B R E A K T H R U M E D I A D I G I T A L M A G A Z I N E
by Dean Shapiro
Over a long, stellar career filled with honors, awards and international accolades, Glen David Andrews has just added another milestone to his list of accomplishments:
his own namesake record label!!
DJ Soul Sister makes groove waves over the airwaves
Glen David Andrews shares
New Orleans musical heritage with the world
by Kimmie Tubre
Born in the Carrollton 17th Ward neighborhood of New Orleans, Melissa A.Weber was admittedly a shy and introverted kid. However, her destiny was already showing signs of what was to come as music became a dominant part of her life...
Anita Oubre struts her stuff in three parade troupes
by Dean Shapiro
New Orleans is known worldwide as a city whose people and visitors love to party and have fun. Dozens of festivals, parades and other festive events that happen frequently here are proof of that, and this is where Anita Matamoros Oubre is in her element.
LaKeisha Jefferson focuses on family law and community service
by Dean Shapiro
When law students begin their curriculum in jurisprudence,
they often know from the start in which field
of law they want to specialize. Others may reach that
decision while they’re enrolled in law school.
JULY-AUGUST 2020 DIGITAL ARTICLES
by Dean M. Shapiro
Eugene Green Jr. sums up the guiding principles
that have defined both his business and personal lives. They reflect nearly four decades of public service, as well as volunteer community service in his native New Orleans while presiding over a successful real estate firm that manages or owns several hundred properties.
Katrina Porter honors her mother with Ara’s Love Foundation while enjoying a career of her own
Eugene Green excels in business and
community service
by Anita Oubre
Katrina M. Porter is no stranger to having a measure of strength. A single mother and the daughter of bassist George
Porter Jr., she learned at an early age how to be strong and resilient to life’s obstacles.
An interview with Dr. Yvens Laborde
of Ochsner Health System
by Dean M. Shapiro
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues on a global scale with the United States reporting the highest number of cases, the medical staff at New Orleans-based Ochsner Health System has stepped up its vigilance and taken on a leading role in both research and education while the
quest for a preventive vaccine goes on at a near-record pace.
Anais St. John performs live
for neighbors and online fans
Throughout the summer of 2020 people from all over the world have enjoyed the rich, sultry voice of Anais St. John. She has performed every Saturday for the past several months from her Algiers Point front porch stage in a series appropriately dubbed “Porch Fest.”
by Anita Oubre
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2020 DIGITAL ARTICLES
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2020 DIGITAL ARTICLES
by Dean Shapiro
The flu season is upon us and, to make matters worse, the global COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing, with cases and casualties on the rise. The flu season is upon us and, to make matters worse, the global COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing, with cases and casualties on the rise. Medical professionals are strongly advising those who haven’t gotten their influenza vaccines already to do so as soon as possible.
“Hello Dahling!”
That familiar greeting is often heard at parties and
other social gatherings in New Orleans. The greeter,
attired in the latest fashions and colorful hats, is none
other than Margarita Bergen, the reigning “social
butterfly” of New Orleans society.
by Dean Shapiro
From an early age, Lilli Lewis has admired the sound of the piano.Starting at the age of three she performed what she called “air piano” concerts for her family. She also listened to what her older sister was learning in her piano lessons, and taught herself how to play those pieces by ear.
by Daniel Sirna
In the halls at Northshore High in Slidell a student shouts, “Hey! LAH HYPE.” The freshman who answers to that call is a 14-year-old gifted musician and songwriter. His name is Elon Paul Brunus. LAH is an acronym for “Love and Hate” and the HYPE stands for the emotions that run rampant in a well-rounded young man who excels in everything he pursues.
by Anita Oubre
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021 DIGITAL ARTICLES
Mardi Gras is the most fun time of the year in New Orleans and is hardly the time to be making heavy politi-cal statements. But Big Chief Alfred Doucette of the Flaming Arrows had a message he wanted to get across to the young people of the city; a message on his Indian suit during Mardi Gras 2012.
Linda Green defines her success by having always applied a variation on the Golden Rule: “If you do not love what you are doing, why do it at all?”
Globally known as “The Ya-Ka-Mein Lady,” Linda is an award-winning culi-narian who was born and raised in New Orleans. The pickup truck from which she serves her home-cooked soul food and her famous, trademarked Ya-Ka-Mein along parade routes...
Traditions are a valuable way for families to connect and create memories that last for decades. The Black masking tradition was handed down to Mary Kay Stevenson from her mother and today she honors this legacy that has been part of her life since she was a small child.
This past spring, when the COVID-19 pandemic began shutting down businesses and events throughout New Orleans, Carl Mack was on the verge of permanently shuttering his Mardi Gras Museum of Costumes and Culture in the French Quarter.
The museum with its dazzling displays and thousands of costumes, along with other Carnival memorabilia, remained closed to visitors for months but, through persistence and paperwork, Carl managed to rescue the facility.
