Kim Justis and Taylor Roberts as professor and student (Photo: Tony Isbell)
The phrase “the magic of theater” most likely brings to mind a musical. Grandeur, spectacle, something larger than life. Certainly that is often true, but there are some instances where “the magic of theater” refers to the exact opposite: the small vagaries of everyday life quietly rendered to the stage. These sorts of plays can make audiences feel as though they’re pressed against a living room window, peering through a gap in the drapes to eavesdrop on the characters’ lives. When it comes to Quark Theatre’s production of The Sound Inside, audiences might receive a shock. The metaphorical front door opens, and we aren’t just acknowledged — we are invited directly in.
The Sound Inside is a one-act play with a cast of only two characters. Kim Justis plays Bella Baird, a creative writing professor at Yale who has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Taylor Roberts plays Christopher Dunn, her student. Over the course of the play, the two become inadvertently close, and the line between professor and student becomes increasingly blurred.
Director Tony Isbell describes the play as an “existential mystery.” It is narrated throughout by Baird, and eventually in parts by Dunn as well. Isbell says, “The show certainly portrays the versatility of theater. It moves back and forth from direct address, where the characters talk directly to the audience, into traditional scenes between the two of them and even into meta-theatrical territory, or at least one of them acknowledges the fact that she is in a play talking to an audience. It has scenes of great pathos and emotion as well as some very funny bits, including one of the funniest monologues I’ve ever seen.”
I think I can guess which monologue Isbell is referencing, and I have to agree. Justis is superb in her delivery, so much so that my friend, local nursing student Quinlan Culver, leaned over after the monologue, gestured to her arms, and said, “I have chills.” There are ample moments that might elicit such a response from audience members, as it becomes less and less apparent just how much of what we’re watching is actually true. The concept of an unreliable narrator is familiar, but one aspect of The Sound Inside that is so fascinating is that our narrator, Bella Baird, comes across as completely, even frankly, honest. It’s Christopher Dunn who creates unsure footing for the audience. Roberts convincingly plays Dunn as a bit off somehow, in a way that’s hard to put your finger on. Dunn’s cadence of speech is strange, his mannerisms are slightly awkward, which is a stark contrast to Bella Baird’s comfortable self-assurance. The juxtaposition makes the slow crescendo of Bella’s insecurity even more compelling to watch.
This play is one that intentionally leaves many questions unanswered and up to the viewer’s interpretation. Playwright Adam Rapp seems to be drawing our attention to this by including a story within the play that ends in a similarly ambiguous way. The disparity in age between the characters leaves me wondering, “Is this simply a friendship in which age doesn’t have much importance? Is the ‘friendship’ between Dunn and Baird perpetually teetering on the edge of sexual tension?” It certainly seems the latter is true, and the actors manage to sustain that tension throughout every one of their shared scenes. The moment when Dunn begins to narrate is one that was beautifully executed by the two actors. It feels almost sweet, but at the same time, the shift in the power dynamic is almost tangible. Baird, whether she realizes it or not, has lost control, a metaphor for the entire play condensed neatly into one fleeting moment.
For Quark Theatre, Isbell says, “Our motto is ‘small plays about big ideas.’” The Sound Inside fits the bill as an intimate show that manages to explore, in its 90-minute or so run, power, feminism, truth, trust, illness, bravery, existentialism, and much more. In a simple, dressed-down black box set, Quark Theatre has managed to capture just as much allure as any big-budget musical.
Quark Theatre’s The Sound Inside runs at TheatreSouth at First Congo through March 17th.
Lionel and Angie Hollins, Kontji Anthony, and David Porter (Photos: Michael Donahue)
Guests boarding the “Night Train Gala” at Stax Museum of American Soul Music March 2nd shared passage with some of the greats in the history of music.
They got a chance to say hello to Grammy winner David Porter, whose legendary Stax songwriting includes “Soul Man” and “Hold On, I’m Comin’” for Sam & Dave. And they rubbed shoulders with Eddie Floyd, who recorded the Stax hit, “Knock on Wood.”
Lawrence “Boo” MitchellValerie June
Guests might have stood in line for barbecue with other celebs. Grammy-winning Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell was at the party. Also performing and mingling with the guests was singer-songwriter Valerie June.
