Thursday, December 3, 2015

Ease on down 2 Bronzeville to watch The Wiz LIVE!



Ease on down ... 
Ease on down the road...♪♬ 
to Bronzeville 
to watch the WIZ Live! …
at our newest elegant coffeehouse ...
SAPA's Coffee & Juice 
located at the garden level 
3428 S Dr Martin Luther King Jr Dr 

Chicago,Illinois
(312) 846-6697
7pm

Friday, September 25, 2015

Unveiling VISIONS at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture



Unveiling VISIONS at the Schomberg Center 
for Research in Black Culture 
The New York Public Library
Curated by John Jennings and Reynaldo Anderson 
On view starting September 25, 2015.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Composer Keyboardist Aki Antonia...Live on the Air on WHPK 88.5 on the Jazz Supreme Show

Inside the WHPK 88.5 studio (University of Chicago).. after tonight's program…Wednesday, August 6, 2015….. after appearing on Vaughn Wilson's Jazz Supreme Show… 
playing my keys ...live on the air…  
I talked with Vaughn about mi musica…mi vida (My life as a performer, composer and music educator)..and many fun things!  smile emoticon ♪♬♫♪♬ - Aki Antonia~AKIBOARDS!
We talked about my compositions…. I played some compositions and I talked my musical influences which  first  came from my musical family…The Smiths…  
My father, Paul Smith who was a professional pianist who loved Jazz and Classical musical… taught me to play at age three with two hands… The first  piece I remember learning  was the Fats Waller piece, "Honeysuckle Rose".
I talked about how my father used to have jam sessions where many pianists including, Art Tatum would come. Another  major  influence was my Grandmother, Nellie Smith, who played for the silent movies….She taught me  how to play musical devices  she played to compliment the actions on the screen.  
My grand-uncles, Warren Smith and Lloyd Smith had a music store in Chicago in the 1920's called The Original Home of Jazz… 

The interview was fun!!… especially when  
my Musical Cosmic sister, Tiona Toni joined in 
on her flute on the Jazz Supreme Show .
We had some wonderful moments playing on the Jazz Supreme Show with Vaughn Wilson! 
Playing Live! on the air with Tiona… on the Vaughn Wilson Jazz Supreme show on WHPK!
The Art outside the WHPK… 
studio inspired my Arte' ~ Musica~ Muse
2 show up and smile….
My Muse is 
inspired by the artists 
I enjoy... such as…  
the Rhythmism & Future Funk of ONLI..
the P-Funk of Pedro BelL…
the Africobra rhythms of my cousin  artist, Frank Smith 
the art of  Kenneth Hunter…& Juan Arevelo & Afua
The Ritmos..Rhythms of SUN Drummers
The dance moves of Darlene Blackburn and MJ..
a bit of the art and music of
Kahlo/GraceJones/BettyDavis/Sun Ra/Jimi Hendrix 
and …
as well as 
me being me..
 just being AKI..
 a full-blooded FUNKTUSI!
Bamm! I'm a Funktusui!
We played some Jazz…. with some flashes of my TribalFunk!

Thursday, February 19, 2015

N2 the Future: BLACK FUTURE MONTH at the SMG Chatham 14

TONIGHT!!!! Black Future Month Continues!

BLACK RADICAL IMAGINATION & COMIC BOOKS

Thursday, February, 19, 2015 
Chatham 14, 210 W 87th St, 
7pm 
Admission: $6
Chicago Program length: 95 min

AFROFUTURISM