New Orleans’ Newest Old
Band Tavasco 504
has Some Advice for us all:
“BE YOURSELF”
Back when compact disc technology was emerging and customized personal playlists were still produced on cassette mix tapes, “Smooth” James Harris, Nick Daniels III and Earl Smith, Jr. - all graduates of Walter Cohen Senior High class of ’73 - just knew they were going to make a record together one day.
By Frances Madeson
FROM POTS AND PANS
TO BRASS BANDS
The musical journey of
Herman Williams IV
Movers and shakers are the people who are constantly in pursuit of knowledge. Herman Williams IV has taken his love of learning and acquired skills and is making things happen in New Orleans. His love for his hometown is apparent, and although he could pursue a career anywhere in the world with his talent and education, he chooses to stay in New Orleans and says, “I cannot imagine living anywhere else.”
By Anita Oubre
MARCH-APRIL 2021 DIGITAL ARTICLES
Russell Batiste:
Playing the Music and Lovin’
Every Beat!
By Dean M. Shapiro
The scion of one of New Orleans’ preeminent musical families, David Russell Batiste Jr. – more widely known by his middle name – is not only one of the city’s top drummers, he’s also a multi-instrumentalist, lyricist, composer, arranger and bandleader. Musically there isn’t much he can’t do or hasn’t already done.
Connecting with her audience:
Singer Lisa Amos
feedsoff of her fans’ energy
Music has a way of bringing people together and when Lisa Amos brings her showmanship and her powerful voice to the stage, the audience comes together in unison to not only listen but to participate.
By Anita Oubre
Wess Anderson
warms your heart with his music
By Dean M. Shapiro
It was in his Brooklyn neighborhood in New York City
in 1979 when legendary alto saxophonist,
Sonny Stitt, who has often been compared to Charlie Parker, was doing a gig in a local club. He asked
Wess’s father, Wess Anderson Sr., to sit in with him on drums and young Wess Jr. was invited to tag along, bringing his own alto sax with him.
LAWRENCE COTTON:
Still Tickling the Ivories at 94!
Armando Leduc
Making an impact in the movie industry
With the advent of modern digital technology
and rapidly increasing avenues of distribution, today’s film industry is undergoing a radical transformation and Armando Leduc is moving along with the times.
Prior to the pervasive pandemic, 94-year-old Lawrence Cotton was playing piano regularly as the oldest performing musician in New Orleans. As the infection
rate gradually recedes, Cotton is looking forward to the return of his weekly gig at Preservation Hall, as well as finding gigs for his own Legendary Experience band
and performing with Jane Harvey Brown's
Trad Jazz Stars.
By Pat Jolly
By Dean M. Shapiro
MAY-JUNE 2021 DIGITAL ARTICLES
“Father of the Virtual Office Concept”
Reuben DeTiege reigns as an innovator
and trusted advisor to
the small business community
Reuben J. DeTiege II is one of those ambitious sole proprietors but he is even more than that. He is also an innovator and a respected small business consultant
and advisor; a mentor to those just starting
out on their own ventures.
By Anita Oubre
“The First Musical Couple of New Orleans”
Dwight and Connie Fitch
unveil a new foundation for musicians
When Connie Whitfield and Dwight Fitch first met at a
St. Mary’s Academy talent show back in the late 1960s, little did they know that they would become a couple for the next 50-plus years as well as a team. A team that would not only find them singing and performing together for more than half a century, but also one that would start a foundation...
"Following in his Father’s Footsteps"
Big Chief Bo Dollis Jr.
leads the Wild Magnolia Indians
Since taking over as Big Chief, Bo Jr. has made some small modifications to the tribe’s traditional rituals and offerings while still keeping the basic structure intact. “For one thing, it’s gotten bigger since my daddy last masked,” he said, noting that the tribal membership has grown from 4 or 5 to 16 members. “I’ve got
more music into it now, especially more funk”
By Dean M. Shapiro
By Dean M. Shapiro
JULY-AUGUST 2021 DIGITAL ARTICLES
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2021 DIGITAL ARTICLES
LAMPlighting the way to prosperity
Theodore “Theo” Sanders III
oversees a beneficial $3.2 billion statewide fund
When Theo Sanders III was a student at O. Perry Walker High School on the west bank of New Orleans he was the unofficial bookkeeper for his group of friends. As he explained, “I was always the ‘numbers guy’ from a young age: the one who knew how to count the money and keep us straight as a group when we
wanted to do things.”
BRINGING THE ARTS TO THE ‘BURBS
Dennis G. Assaf
reflects on 40-plus years of
managing the Jefferson Performing Arts Society
In the summer of 2015 a long-held dream finally came true for Dennis G. Assaf. Thirty-seven years after its conception and eight years after its official
groundbreaking, the 1,000-seat Jefferson Performing Arts Center opened its doors on Airline Drive in Metairie.
GOLDDIGGER BABY DOLL
Merline Kimble
Keeps Old Parading Tradition Alive
In New Orleans, at almost any time of year, you might come across grown women frolicking about dressed as Baby Dolls. Adorned in short satin dresses, bloomers and bonnets these women are a fixture not only on Mardi Gras Day but year-round during second lines, funerals, festivals, conventions and other special events.