Eddie FloydZoe Kahr and Daniel ShinCheryl Pesce and Avery Cunningham
Guests were presented a “Train Schedule” that showed who was performing where and at what time. When they arrived, Marcella Simien was the featured entertainer in the “Station Lobby.” Later, they stopped at other rooms to see performers, including the Charlton Johnson Trio (jazz) and 926, aka Stax Music Academy Alumni Band (soul).
Jeff Kollath (Stax Museum executive director) and Mary Helen RandallElizabeth and Joey Walser
A total of 290 people attended the event, says Stax director of communications Mary Helen Randall.
Proceeds benefit the Soulsville Foundation and its programming.
Pat Mitchell Worley, Kirk and Ruby WhalumJared Boyd, Miz Stefani, and Khari Wynn
Hattiloo Theatre’s production of Succession has been making a splash on the Memphis theater scene since its opening weekend in February. This is the show’s regional premiere, and performances run through March 23rd.
Written by Charles White, the play, as the title suggests, focuses on succession within Black theater. “You have in the play this young Black actor who has talent and is using the older Black actors who have pretty much paved the way for him to have opportunities in theater,” says Hattiloo’s executive director and founder Ekundayo Bandele. “So he is making his bones in Black theater. And then an opportunity to perform at a white theater becomes available, and he forgoes the Black theater and the friends that he made there to enter into the predominantly white theater community, only to find that he isn’t accepted and he’s second or third tier in that community. And he goes back to the Black theater; they give him a hard time but still accept him back into the community.”
Bandele first saw White’s play last summer in South Carolina, and immediately, he knew he wanted to produce the show on Hattiloo’s stage. “I went straight to Charles White,” he says, “and he gave us the rights.”
Bandele says he saw his own experience running Hattiloo reflected in White’s work. “We have artists who use or attempt to use Hattiloo as a stepping stone. And so not only is there a story for individuals to come in and become more acquainted with the travails and triumphs of Black theater, but it is also kind of a mirror that can be turned around to some of the Black artists who find themselves replicating that story in their real lives.”
With each show Hattiloo produces, Bandele hopes to encourage audiences to explore new points of view. “The first thing that I look for are plays that show the Black experience through a lens that you typically don’t see,” he says. “What I love about [Succession] is that it pulls the curtain back on what it takes to run and maintain a Black theater in this particular century. … I’m looking at stories that Black people, white people, Latinx, Asians, young, LGBTQ, traditional, whoever can come and sometimes they may see themselves in the story, but a lot of times we want to show, especially Black audiences, a part of their experience or a part of their history or a part of their now that they be completely unaware of.”
Following Succession, Hattiloo has one remaining show before this season wraps — Blues in the Night — a blues revue, which runs April 12th to May 5th. Hattiloo’s upcoming season will kick off in July with Carmen Jones, followed by Coconut Cake, Paradise Blue, Disney’s The Lion King Jr., A Motown Christmas, Black Odyssey, Thoughts of a Colored Man, and The Boy Who Kissed the Sky.
Purchase tickets for Hattiloo’s upcoming shows at hattiloo.org, where a full schedule of performances can be found.
Succession, Hattiloo Theatre, 37 S. Cooper, performances through March 23, $35.
I’m appreciative of the people who have stood by us through these hard times. You can pinpoint a lot of things, but the one thing I do know: God doesn’t make mistakes. All of the negativity through this entire thing … these are still kids. They can have a bad day, a bad game, a bad week. That doesn’t mean there’s a disconnect between coach and players because you’re losing. Everything gets heightened here in Memphis. I was chosen to do this, not by the University of Memphis but by God, honestly. I took this job when it was at its lowest moment. I only want to do well for the city. I’m going to be hardest on myself. It guts me, because I want our city to be known for something other than what it’s known for. These are some tough times. Everybody has an opinion. But I know God has a plan, and there’s a plan for this team. I’m happy that I’m coaching this team. — University of Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway, after the Tigers ended a four-game losing streak with a win over Wichita State
On February 3rd at FedExForum, the Memphis Tigers found themselves down 14 points with less than 10 minutes to play against the supposedly inferior Wichita State Shockers. A loss would give a proud program not only its first five-game losing streak in six seasons under coach Penny Hardaway, but the program’s first five-game losing streak in 24 years.
