Randal Pinkett -][- Black Faces in White Places [Book]

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African, Randal Pinkett, The Apprentice

10 Game-Changing Strategies to Achieve Success and Find Greatness [Hardcover]

Randal Pinkett - BLACK FACES in WHITE PLACES

If the name Randal Pinkett sounds familiar, it may be because Pinkett was the first African-American winner on The Apprentice. When he won, this black man also became the only contestant to be asked to share his victory with a white woman. The request (and Pinkett’s subsequent refusal) set off a firestorm of controversy that inevitably focused on the issue of race in the American workplace and in society. For generations, African-Americans have been told that to succeed, they need to work twice as hard as everyone else. But as millions of black Americans were reminded by Pinkett’s experience, sometimes hard work is not enough.

Black Faces in White Places is about “the game” that is, the competitive world in which we all live and work. The book of fers 10 revolutionary strategies for playing, mastering, and changing the game for the current generation, while under taking a whole sale redefinition of the rules for those who will follow.

It is not only about shattering the old “glass ceiling,” but also about examining the four dimensions of the contemporary black experience: identity, society, meritocracy, and opportunity. Ultimately, it is about changing the very concept of success itself. Based on the authors’ considerable experiences in business, in the public eye, and in the minority, the book shows how African-American professionals can (and must) think and act both Entrepreneurially and “Intrapreneurially,” combine their collective strengths with the wisdom of others, and plant the seeds of a positive and lasting legacy. –Amazon.com | Product Description

..:: Source: Amazon.com ::..

ObliqSound News: Michael Olatuja at CMJ Music Marathon

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African, African American, Bass, British, Michael Olatuja

Michael Olatuja Speaks

Bakithi Kumalo | Transmigration

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African, Bass, Funk, Jazz

“While we’re only six years into it, ‘Transmigration‘ may very well be the most important jazz album of the 21st century thus far.” —Ray Ellis –

Bakithi Kumalo | Transmigration – [Bakithi Kumalo Music, 2007]

Bakithi Kumalo, Transmigration

A native of Soweto Township outside Johannesburg, South Africa, Bakithi Kumalo (Paul Simon’s “Graceland“) creates a singular electric fretless bass sound that teems with double stops that sound like human voices and the African grooves of his homeland and has garnered him a stellar reputation as a sideman.

In addition to touring with Simon on his current North American tour, he’s also recorded and/or toured with the likes of Gloria Estefan, Chaka Khan, Harry Belafonte, Gerald Albright, Miriam Makeba, Josh Groban and Chris Botti. Kumalo breaks fertile new ground with his latest CD, ‘Transmigration,’ on Guru Project.

Source: CDBaby.com

ObliqSound Artists On Tour Now!

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African, Bassist, Brazilian, Culture, Female Vocalist, International, Jazz, Keyboards, Male Vocalist

ObliqSound is pleased to announce a full fall tour schedule and lots of chances for you to enjoy some fantastic music live and in person, including Gretchen Parlato, Ablaye Cissoko & Volker Goetze on their first USA tour, Ayelet Rose Gottlieb, Somi, and many more! We hope you’ll join us for an opportunity to enjoy these exceptional artists at one or more of their shows. More details and dates are below.

Listen to streaming tracks from these new releases in the ObliqSound music player, and if you like what you hear, use coupon code FALLTOUR in your shopping cart to save 20% off anything on our site, including pre-orders.

Gretchen Parlato

Gretchen Parlato’s voice is a thing of wonder. Striking the ideal balance between precision and flexibility, she is never predictable, blurring the lines between singer and instrumentalist as she takes a lyric–and at other times improvised flights of wordless fancy–to places it’s never before been. On In a Dream, her debut album for ObliqSound, Parlato and her intuitive support team reinvent constantly, Parlato impeccably articulating in a voice so ethereal that the listener might very well feel that he or she is “in a dream.”

“The most alluring jazz vocal album of 2009.” – Billboard Magazine

Somi | If The Rains Come First

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African, African American, Female Vocalist, Jazz, Somi, Soul

I’m ecstatic about introducing to you jazz/soul vocalist Somi, and her stunning new recording “If The Rain Comes First” on the creative, and innovative label with an international vibe ObliqSound. ~ The Urban Flux

Somi

Somi | If The Rains Come First [ObliqSound, 2009]

ObliqSound is pleased to announce the signing of vocalist and songwriter Somi, whose label debut will release in October 2009. A finalist in the prestigious John Lennon Songwriting Contest for her single ?Ingele? from her critically acclaimed album Red Soil In My Eyes on Harmonia Mundi, Somi showcased this year at SXSW and will be a featured performer at the upcoming Montreal Jazz Festival this July.

Born in Illinois to East African parents and having also lived in Zambia, Kenya and Tanzania, Somi is a true daughter of the New African world. Her upcoming album will include a guest performance by legendary South African Hugh Masekela.

Release Date: October 13, 2009

Source: ObliqSound.com … for more information about this outstanding artist please visit her web site somimusic.com ….

Quantic | Tradition In Transition

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African, Latin, World Music

Quantic | Tradition In Transition

Quantic

On the crest of a burgeoning worldwide wave of interest in the lesser-tapped sources of music from the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa, Quantic and his Combo Bárbaro are leading the charge. The stunning album, `Tradition In Transition’, will see this international cast of acclaimed musical creators fusing those rediscovered psychedelic, experimental and rhythmically rich sounds of the past with deep funk and soul elements, giving life to an explosive sonic snapshot of the eclectic and ever-evolving musical landscape of the Americas.

In crafting the sound of Quantic and his Combo Bárbaro, Holland felt it was imperative to have the core stable of musicians in the same room, creating an organic dialogue between them – a simple rule which, in an age of drum machines, samples and voice correction, is all too often overlooked. People will be instinctively drawn time and again to revisit the music made in this traditional, substantial way, undoubtedly because strange, unexpected things take place, musicians improvise and exciting musical statements are made, and this was the environment needed for the recording of `Tradition In Transition’. The result is a multi-cultural patchwork – a record bathed but not exclusively rooted in Colombian musical culture, embracing the musical range of all the American continent – honouring and utilising its contributors’ individual backgrounds while conjuring up a unique brand of contemporary music that is a joy and a celebration to listen to, and a live experience that defies comparison.

Source: Amazon.com

South African musical legend Miriam Makeba dies

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African, Culture, Female Vocalist

Miriam Makeba

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) — Miriam Makeba, the South African singer who wooed the world with her sultry voice but was banned from her own country for more than 30 years under apartheid, died after collapsing on stage in Italy. She was 76.

In her dazzling career, Makeba performed with musical legends from around the world — jazz maestros Nina Simone and Dizzy Gillespie, Harry Belafonte, Paul Simon — and sang for world leaders such as John F. Kennedy and Nelson Mandela.

“Her haunting melodies gave voice to the pain of exile and dislocation which she felt for 31 long years. At the same time, her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us,” Mandela said in a statement. – AP