Wanda's Picks

Since I started this segment of my weekly broadcasts, it's been rare that I have just featured prerecorded interviews. I guess I will just have to write the stories :-) That said, this week I will feature a segment from an interview with Dr. Ysaye M. Barnwell, a member of Sweet Honey in the Rock, who performed this past weekend at SFJAZZ. Yes, they were marvelous! Dressed in lovely black flared skirts, some of the women in boots, the tops jackets, tunics or two-piece affairs. They took us on an American journey, a soul journey, a cleansing and thoughtprovoking often painful journey during the concert at the lovely Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. There were empty seats in the orchestra. I don't know what it looked like in the balcony--it would have been nice if people were invited down to fill in the space, but it was full nonetheless. The extended set, which began late to accommodate those of us wading through the Love Fest ending just outside the doors on the streets of San Francisco's Civic Center, took many selections from the groups 35 year old songbook as well as their latest CD: Experience 101. The concert was co-sponsored by the San Francisco Links, an organization that offers scholarships to girls for college. When I went backstage I met a few of the singers and other fans, some whom I knew. I think I danced back to BART. It was a great evening! After the prerecorded interview, I spoke to Tracey Nails-Bell, owner of A Diamond in the Rough, an image consultancy which works with women reentering society, others who have economic hardships, struggling single female headed households, who want to do something with their lives, but might need guidance and support getting there.