One of the biggest stars at this year\u2019s Jazz in the Gardens Music Fest isn\u2019t performing. But she will undoubtedly put her stamp on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grammy-winning soul and R&B singer-songwriter Betty Wright \u2014 whose eye for talent discovered disco legends George and Gwen McCrae, Peter Brown and KC & the Sunshine Band, and who toured with reggae king Bob Marley in 1979 \u2014 is curating the Sunday Soul4U2NJOY stage, which showcases lesser-known acts, both local and national, that she feels has that \u201cit factor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you want names, however, you\u2019ll have to go to the show, because Wright is not revealing her performers beforehand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying to make it a surprise for our locals,\u201d she says. \u201cObviously, if you live in Miami, you\u2019ll know some of the acts, because they have a reputation for slaying wherever they go. And then, there will be some acts that I\u2019ve brought in town from some other places that deserve to be reckoned with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The festival, now in its 14th year, hits Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Saturday and Sunday and features superstars including Lionel Richie, Teddy Riley, En Vogue, Blackstreet, Bobby Brown, Doug E. Fresh, Stephanie Mills, Brandy, the O\u2019Jays, the JITG All Stars and many more. These names will draw massive crowds, creating perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for up-and-comers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI just want to make some history for some of these people that maybe would never get to sing for 50- to 80,000 people,\u201d Wright says. \u201cI remember the rush that I got when the stadium was completed in Miami, when it was called Joe Robbie \u2014 I was the first one to sing there. And that\u2019s important. Those are historic moments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And potentially lucrative ones. \u201cI\u2019ve heard that 50 or 60 percent of the people that will be [in the audience] are South Floridians,\u201d Wright says, \u201cand that\u2019s really important, because if they are club owners, or even if they\u2019re just having parties, they\u2019re someone who may need your services. So if they see someone and they like it, they see who they are, where they\u2019re from and their social-media handles, and it could garner them some work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wright is drawn to artists who offer something extraordinary, something more than a pitch-perfect voice or fast fingers on a guitar neck. \u201cI don\u2019t just look for the best singer or best musician. I look for a well-rounded artist,\u201d she says. \u201cI can always tell if someone is gonna be a star. I don\u2019t know what it is. If it\u2019s innate, so be it. But my mother trained us to not just listen to the music or the words to a song, but see the complete package. And I think if someone has a hit record, when we go to a show, we\u2019re expecting as good or better. And sometimes, the person doesn\u2019t sound like the record because things are so advanced now that they use so much extra on the voice, and so many technical additions, that when you see the person live, you\u2019re very disappointed. So I look for a person that can just flatfooted do what they do if they were in the middle of a desert, and they didn\u2019t have equipment. They can pat on their leg and do something. I like raw talent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finding those diamonds in the rough is a lengthy process but a labor of love for Wright. At age 65, she still hits the clubs in search of greatness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThroughout the years of working and going to shows in Miami and South Florida, I keep numbers,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd my daughters, who also perform, are always telling me who\u2019s hot and who\u2019s not, and they say if you want to hear them, they\u2019re singing at X,Y or Z tonight. And sometimes, I\u2019ll just stand near the back, inconspicuously, and check them out. Because usually if they know I\u2019m coming, they have the \u2018get ready for Betty Wright syndrome\u2019 [laughs]. And I don\u2019t like that \u2018get ready for Betty,\u2019 because they either overproduce their show or have just gone beyond and gotten afraid. And then, instead of them having a tenacious performance, it\u2019s a scary performance. Because now they\u2019ve intimidated themselves. Just knowing I\u2019m in the building takes them somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wright\u2019s involvement with the Marley family extends beyond her time spent on Bob Marley\u2019s \u201cSurvival Tour\u201d back in the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor the past 3 1\/2 years, I\u2019ve been working with his grandson, Skip, who had a [hit] record [\u2018Chained to the Rhythm\u2019] with Katy Perry,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd the experience with Bob \u2014 I can almost live it every day, because I\u2019m always telling his grandson something that Bob did, because he didn\u2019t get to meet him. And not only did I get to do the tours with Bob, but we were also friends, because my husband [Noel \u2018King Sporty\u2019 Williams] wrote \u2018Buffalo Soldier.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA lot of times when I am with Skip, I don\u2019t want to say channel, but there\u2019s so much about Skip that is so reminiscent of his grandfather that I have to stop and shake my head,\u201d Wright continues. \u201cYou have no idea how spooky it is sometimes. I\u2019ll be talking to him, and the way he\u2019ll answer me, or the way he\u2019ll laugh at something I say \u2014 I can remember Bob thought that I was really, really funny because of the way I tell my stories. I\u2019d say, \u2018Why are you laughing?\u2019 And he\u2019d say, \u2018It\u2019s the way you say it.\u2019 And I\u2019d be talking about something and I\u2019d be so serious, and I\u2019d want him to be serious, but he just couldn\u2019t stop laughing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut yeah, I get to think about Bob quite a bit, having been around his family, and I think that\u2019s why I love things like Jazz in the Gardens \u2014 you get to see all these types of music. \u2026 It\u2019s a perfect weekend for music lovers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grammy-winning R&B and soul singer Stephanie Mills, who got her start at the tender age of 9 on Broadway in \u201cMaggie Flynn\u201d and then turned heads starring as Dorothy in \u201cThe Wiz,\u201d will take the stage Saturday for a 45-minute set heavy on hits such as \u201cHome,\u201d \u201c(You\u2019re Puttin\u2019) A Rush on Me\u201d and her signature song, \u201cNever Knew Love Like This Before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mills says she appreciates kicking off her career in theater \u201cbecause it gives you discipline,\u201d but it made the transition to the music world somewhat difficult. \u201cNever Knew Love\u201d changed all that, in 1981 beating out the likes of Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Roberta Flack and Minnie Riperton for Grammys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt made people notice me in the record industry,\u201d Mills recalls. \u201cBecause coming from theater and Broadway to being a recording artist is not that easy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mills offers some advice for aspiring artists on the Jazz in the Gardens lineup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cReally have someone around you that you trust,\u201d she says. \u201cWrite your own songs, and do not sell them to people \u2014 keep your publishings and just stay true to yourself. And deposit your own money in the bank.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ArtburstMiami.com<\/a><\/em> is a nonprofit source of theater, dance, music and performing-arts news.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jazz in the Gardens Music Fest will begin at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium, 347 Don Shula Dr., Miami Gardens. Single-day passes cost $72-$110; two-day passes cost $99-$247. Go to JazzInTheGardens.com<\/a><\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n