Tag Archives: Oswald George Okaitei

World Poetry Celebrates WP Director Oswald Okaitei!

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Ariadne.s Notes: The World Poetry Cafe CFRO 100.5 FM with hosts Ariadne Sawyer and Victor Swartzman proudly presents Oswald Okaitei,

First Book launch for Aabha Rosy Vatsa from India with her new book: The Gift of Life, Kindle.

Stories by Sharon Rowe and Victor Shwartzman.

On now on the World Poetry Cafe Radio Show featured e-poet: Oswald Okaitei and World Poetry Director!

Listen to the show! http://www.coopradio.org/content/world-poetry-caf%C3%A9-92

FOR THE SAVERS OF LIFE

(For the Frontline Workers)

And for cyclic seasons

—Now and ever—

We shall pronounce your names

And write you down in the pages of history:

We shall tell

The come afters of your bravery

And altruism—which you

Offered to save a life from the venom of this pandemic;

We shall speak of

How you chose to carry the cross of thorns

For men: bleeding to death

That life should not fall at the feet of an army of viruses;

And, we shall tell of

How you saw devouring flames roaring at you

And yet, never chose

To choose your lives over the lives of the many.

Yes, today is night

But for your unceasing strives, the sun

Shall find its way

Up in the sky again for a new day

And then we

Shall come back to life again, renewed;

And shall hug again,

And kiss again, and shake hands again…

But till then,

Savers of life, the war is still on

So be safe & be sure

To return home after this long scary night!

All rights reserved. (C)

Oswald Okaitei © 2020

Oswald Okaitei is a multi-award-winning young Ghanaian poet, spoken word artiste, and a playwright. He is currently a World Poetry Director in Ghana and has eight poetry collections to his credit. As one of the promising fresh breaths to poetry spoken word, he has shared performing platforms with poetry /spoken word legends as Prof. Atukwei Okai, Prof. Kofi Anyidoho, Muta Baruka, Rocky Dawuni, among others. Oswald represented Ghana at the 2016 Storymoja Festival in Kenya and Babishai Poetry Festival in Uganda. In 2016, he has judged the Pan-African Poet/Spoken word artiste in Ghana. This poem comes at the time when the whole world has come together as one people in a common fight against one.

We are so proud of him! He is a shining light in the world.

World Poetry Celebrates Romain Collins!

Ariadne’s Notes: On May 23 from 1-2 pm PST, the World Poetry Café radio show , CFRO 100.5 FM, went around the world with poets and musicians from Bhutan, Ghana, the US and Canada! I will doing a feature on each one.

The lovely release of the CD Tiny Lights was featured with the visionary Romain Collins at 1:30 pm PST was a highlight in the show. I love the quote:

” Tiny Lights are a reflection of your personal and unaffected blueprint. They symbolize the ceaseless intuition that flickers deep within, they push you to follow your true north, to peruse a vision that belongs to you and you alone. They are the expression of your primal light force and drive you to become all you can become. Tiny lights live inside of everyone.” Romain Collins.

To find out about shows in the US and Europe, go to https://www.romaincollin.com/

LISTEN TO THE SHOW HERE!

Tiny Lights release:
Described by NPR as “a visionary composer, an extraordinary jazz pianist and a very bright young rising star in the jazz world”, and touted by the Boston Globe as being “among the leading lights of a new breed of jazz players”, Romain Collin continues to develop “a highly personal and contemporary vision” (A Blog Supreme, NPR), blurring the lines between virtuosic improvisation, sound designing, indie rock and classical music. About to release his new brainchild, Tiny Lights…, Collin keeps developing “a unique voice, a crystal clear vision” (UK VIBE), making his mark on the New York scene, as well as internationally. Tiny Lights… is a unique project that features Obed Calvaire playing acoustic and electronic drums, Matthew Stevens on electric guitar and Collin on piano, vocal effects and Moog Taurus- a bass pedal synthesizer. Two numbers on the record also feature the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 2009, Collin released his debut as a leader, The Rise and Fall of Pipokuhn (Fresh Sound), a record described as “an astonishingly mature and ambitious debut that secures Collin a placeholder in the continuing evolution of the grand tradition of the piano trio” (All About Jazz). The album made New York jazz critic David Adler’s list of notable debuts of 2009 and got radio airplay throughout France, Japan and the US – including a special feature on WNYC Culture program. Collin was soon after invited by legendary pianist Marian McPartland to her prestigious Piano Jazz show on NPR to discuss his artistic vision and to perform solo piano.
In 2012, Collin released his second album as a leader, The Calling (Palmetto). The record was produced by Matt Pierson and features Kendrick Scott on drums and Luques Curtis on bass, a band of “astonishing capabilities, filling a landscape of incredible expanse” (All About Jazz). The Calling has been described as “a tour de force that showcases Collin’s strengths as an accomplished composer and virtuoso pianist of the highest order” (JazzEd Magazine), and as “a work of art that is worthy of being held onto for generations to come” (Eric Sandler, The Revivalist).
Collin’s third release, Press Enter (ACT, 2015) features once again Scott on drums and Curtis on bass. This record was described by the New York Times as a “winning new album”, hailed by Jazz journal, UK as an “absolute masterpiece” and praised by All About Jazz as an “extraordinary album”. The group has toured in major venues and festivals throughout France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, the United States and Japan.
Romain, originally born in France, attended Berklee College of Music (’04), where he studied performance with the likes of Dave Liebman and Joe Lovano while majoring in Music Synthesis. In 2007, Collin graduated from the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz where he held a Full Scholarship as the pianist of an ensemble handpicked by Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Terence Blanchard. During this time, Romain toured internationally with Hancock and Shorter, shared the stage with Marcus Miller, Jimmy Heath, and Terence Blanchard, and studied with the likes of Larry Goldings, Russell Ferrante, Ron Carter, Charlie Haden, Mulgrew Miller and Wynton Marsalis.
While furthering his career as a leader, Romain co-leads a group with harmonica virtuoso Gregoire Maret, that features guitarist Bill Frisell- the trio recorded Americana (ACT, 2019). Romain has also composed orchestra scores for Anthem and Syria, two mini-documentaries produced by Peace Nobel Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai and her fund. Other scoring works include various short documentaries for the United Nations Refugee Agency and for the Gates Foundation, Le Bresil par la Cote (five-part feature documentary, 2014), Les Airventuriers (two-part feature documentary, 2015), as well as numerous award-wining short movies. Collin has taught improvisation at the New School of Music in New York, and was invited to teach film scoring at Princeton University as a guest lecturer.

