Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe

I was surprised to find that Ella and Marilyn Monroe were pals. According to Ella's official website and some other online sources, Marilyn Monroe was instrumental in booking her for Mocambo.

Despite the outstanding musicality of black musicians, the Mocambo owner was resistant to book Black artists at his establishment. I toast Marilyn Monroe for seeing beyond race and using her powers for good.

“I owe Marilyn Monroe a real debt. It was because of her that I played the Mocambo, a very popular nightclub in the ’50s. She personally called the owner of the Mocambo (who had refused to book Fitzgerald because she was black), and told him she wanted me booked immediately, and if he would do it, she would take a front table every night. She told him - and it was true, due to Marilyn’s superstar status - that the press would go wild. The owner said yes, and Marilyn was there, front table, every night. The press went overboard… After that, I never had to play a small jazz club again. She was an unusual woman - a little ahead of her times. And she didn’t know it.”

A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald

Opening Saturday February 18, 2012
11-6pm
Mojo Music
430 Speers Road, Oakville, Ontario.
Free event
Family friendly
Wheelchair accessible
Free parking
Refreshments served

Venue hours:
Monday to Friday 12-9pm
Saturday 10-6pm
Sunday 12-5pm

I was doing some research online about Ella. Honestly, when I like a performer’s work, I don’t peer into their lives. I allow them the space to make mistakes, gamble away their fortunes, commit crimes and such while I listen to the music, the jokes, the delivery of lines. I often assume I know them based on their art and am often quite wrong.

I think I’d rather believe that goodness courses through the entire being of someone with talent. The odd thing about my Ella research was that I found two completely different tones to her bio from two different sources. According to Wikipedia, she lived a tragic life rife with financial hardship, ill health and familial stresses.

“In 1932, her mother died from a heart attack.[3] Following this trauma, Fitzgerald's grades dropped dramatically and she frequently skipped school. Abused by her stepfather, she was first taken in by an aunt [5] and at one point worked as a lookout at a bordello and also with a Mafia-affiliated numbers runner.[6] When the authorities caught up with her, she was first placed in the Colored Orphan Asylum in Riverdale, the Bronx.[7] However, when the orphanage proved too crowded she was moved to the New York Training School for Girls in Hudson, New York, a state reformatory. Eventually she escaped and for a time was homeless.[5]”

According to her official website she overcame several challenges.

"In 1932, Tempie [Ella’s mother] died from serious that injuries she received in a car accident. Ella took the loss very hard. After staying with Joe for a short time, Tempie's sister Virginia took Ella home. Shortly afterward Joe suffered a heart attack and died, and her little sister Frances joined them.

Unable to adjust to the new circumstances, Ella became increasingly unhappy and entered into a difficult period of her life. Her grades dropped dramatically, and she frequently skipped school. After getting into trouble with the police, she was taken into custody and sent to a reform school. Living there was even more unbearable, as she suffered beatings at the hands of her caretakers.
Eventually Ella escaped from the reformatory. The 15-year-old found herself broke and alone during the Great Depression, and strove to endure.
Never one to complain, Ella later reflected on her most difficult years with an appreciation for how they helped her to mature. She used the memories from these times to help gather emotions for performances, and felt she was more grateful for her success because she knew what it was like to struggle in life."


In one of the lectures I attended at George Brown College, one of the library staff mentioned that Wikipedia was an unreliable source for information because anyone was able add and/or alter the content. Other resources are bit controlled. The key was to choose a reputable source for information on the web and not to assume that every website contained accurate information. I think most of us know this by now.

We also know how easy it is to use Wikipedia. The information is well laid out and the search engine is great. The links to related information are clear and sensible so it’s no wonder that despite the advice of the librarian, I considered Wikipedia as a source.

It makes me wonder, if everyone’s life can be told truthfully from more than one perspective. I think our lives depend on what we choose to focus.
Perhaps, more than the content being different, there is a difference in tone. Interestingly in Ella’s recordings it is her tone that strike me the most firmly. Just perfection. She hits each note with such ease as if she were born to sing and despite all the challenges managed to do so.

I have had bitter ‘all is lost’ moments and then five minutes later firmly believed that I had everything I needed. What changed in those moments? Just my perspective. Just me.

As I complete the images to present in this series, I’d like to leave you with a duet I absolutely love by Ella and Mr. Louis Armstrong.




