For more than 20 years, Community Women Against Hardship (CWAH) have merged giving with good music. From Diane Reeves to Oleta Adams, some of the biggest names in jazz music have graced the Sheldon for the sake of providing support to women in need.
And for the 22nd Annual Community Women Against Hardship Circle of Support Gala Benefit Concert & Auction this Sunday, they are staying true to their legacy of outstanding talent with the Grammy-Award nominated all-female band Straight Ahead.
Named a finalist in the “Sony Innovators” competition in the first year they performed together back in 1989, Straight Ahead has amassed a string of honors, including opening for the legendary Nina Simone at the Montreaux-Switzerland Jazz Festival and a Grammy nomination in their more than twenty years of performing together.
A group of strong, inventive instrumentalists and vocalists, the women of Straight Ahead have also shown themselves to be powerful and imaginative composers and arrangers.
Widely recognized for their eclectic and soulful approach to creating music, the Straight Ahead sound ranges comfortably from mainstream jazz R&B ballads, avant-garde to Brazilian funk.
Their live performances are a dynamic celebration of power and joy.
In 1990, the group recorded their first album, for Atlantic Jazz, “Look Straight Ahead. The album reached the top twenty of the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart .
They followed that up with “Body and Soul” and in 1995 with their third album “Dance Of the Forest Rain”, which received rave reviews from artists like Branford Marsalis, who called the group “a monster outfit that truly swings!”
Each individual member of Straight Ahead is an accomplished musician in her own right. Together they bring a unique musical personality to the group. Straight Ahead’s founding members, the “Rhythm Sister” – Marion Hayden on bass, Eileen Orr on piano and Gayelynn McKinney on drums are joined by an exciting line-up, which features the dynamic Kymberli Wright on vocals and the electrifying Althea Rene on the flute.
Proceeds from the annual event benefit CWAH’s-Family Support Center, various educational & developmental public programs, workshops, and support services for families in need.
The 22nd Annual Community Women Against Hardship Circle of Support Gala Benefit Concert & Auction starring Straight Ahead will take place at The Sheldon Concert Hall on Sunday, October 24 at 5 p.m. For more information: CWAH (314) 289-7523 or www.cwah.org. Tickets are available at CWAH (314) 289-7523 or at Metrotix(314) 534-1111