By Dean M. Shapiro
By Anita Oubre
By Dean M. Shapiro
LINDA AUBERT
Strength And Determination Makes Music
''Food For Her Soul ''
Strength is beauty” so the saying goes. If that is true, then Linda Aubert is one of the most beautiful women to grace the stages in New Orleans.The strength and determination that she holds strong, well into the second half of her life story, is admirable and courageous. A gifted musical professional, she is
a very talented composer, songwriter/lyricist, pianist, singer, playwright and poet.
By Anita Oubre
Tommye Myrick:
A Voice for Social Justice Through Theatre
Since returning to her native New Orleans in 1990 after lengthy sojourns in Michigan and New York City,
Tommye Myrick has been a busy bee, directing dozens of stage productions, winning numerous awards and working diligently to further the cause of social justice through theatre.
Performance "Coming Naturally"
for Nicoye Banks
Local actor racking up
starring roles in film and TV
Nicoye Banks is an accomplished and dynamic actor. You may know him from his work in movies like “Invincible,” “Green Zone” or “Brooklyn’s Finest.” You may remember him from one of the three characters he has played on the series “Law & Order.” Perhaps his work in “Queen Sugar”...
Henry’s Big City
Photos brings the New Orleans culture
and flavor to friends around the world
Buying rental property and properly managing it requires
many skills, especially financial skills and people skills. It
isn’t for everybody - but for those who are into it and those who aspire to get into it, help is available to steer them along the path.
By Dean M. Shapiro
By Anita Oubre
By Dean M. Shapiro
Leo Nocentelli
Envisions new musical ventures
following enthusiastic response to his solo CD
When a quar-ter-inch audiotape reel recorded in the early 1970s in a New Orleans studio that was believed to have beendestroyed during Hurricane Katrina unexpectedly surfaced 2,000 miles away, nobody could have been more surprised than Leo Nocentelli,guitarist for the world-renownedsoul/funk group, The Meters.
By Dean M. Shapiro
By Anita Oubre
Back in his element since the easing of COVID-
19 restrictions, New Orleans-based photographer
Henry York can be seen all over town at music venues,
second lines, parties and other events, visually documenting the gatherings that have started taking place again.
POWER COUPLE:
Local real estate managers Mickie & Alex Turner launch online business advice website
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2022 DIGITAL ARTICLES
“My World is the Stage”
James M. Brown enjoying a fruitful
acting career in retirement
Retirement has brought many surprises to James Marshall Brown III, including a new career. He has found his niche in this stage of his life by appearing in commercials, film and stage plays. At almost 70, James finds it humorous when his family members tell him they see him more on television than in person...
"THE HOUSE THAT WILL NOT STAND"
Troi Bechet Stars in Le Petit Production
About Free Women of Color
Troi Bechet has a resume that stretches out over three pages in small type. And that’s only her acting, directing and singing credits! Add in her accomplishments as the founder and CEO of a beneficial community service organization and the number jumps to five pages!! A multi-talented, award-winning, community-dedicated New Orleans native, Troi is currently adding to her already-impressive resume by taking on the lead role in “The House That Will Not Stand”
When the Louisiana State Museum and the lieutenant governor’s office made the decision to upgrade the limited jazz history exhibit wing in the French Quarter’s Old U.S. Mint building into a full-fledged jazz museum in 2016, they chose a well-qualified musical authority to spearhead that effort. Years at that point, Lambousy brought to the table an extensive background in New Orleans history and music, along with an exuberant love for both.
By Anita Oubre
By Dean M. Shapiro
"A Marriage Made in Musical Heaven!"
Maria Muldaur and Tuba Skinny
Team up on 2021 CD Release
While shopping in her favorite clothing store during a visit to her former hometown of Woodstock, NY several years ago, Maria Muldaur experienced a vibe that originated 1,500 miles away and it immediately grabbed her attention. As she described it, “I heard this wonderful vintage, old-timey jazz coming out of the speakers in the shop and I remarked to the shopkeeper that I didn’t know the local radio station was playing such cool old jazz. She said "That’s not the radio. It’s a CD."....
By Dean M. Shapiro
Caretaker of a treasured musical legacy
Greg Lambousy leads the way at the
New Orleans Jazz Museum
By Dean M. Shapiro
MARCH-APRIL 2022 DIGITAL ARTICLES
“Training Kids from the Neck Up”
Dr. Calvin Mackie Makes
STEM NOLA his “Communiversity”
A solid home upbringing and a strong emphasis on book learning and hands-on skills acquisition helped Calvin Mackie develop into the prominent, multidimensional influencer he is today. A gifted motivational speaker, educator, inventor, entrepreneur, Presidential Award-winning mentor, podcast host and critically acclaimed author of two books, his accomplishments would fill an encyclopedia and his awards would fill a room.