Mojo Music is a musical instrument store and music school located close to Speers and Morton. It's the perfect school to attend for you or your kids to learn to play an instrument. Pete also stocks the greatest selection of retro mics I have seen in the GTA.

Directions for those without cars:
If you're coming from Toronto, take the Lakeshore West Go Train
to Oakville Go Station
The cost of a day pass (return ticket for same day use) is $13.00.
Take the #4 W Speers Bus located on Station Road just outside the Go Transit building
to the stop after Morton Road and simply cross the street
it costs 65 cents
with a Go Ticket
(Show your Go Transit Ticket to the driver.)

It's about a 40 minute Go Transit ride and the bus is s short trip.
Here's the Go Transit Schedule
(If you get to Union station at around 10:30, you'll arrive at the show close to the beginning.) Buy a day pass and catch the 10:43 Lakeshore West train to Oakville. This train leaves Union Station every hour.

Here's the bus schedule
The #4 W bus is located in front of the Go Transit terminal on the roadway. Walk past the ticket vendor and the variety store, out the doors and keep walking. You'll see the stop straight ahead on the road.


Mojo Music contact including map for those who drive.
Click on the map at Mojo's site to get mapquest driving.

I'll see you there!!
Facebook event invitation

simonefrank.com

Hoilday Sale at Skeir Gallery

This weekend at Skeir gallery, I will be exhibiting my art with several local artists. Small, beautiful creations are on exhibition and for sale at reasonable prices.


Dog friendly! Kids welcome! Some vino and snacks! Can't wait to see ya!


Saturday December 17, 2011
11am – 7pm
Sunday December 18, 2011
11am – 7pm
or by appointment

Skeir Gallery
1537a Queen Street West
(between Sorauren and Roncesvalles on the South side)

You'll remember it from the 'exploring emotion' exhibition.
Once again, the euro will be taken at par.

I hope you can make it to this group exhibition featuring the works of:

Shawn Skeir
Hollis Baptiste
Eric A.G. Jackson
Dyrek Power
Leslie Becker
and
Simone

Recently I've become enchanted by the idea of angels. Angels that are in another realm and angels that are here among us helping us out with kind gestures, support and love in a timely moment. We enjoy this spirit during the holidays. Most are happier, calmer filled with joy.

A Tribute to Stevie Wonder at Mojo Music - opening Sept 8, 2011

What I love about Stevie Wonder’s music is not only the arrangement and mastery of keys, but the lyrics. As a younger woman in search of direction, I would often play music to guide me through troubled times. A song I constantly returned to when I was down is Heaven is 10 Zillion Light Years Away.

It’s the song I play when I am disappointed in humanity and am struggling. When I am about to decide that everything is futile and there is no longer any point in pushing past the racism I encounter, pushing past the dismal words I hear, pushing through the hopelessness that often surrounds. When I hear that recording, I feel through Stevie’s voice, an energy that connects me to hope. And the most incredible thing about it is that the song provides no answers, just a message that someone somewhere else in the world is fighting similar demons and managing to get through.

This Tribute to Stevie Wonder at Mojo Music, is a collection of paintings that depict an artist who is full of talent, passion, politics and love. Some images are simply portraits of him, others include quotes from his music. The work is grouped so that you can, “…feel it, fell his spirit…” when you are in the performance room at Mojo Music.

A Tribute to Stevie Wonder
Opening September 8, 6-9pm
Mojo Music
430 Speers Road
Oakville, Ontario.
Wheelchair accessible
Free parking
Refreshments served
Free event

Venue hours:
Monday to Friday 12-9pm
Saturday 10-6pm
Sunday 12-5pm

Mojo Music is a musical instrument store and music school located close to Speers and Morton. It’s a slick venue packed with instruments and staffed with people who know music and love it.

Join us for the opening of A Tribute to Stevie Wonder to celebrate the gift of hearing this great artist and being influenced by his music. The exhibition runs until November 10, 2011.

Directions for those without cars:
If you're coming from Toronto, take the Lakeshore West Go Train
to Oakville Go Station
The cost of a day pass (return ticket for same day use) is $13.00.
Take the #4 W Speers Bus located on Station Road just outside the Go Transit building
to the stop after Morton Road and simply cross the street
it costs 65 cents
with a Go Ticket
(Show your Go Transit Ticket to the driver.)

It's about a 40 minute Go Transit ride and the bus is s short trip.
Here's the Go Transit Schedule
(If you get to Union station at around 4:30, you'll arrive at the show close to the beginning.) The trains come frequently during rush hour - 5, 10 minutes apart. It's a nice way to travel.