Point guard Jahvon Quinerly — a senior transfer from Alabama — came to the rescue with a three-pointer to give Memphis its first lead of the game with 44 seconds on the clock. (It was the only field goal Quinerly made on an otherwise forgettable afternoon.) After the Shockers evened the score with a free throw, David Jones — a senior transfer from St. John’s — buried a short jumper from the left wing to snatch a Tiger win, as they say, from the jaws of ugly defeat. Losing streak over. A season that found the Tigers ranked 10th in the country merely three weeks earlier had been somewhat saved. At least until the next tip-off. The season has seen dreadfully ugly losses (at SMU) and the kinds of wins that seem to lift an entire region (the “get-back” over FAU in late February).
Like any decent Hollywood production, a college basketball season has a setup (nonconference play), a confrontation (league competition), and a resolution (postseason). This winter’s Tiger flick has, at times, made the popcorn tasty and, at others, forced fans to hurl the bucket in disgust. All with a resolution yet to come.
Point guard Jahvon Quinerly leads the Tigers in assists. (Photo: Wes Hale)
THE SETUP
In over a century of Tiger basketball, never had Memphis run a nonconference gauntlet like the one Hardaway scheduled for last fall. Seven teams from power conferences (ACC, SEC, and Big 10) plus a showdown with Villanova (national champions in 2016 and 2018) in the championship of the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. Making the challenge even greater, four of these teams took the floor against Memphis ranked among the country’s top 25. (For perspective, nonconference foes in 2017-18 — Tubby Smith’s final season as coach — included Northern Kentucky, Mercer, Samford, Bryant, and Albany.)
The Tigers beat 20th-ranked Arkansas in the Bahamas. They beat 21st-ranked Texas A & M. They beat 13th-ranked Clemson. They beat 22nd-ranked Virginia. They handled Michigan, Missouri, and Vanderbilt. Before the year turned, Hardaway and his team seemed to have grabbed a national microphone and collectively screamed, Look at us!
“I love winning close games,” said Hardaway after a two-point victory against Vanderbilt at FedExForum, the fifth in what would become a 10-game winning streak. “They make you tougher.” And the Tigers were masters of the nail-biter early this season: four points better than Michigan, five better than Arkansas, two better than Clemson, overtime escapes against VCU and UTSA. Quinerly drilled game-winning three-pointers near the buzzer in consecutive wins over Tulsa and SMU. Jones earned some national spotlight with 36 points against Arkansas, a performance that launched him onto the short list for the Julius Erving Award, given to the top small forward in the country.
“We never said it was going to be easy,” stressed Hardaway after the SMU win on January 7th. “The rest of the nation thinks it’s going to be easy in this conference. I have so much respect [for the American Athletic Conference]. These kids are capable. They read the clippings about us and [league favorite] FAU. It’s more than a two-bid league. Adversity is okay; you can learn from it.”
On January 15th, a day after the Tigers eviscerated Wichita State in Kansas for their tenth straight win, the Associated Press released its weekly poll and there was Memphis at number 10 in the entire country, the program’s highest ranking so late in a season since 2009, when one John Calipari stomped the sidelines. The nine programs above Memphis? If you pay attention to college hoops, they’re familiar: UConn, Purdue, Kansas, North Carolina, Houston, Tennessee, Duke, Kentucky, and Baylor. (Six of these programs have won at least one national title since 2012.) If the Memphis program was indeed screaming into that proverbial national microphone, the right folks were listening.
Nae’Qwan Tomlin has provided an energy boost at both ends of the floor. (Photo: Wes Hale)
THE CONFRONTATION(S)
Then came the freeze. The Tigers took the floor against USF on January 18th in a virtually empty FedExForum. That week’s winter storm had left Memphis streets so icy that the U of M actually released a statement advising fans to stay home (in which case ticket-holders could exchange for a later game). The Tigers raced out to a 20-point lead … before the team from South Florida made things that much colder, earning a 74-73 upset with a late-game comeback.
Three days later in New Orleans, another supposedly undermanned squad knocked off Memphis when Tulane won, 81-79. A week later in Birmingham, old rival UAB beat the Tigers, and rather easily (97-88). But the three losses that knocked the Tigers out of the Top 25 were merely prelude to January 28th, when the Rice Owls — 7-13 at tip-off, and 1-6 in the AAC — beat Memphis on its home floor.
