African Heritage Day

Thursday, February 23, 2007 

New Mount Olive Baptist Church
400 Northwest 9th Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311    

954-463-5126

JAZZ WOMEN

Born December 27, in Hollywood, Florida, Cynthia Strachan is an author, vocalist, songwriter and actress. Her repertoire includes Adult Contemporary, Jazz, Standards and R&B. Cynthia received her formal musical training at Bethune-Cookman College, in Daytona Beach, FL. Her debut CD, "Love Glow" was produced by notable singer Jon Lucien and is available, online at  www.cdbaby.com/cd/juscynthia

Cynthia's new book, PROMISES FROM THE PALMETTO BUSH (2006), chronicles the beginnings of Carver Ranches tells a story that was in danger of fading away.

T V Credits:

• Muhammad Ali's "The Greatest" (an extra) Miami, FL
• TBN/The 700 Club (A drowning victim dramatization) St. Thomas, VI
• VI Telephone Co. (2 commercials)
• Anti-Litter & Beautification Co., St. Thomas, VI (2 commercials)
• Theater Credits: Glenda in "THE WIZ", St. Thomas, VI
• Helene in "SWEET CHARITY", St. Thomas, VI
• Timoune in "ONCE ON THIS ISLAND", Miami,
• Mother Ruth in "DOUBLE LIVES", Miami, FL
• Billie in "A Tribute to Billie Holiday",
• Ella in "A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald",

Performances: Aboard the S/S Norway Cruiseship

• Opened for Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose, Panama City, FL
• Performed with Dave Valentine, St. Thomas Chuck Mangione Concert, St. Thomas, VI
• Opened for Faith Evans and Musique Soul Child, St. Thomas, VI
• Opened for Jon Lucien, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• Pan African Book & Jazz Fest Performed with Sherry Winston, Miami, FL
• "2 Dames & 2 Divas European Tour (Caustic Dames & Joan Cartwright)
• Ojays Concert reception, Miami, FL
• Ellington's Jazz Bar & Restaurant Sanibel Island, FL

Record Credits:

• Wrote, produced & perform jingle for VI Telephone Company
• Wrote, produced & perform jingle for Ant-Litter & Beautification
  Debut CD, LOVE GLOW, produced by Jon Lucien

Memberships:

• ASCAP Writer
• ASCAP Artist
• CD Baby
• AWAC ( African World Artist Collective)

BLUES WOMEN

Born in Memphis, TN, on April 1, 1895, Alberta Hunter is the "Grand Dame of the Blues". She was a celebrated singer,  songwriter and nurse. Her career  started in the early 1920s, and she became a successful Jazz recording artist. She was a colleague of Ethel Waters and Bessie Smith. She left home, in her teens and settled in Chicago, where she hounded club owners by night, determined to land a singing job. Her persistence paid off and Alberta began a climb through some of the city's lowest dives to a headlining job at its most elegant night spot, the Dreamland Café. Her career flourished as both singer and writer ("Down Hearted Blues", "Handy Man" and "Rough and Ready Man"), in the 1920s and 1930s, and she appeared in clubs and on stage in musicals in both New York and London.

In 1928, Hunter played "Queenie" in the first London production of Show Boat at Drury Lane. She was active as a volunteer during World War II. Following the war, her career lost momentum. By the early 1950s, the death of her mother and career frustrations caused Hunter to abandon the music industry. She prudently reduced her age, "invented" a high school diploma, and enrolled in nursing school, embarking on what was apparently a highly fulfilling career in health care.

She was working at New York's Goldwater Memorial Hospital, in 1961, when record producer Chris Albertson asked her to break an 11-year absence from the recording studio. The result was her recording of four songs on a Prestige Bluesville Records album entitled "Songs We Taught Your Mother." The following month, Albertson recorded her for the Riverside label, reuniting her with Lil Armstrong and Lovie Austin, with whom she had performed in the 1920s. Hunter had no plans to return to singing. She was prepared to devote the rest of her life to nursing, but the hospital retired her in 1977. She was over 80.