Mirror Tent Music Presents a Dazzling Night of Blues & Gospel Music FRANCINE REED
With Special Guests: The Reed Family and Total Experience Gospel Choir
Beloved songstress and blues powerhouse, Francine Reed will be delighting audiences in the spiegeltent Wednesday, August 29th as a part of Teatro ZinZanni's Mirror Tent Music series. Her first set features gospel favorites to turn even the most devilish diva into a saint. Stick around for her second set featuring soulful blues music guaranteed to bring out the sinner in us all. From Saint to Sinner in One Night!
Date: ONE NIGHT ONLY, Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Place: Teatro ZinZanni Spiegeltent 222 Mercer St.
Showtime: Doors at 6:00
Bacon & Shrimp Polenta Cakes with Red Pepper Remoulade
Crunchy bacon and tender shrimp in a savory polenta cake with zesty red pepper remoulade
$4.50
Creole Steak & Bleu Bites
Hand cut tenderloin bites sautéed with a rich demi glace and served with Cabrales Bleu Cheese crumbles
$9.00
Cajun Popcorn
Our spicy in house blend on fresh popped popcorn
$2.00
Cornbread Baskets with Honey Butter
House baked cornbread served with clover honey butter
$3.50
BBQ Pork Stuffed Hush Puppies
Savory slow cooked pork tossed in a rich, decadent BBQ sauce stuffed in a freshly baked hush puppy
$7.00
Chilled Crayfish Pasta Salad
Tender crawfish tails cooked in a court bouillon, served chilled in fresh herb and vegetable pasta tossed with spicy cream dressing
$5.50
Huckleberry Cheesecake with Vanilla Whip
Our friends at The Confectional bring us this offering to pay homage to the Finn in us all, topped with a fresh vanilla whipped cream
$4.50
Watch: Francine Reed Live in the Spiegeltent
Francine Reed
Originally from Illinois, Francine has toured worldwide appearing with greats including Miles Davis, Stanley Jordan, Smokey Robinson, Etta James and the Crusaders. Since 1985 she has toured with Lyle Lovett and his Large Band. Ms. Reed has also appeared on recordings by Delbert McClinton, Willie Nelson and Roy Orbison. In the 1990s, Francine released her first solo album, I Want You to Love Me and received the W.C. Handy Artist of the Year and Song of the Year nominations. (The W. C. Handy awards were re-named the Blues Music Awards in 2006). Reed was inducted into the Arizona Blues Hall of Fame in 1997. She currently resides in Georgia.
Reed is perhaps best known for her performances of the classic blues song "Wild Women (Don't Get the Blues)," written in 1924 by Ida Cox. A recording of this song appears on Reed's albums, I Want You to Love Me, I Got a Right!...to Some of My Best,, and Blues Collection; as well as on Ichiban Record Wild Women Do Get the Blues and Lyle Lovett's Live in Texas.
The Reed Family
The mighty Reed family began their singing careers in 1946 when they were just little kids singing on a Chicago, Illinois church program that was broadcast on the radio. The Reeds consisted of Margo, Michael, Tony, Laverne, Melody, Bucko, Francine and their mother, Girlie. The family patriarch, Leonard Reed, was also performing on this program with his own group, The Original Singing Crusaders.
The first member of the Reed family to move to Phoenix was Margo. She arrived here in 1973 and quickly found her way to her first gig. One of her first sets was at the legendary Century Sky Room in Phoenix and she quickly became a regular performer there. Little by little, the entire family moved to Arizona and several of them began appearing at various local nightclubs. Reed family members have been performing all around the Phoenix metro area since the early 1970s, and they are some of the finest musicians and vocalists in the city's history.
Francine is a hard working jazz/blues singer who burned the town down with her hot bands and fiery vocals. She eventually became a featured part of Lyle Lovett's touring band and sang on all his early recordings. Later, she was Willie Nelson's backup vocalist. She is still working hard and touring around the country and the world.
Margo's understated, emotional and heartfelt jazz singing is nothing short of magnificent. Her backup musicians have always been absolutely the best in the business.
Big brother Michael was the bass player in the family. His many careers have included being a police and parole officer and a martial arts instructor. His deep voice and funky bass are a major institution in this town. He has kept busy as a musician for almost 40 years.
Youngest brother Bucko was a popular drummer and singer. He performed with many of the top local bands that made their marks in the reggae, rock and R&B scenes in Phoenix. One his most notable bands was known as The Effects. Bucko passed away in 2004.
Their late brother, Tony, organized the first Reed Family Show in Phoenix as a benefit for Reyes' syndrome research. The best part of the year for many jazz fans in Phoenix is always the annual Christmas show when the whole family gets up onstage and performs together. If you haven't seen the Reed Family Christmas Show, you are missing out on a major part of our musical heritage.
Telluride, Colorado became a second home for many of the Reeds after they took the town by storm at the Telluride Jazz festival in 1982. Several of them eventually moved for awhile to Telluride, holding court at the local clubs and performing at the music festivals. They all now live in Arizona except Melody and Francine.
Total Experience Gospel Choir
Total Experience Gospel Choir was organized in September 1973 at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church of Seattle. The core group represented members of the “Black Experience Gospel Choir” of Roosevelt High School and the Franklin High School Gospel Choir of Seattle. United, the choir became known as “Total Experience Gospel Choir”. When the choirs merged, the community’s children were also invited to participate. And, participate – they did! The choir’s numbers grew to 108 within the first two months, with the youngest person being 8 years old. Today the choir’s ages range from 10 to 65. Since their inception, MUCH history has taken place. The choir has become known nationally and internationally. Their travels have taken them to 36 contiguous states as well as Hawaii and Alaska – for a total of 38 states. They have performed on 5 continents and in 28 countries.
Total Experience Gospel Choir has over 150 awards and recognitions locally, statewide, nationally and internationally. They have performed on the same billing with the late Dr. James Cleveland, founder of the 60,000 strong Gospel Music Workshop of America; Quincy Jones; Ray Charles; the Hawkins Family of “Oh Happy Day” fame; Take Six – award winning acapella group; Mormon Tabernacle Choir; Winans; Michael Bolton; Sweet Honey in the Rock; The Judds; Charlie Daniel; Pete Seeger; Steely Dan; Olympia Dukakis; Chuck Mangione; Foreigner and many others.
Total Experience Gospel Choir is a regular performer of the National Anthem at many professional sports events as well as halftime activities. They have been the featured group for eleven seasons of Langston Hughes’ play “Black Nativity” at Seattle’s Intiman Theater. Each performance is SRO for 25-30 shows per season (month of December). They are the featured voices of many local and some national commercials as well.