For 17 games, the Tigers had played with a swagger, if not quite the flash, that reflected their coach’s All-NBA playing days with the Orlando Magic. They won 15 of those games. Then suddenly, shortly after the year turned, shoulders seemed to collectively slump, and Hardaway alluded to discontent between players. When asked about his team’s precipitous drop in confidence after the Rice loss, Hardaway had this to say: “That’s player-led. I’m trying my best, going to games, going to practice, talking about the pride we need to have, to have more fun playing defense, to communicate. It just seems like there’s a huge disconnect with this group right now. I can’t put my finger on it. You can tell in our play. When the game starts, the energy isn’t there.”
Following their second win over Wichita State (and the end to that four-game losing streak), Quinerly shared some perspective on what he hoped was a team-culture shift. “We didn’t have any player meetings,” he noted, “but you could tell the communication and the focus was different at our practices and film sessions. You could feel the tension in the air. Guys were super locked-in. It showed. We guarded the ball better [against the Shockers].”
Victories over Temple and Tulane followed, but then came a mid-February trip to the Lone Star State and double-digit losses to both North Texas and SMU (the latter a 106-79 mockery of the Tigers’ win over the Mustangs at FedExForum in early January). On February 24th, the university announced an inquiry involving fifth-year senior Malcolm Dandridge, sidelining an important member of the Tiger rotation entering the most important stage of the season. Memphis partially avenged its 2023 NCAA tournament loss to FAU the very next day. Ups and downs. Downs and ups.
How and why did a team mentioned as a Final Four contender in mid-January fall so precipitously, and so fast? You might start with a pair of hideous defensive measures. Through the end of the regular season, Memphis ranks 348th in three-pointers allowed: 9.1 per game. (This is according to College Basketball Reference, which tracks 362 teams in Division I.) And the Tigers rank 359th in offensive-rebounds allowed: 12.8 per game. These are effort stats. Bottom line: The Tigers haven’t guarded the perimeter and they haven’t hit the glass. In other words, they do a lot of standing and watching on defense. It’s murder on a team’s Final Four chances.
And there’s luck. Had Quinerly not hit those buzzer-beaters against Tulsa and SMU, there may not have been a 10-game winning streak or Top-10 ranking. Right player, right time, right moment … until the same player often looked like the wrong player, in the wrong time and moment. If you’re looking for a mercurial personification of a mercurial team, sadly, it’s Jahvon Quinerly.
Not to be discounted in the Tigers’ plight is the loss of Caleb Mills, yet another senior transfer (from Florida State and, before that, Houston) who suffered a catastrophic left-knee injury at Tulsa on January 4th. The team’s best perimeter defender and cultural “glue guy,” Mills embraced a role off the bench and contributed mightily in the Tigers’ four upsets of ranked teams. “I didn’t know Caleb’s magnitude until he went down,” said Hardaway in early February. The Tigers were 12-2 with Mills on the floor and have gone 10-7 without him.
If the loss of Mills exposed a susceptible Tiger rotation, the addition of Nae’Qwan Tomlin — a 6’10” midseason transfer from Kansas State — may have rescued that rotation’s integrity. (Mills and Tomlin only played three games together.) Tomlin’s ability to impose himself on both ends of the floor while providing visible, emotional energy has called to mind the play of former Tiger DeAndre Williams, the all-conference forward who completed his eligibility with the 2022-23 season. He earned Player of the Week honors from the AAC for his impact in wins over Charlotte and FAU in late February. Furthermore, Tomlin has a strong March track record, having helped the Wildcats to the Elite Eight of last year’s NCAA tournament. “He’s a big part of what we’re doing, moving forward,” emphasizes Hardaway. “We need his scoring ability, his rebounding ability, and his shot-blocking.”
However the Tigers’ postseason unfolds, Jones will leave a historic mark on the program. He’s the second consecutive Tiger (after Kendric Davis) to lead the AAC in scoring and earned first-team All-AAC recognition. He’s the only player in the country to average 21.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists and with 26 more points will become only the seventh Memphis player to score 700 in a single season. Jones is among five finalists for the Julius Erving Award, given to the nation’s top small forward.
THE RESOLUTION?