Here's the bus schedule
The #4 W bus leaves Oakville Station about every 20 minutes from 5:25.


Mojo Music contact including map for those who drive.
Click on the map at Mojo's site to get mapquest driving.

I'll see you there!!

simonefrank.com

A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix Closing Celebration

I am so excited to be exhibiting in Oakville again. It’s an opportunity for me to see old friends I rarely bump into in my day to day.

Mojo Music is a musical instrument store and school. Had it not been for facebook, chances are I wouldn’t be exhibiting there. The owner, Peter Tong, is a pal from my childhood. He was a rocker then as well. I was a math geek. Just kidding! Not that I wasn’t amazing at math, I’m just not sure how I appeared to my peers or if they were even pigeonholing each other into careers. I was always looking for movie stars in my classroom – musicians, dancers, writers and I had no idea what a visual artist looked like at nine, but I knew I wanted to be one.

Back in the old days, I hung out with a lot of guys and all they’d talk about was Hendrix. Hendrix is amazing. No one can play like Hendrix. Hendrix was a God. He is a God. I finally listened. To create this exhibition, I had his music playing in the background. I read some articles and looked at some images and I was continually reminded of the cool factor. Jimi Hendrix was a phenomenal subject to paint because his art didn’t stop at his music. He was visually interesting as well.

Some if the images on exhibit are portraits, but another portion of the work on display celebrates music in general.

The show is coming down soon. The Closing Celebration, will happen on Thursday, August 18, 2011 from 6 – 10 pm. Please come out to the celebration and sale of my work. It will be nice to see my people again. It’s fun to see what people set off to do after years of standing in line after recess, wearing uncomfortable uniforms and way too much mall shopping.

Mojo Music
430 Speers Road
Oakville, ON

If you're coming from Toronto, take the Lakeshore West Go Train
to Oakville Go Station
The cost of a day pass (return ticket for same day use) is $13.00.
The buses are right outside the doors you exit through
take the #4 Speers Bus
to the stop after Morton Road and simply cross the street
it costs 65 cents
with a Go Ticket
(Show your Go Transit Ticket to the driver.)

It's about a 40 minute Go Transit ride and the bus is s short trip.
Here's the Go Transit Schedule
(If you get to Union station at around 4:30, you'll arrive at the show close to the beginning.) The trains come frequently during rush hour - 5, 10 minutes apart. It's a nice way to travel.

Here's the bus schedule
The #4 bus leaves Oakville Station about every 20 minutes from 5:25.


Mojo Music contact including map for those who drive.
Click on the map at Mojo's site to get mapquest driving directions.


So especially for grads of John XXIII School, St. Jerome and Saint Martin’s High School, if you’re not at the cottage, or working internationally please do come by and say hello.

Mojo Music has many music instructors, great sized individual class rooms and a really welcoming atmosphere. Take the opportunity now to register for Fall classes. You can go to their site to get detailed information of what’ s available and who to contact for more knowledge about it. MOJO SCHOOL of MUSIC

The next artist, whom I’ve already started painting, is Stevie Wonder. I have to admit I am so overwhelmed with emotion. Because I love him. I know very little about him personally, but through his music I am in absolute awe and madly in love with him. Look forward to seeing that work displayed on September 8th, 2011. I’ll remind you.

For now, have a fabulous weekend. Enjoy the rain. Should I check the weather, I haven’t checked. Ok, for you I will. We’ll see if it the prediction becomes fact. Okay. Enjoy the clouds on Saturday and the possibility of rain on Sunday.

But mostly,
Keep hope alive.
And love.

Trippy Solo (right)
simonefrank.com

via taxi

I'm up late painting. Being up at this time of night has always been a gift to me. It's so still outside and dark. Peaceful. Few interruptions.

There was a time in my life when work was everything. I threw myself into it and it was almost completely satisfied. Add a few good friends, some film, art, novels and music plus food. That was it. That was all I wanted.

Tonight, I realize, this is it. This 4 am peacefulness is what I aim for. To feel it all day long. I see why writers and painters move to cabins to create. There in the stillness, much is possible. But I love, after a stint like this, a walk alone through the city.. a reminder of what else goes on.

The other day, I took a cab home. The driver told me he was a writer who could never finish anything. He'd be working now. He works the night shift.

I asked him who is favorite authors were. He listed many I'm not inspired to read these days: Homer, Sophocles, Hemingway. He lit up as he quoted favorite texts. He told me he could never finish anything he wrote. He said he never thought his finished product was good enough.

