From 2001 to 2008, she presented this annual all-woman series in the 1,250 seat John Anson Ford Amphitheatre under a yearly co-production agreement with the Los Angeles County Arts Commission as part of their annual “Summers at the Ford”. Wells Fargo, Miller Brewing Company and KABC7 were the major corporate sponsors for several of those events. In 2005, she produced two additional concerts as part of the Ford’s Summer Series (“IWP presents the Mariachi Divas”, a band that went on make history in 2009 as the first all-woman mariachi band to be nominated and to win a Grammy and the “Gospel Jubilee” produced in partnership with prominent jazz radio personality James Janisse).
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La Quetta M. Shamblee
CEO of MADCatfish Entertainment, LLC La Quetta has gained a reputation for dynamic presentations while producing the “Instrumental Women™ Project (IWP) “Lady Jazz” Concert Series for nine-consecutive years, from 2000 - 2008. Initially presented in 2000 to a sold-out audience in the 600-seat Goldenson Theatre at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in North Hollywood, the production was included in the L.A. Times year-end list of “Best Live Jazz Performances.” During the first five years, this regional showcase of an all-woman line-up of jazz instrumentalists was lauded with the L.A. Times Calendar Section “Best Bets” designation as “the” recommended weekend jazz venue for three years. For several years, she shifted focus to smaller productions while completing The Grantbuilder™, a book on grantwriting that she uses to teach a course for UCLA Extension. During this time she presented a Jazz Theatre Series of live musical performances for two seasons at Sierra Madre Playhouse, including “Satin Dolls” (a tribute to Sarah Vaughn, Nina Simone, Carmen McCray and Dinah Washington featuring jazz vocalist Phyllis Battle, “Jazz Up! with James Janisse” (a simulated radio broadcast that featured an IWP Lady Jazz Ensemble) and “Three Jazz Gents” (a showcase featuring three male vocalists). Her interest in production resulted in her first short film, “Girls Don’t Do That,” which premiered in March of this year at the 16th Annual Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles.
Her experience in production extends beyond jazz and blues genres. She was a long-term member on the production team for the Southern CA Cherry Blossom Festival (100% volunteer organization). By its 10th and final year, the Little Tokyo event had grown to attract 60,000 to 70,000 over the two-day weekend. She served in various roles, including a member of planning committee, publicist and stage manager. In 2005, she was hired by the Pacific Southwest Regional office of American Friends Service Committee (Quakers) to plan and coordinate an 8-day, 5-city, “Eyes Wide Open” tour in the Greater Los Angeles region. This multi-faceted exhibit was covered by every major media outlet, television and radio, including Spanish-language media. |
Her very first production in 1998 was a “Women in Jazz & Gospel Extravaganza” benefit concert to raise funds for an L.A.-based HIV/AIDS charity that served women and children. It was presented in Leimert Park to a capacity crowd at the 1,000 Vision Theatre (at the time the theatre was owned by actress Marla Gibbs, best known as the live-in maid on The Jefferson’s sitcom). In her role as an executive-level administrator with fundraising responsibilities for nonprofit organizations, she has extensive experience with the planning and coordination of large scale, multi-faceted events. This has shaped her unique approach and ability to engage groups and businesses to take an active role in cultural events in their communities.
She is poised and focused on a lifelong passion to pay homage to this American music genre, with a splash of jazz thrown in for good measure. This producer’s unique background in fundraising, community engagement and multi-faceted, highly-visible events places her in the right place at the right time to build MADCatfish into one of the most successful annual blues festivals and related performance brands in Southern California. Contact La Quetta M. Shamblee via email at LaQ@MADCatfish.net.
She is poised and focused on a lifelong passion to pay homage to this American music genre, with a splash of jazz thrown in for good measure. This producer’s unique background in fundraising, community engagement and multi-faceted, highly-visible events places her in the right place at the right time to build MADCatfish into one of the most successful annual blues festivals and related performance brands in Southern California. Contact La Quetta M. Shamblee via email at LaQ@MADCatfish.net.