Talib Kweli 2000 Seasons

[Bradley Zweig]

Lastweek it was announced that the Friends cast is reuniting for an untitled unscripted special for the new streaming service HBO Max. Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer all announced on their Instagram that there will be a reunion. Variety reports that each of the cast members will receive at least $2.5 million apiece for their participation. But why now? Yes, HBO Max needs to bring out the big guns to promote their new service, but why does Friends still resonate enough that these actors are the big guns?

The hit sitcom premiered in 1994 and road the tech bubble. In 2000 and 2001, however, Fiends saw a slight dip in their ratings. This could be due to syndication deals that landed Friends on multiple channels. It could also be that after six seasons, we started to outgrow Ross and Rachel? Then September 11th happened, and Friends saw a big rating boost. For instance, 25.5 million people turned into the October 12th, 2000, season premiere. That season averaged 20.2 million viewers. 31.7 million turned into the September 27th, 2001 season 8 premiere. Season eight averaged 24.5 million viewers per episode.

So why now? The Friends actors are as big today as they were in 2004. Jennifer Aniston, probably the most famous, broke Instagram when she joined with a photo of, you guessed it, the Friends cast. We all see her and Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer as our friends. We need them today as we needed them after September 11th. To feel the comfort that they never went away are still hanging out (and Gunther is still serving them coffee).

Early groundbreaking credit as the first and only June Taylor Dancer of color on the Jackie Gleason Show for seven seasons, her first encounter with Ms. Taylor was as a dancer in three productions at The Jones Beach Marine Theater.

The founder, CEO and Artistic Director of The Duke Ellington Center For the Arts, a not for profit 501(C)(3) since 2007, she currently presents concerts with Tony Waag and his American Tap Dance Foundation, at Birdland and other venues based on the musical output from the Ellington catalog of almost 3,000 compositions.

Tanya is the 2021 Recipient of the TD Bank CEO WOW! Leadership Award for Diversity and Inclusion Leader and the 2021 BEN BRG Region of the Year Recognition for her leadership on programs such as the MNY BEN BRG-led Dismantling Systemic Racism Series, MNY BEN BRG Early Talent Leadership Development Program and the Sip and Swing. She serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for youth development organization, Jazz Power Initiative and as Board Member of the Astoria Film Festival. She is active with several local community non-profits and NYC DOE School Advisory Boards, volunteering many hours with NYC programs that meet the needs of the underserved, provide mentoring for youth at risk and promote environmental conservation.

Jazz Power Initiative Production Coordinator, Jonathan Hernandez-Jimenez, has been with the Jazz Power Initiative for over nine years. He earned his B.A. from New York University (NYU) in 2020 where he majored in Music Business. Born in Brownsville, Brooklyn, Jonathan is currently a substitute music teacher at the high school he attended, Eagle Academy For Young Men. It was there in 10th grade that Jonathan first came into contact with the Jazz Power Initiative as a student. Currently Jonathan runs tech for Jazz Power Youth Education programs and live events. He also coordinates and performs with Zah! Jazz Power Ensemble, our pre-professional performing group and manages our social media accounts. In addition to his production skills, Jonathan is a singer and guitarist, plays in his own band and has been a great link between our youth and adults.

Annette A. Aguilar, multi-percussionist, recording artist, producer and bandleader, was born in San Francisco into a family from Nicaragua and currently resides in New York City. She began playing music at the age of 11 and by the time she turned 16, she was sitting in and performing with renowned Latin artists Santana, Cal Tjader and Sheila E.

She leads her Latin Brazilian Jazz group Annette A. Aguilar & StringBeans since 1992 and has released three albums to wide acclaim. The band toured three times as Latin Jazz Ambassadors for the U.S. Department of State performing and teaching in South Africa, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar including, a performance for the President.

She has performed leading roles at the Royal Danish Opera, The Edinburgh Festival of Scotland, The Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Thatre de Champs Elyses. Ms.Hanchard has also appeared as soloist with: the Mingus Big Band, the Smithsonian Chamber Orchestra; with bassist, Rufus Reid and his quintet plus four, The American String Quartet, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra with conductor, Nicholas McGegan and recently, has been enjoying working on the vocal music of saxophonist, Billy Harper with his small vocal unit.

