis: The tribute to the great musician brought the very talented family to Washington to honor their legendary father with family tales, incredible music, and poems read by son Ellis Marsalis III. And when the second encore had Harry Connick Jr. and the entire Marsalis family parading and playing down the aisles with cowbells, trumpets, and even an umbrella, the sold-out crowd was on its feet dancing in front of the stage and following the musicians grooving across the theater. PLAYING ALONG: Chair of the DEJF Ovation Society Sheila Johnson, honorary chair Thomas Hale Boggs, founder and executive producer of the DEJF Charles Fishman, Sunny Sumter, and Steven Stolman.
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Posted on 19 June 2009
Barbara Gordon, June Libin, and Bonnie McElveen-Hunter
Location: Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
WL SPONSORED – Photos by Kyle Samperton
BLOWN AWAY: When the most renowned jazz musician and trumpter of his generation is the featured entertainment, your event is bound to be spectacular. Special guest artist Wynton Marsalis treated revelers to a set of swing-era jazz that matched perfectly with the roaring ‘20s “Cotton Club” theme. STEPPING OUT: The local dance troupe Step Afrika! performed after dinner and Tina Mather stepped up the auction action with a winning bid/donation of $45,000 for a private concert with violinist Gil Shaham. Corporate chairman Reggie Van Lee showed his own smooth moves as well by contributing a private dinner at his New York condominium, where an infamous Sex and The City balcony scene was shot.
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Posted on 01 June 2009
Honoring John Whitehead, “Living Goddesses,” and jazzy cocktails in Georgetown.
By Donna Shor
John and Cynthia Whitehead.
A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
Accompanied by strains from Balogh’s Gypsy Cimbalom Band and the stamping feet of the Tisza Folk Dancers, the Hungarian American Coalition honored John Whitehead, banker, diplomat and “outstanding American.”
Why outstanding? Let us count the ways – at least a few, since this column isn’t long enough to list them all.
As a U.S. Navy commander, Whitehead, was aboard LCV landing craft at bloody Omaha Beach during the D-Day invasion of World War II. A decade later, he aided Hungarian Freedom Fighters as Soviet tanks rolled in to crush their struggle for independence. But this action hero also served as deputy secretary of state in the Reagan years, co-chaired Goldman Sachs, was chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and helped direct the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan after 9/11.
Whitehead, 86, holds a coveted Presidential Citizens Medal as well as the International Rescue Committee Freedom Award – fellow awardees include Sir Winston Churchill, Elie Wiesel, John McCain, Bill Clinton, and Lech Walesa – and he serves on the boards of a score of think tanks, charities, and biomedical research groups.
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Posted on 01 March 2007
Kick-start or rekindle love within a 3-hour drive.
By Michael Clements
The il Duomo room at Swann House
About 30 minutes into our drive from Adams Morgan to the Eastern Shore town of Chestertown, Md., my girlfriend turned to me and inquired, “What do you think defines romance?” Although in the midst of a romantic “getaway weekend,” I grasped for a rousing retort. When nothing came to mind, I fell haplessly back to the ole’ male stand by, “You know, flowers and things…?” Later that night, as I slept on a sofa, I realized roses were simply by-products of love. True romance is about moments and gestures that transcend the ordinary and move our relationships out of the ordinary. My answer should have been, romance is about surprise and finding the unexpected, be it minuet or grandiose.
One way to accomplish this is to simply escape. It doesn’t have to be a weekend in Paris or Marrakech, or some remote 5-star luxury cottage on stilts somewhere on an abandoned Fijian island (although, that would be nice.) Romance, being the fickle cohort that it is, can be rekindled or ignited just as easily close to home – heart-felt intent and quality time trump expensive timeshares any day. Whether you have been married for 33 years or dating just for three months, here are three regional inns that will help you define romance close to home.
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