Join us at Unity of Bloomington for Golden Slippers Chi Gong led by Elisa Pokral on Monday evenings. Whether you are a young adult, thirty something, middle aged, or elderly, Elisa’s vision for this class is for all to practice together an ancient art of health maintenance and healing with whatever flexibility level you have. The class welcomes those who exercise regularly, those who don’t, those with limited mobility, and some who may only be able to do the exercises sitting down. The class costs $10 and drop-ins are welcome at any time.

The murder of a young Christian boy named William in the town of Norwich, England in 1144, was used as a weapon to fuel a lie that Jews engaged in “blood libels,” ritual murders of Christian children to use their blood for Jewish rituals. THE MURDER OF WILLIAM OF NORWICH: The Origins of the Blood Libel in Medieval Europe (Oxford University Press, July 2015) by E.M. Rose reveals how a false myth can arise from cold-blooded political intrigue and change the course of history.

Placing the murders and their trials in the context of 12th century England, the Second Crusade, Church reform, and the position of Jews in medieval society, Emily Rose unravels the facts to show how this terrible lie provoked instances of torture, death and the expulsion of thousands of Jews and the extermination of hundreds of Jewish communities.

About the Directors

Michael Spiro

Michael Spiro is a world-renowned percussionist, recording artist, and educator, known specifically for his work in the Latin music field.

Spiro’s formal education includes a bachelor’s degree with honors in Latin American Studies from the University of California, and three and a half years of graduate work in ethnomusicology at the University of Washington. His practical education consists of a seven- year apprenticeship with Francisco Aguabella (a relationship which continues today) and extensive study throughout Latin America. He has studied annually in Cuba since 1984 with musicians such as Jose Luis Quintana (“Changuito”), Esteban Vega Bacallao (“Cha-Cha”), Daniel Diaz and Juan “Claro” Blanco of Orquesta Ritmo Oriental, Regino Jimenez, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas and Grupo Afro-Cuba de Matanzas. In addition, in 1986, he spent two months training at G.R.E.S. Portela, the famous Escola de Samba in Rio de Janeiro.

Spiro currently resides in San Francisco, Calif., where he is an integral part of the Bay Area music scene. He records and produces with groups throughout the West Coast and still tours world-wide with the percussion trio Talking Drums, which he co-leads with David Garibaldi and Jesus Diaz. In June 1996, his recording Bata-Ketu was released on Bembe Records to international critical acclaim, including being voted one of the top 50 drum records of all time by Drum Magazine.

In 2004, Spiro received a Grammy nomination for his work as both producer and artist on Mark Levine’s Latin/jazz release Isla, and, in 2005, he released BataMbira, which he wrote and produced with Professor B. Michael Williams. The CD received rave reviews around the world for its fusion of Afro-Cuban folkloric music with the mbira music of Zimbabwe, and that same year, he was voted runner-up in the jazz/fusion category in Drum Magazine’s Reader’s Poll Awards. In 2006, Chuck Sher Publications released his book, The Conga Drummer’s Guidebook, and it has already become the standard in the field for intermediate/advanced instruction.

He is a frequent visiting artist at universities worldwide. In addition to the position he held in the Jazz Department at the University of California, Berkeley, Spiro has taught at numerous colleges throughout North America and Europe, and continues to be a presenter at national and statewide conventions of the Percussive Arts Society and the International Association of Jazz Educators.

Spiro’s recording and performing credits include such diverse artists as David Byrne, Cachao, The Caribbean Jazz Project, Dori Caymmi, Changuito, Richard Egues, Frank Emilio Flynn, Ella Fitzgerald, David Garibaldi, Gilberto Gil, Giovanni Hidalgo, Ray Holman, Toninho Horta, Bobby Hutcherson, Dr. John, Mark Levine and the Latin Tinge, Machete Ensemble, Bobby McFerrin, Andy Narell, Ray Obiedo, Chico O’Farrill, Eddie Palmieri, Lazaro Ros, David Rudder, Carlos Santana, Grace Slick, Omar Sosa, Talking Drums, Clark Terry, McCoy Tyner and Charlie Watts. In addition, he has recorded on soundtracks to such major motion pictures as Soapdish, Henry and June, True Stories, Sworn To The Drum, Walker, Eddie Macon’s Run and Dragon-The Life of Bruce Lee. He also wrote several arrangements for the Tony Award-winning Broadway show BLAST!, which was released on video by PBS in 2002.