“Healthy Meals FROM the Heart
that are Good FOR the Heart”
Brittney Tanaka Brown’s recipe for her
food and juice service
As a child growing up in the Eastover community of New Orleans East, Brittney Tanaka Brown was a self proclaimed tomboy who loved to roller skate and ride her bike. But she also loved to play games where she was a chef presiding over her own restaurant. So it comes as no surprise that the child whose prized possession was her easy-bake oven is now running her own home-based business, NeauxLa Meals & Juices.
By Dean M. Shapiro
"THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN"
David Skinner talks management
and Broadway show selection process
for the Saenger Theatre
Thousands of New Orleanians annually pack the seats of the opulent, historic Saenger Theatre on Canal Street for a wide variety of performances ranging from dance revues, rock concerts, standup comedy, and especially touring musicals that were box office successes on Broadway. But, while enjoying the performances, theatergoers rarely think about the process and logistics of what goes into staging these productions and how decisions are made as to which shows will be staged.
By Dean M. Shapiro
By Anita Oubre
For some artists music comes naturally. These artists are people who have not had any formal training, but have a passion for music and/or another talent that cannot be taught. Paul Boudreaux is one of those people, a self-taught bass player, singer, songwriter, producer, bandleader and visual artist. As a child growing up in uptown New Orleans, Paul was exposed to music at an early age...
By Anita Oubre
Enjoying A Stellar Career:
Paul Boudreaux reflects on his
music & art
MAY-JUNE 2022 DIGITAL ARTICLES
A “CREATIVE ALTRUIST”
Jarrell Hamilton
shares her many talents with the community
Before there was jazz and other genres of music New Orleans is widely known for, there was classical music and opera. But it wasn’t just the works of famous European composers that were being performed here in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Bubbling alongside the city’s thriving, Old World-influenced cultural scene were the compositions of some of New Orleans’ most gifted Creole composers and other composers of color.
When Jarrell Hamilton first saw the expression “creative altruism” and the name of the originator of that expression, she enthusiastically adopted it as her personal mantra.
“It really resonated with me when I read an article about Dr. Martin Luther King and what he meant by it,” Jarrell explained. “The way he described it, ‘creative altruism’ means using your craft or your artistry to benefit the social well-being of others and that’s what I do.”
On any given day when you make your way around the New Orleans community you will undoubtedly see some people who seem to be everywhere you look: busy people who are involved in multiple projects and activities that benefit large numbers of their fellow New Orleanians.Phyllis Boudreaux is one of those busy people. Founder of the former Touching Lives Ministry and FaithPhyll Ministries (now renamed Anointed Road to Christ), author of a widely read book on the keys to a happy marriage, community activist, publicist, consultant and wife of a renowned musician (bassist Paul Boudreaux).
By Dean M. Shapiro
By Anita Oubre
Championing The Arts:
Kathleen McKinney-Franks leads the way at local Alpha Kappa Alpha chapter
To be involved with the arts, one does not necessarily have to be an artist themselves. They don’t have to sing, dance, play an instrument, paint or be adept in some other art form. Instead they can be an arts supporter or, to use a more descriptive term, an “arts aficionado.
“That would be excellent terminology to describe me,” said New Orleans native and arts activist Kathleen McKinney-Franks.As a member of the 114-year-old, predominantly African American, Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) Sorority, Inc. and past president/charter member of the local Omicron Lambda Omega (OLQ) chapter.
By Dean M. Shapiro
Phyllis Boudreaux Turned
Her Purpose Into Her Passion
By Dean M. Shapiro
QUEEN CREOLE
Givonna Joseph on a mission
to revive old classical music by New Orleans people of color
JULY-AUGUST 2022 DIGITAL ARTICLES
“A MOVER AND SHAKER
BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER”
Dr. Norman Francis: A Legacy of Leadership
Dionne Butler, Associate Producer
Sally-Ann said she is “thrilled” to work on the new WYES
Channel 12 documentary that pays tribute to the life and legacy of Dr. Francis. “I was very fortunate that Dominic Massa (the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of WYES)asked me to be the narrator for the project,” she began. “It was a pleasure working with him, as well as producers Dionne Butler and Thanh Truong,” all three of whom she worked with during her long career as a reporter and co-host of WWL-TV Channel 4’s Eyewitness Morning News.
When WYES-Channel 12 hired Dionne Butler as
associate producer for their upcoming documentary
on former Xavier University President, Dr. Norman
Francis, they knew they were getting a seasoned
media professional to help pull together the many
elements and details that went into the making of
the production.
Airing weekdays on WWL-TV Channel 4 from 9-10 a.m., “Great Day Louisiana” has rocketed in popularity since Malik took the reins of the lifestyle and entertainment talk show in October 2019. Approaching his third season as host, he describes the job as “living my dream and I love, love, love it!”
Taking on one of the leading roles in the production of a documentary on a living New Orleans icon would be a daunting role for even the most experienced journalist but TV news veteran Thanh Truong is enthusiastically up to the job. Thanh is the producer of an hour-long piece on Dr. Norman Francis, the retired longtime president of Xavier University that will premiere on September 27 over New Orleans’ Public Television station, WYES- Channel 12.