How does this four-month movie — to this point, a tragidrama — conclude before the credits roll? The happiest scenario has the Tigers banding together around their star trio (Jones, Quinerly, and Tomlin) and winning four games in four days at the AAC tournament this week in Fort Worth for an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. Once in the field, a rocky regular season would be forgotten in exchange for hopes of a glass slipper that leads to the Sweet 16 (at least). Hardaway teams have done this before, both last year when the Tigers knocked off top-ranked Houston to win the AAC crown and in 2021 when Memphis won a scaled-down NIT in North Texas.
A more likely scenario is a win or two this weekend and a return to the NIT, college basketball’s sock hop for those without prom tickets. Not the kind of consolation anyone near the Memphis basketball program will embrace. “God has a plan for this team,” said Hardaway after the Tigers erased a 22-point deficit and beat UAB by 19 on March 3rd. “For all we’ve gone through, I never gave up. … We have a better resume than all these teams: first four out, next four out. I don’t understand why our name isn’t up there. We’ve won enough big games for us to be in the conversation. We have some great wins.”
Remain in your seats, Tiger fans. However this season ends, it’s become clear we don’t want to miss it.
David Jones (Photo: Wes Hale)
The 700 Club
David Jones hopes to become only the seventh Tiger to score 700 points in a single season.
We Memphians know all about Sam Phillips and the legendary Sun Records, but who among us has heard of CZYZ Records? That might have been the name of the label that put Muddy Waters, Etta James, Howlin’ Wolf, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, and others on the map, had not the Polish-Jewish Czyz family followed the classic immigrant’s practice of Anglicizing their name at Ellis Island — to Chess. As a result, of course, Chess Records, founded by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess in 1950, became as much a keystone of the blues and rock-and-roll tradition as Sun Records or any other imprint in the business.
It’s worth noting the family’s old country surname because now, years after Chess Records was sold and became only an archival catalog, CZYZ Records really is a thing. That’s thanks to the ongoing efforts of Leonard’s son Marshall, who was in the thick of his father’s business from a young age, ultimately moving on after the legendary label was sold so he could head up Rolling Stones Records in the 1970s. These days, half a century later, he enjoys the quiet of the forest near Woodstock, New York.
“My daughter lives up the road,” he says contentedly. “And my son is right across the street. I have two grandchildren, and they come up all the time. So it’s like a little village.”
That’s where he dreams up projects, sitting in a small log outbuilding with a wood stove that serves as the ultimate man cave, stacked to the rafters with records (including God only knows how many first pressings), tapes, CDs, books, and the odd guitar. In the back is his floatation tank, not unlike those featured by Memphis’ own Shangri-La Records in its early days, and perhaps that explains his very active mind and clear-eyed memories. He’ll pivot from tales of recording Maurice White one minute, to his days crashing at Keith Richards’ house the next.
These days, he’s more often telling stories about the making of CZYZ Records’ newest album, New Moves by The Chess Project. Fittingly, it’s a tribute to the label his father and uncle launched, but done in an innovative way. Rather than using players from the blues world, Chess enlisted Keith LeBlanc, an old friend of his who got his start at the legendary Sugar Hill Records, drumming on classic tracks by Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel. LeBlanc, in turn, assembled a crack band that included Memphis virtuosos Eric Gale on guitar and MonoNeon on bass, along with Skip “Little Axe” McDonald (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five); Paul Nowinski (Keith Richards, Patti Smith) also on bass; Reggie Griffin (Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Chaka Khan) on keys; Alan Glen (Jeff Beck, Peter Green) on harmonica; and Mohini Dey, an up-and-coming young bass player from India. And then they added the ringer: someone who could deliver the classic songs from the Chess Records catalog.
“We had a bunch of ideas for vocalists,” Chess recalls. “And then we came up with Bernard Fowler. He’s a great vocalist. I mean, just listen to his work in Living Colour!” Fowler worked on that band’s 1993 album, Stain, but he’s even better known for being the Rolling Stones’ go-to backup singer since 1989.
The resulting album, though centered on classic tracks hand-picked by Chess himself (including “Boom Boom (Out Go the Lights),” “Moanin’ at Midnight,” “Mother Earth,” and “Smokestack Lightning,” to name a few), is not a traditional blues album at all. Rather, Fowler reinterprets the songs with his distinctively bold delivery, with the crack band backing him in a free-form funk style. Given the funky underpinnings of the record, it’s no surprise that the thing Marshall Chess loved most about it was LeBlanc’s playing.