Wayne Wallace

Wayne Wallace is professor of practice in jazz at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

A five-time Grammy nominee, he is one of the most respected exponents of African American-Latin music in the world today.

Wallace is known for the use of traditional forms and styles in combination with contemporary music and has earned wide critical acclaim, including placement in both the trombone and producer categories of the DownBeat Critics Poll.

He is an accomplished arranger, educator, and composer with compositions for film and television. He has received grants from the Creative Work Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Lila Wallace Foundation, and the San Francisco Arts Commission.

Wallace has performed, recorded, and studied with many acknowledged masters of the Afro-Latin and jazz idioms, such as Aretha Franklin, Bobby Hutcherson, Earth Wind and Fire, Pete Escovedo, Santana, Julian Priester, Conjunto Libre, Whitney Houston, Tito Puente, Steve Turre, John Lee Hooker, Con Funk Shun, Francisco Aguabella, Manny Oquendo and Libre, Max Roach, the Count Basie Orchestra, and Orestes Vilató. This experience has provided a solid foundation for Wallace’s current explorations of the intersections of a wealth of cultural styles and rhythmic concepts.

Born and raised in San Francisco, Calif., Wallace was exposed to blues, country and western, R&B, jazz, and Afro-Caribbean music at an early age. The fertile musical environment of the San Francisco Bay Area shaped his career in a unique way. His studies of Afro-Latin music and jazz have included several trips to Cuba, New York City, and Puerto Rico.

Widely respected as a teacher and historian, Wallace has taught at San Jose State University, Stanford University, and the Jazzschool in Berkeley. He has conducted lectures, workshops and clinics in the Americas and Europe since 1983.

In addition, he is a member of the advisory committees of the San Jose Jazz Society and the Stanford Jazz Workshop.

As the head of the critically acclaimed Patois Records, Wallace has created a unique record label with a passionate mission of developing and chronicling the multi-lingual styles of the San Francisco Bay Area music scene.

Under his direction the label has released 13 recordings to critical acclaim, including recordings by Wallace, Marc and Paul van Wageningen, and vocalists Kat Parra, Alexa Weber-Morales, and Kristina.

Recently, the label released Wallace’s Latin Jazz-Jazz Latin, an album that displays all of the thrilling interplay, melodic invention, and blazing improvisational flights that distinguish his music.

Salsa De La Bahía, a compilation showcasing Bay Area salsa and Latin jazz, produced by Wallace and Rita Hargrave, will be released Aug. 6.

He is an endorser of Conn-Selmer trombones.

Mike Schutte walked into one of our monthly ‘Share-a-Chair’ evenings a few weeks ago and performed his way into our hearts with his cool songs, beautiful presentation, and winning personality. His songs are fresh, well-presented and his demeanor relaxed and fun. We welcome Mike to his first Feature Writer spot! Rick Nagy has been around Bloomington for a few years now, and tonight he’ll be working with his co-writer – . Rick is a Blues man and he likes to mix it up with humor, and Alternative / Texas Swing style music. FINALLY! Kenan Rainwater (www.kenanrainwater.com has agreed to join us for a Songwriter Showcase. Kenan is fairly well known with his work in Brown County and especially with the Indiana Boys. He’s performed with Tim Grimm and a few other notable Singer-Songwriters and we sure do look forward to having him on our stage this evening! Tonight is our monthly ‘Open Share-a-Chair’ evening and we’ll be featuring up to six talented new writers who will each perform one song tonight. If you are an aspiring Singer-Songwriter and would like to snag a spot – email us at [email protected] and if we have spaces left, we’ll add ya to the lineup!
Remember – NO COVER and ALL AGES are welcomed.