By Dean M. Shapiro
BRINGING JOY TO HIS HOME CITY
Malik Mingo “love love loves” hosting
“Great Day Louisiana” on WWL-TV Channel 4
By Dean M. Shapiro
"HONORED AND BLESSED TO BE
INVOLVED WITH THIS PROJECT"
Dr. Norman Francis: A Legacy of Leadership
Sally-Ann Roberts, Narrator
By Anita Oubre
HONORING “A LIVING LEGEND”
Dr. Norman Francis: A Legacy of Leadership
Thanh Truong, Producer
By Dean M. Shapiro
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2022 DIGITAL ARTICLES
"Against All Odds"
Gospel Singer Georgia Hale Goes from a Master to a Master’s Degree
Ever since he was a teenager, Dominic Massa knew which career path he wanted to follow. He followed it and more than 30 years later he is still on that path. A hardworking, behind-the-scenes titan in the world of New Orleans television production, Dominic started early in the visual media, learning from, in his words, “the best in the business” at two major local TV stations. And now, at 46 years old with many more years of productivity still ahead of him, he has become one of the best himself, as a producer and a visionary.
Who would have ever thought that a young girl who grew up picking cotton on a Mississippi plantation would go on to become a Billboard Charting Gospel Singer with a Master’s Degree and the subject of a forthcoming documentary and possible stage play?
Georgia Hale was that young girl. At an early age she discovered the power of her own voice and began a singing career that continues to this day and has seen her reach the heights of that calling, along with that of her famous daughter, Joanna Hale McGill.
After enjoying a measure of success on Broadway and
off-Broadway in New York City, Donald Jones Jr. has
returned to his native New Orleans and will be making
his Le Petit Theatre directorial debut in their January
2023 production of “The Color Purple.” The musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s 1983 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel will take the stage on January 12 and run through three successive weekends before closing
on January 29.
When cultural arts organizations and individual participants in the Greater New Orleans performing arts scene want to get the word out on their upcoming events, one of the key people they oſten go to is Diane Mack. As a producer and host of the “Louisiana Considered” program over WWNO/
WRKF, originating from New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Diane helps promote opera, dance, classical and stage productions with her profound knowledge and enthusiasm for those specific live art forms.
By Dean M. Shapiro
LOCAL BROADWAY VETERAN TO DIRECT
“THE COLOR PURPLE”
AT LE PETIT iN JANUARY
Donald Jones Jr. is Back Home in New Orleans
By Dean M. Shapiro
“Mr. Everything!”
Dominic Massa Saluted for 30 Years of Outstanding
New Orleans Television Production
By Anita Oubre
Promoting the Arts and Loving it!
Diane Mack Touts the Cultural Scene on WWNO
By Dean M. Shapiro
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022 DIGITAL ARTICLES
“LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!”
Samantha Beaulieu Stars on Stage, Screen and TV
When MyiaRené Carter received the email informing her that she was chosen for the role of Sofia in the upcoming Le Petit Theatre musical production of “The Color Purple,” she spontaneously dropped to her knees praising God and shedding tears of joy. As she describes the joyful moment,“I was in my classroom in front of my
students and I literally fell to my knees in tears. I’ve gone through so much in life where I thought I wasn’t good enough to play a major role.
When a local talent enjoys success as an actor, director and writer this is something surely to be celebrated. And Samantha Beaulieu certainly has a lot to celebrate. With dozens of film credits under her belt she has co-starred in the films “Unhinged,” “Bad Moms,” “Now You See Me” and “Big Momma’s House,” just to name a few. She has guest starred on the television series “Leverage: Redemption” and starred in recurring roles in “Queen Sugar,” “NCIS New Orleans,” “Tyler Perry’s The Oval” and “Treme.”
More than half a century ago, a musical genre known as “folk music” was in vogue and it enjoyed widespread appeal among those who were activists for various causes. The purveyors of this musical style focused their lyrics on controversial issues like war, racism, nuclear disarmament and other significant national and world events. Today very little folk music is being composed and performed and there are fewer broadcast media outlets from which to convey these messages...
While most New Orleanians are still sleeping, Whitney Patterson is wide awake and hard at work.
As the producer of WWL-TV’s “Eyewitness Morning News” program, she is the model of professionalism and journalistic integrity. Whitney explained that as a producer she wears many hats. She communicates
with the anchors, making sure they have all the information they need, whether it’s for an interview or background for a story. She also books all the talent for the show, including bands and featured guests.
By Dean M. Shapiro
“BLUES FOR DEMOCRACY”
Harmonica virtuoso
Smoky Greenwell takes on today’s issues in his songs
“The Color Purple”
Musical has MyiaRené Carter Thrilled Over Major Role
During the month of March we highlight the contri-butions and achievements of women as we celebrate Women’s History Month. How wonderfully appropriate to offer this feature on the multi-talented Gina Swanson. Gina has the attributes that we see in women who are successful in their own right. As a wife and mother of
two young children, this Emmy Award-winning journalist keeps herself busy as a news anchor and an adjunct professor at Loyola University, coaching students in Media Performance on delivery and presentation.