“I called up Keith and said, ‘You know, my dad would have kissed your ass! Your foot is just the kind of foot he wanted in the blues.’” He began telling LeBlanc of Leonard Chess’ habit of playing kick drum himself on certain tracks, to ensure a heavy beat (c.f. Muddy Waters’ “Still a Fool”). LeBlanc, Chess said, had that same heavy-footed approach to the kick drum. But LeBlanc interrupted him. “Keith said, ‘Wait a minute. Stop.’ I said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘That’s not my style foot. I copied all those records you gave me!’ That was my dad’s style [of playing the kick] that I was hearing, through Keith!”
Travis Brady and the Crave Cheesecakes crew sell classic cheesecakes with assorted toppings. (Photos: Michael Donahue)
When he arrives at Crave Cheesecakes from his job with the Memphis Grizzlies, owner Travis Brady is wearing a button-down shirt, slacks, and wingtip dress shoes.
He then switches into his bakery mode. “I change my shirt,” he says. “I throw on a Crave Cheesecakes T-shirt. I’ve got one in the car.”
Then he slips off his wingtips, dons a pair of sneakers, and gets to work.
Crave Cheesecakes at 523 South Main Street is “very, very different, certainly,” from his job as premium sales manager with the Grizzlies, says Brady, 31. He wanted to start a business but, he says, “I didn’t necessarily know what. I knew that with help — between my family and close friends — our team would be able to at least create a really cool brand and experience.”
Brady came up with the idea of bringing a cheesecake bakery with the addition of “some premium desserts” to the Downtown area.
He hired chef Tyler Jividen, who makes the cheesecakes and cookies and currently is working on other cream cheese-inspired desserts. Also working at the bakery are Brady’s girlfriend Madeleine Everhardt and his buddy Connor Ryan.
And Brady hired his parents, Peter and Nidya Brady. “My parents are both retired and wanted to do something together.”
His dad, who retired from a manufacturing and logistics business, didn’t want to go back to working a corporate job. And he doesn’t play golf. Now he sells cheesecakes and cookies. “He loves it,” Brady says.
His mother, a retired teacher, works in the kitchen with Jividen. “My mother has never really been a baker, and she’s quite the baker now.”
And Brady bakes — on occasion. “I wouldn’t say that I’m an expert at it. Tyler is very patient with me and he shows me a few techniques along the way.”
Brady likes being in the kitchen with the “crew” filling orders. It’s “all hands on deck” and “making jokes and getting to know each other a little more.”
But, he adds, “I’m a sales guy. I can talk all day. So my passion and my expertise should be more on the customer service side, I think.”
Jividen, who has worked at Comeback Coffee in Memphis and the old P.O. Press Public House & Provisions in Collierville, also worked at Canlis restaurant and Bakery Nouveau in Seattle, Washington. He is “phenomenal,” Brady says. “He’s bringing all these new recipes. The first time I met him he’s like, ‘Hey. What are your thoughts on a Parmesan bacon marmalade caviar cheesecake?’”
For now, they’re selling classic cheesecakes with assorted toppings. “And we are slowly getting into a rotating cheesecake menu.”
They also sell cheesecake cookies. “We fill them with the ingredients you use to make a cheesecake.”
Brady and Jividen like to get feedback from customers. If they don’t like a particular cheesecake flavor, they ask why not. It might just be the addition of some nutmeg. Brady then calls the customer and asks them to try the cheesecake again.
Brady wants Crave to appeal to the people — whether they’re tourists or locals — walking down the street. “We got a great space where you get all walks of life coming in.”
Crave Cheesecakes is Memphis-centric. “I want a painting there,” Brady says, referring to a bare white wall. “Some local artists having their stuff there.”
Brady, who is from Ventura county near Los Angeles, California, moved to Memphis in 2008. “I do love Memphis. I love the simplicity of Memphis,” he says. “I love the area. I’ve made some amazing friends.”
Plus, Crave Bakery literally made Brady and his parents closer. “My parents live in Collierville. I used to see them once a week, and now I see them every day.
“My parents are moving Downtown next week. They’re selling their house in Collierville. They just enjoy it and want to be dedicated to the business.”
