Trailblazing Divas Are Revered National Treasures

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3 AT 8 PM

A Lexus Passionate Performance; media support provided by KKJZ

Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer Gladys Knight and eight-time Grammy® winner Chaka Khan - trailblazing divas who have collectively sold millions of albums during their respective careers - heat things up with their fiery jazz and soul as Jazz at the Hollywood Bowl continues on Wednesday, August 3 at 8 p.m. National treasures with dozens of Top 20 hits between them, they have inspired countless musicians, including Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, and Kanye West, and pushed racial and musical boundaries while consistently raising the entertainment bar.

Chaka Khan performs repertoire with orchestra, led by Philharmonic Assistant Conductor Alexander Mickelthwate, from a recent album, featuring arrangements of jazz standards, while Gladys Knight sings her hits.

Ever inventive, CHAKA KHAN is a musical icon loved by millions of fans. Since her arrival on the scene in the early 1970's, Chaka Khan - award-winning singer, songwriter and community advocate - has been setting the standards in most every music genre: pop, rhythm & blues rock, disco, fusion, jazz, rap, hip ho and even classical. Her recent triumphant Earthsong Records release, Classikhan, recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, celebrates Chaka's 30th anniversary as a performer. On the recording, she adds her unique voice to jazz and blues standards, movie themes and Broadway tunes. Chaka is widely regarded as one of the most exciting stage performers of our time, a reputation that goes back to her early years when she became lead singer for Rufus, one of the first multi-racial bands of its time. The group began to make an unrivalled impact on the music world with its platinum album, five gold albums, five gold singles, five #1 hits and two Grammy® Awards. Among the group's many enduring hits are: "Sweet Thing," "Tell Me Something Good," "Everlasting Love." Launching her solo career with "I'm Every Woman," Chaka has recorded nine albums and been honored with a total of six Grammy® Awards for her solo work. Her classic hits include: "What Cha Gonna Do For Me?" "Clouds," "I Feel For You," and "Through the Fire." She has also worked with such diverse artists as Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Prince, Dizzy Gillespie, Manhattan Transfer, Bobby McFerrin, Lionel Hampton, Eric Clapton, Fourplay, Ry Cooder, Phil Collins, Miles Davis, and veteran rapper De La Soul. Additionally, Chaka has recorded 15 movie soundtracks, among them the multi-platinum "Waiting to Exhale," and Spike Lee's "Clockers." She and Michael MacDonald recorded "For Your Love" for the television show of the same name, she also recorded the theme song for Lavar Burton's PBS television show "Reading Room" and has been inducted into the "Sesame Street" family, performing with characters Elmo and Telly.

Celebrating 56 years of sharing her musical gift with people around the globe, recording legend GLADYS KNIGHT has made an indelible mark on the music world. At age four, she began singing as a soloist in church. Three years later, at age seven, she won the Grand Prize on Ted Mack's Amateur Hour, and the following year, she, along with her brother Bubba, her sister Brenda, and cousins William and Elinor Guest, formed The Pips. Following some personnel changes in 1962, the group was renamed Gladys Knight and the Pips. Four decades of hits followed on several record labels, including Motown, Buddah, Columbia, and MCA. Ten songs reached #1 on the R&B chard, five became Top 20 pop hits, and three were awarded Grammys. With Gladys singing and the Pips providing lush harmonies, the group went on to achieve icon status, having recording some of the most memorable songs of the 60's, 70's and 80's. Top hits like "Every Beat of My Heart," "Letter Full of Tears," "I heard It Through The Grapevine," and the #1 smash hit "Midnight Train to Georgia" established Gladys Knight and the Pips as the premier pop/R&B vocal ensemble in the world. Gladys enjoyed another #1 hot in 1985 when she teamed with Stevie Wonder, Elton John, and Dionne Warwick on "That's What Friends Are For." To date the singer/songwriter has recorded over 36 albums, including four solo albums since 1990: Good Woman (1991), Just For You (1994), her inspirational Many Different Roads (1999), and At Last (2001), for which Gladys won her first solo Grammy. In 1992, she made her off-Broadway debut, starring in the play "Madam Lily." She also sang on the soundtrack for the motion picture "Claudine" (1974), acted in the films "An Enemy Among Us," "Desperado," and recorded the title theme for the James Bond movie "License To Kill" (1989). In 2000, Gladys made her Broadway debut starring in "Smokey Joes Café," which also toured across the county.

One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the HOLLYWOOD BOWL has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922, and in 1991 gave its name to the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, a resident ensemble that has filled a special niche in the musical life of Southern California. The 2004 season introduced audiences to a revitalized Hollywood Bowl, featuring a newly-constructed shell and stage and the addition of four stadium screens enhancing stage views in the venue. To this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's concerts. While the Bowl is best known for its sizzling summer nights, during the day California's youngest patrons enjoy "SummerSounds: Music for Kids at the Hollywood Bowl," the Southland's most popular summer arts festival for children, now in its 37th season. Attendance figures over the past several decades have soared: in 1980 the Bowl first topped the half-million mark and close to one million admissions have been recorded. In February 2005, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue at the 16th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards; it is no wonder that the Bowl's summer music festival has become as much a part of a Southern California summer as beaches and barbecues, the Dodgers, and Disneyland.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2005 at 8 PM

HOLLYWOOD BOWL

2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood

GLADYS KNIGHT

CHAKA KHAN

Alexander Mickelthwate, conductor

A Lexus Passionate Performance; Media sponsor is KKJZ 88.1 FM

Tickets ($4 - $42) are on sale now at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office, by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, at all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons May, Tower Records, and Ritmo Latino locations), or online at HollywoodBowl.com. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount, subject to availability; call 323.850.2050 for further details.
For general information or to request a brochure, call 323.850.2000.

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