It’s been 11 years since New Orleans native actor Lance E. Nichols graced the cover of Breakthru Media magazine’s March/April 2012 issue and, as he put it, “A whole lot of water has gone under the bridge since then.” In the early part of 2012 the HBO series, “Treme,” was in its award-winning heyday and Lance was playing a key role in the action on screen. Since then he has appeared in well over 100 films, TV movies, television series, documentaries, shorts and other visual media, according to the most recent Internet Media Database (IMDb) listings.
Professionally, he goes by his full name – Salvatore – but informally, among friends, he prefers to be called Sal. But, by whatever name he is called, he can also add the title of “director” and others that have reflected his profession over the years. New Orleans born and raised, Salvatore
Mannino, is a professional theatrical director, producer, writer, innovator, actor and just about everything else associated with live stage productions. He is currently
directing “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” one of Tennessee Williams’ best-known stage plays, at Le Petit Theatre.
By Dean M. Shapiro
"ONSTAGE AT LE PETIT"
Salvatore Mannino directs production of
“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ”
"TAKING HER JOB SERIOUSLY"
Gina Swanson anchors the news over WDSU-Channel 6
By Anita Oubre
By Dean M. Shapiro
MARCH - APRIL 2023 DIGITAL ARTICLES
"THE NEWEST DIXIE CUP"
Naydja CoJoe
Joins Renowned '60s All-Girl Group
In 1991, Pastor Steven Perrilloux and his wife Rita were offered a special gift: an opportunity to take possession of a historic church in Reserve, Louisiana. The church was the original Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, built in 1937 to accommodate the region’s Black parishioners who were segregated under the Jim Crow laws in effect throughout the South at the time. A new brick sanctuary was scheduled to be built on the site of the church and the older wood frame structure would have been demolished if it wasn’t moved off the lot.
As the newest member of the iconic 1960s all-girl group, The Dixie Cups, Naydja CoJoe is elated to be part of the group whose biggest hit, "Chapel of Love," sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. In June 1964 the record hit number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. The homegrown New Orleans trio originally consisted of sisters Barbara Ann and the late Rosa Lee Hawkins and their cousin, the late Joan Marie Johnson. Naydja proudly joins the current lineup consisting of herself, original member Barbara Ann Hawkins and Athelgra Neville Gabriel, sister of the Neville Brothers.
Handling publicity and media relations for even one of New Orleans’ major cultural organizations would be challenging enough, let alone two of them. But Mariah Forde is up to the challenge and she has hit the ground running. A recent arrival to New Orleans from her former home in Miami, Mariah is the Assistant Director of Communications for the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and the New Orleans Opera Association, a dual role newly and specifically ceated for her three months ago.
"PROMOTING THE PERFORMING
ARTS IN NEW ORLEANS"
Mariah Forde
takes on dual role with the local opera and symphony
"Together In Faith And Business"
Steven and Rita Perrilloux
describe their journeyof faith and management
of Historic Riverlands
By Anita Oubre
By Dean M. Shapiro
By Dean M. Shapiro
MAY - JUNE 2023 DIGITAL ARTICLES
Khater Salomon
Teaches Golf the Scientific Way
Bringing empowerment, education, and awareness to young girls aged 10-18 and their families is the driving passion of Essence Harris Banks. However, her life's work truly took center stage when she faced a health crisis. At the time, Essence was a young mother who led a busy and active lifestyle. She enjoyed a successful career with Entergy, worked as a personal fitness trainer, and had a packed schedule filled with social events and philanthropic endeavors.
As the 24-year-old grandson of Fats Domino, one of the most legendary architects of Rock & Roll, no one would have been surprised if Antonio Domino Jr. followed the same career path. Looking at an early photo of him as a very young child sitting at a piano next to his famous grandfather with his tiny fingers on the keys, an observer might have concluded that he was destined to go in that direction.
Back in the early 1990s, while teaching a group of children how to play golf, their instructor, Khater Salomon, quickly realized that the golf clubs he provided were too long for them. Frustrated by their inability to swing the clubs, Khater had an epiphany. “I said to myself ‘Tere’s got to be an easier way.’ And then it was like a bolt of lightning hit my brain: short clubs, higher tees.”
From that experience the Graduated Teaching Method FORE Golf was born.
Grandson of a Musical Legend:
Antonio “Tony” Domino Jr.
Scales the Heights of the Opera World
With Heart N Hands
Essence Harris Banks
Leads the Way to a Healthier Life
By Anita Oubre
By Dean M. Shapiro
By Dean M. Shapiro
JULY - AUGUST 2023 DIGITAL ARTICLES
Jason Neville:
Following his Own
Path Through the Music World
Fit for a Queen
Queen Shereen Macklin to
Star in “Le Code Noir”
Production in October
By Anita Oubre
By Dean M. Shapiro
Bill Summers Lives Life
to The Beat of His
Many Drums
A Visionary at the Helm:
Don-Scott Cooper Speaks Out About the Present and Future of
Le Petit Theatre
By Dean M. Shapiro
By Dean M. Shapiro
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2023 DIGITAL ARTICLES
The Musical Journey of
“Genius Grant”
Recipient Courtney Bryan
TELLing IT LIKE IT IS. . . and WAS!