I step out my front door for a lunchtime walk on a sunny Monday afternoon. I scan the street for people as I turn my key to lock up. I put just one earbud in — so I can still be alert to my surroundings rather than blissfully lost in the music — and switch on my Spotify playlist. On a busy cross street, a male driver in a passing car honks at me. I make a mental note: a maroon Kia. I take a left going deeper into the neighborhood, and the same Kia creeps by two streets over. Are they following me? Is their intended destination over this way? I look at the houses ahead: which ones have cars in the driveway, which door I would knock on if I needed help …
March is Women’s History Month. A proclamation from the White House (published on whitehouse.gov at the end of February) summarizes:
“During Women’s History Month, we celebrate the courageous women who have helped our Nation build a fairer, more just society. Throughout history, the vision and achievements of powerful women have strengthened our Nation and opened the doors of opportunity wider for all of us. Though their stories too often go untold, all of us stand on the shoulders of these sung and unsung trailblazers — from the women who took a stand as suffragists, abolitionists, and labor leaders to pioneering scientists and engineers, groundbreaking artists, proud public servants, and brave members of our Armed Forces.”
I am truly grateful for the many women before me who suffered injustices and stood up for an equal place in society. To the pioneers whose work went uncelebrated, to the activists who were stifled but steadfast, to those who fought for me, for your mothers, your sisters, daughters, and granddaughters to live the lives we do today. The fight isn’t over though.
Women still fight every day. And not just over the gender pay gap. (Women earn 16 percent less than men on average, according to Forbes’ 2024 statistics.) Or being viewed as less-than in a work environment. (Women are about four times as likely as men to say they have been treated as if they were incompetent because of their gender — 23 percent of women versus 6 percent of men, according to Pew Research Center.) Or gender bias in healthcare. (Duke Health states, “Compared with male patients, women who present with the same condition may not receive the same evidence-based care. In several key areas, such as cardiac care and pain management, women may get different treatment, leading to poorer outcomes.” And Medical News Today reported, “a 2018 study found that doctors often view men with chronic pain as ‘brave’ or ‘stoic,’ but view women with chronic pain as ‘emotional’ or ‘hysterical.’”)
While discrimination against women appears in many forms, direct and subtle, perhaps the saddest — and most constant — inequity is our inability to feel safe going about our daily lives. I ran across the below tip list on social media.
Attention Ladies • Make sure you fill up your gas tank before sunset. • Always keep an extra phone charger with you. • Park in well-lit areas. • Always look in your backseat. • After parking, don’t just sit, lock your door as soon as you get in and leave. • Do not park next to big vans. If you have to, enter your car from your passenger door. • If a man is sitting in the car next to your parked car, go back inside; have someone walk you out. • Always use the elevator. No stairways. • Heads up and phones down. Be aware.
Sure, men may consider some of these precautions. But I can’t even take a walk midday without eyes on the back of my head — on every other person walking, every car that passes. A nighttime store run means peering into parked cars, watching for people following me through aisles or to my car — potential predators at every turn.
Strong women paved the way for a better life for me. But we are still at the mercy of men, at the mercy of those with ill intentions who could overpower us if they choose. While we celebrate Women’s History Month, let’s consider how far we’ve yet to go — and move forward with hope that one day we can feel truly safe as we navigate the world. Until then, I walk with one earbud in and eyes everywhere.
Leonard, Marshall, and Phil Chess in the 1960s (Photo: Courtesy Marshall Chess)
It’s only appropriate to bring news of the new Chess Records revival today, for it was on March 12, 1917, that Leonard Chess, the label’s co-founder, was born. In truth, he was christened Lejzor Szmuel Czyż at the time, when the family lived just west of Pinsk on the Yaselda River, Poland at the time, now Belarus. When they moved to America, settling in Chicago with Anglicized names, Lejzor became Leonard and his brother Fiszel became Phil. Together they would go on to found one of the most groundbreaking and influential independent labels in the history of blues, jazz, and especially rock-and-roll.
Memphian Robert E. “Buster” Williams, whose Plastic Products Company pressed and distributed vinyl, was involved with the brothers early on, and it was Williams who suggested that Leonard and Phil name their new label “Chess.” (This and more can be found in Nadine Cohodas’ excellent history of the label). Indeed, the label had many ties to Memphis, from Chess Records hits like “Rocket 88” and “Moanin’ at Midnight” being recorded by Sam Phillips, to young Memphian Maurice White joining the house band.
