Wanda's Picks Special:

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!

1. Opera Parallèle’s Harriet’s Spirit with Tiffany Austin as Harriet Tubman on Jan. 18, at 6 pm, Jan. 20, at 10 am and 1 pm at the Buriel Clay Theater of the African American Art and Culture Complex, 762 Fulton Street in San Francisco. Suggested donation for tix: $5-$15. Make Reservations at: https://opharrietsspirit.bpt.me

Tiffany Austin (Harriet Tubman): One of the West Coast’s fastest rising jazz vocalists, Tiffany Austin is a classically trained singer who delivers a fiery blend of blues and classic swing. A graduate of UC Berkeley’s Boalt School of Law who has lived and performed on three continents, Austin decided to forgo a career as a lawyer to focus on music, her true passion.  Her 2015 debut album Nothing But Soul earned positive reviews, including four stars from Downbeat Magazine and an NPR Fresh Air radio feature. Austin is currently working on her second album, Unbroken, scheduled for release in early 2018.

2. W. Kamau Bell, radio and TV host, comedian, joins us to talk about his Playlist at OEB Symphony this Friday, Jan. 19.

3. From the Archives: Destiny Muhammad plays Alice Coltrane (aired Aug. 9, 2017).