Legendary Tony Award-winning actress and three-time Grammy nominee Melba Moore on Sunday, June 14, wowed patrons at a pre-Father’s Day Jazz & Cocktails celebration at the American Legion Hall, on East 92nd Street and Conklin Avenue, in the Canarsie Section of Brooklyn.
Moore, 80 — who starred in the Broadway musicals “Hair,” “Purlie!,” “Timbuktu!,” and “Les Miserables” — electrified the ebullient audience with two of her multitudinous hits, “You Stepped into My Life” and “Fallin’.”
After singing “You Stepped into My Life,” Moore told ecstatic fans: “I love singing for you.”
She received a standing ovation prior to and after her spell-binding renditions at the 12th Annual event, hosted by the Brooklyn-based community organization, Vincentian-American Independent National Charities, Inc. (VINCI), and coordinated by public relations officer Enisha Fern Dopwell.
Patrons then rushed to the right side of the stage to purchase an autographed copy of Moore’s new memoir, “This Is It: Marvelous & Getting Better,” co-authored by Kevin E. Taylor.
“For decades, this lady has captivated audiences,” said WBLS Radio’s Lenny Green, who served as Master of Ceremonies, in introducing Moore. “She’s a Tony Award-winning actress; one of the first Black actresses to appear on Broadway.”
“This lady has given us so much,” he added.
After sitting for an impromptu interview with Moore, Green, whose grandfather hailed from Jamaica, remarked: “This is history sitting besides me. This lady broke color barriers.
“Understand your history, and history is what you have here tonight,” he added.
Later, Green told Caribbean Life that Moore’s appearance was “very much needed to instill the importance of supporting each other.
“This show was about giving back to the community,” he said. “I’m glad the proceeds will go in supporting the Salvation Army in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.”
“This Is It: Marvelous & Getting Better” is available on Amazon.
Moore — who was born in New York City and grew up in Harlem until 9, when her mother remarried to jazz pianist Clement Leroy Moorman and the family relocated to Newark, NJ — has been “a global success for over 50 years,” Amazon said.
Amazon says Moore “shares her strategies for longevity” in the new book.
“’This Is It: Marvelous & Getting Better’ takes the reader on the highs and lows of Melba’s career,” Amazon says. “The entertainment veteran shares how she had to pivot time and again, especially in an industry that didn’t always know what to do with the massive voice within her petite being.
VINCI’s pre-Father’s Day jazz and cocktails also featured a wide array of artists, including Jazz singer Boncella Lewis with her band, Miss B and Friends; Hayden Castello, 17, son of DJ Hailes Castello, on clarinet; panist DoMo (the Jack of All Trades); Jazz Trio, Richie Nick and Friends; violinist Majid Khaliq; and classical pianist Sean Sutherland, featuring Addison Stoddard on vocals.
Sutherland and Stoddard brought the house down with, among others, “You’re My Inspiration”; “If You Don’t Know Me by Now”; “Many Rivers to Cross”; “Just to Have You Back Again”; “Hello”; “Our Nation is Born”; and “St. Vincent My Homeland.”
Three of the prospective contestants in the Caribbean American Cultural Group, Inc.’s (CACG) 2026 Miss New York Continental Cultural Pageant made guest appearances.
They were Nia Jordan (Miss Trinidad and Tobago; Alex Colliard (Miss Belize); and Adiana Basquiat (Miss Haiti).
Other contestants comprise DeAsia Samuels (Miss Puerto Rico); Raylene Brown Alexander (Miss St. Vincent and the Grenadines); Octavia Grimes (Miss Guyana); and Samia Leslie (Miss Jamaica).
The pageant takes place on Saturday, June 20, 3:00 p.m., at I.S. 275, 985 Rockaway Ave., Brooklyn.
Patrons at the VINCI Pre-Father’s Day Jazz & Cocktails observed a moment of silence in honor of the passing of prominent Vincentian social and political activist and journalist Renwick Rose.
New St. Vincent and the Grenadines Consul General to the United States Roland “Patel” Matthews said it pleased his heart “to see Vincentians coming together.
“Continue to do what you’re doing,” he urged. “God bless you and keep you.”
VINCI President Wayne Ragguette said he was delighted with the turnout.
“It was good; it was well-attended,” he told Caribbean Life. “The performances were of a very high standard.
“Everybody enjoyed it – the food, the ambience, the music,” he added.