That tradition only continues with the involvement of Memphis virtuosos Eric Gales and MonoNeon in a recent album by The Chess Project, New Moves, as detailed in this week’s music feature.
Yet the album is but a piece of a larger plan now being pursued by Leonard’s son Marshall, who was in the thick of the label’s business until Leonard and Phil sold the company in 1969. Leonard would die at the age of 52 later that year. Since that time, as ownership of the label’s catalog shifted over the decades, Marshall remained as the keeper of the family’s real legacy: their memories. And lately, he’s more committed than ever to telling their story.
Partnering with Marshall Chess on this mission is longtime friend Richard Ganter, who worked with Marshall to promote the Legendary Masters series in the mid-1990s. Five years ago, Ganter suggested they create a richly illustrated, high-quality coffee table book, and during the onset of Covid they made it happen, Chess Record Corp.: A Tribute, with Marshall providing the foreword.
Upon the book’s release, Ganter and Chess also started the YouTube channel, Chess Records Tribute, to promote the book and provide a multimedia venue to showcase the legacy of the Chess family — with Marshall’s full support.
“The channel covers blues, rock-and-roll, soul, gospel, and jazz, plus comedy — the entire Chess history,” says Ganter. After the soft launch in July 2020 and a fuller launch this January, the YouTube channel now offers over 500 videos. Recently the pair have started to produce podcasts concerning the history of Chess Records as well, sometimes touching on Marshall Chess’ time as the first president of Rolling Stones Records in the 1970s.
All in all, it’s a music historian’s dream, and a treasury of ripping good yarns as well — a fitting memorial to Leonard Chess and worth a visit on his birthday.
Ms. Pat (photo: Mindy Tucker | courtesy Loshak PR)
Memphis comedy enthusiasts are in for a treat as the renowned comedian Ms. Pat gears up to hit the stage at Minglewood Hall on March 15th as part of her “Ya Girl Done Made It” comedy tour.
“I honestly didn’t know if I had a big enough audience in Memphis, but people kept asking me to come,” said Ms. Pat. “So I told my agent to book the show and I cannot wait to get there and make my fans happy.”
Ms. Pat, who was raised on the streets of Atlanta, gained recognition in the comedy community for her unreserved and brutally honest humor. She addresses subjects like family dynamics and societal issues by drawing on her personal experiences, all the while delivering punchlines with perfect timing and wit.
It all started with her standup career where she started discussing her life drawing connections from being a convicted felon and the rough streets of Atlanta into connecting with her audience. There was one joke in particular that led to her tw0-time Emmy-nominated BET sitcom, The Ms. Pat Show.
“The more I did interviews, the more I started to paint a picture, and that is when I started to get calls from Hollywood,” says Ms. Pat.
Now that the Ms. Pat Show is on season three, Ms. Pat has been making strides to connect with her audience on different levels. Her standup special Y’all Want to Hear Something Crazy is currently streaming on Netflix.
“I always say I am like a buffet,” says Ms. Pat. “I try to create stuff to where if you don’t like this then maybe you will like this.”
Her weekly court style show, Ms. Pat Settles It, recently premiered on BET. The show resembles the Judge Judy show. The comedian and her jury of comedy friends resolve conflicts that arise on a daily basis.
“I am just so thankful and grateful to be in this position,” said Ms. Pat. “Not only am I doing what I want to do, but I am also helping young and up-and-coming comedians with this tour.” Tickets for the Minglewood show can be found on Ticketmaster and Ms. Pat’s official website.
Check out her 11/6/23 appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers here:
Nothing warms the heart of Music Video Monday like a little Memphis DIY video. Anna Rose Baker, a young singer-songwriter from the Bluff City, is also an emerging video auteur. In “Afterthought,” Baker appears in two guises: as the shy would-be lover (which the credits identify as “herself”) and the confident rock star Ramona. It’s the “Jolene” dynamic, with Ramona pausing mid-song to take a call from the guy she’s toying with (Emmett Carlson as Glen the office guy), while Anna watches helplessly from the sidelines.
Most importantly, the music is great. “Afterthought” features a soaring, beautiful chorus and tough-minded lyrics about loss and longing. Baker’s future seems bright, if she can just get over that loser Glen. But don’t take my word for it, take a look:
If you’d like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphsflyer.com.