Aaron Neville
“tells” all in a new book
By Anita Oubre
By Dean M. Shapiro
By Dean M. Shapiro
In the year 2000, Aaron Neville was co-featured in a book titled “The Brothers Neville,” in which each of the four of them told their stories in short, individual snippets. When Aaron was interviewed for a JazzFest cover story in 2019, the interviewer asked him some questions related to incidents Aaron recounted there and he replied, “I didn’t tell everything in that book so I need to write another one.” Now he HAS!
When Courtney Bryan, a New Orleans-born and raised classical music composer, was notified in September that she was being awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship grant, no one could have been more surprised than her. “I didn’t even know I was being nominated for this,” she said in a recent interview with Breakthru Media magazine Courtney was one of only 20 of the most recent grantees nationwide and one of two from New Orleans.
Gralen Bryant Banks is a New Orleans born and-raised actor and radio personality with such an intense love and respect for the city he grew up in that he celebrates it daily. He hosts “The Front Porch,” a radio show on the city’s only Black-owned radio station WBOK. Gralen refers to New Orleans in the feminine. “I am her son, and I am paying homage to her. Even though she has all of these scars and blemishes, she is beautiful
and deserves to be showcased and celebrated,” said Gralen.
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2023 DIGITAL ARTICLES
Gralen Bryant Banks
Takes “The Front Porch”
to the Airwaves
Anita Oubre:
A Cultural Ambassador
for New Orleans
Le Petit Theatre
is a
"Special Place For Artistic Director"
A.J. Allegra
By David Schmit
By Dean M. Shapiro
Frederick Griffith
and
Anew Fitness
Helping Seniors with Beneficial Exercise
By Breakthru Media Staff Report
Le Petit Theatre holds “a special place” in A.J. Allegra’s heart. While working on a show there several years ago he met costume designer Kaci Thomassie. In 2020, they married. Three years later the theatre became his employer. As A.J. recalled in a recent interview, “I was presenting a show there for the Willow School where I was teaching at the time and Kaci and I worked together on it. That’s where it all started for us.”
New Orleans is known worldwide as a city whose people and visitors love to party and have fun. Dozens of festivals, parades and other festive events that happen frequently here are proof of that, and this is where Anita Matamoros Oubre is in her element. A hospitality industry employee by profession, Anita is an entertainer by choice, consistent with her bubbly, outgoing, perpetually cheerful personality.
Frederick Griffith was living in Houston in 2017 when his mother asked him to return to his hometown of New Orleans. So Griffith resigned from his restaurant manager position, pulled up stakes, and returned home. His mother had always been there for him, raising four children as a single mom, and, as Griffith puts it, “I never
wanted for anything.”Little did he know then that his mom, Anna Hampton, was giving him yet another gift, one that put him on his
life’s journey.
JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2024 DIGITAL ARTICLES
Sharon Shines!
Talented chanteuse Sharon Martin
performs monthly “The 15th of the Month” with her band at Café Istanbul.
Warren Bell’s
“Buried History”
Documentary Unearths an
Interesting Past
By Anita Oubre
By Dean M. Shapiro
Making Music New Orleans Style:
Dr. Brice Miller and his family
promote the city’s rich musical culture
Over the past 50-plus years, there isn’t much that Warren Bell hasn’t done in the media news business in New Orleans and elsewhere. His extensive background includes stints with television, radio, print media, public relations, and his most recent venture: documentary producer, writer, narrator and principal photographer. Warren’s 28-minute documentary, “Buried History: Finding Our Past,” which aired on WYES Channel 12 and other Louisiana Public Broadcasting stations in February, and is currently viewable on YouTube, is a
project that unintentionally fell into place through a sequence of events involving one of his family’s burial plots.
Over the past 40-plus years, New Orleans chanteuse Sharon Martin has performed all over the world with some of the biggest names in popular music, as well as locally with her own band. Her one-woman tribute to Billie Holiday in “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill”
garnered rave reviews in both the local media and other media outside the New Orleans area between 2012 and 2017. In that production, which she performed
in several different locations to capacity crowds, she was both a singer and actor, recounting stories about the legendary singer whose life and career she was
portraying. For her performance she was nominated as “Best Actress in a Musical” by the Big Easy Awards.
It was standing room only in the main ballroom of a local downtown hotel. Hundreds of attendees cheered, took photos and danced in the aisles. The gentleman at the microphone donning a plaid bowtie had the voice most emcees dream of. In between announcements, he played his trumpet and led a handful of performers
on the stage. His name is Dr. Brice Miller, a musician, composer, educator, lecturer, and owner of The New Orleans Music Company, a premiere family-owned entertainment company. “I am proud to be in a position where I can help the people of the culture take care of their families,” said Dr. Miller, affectionately known as ‘Doc.’
