Soul singer Roberta Flack belts out a tune during a 1971 concert at the Trident Lounge at Cal State College in Los Angeles, CA. The following year, she won a Grammy for “Killing Me Softly,” becoming the first artist to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in two consecutive years.
“First Time I Ever Saw Your Face,” a song from First Take, was personally selected by Clint Eastwood for his directorial debut Play Misty for Me, and it would win Flack a Grammy Award. In 1968, moonlighting from her job as a music teacher with a regular gig at a Washington, DC, nightclub, her singular talent caught the eye of jazz great Les McCann, who arranged an audition for Flack with Atlantic Records, which led to the recording of her debut album, First Take.
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In addition to Flack’s timeless music, the film also features an original score from award-winning musician Martin Perna of Antibalas ( Fela!: The Musical).Ī piano prodigy from an early age, Flack began studying classical piano at age 9 and was awarded a full music scholarship to Howard University at the age of 15. Flack’s story is illuminated through interviews with Reverend Jesse Jackson (political activist and minister), Clint Eastwood (actor, director and producer), Yoko Ono (multimedia artist, singer-songwriter, activist), Angela Davis (political activist), Eugene McDaniels (singer-songwriter), Joel Dorn (producer), Peabo Bryson (singer-songwriter), Valerie Simpson (songwriter, producer and performer), Les McCann (musician), Sean Lennon (musician) Jason King (music scholar, musician and author), Ann Powers (music critic, author) and more. Roberta Flack portrait.Īmerican Masters: Roberta Flack provides an intimate look into Flack’s artistry, life and triumphs over racism and sexism within and outside of the recording industry. ET on PBS, pbs.org/americanmasters and the PBS Video App. American Masters: Roberta Flack premieres nationwide Tuesday, January 24 at 9 p.m. With exclusive access to Flack’s archives of film, performances, interviews, home movies, photos, hit songs and unreleased music, the film documents how Flack’s musical virtuosity was inseparable from her lifelong commitment to civil rights. American Masters: Roberta Flack illuminates where reality, memory and imagination mix to present music icon Roberta Flack, a brilliant artist who transformed popular culture, in her own words.
New film tells Flack’s story in her own words and includes interviews with Reverend Jesse Jackson, Clint Eastwood, Yoko Ono, Angela Davis, Eugene McDaniels, Joel Dorn, Peabo Bryson and moreįrom “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” to “Killing Me Softly” and beyond, Roberta Flack gave voice to a global soundtrack of beauty and pain, love and anguish, hope and struggle. 24 at 9 pmĪmerican Masters Presents Broadcast Premiere of Roberta Flack January 24 on PBS He is currently the Co-Chair of Operation P.O.W.E.R., a grass-roots political organization that uses the electoral arena to regain power at the local level, to return it the hands and will of the people.Follow the music icon from a piano lounge through her rise to stardom, “Roberta Flack” on AMERICAN MASTERS, Jan. To producing and directed several noteworthy commercials and music videos, he has written, produced and directing four films with his latest release, “Under The Heavens”, gaining international acclaim, screening on 5 different continents and winning the prestigious Best Drama award in Marbella, Spain at the I Filmmaker International Film Festival.Ĭommitted to upholding the tradition of the “artist-activists” that served before him, he views his contributions in the arts as tentacles of his larger participation in the freedom struggle and advancement of all people. A few current and former clients include Sony Music, Def Jam Records, Lions Gate Entertainment and PBS. Washington launched two production companies, New Day Music Group, Inc. At the age of three, he began to explore his musical talents and in time became a self-taught music prodigy. He was natured by the black Pentecostal musical experience, immersed himself with the best of Jazz and Hip-Hop greatness, and in 1998, graduated from The Juilliard School Of Music (MAP). Hails from a diverse family of community activist, musicians, actors, and academic scholars. Washington was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Tyrik “Keyz” Washington is an eight-time NY EMMY award nominee and a 2014 EMMY Award Winning producer.
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