Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/5950
Jackson's vocal director for the This Is It tour. "The ideas were no longer only in his head, they lived!" Holley, who was "for- tunate" to have sung on all of Jackson's solo tours from 1987 until this summer. had a front row seat to the genius that was Michael Jackson for 22 years. He is now speaking out about working with Jackson and what it was like those final days of rehearsal. "The final week was Michael lit up from within," said Holley. "At last he was seeing his vision coming to life." As a tribute to his longtime friend, Holley, part of the King of Pop's inner circle, wrote and dedicated a song to Jackson called, Last Dance. It's featured on his latest CD, Independent Film. THE JACKSONS The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty, a six-hour reality series that will focus on the surviving members of the Jackson Five as they prepare for a reunion concert while coming to terms with the death of their brother Michael Jackson, will premiere Dec. 13 on A&E. The series, which will also show the brothers recording a new vocal for MJ's This Is It soundtrack and attending the premiere of the concert movie, will debut with two one-hour episodes before moving on Dec. 20 to its regularly scheduled time, 10 p.m. on Sundays. LAWSON ROLLINS' LATEST Guitarist Lawson Rollins' latest CD, Espirito, lands in store Jan. 19. The 13-song collection, all written by Rollins, features Moonlight Samba. Rollins gets international on his latest work, reuniting with Persian-American musician and producer Shahin Shahida and producer Dominic Camardella to deliver a stunning, global experience. Others featured include Flora Purim, Airto Moreira, Kayhan Kalhor, Charlie Bisharat and Horacio El Negro Hernandez. A San Francisco Bay area resi- dent, Rollins, originally from North Carolina, was 15 when he was drawn to Latin Jazz, Bossa Nova and Spanish guitar. He influences include Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Miles Davis, Gerry Mulligan and Duke Ellington. For informa- tion: www.lawsonrollins.com AT THE MOVIES BLOOD DONE SIGN MY NAME (Paladin) — The civil rights drama turned film takes place in the 1970s in Oxford, NC and explores the racial upheaval — and ensuing social change — provoked by the acquittal of a White father and son accused of murdering a Black man in cold blood and in full public view. Paladin will open the film in select engagements nationwide on February 19th, 2010, to coincide with Black History Month. Jeb Stuart's epic drama is based on the acclaimed book of the same name, by prize-winning author and African American stud- ies scholar Timothy Tyson. Part autobiography and part history of the civil rights movement in the South, Tyson's book recounts the small town murder of Henry Marrow, a 23 year-old Black Vietnam veteran, who was shot and beaten to death by a prominent White businessman and his grown sons. The movie stars Nate Parker, Omar Benson Miller, Rick Schroder, Lela Rochon and Darrin Dewitt Henson. A SMOOV DEBUT Trey Smoov's debut CD, Misconception, features the hit singles, Callin' You, The Flyest and Beautiful. The three best friends Mack Daddy, YC and Vocalz began their journey to stardom by posting a video on youtube.com. They tagged the video, Samoans Singing. For information: www.treysmoov.com OPRAH'S BIG DEALS Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Films and HBO are teaming for a sexually charged hour-long series about a woman who leaves her seemingly perfect marriage and children in Santa Monica for the underbelly of L.A., where she indulges her secret fan- tasies and desires, reports Variety. Harpo Films previously set at HBO Ida Tarbell, a miniseries about the true-life muckrak- ing journalist who helped expose the unfair practices of John D. Rockefeller and his Standard Oil monopoly. On the film side, Harpo Films is producing for Focus Features a Sam Mendes-directed adaptation of the Joseph O'Neill novel Netherland and is partnered with Playtone for an adaptation of the David Wroblewski novel The Story of Edgar Sawtelle at Universal. Black Meetings & Tourism December 2009: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 9