By Dean M. Shapiro
MARCH - APRIL 2024 DIGITAL ARTICLES
Cole Williams:
Giving Power To The People
Through Music
Living an Eventful Life:
Dean M. Shapiro
Reflects On A Long Career In The Media And Freelance Writing
By Anita Oubre
By BreakthruMedia Staff Report
Bringing Joy to his Musical Followers
Lee Barnes of The New Orleans Mystics
Reflects On His Mission
When his friends tell Dean M. Shapiro that he should write a book about his life, his answer is always the same. “If I did that, the bookstores would have to put it in the Fiction Section. No one would believe it!”
An eyewitness to history in the making and even an occasional participant in some of that history, Dean has led an eventful life since August 28, 1963. That’s when, as a 13-year-old, he walked proudly with his parents and siblings and 250,000 other people during the landmark March on Washington where Martin Luther King, Jr. made his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Later on, as a career journalist in print and electronic media, he witnessed, wrote about and participated in other history making events.
In January 2020, on Martin Luther King Day, Cole Williams met an influential man who would become what she called “a game-changer” in her life. As she described it, “I was singing two songs at an MLK Day celebration. Aſter the last song, this Black man with a cane dressed in all white with white hair and a beard walked up to me and asked, ‘Why did you sing that song?’ I think it was ‘Wade in the Water’ and I told him ‘I like it. It brings people together and makes me feel good.’”Continuing, Cole said, “He didn’t tell me who he was right away, but he started asking questions like ‘What causes are you passionate about? If you had to pick any segment of the population that’s at the bottom, who would you pick?’ I told him the homeless people, and he replied, ‘Okay, so what do think we can do for homeless people?’ I said, if it was up to me, I would use my giſt, which is singing, and maybe give them a concert under the bridge since we should be upliſting people through music.
When doing something you love brings you immense joy, you continue striving to seek that joy. For Lee Barnes, a founding member of The New Orleans Mystics vocal group, that joy is found in performing.
Singing since he was a young child, Lee remembers the first roar of applause at an elementary school performance.
“I was a hardheaded child and I refused to be in the choir, but I could sing. I sang in the Christmas pageant, and I was not happy about that. My mom made me do it and I wowed them with ‘O Holy Night’ and that was a game changer for me,” laughed Lee. Intrigued with music, Lee remembers eagerly anticipating the television show “American Bandstand” each Saturday morning. He loved watching the performers and knew he also wanted to perform.
By Dean M. Shapiro
MAY - JUNE 2024 DIGITAL ARTICLES
Marlon Favorite:
Lessons in life from a Super Bowl Champion, Sports Consultant, Commentator, Musician and Family Man
Dr. Tracey Levens:
Profile of a Multi-Talented,
Multi-Faceted M.D.
By Anita Oubre
A Visionary And An Innovator:
Eric Cager prepares for this year’s Cutting Edge musical education event
Whether on the football field, behind a television prompter or onstage, Marlon ”Big Fav” Favorite takes his life’s experiences and runs with them. A retired American football player from New Orleans, Marlon uses the many life lessons he learned on the gridiron to communicate and promote trust among team members while looking out for the benefit of everyone involved. His faith and values have helped him succeed as a writer, performer, producer and engineer. “The lifestyle of a professional athlete is not easy,” Marlon said. “When I look back on the journey there was a lot of anxiety being moved around and being unsettled.” And though he moved around frequently during his professional football career in the late 2000s and early 2010s, there was one constant in Marlon’s life and that was his faith.
Who could have thought that someone who endured such a challenging childhood as did Tracey Levens, would become the success story that she is today? A fully licensed medical practitioner with an M.D. aſter her name, Tracey is also an actor, musician, composer, lead singer, motorcycle and offshore boat racer, scuba diving instructor, rock-climber and a mermaid. She was also a candidate for NASA as a mission specialist and is currently acting as the on-set medical director for a full-length film and much more.
She has lived an adventurous, event-filled life that others may find hard to believe. And, above all, she is the proud mother of a young singer who has begun his rise on the stages of the Los Angeles opera world. Anyone who meets Tracey for the first time is immediately astounded by her exuberant personality and her boundless energy level.
Here in New Orleans, a city world-renowned for its musical heritage, it is only fitting that a prestigious musical conference and talent showcase would be held here on an annual basis. Tat event, billed as Cutting Edge C.E., is being
presented for the 32nd year, from August 21-24, and is already starting to draw attendees from all over the world.
Cutting Edge is the brainchild of Eric Cager, who co-founded it in the early 1990s, along with his partner in the venture, the late attorney Vernon Tomas. Eric still presides over it and has added to and fine-tuned it over the years. Tis year’s conference will feature educational sessions with working musicians and other music professionals, plus other key facets of the music industry and live performances by well-known, established professional musicians.