With thanks to our partners Braitwaite and Katz for sending such great artists.

World Poetry Celebrates Well Known Musican Ernie Krivda!

Ariadne’s Notes: The World Poetry Café Radio, August 2, CFRO 100.5 FM welcomed poet Herb Bryce from Canada at 1:10 PM, PST and Ernie Krivda celebrating his new CD A Bright and Shinning Moment, at 1:30 PM, PST. www.erniekrivda.com

Thanks to Braithwaite and Katz for the publicity.

Also featured was Kathleen Ward, the award winning poet from the Lincoln Poetry Club, one of our new partners. A wonderful opening poem by Prof. Atukwei Okai who was one of the greatest poets in Ghana & Africa. A tribute poem to him was written by the World Poetry Theatre Director Oswald George Okaitei.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW HERE!

Ernie Krivda :

“No doubt about it, Ernie Krivda is one of the originals of the tenor saxophone” wrote Bill Donaldson for Cadence Magazine about the legendary jazz musician whose 6th decade on the music scene is already filled with a variety of accomplishment. The tenor saxophonist is regarded by critics such as the late Harvey Pekar as “one of the best jazz tenor men in the world”. The composer has written countless compositions in multiple genres. The recording artist has well over thirty albums released on a number of record labels with more on the way. The teacher has former students performing and recording all over the world.
In 2009 Ernie Krivda received the Cleveland Arts Prize award for lifetime achievement in music and the lifetime of achievement continues. Krivda who has recently won the Jazz Legends award from Cleveland’s Tri-C jazz Festival and a CPAC (Community Partnership of Arts and Culture) Fellowship worth twenty thousand dollars, continues with great energy and passion career that spans over 50 years.
“Ernie Krivda almost blew the sun out of the sky…still at the top of his game…” – Detroit Metro Times.

“No doubt about it, Ernie Krivda is one of the originals of the tenor saxophone” wrote Bill Donaldson for Cadence Magazine about the legendary jazz musician whose 6th decade on the music scene is already filled with a variety of accomplishment. The tenor saxophonist is regarded by critics such as the late Harvey Pekar as “one of the best jazz tenor men in the world”. The composer has written countless compositions in multiple genres. The recording artist has well over thirty albums released on a number of record labels with more on the way. The teacher has former students performing and recording all over the world.
In 2009 Ernie Krivda received the Cleveland Arts Prize award for lifetime achievement in music and the lifetime of achievement continues. Krivda who has recently won the Jazz Legends award from Cleveland’s Tri-C jazz Festival and a CPAC (Community Partnership of Arts and Culture) Fellowship worth twenty thousand dollars, continues with great energy and passion career that spans over 50 years.
“Ernie Krivda almost blew the sun out of the sky…still at the top of his game…” – Detroit Metro Times
The journey in music that began under his musician father Lou’s influence from almost birth to his tutelage at age 6 has taken him from polka bands in his early teens, classes at The Cleveland Institute of Music, the bands of Cleveland greats Eddie Bachus and Bill DeArango in the jazz clubs of Cleveland, to a life in music that includes the mentorship of Cannonball Adderley, tours with Quincy Jones, performances with musicians such as Ell Fitzgerald, Phil Woods, Sarah Vaughn, Buddy DeFranco, Groove Holmes, Terry Gibbs, John Faddis, The Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra, David Sanborn, Jackie Wilson and concerts with his own groups at Jazz Clubs and Festivals all over the world.
The musical journey goes on with a new recording for Capri Records, “A Bright and Shining Moment,” released in June 2018 and touring that will give audiences an opportunity to hear “The sound that sets him apart” (Applegate Music Review), and the musician that the venerable Jazz Journal (of the UK) calls “both classic and brand new” The Legend Continues.
“[Ernie] brandishes one of the most ravishing and distinctive sounds in music – a vibrant, rawboned tone colored by an impassioned vibrato.”
– David Dupont, One Final Note, Jazz & Improvised Music Webzine

Sources: Ernie Krivda’ s Website and Braithwaite and Katz .