Claiborne has previously worked in the New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and Boston bureaus of ABC News. He has also covered international stories in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf, China, South America, Africa and Europe.

Claiborne was part of the ABC News team that won a 2000 Emmy Award for coverage of the seizure of Elian Gonzalez in Miami. In 2003, he was an Ochberg Fellow with the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, affiliated with the University of Washington.

Prior to joining ABC News, he was a general assignment correspondent for WNYW-TV, New York from 1982 to 1986. He was a reporter for the New York Daily News from 1980 to 1982 and a reporter and national editor for United Press International in New York, from 1977 until 1980.

Claiborne earned an MS in journalism in 1975 from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He received a BA in psychology from Yale University in 1974. He is a native of San Francisco, Calif., and grew up in Oakland, Calif., and Los Angeles.

He graduated from Berklee College of Music in 1989 as B.S. in Music Production and Engineering. He then started handling client contracts, client relations and Business consulting with with experience in film scoring, jingle writing/production for several companies, including World Alert Productions and Nile Rodgers Productions.

In 1995, he began his career in End-to-End Drug Development project management for Oncology drug therapies for 3 major pharma companies, becoming a Pharmaceutical Research & Development (R&D) Project Manager for Janssen Pharmaceuticals Company of Johnson & Johnson, where he is currently employed.

Joe brings a diverse set of skills in Business, Information Technology, Project Management, Negotiations, and Emotional Intelligence, as well as relationships with key players in the Professional Music, Digital Marketing, and Pharmaceuticals Industries.

Patricia is an employment and human rights attorney, successfully representing survivors of sexual assault, harassment and discrimination, and offers many years of dedication and commitment to addressing the issue of sexual violence. She also represents individuals fleeing gang violence, political and religious persecution in their countries of origin to seek asylum in the U.S., and seeks to protect individuals against government abuse. She is a zealous advocate for her clients. Prior to her admission to the Bar, Patricia developed critical skills through her work in law enforcement conducting preliminary investigations of sex crimes and child abuse complaints.

On the business end, Patricia develops top-notch compliance and training programs for companies seeking to bring their operation to the next level. She trains management teams on professional, non-discriminatory workplace conduct and leadership skills. She is a proven leader in building relationships, developing teams, and identifying unique approaches to resolving business disputes.

Spencer speaks and writes on issues of contemporary art. Recent presentations include: Women in Business and Gender Equality in the Arts, UNESCO Paris; Independent Curatorial Practices, Arts and China Federation of Literary and Arts Circles of Beijing; and The Emergence of a Figurative in African American Art.

Congress retained her services to design and manage the nationwide competition for the Congressional Memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., permanently installed in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. Spencer was awarded two NEA Fellowships in Arts Management, was a founding member of the African American Museums Association, and is a member of the American Alliance of Museums and International Council on Museums.

Jeff is currently under contract with Jazz at Lincoln Center, producing, recording / mixing albums & special projects under the direction of Wynton Marsalis. Additionally Jeff produces and records through his company World Alert Music in Manhattan.

Robert Silverman was born in New Haven, Connecticut. and has been playing jazz piano, trumpet, singing and composing for about 47 years. Mr. Silverman was first mentored by the great Jackie McLean in Hartford, and then moved on to study at the New England Conservatory in Boston where he was fortunate to work with George Russell, Jaki Byard, Fred Hersch, Jimmy Guiffre, Ran Blake and many others and graduated from the Jazz Studies Department in 1984. He moved to New York where he did graduate work with Jimmy Heath at Queens College and has been the recipient of many awards including two Meet the Composer Grants and a Brio award in 2013 for Best Jazz Composer for his CD Fractured time. Mr. Silverman has released 12 CDs in NY and works with the elderly population and Alzheimer patients in the Bronx. He is on the Staff of 92nd St Y, and will soon be teaching at the Duke Ellington School in NYC.

In 2014 Carolina reaffirms herself to the jazz world with her debut recording, Sotareo, an album released as a collection of instrumental pieces that are at once a part of the jazz tradition but also relate to her roots in Colombia. Sotareo shows fabulous collaborators from the New York Jazz scene, including saxophonist Jaleel Shaw, trumpeter Michael Rodriguez, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummers Ludwig Afonso and Grammy award musician Antonio Sanchez.

3a8082e126