He said something I have been hearing since high school from frustrated men.
"I think this is hell. Not after we die. We are living this hell now."

We continued to smoke our cigarettes.

I told him I had heard that before.

He told me that he was depressed because of his age, his past, his loneliness.
I never know how to respond to that. The sorrow. I won't dismiss it, but know better than to take it on. I have been lost before in someone else's sorrow.

I was rescued by a female police officer who knocked on the door and told us to move. Hydro had taken up the other lane of the road and we were a hindrance to traffic.

I left the cab with a phone number I'm afraid to use (even though I was offered a discount on all my fares) and a slight wink from the spirit world.

I won't pretend to know what hell is and am not interested in meditating on it. But this 4:44 am artful moment feels heavenly.

the end of the world

I had the strangest thing happen on the day the world was supposed to end. It was scheduled to end at six. Could be late. Sometimes things go a bit later.

Apparently, according to a pal of mine, only the true believers were actually leaving – thus ending their lives. The rest of us have a hundred years of nuclear hell ahead of us and some other unsettling stuff, which many of us see coming anyway.

I haven’t read about it or any news for quite a while.

My mother recently died of cancer and for the longest while, the comfort of her survival was all I could attend to. The world would have to take care of itself and I’d catch up later, or I wouldn’t. I had stopped caring entirely.

So today, still a bit weepy but hanging in, I made myself enjoy the weather by scheduling some random outdoor tasks. I did some banking, bought a paper, a gross orange pop that is still clinging to stomach lining like it belongs there. (Don’t tell my naturopath.) I walked along College West destined for some café writing time and perhaps a movie. I really should have crossed the street. I considered it several times. The café was on the other side of the street.

So I was almost there. I smiled, nodded and said hello to a pretty cute Mr. of African descent who is eating vanilla ice cream in a waffle cone. He greeted me in unison. And then he turned around.

In about three to five minutes we found out a great deal about each other.
Okay, I’ll just tell you what I remember because the truth of this is insane to me and it felt like magic. Not a soul-mate magic, or even a romantic magic, but a spiritual magic – the broom of life sweeping me a bit forward.

“Hey.”

I turned around.

“What is your name?” He walked towards me extending his hand.

“Simone.”

“I am (shall remain nameless).”

“Where are you from?”

“Here?”

“Oh, here.” He pointed at the ground. “Oh. I am from Haiti.” Brief pause. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to write at the café on the corner.”

“Oh, you write?”

“Yes.”

“Where are you going? Close by?”

“Starbucks.”

“Oh.” He paused and seemed to find it odd.

“I’m gonna put my headphones on, have a coffee and write for a couple of hours.”

“What are you writing?”

“A book.”

“What’s it about?”

I hesitated to tell him – the subject being so personal. “It’s about almost dying. I almost died.”

“You almost died. I almost died.”

“You almost died.”

“Yes.”

“You almost died. What happened?”

“It was 2004. The Africans were overthrowing the Haitian government."

“Your father was in the government.”

“Yes. My father was in the Haitian government and when the Africans were overthrowing the government, they burst into the house with guns and shot everything.” He gasped.

“But I was fine.”

“But you watched your father die.”

“Yes.”

“That’s hard.”

He looked right at me then started to walk away a bit. “I don’t know why I stopped you,” he said shaking his head and taking steps backwards.

“Do you regret it?” I asked.

“No. No, not at all.” He stepped closer again.

“And you’re a writer.”

“Yes.”

“And you are going to write, right now in that café.”

“Yes.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m an accountant.”

“Oh.”

We stood there for a while just staring at each other. I didn’t want to talk about accounting.

“I have to go, and you must write your story. When it is written I will read it over and over again because I want to know your story. And I will cherish it. A lot of people will want to read your story. I will cherish it. And I know it will be very good because you wrote it.”

“Thank you. Thank you.”

“What’s your name again?”

“Simone.”

He repeated his name, which wasn’t necessary because I remembered it. We shook hands again.

“I don’t know why I stopped you,” he said again. “I don’t know why I stopped you. I was just walking by and then I stopped you. Good-bye, Simone.”

“Bye (insert name here).”

We parted ways. I read the paper and wrote for a couple of hours. I considered inviting him to join me, but I didn’t. I chose to write instead.

The world didn’t end, of course – at least not for most of us. But I felt another world open and I walked in.