#dakota stanton

[culturalappreciator]

[seriallackey]

[0.2 KSG] Third Wheel Syndrome

Another old short story! This time, Kimberly Williams gets interviewed for a lame job that’s about to change her life. Being a mall cop doesn’t sound quite so lame when you’re working for an international private security firm. Actually, that still sounds totally lame -- but Kim is into it anyway.

Top Secret Notes:

Paige Newport is only a “Security Captain” by name. She’s actually goes by a totally different rank -- but, I’ll save that for later! For now, she’s the oldest on the crew, she’s a by-the-book agent that doesn’t like fraternization. But, she’ll put up with it because...

Dakota Stanton is Paige’s best agent. Dakota is always optimistic, eager to find the best traits in everyone she meets. Even if those people are as flaky and dorky as Kim.

Khoros, or KSG (Khoros Security Group) are a global-scale private military company that work for some pretty sketchy characters. There’s more to Khoros than a sinister name.

Click “Keep reading” to see the full story.

[Unedited Writing: Read at your own risk!] "You have to come with me." The white-jacketed woman demanded of her boss. With a high sweep of blonde hair, tied into a ponytail, she projected a gentle professionalism -- not nearly as intense as her boss. "If I go alone, you know I'll just say yes." Dakota Stanton begged. Paige Newport, the 'Security Captain', listened carefully. "You won't need me." She tersely replied. The dirty-brunette of the Captain, her weather-worn skin and etched features set her apart from the rest of the youngsters she supervised. You're SO cold, Paige Newport. Dakota thought privately. Due to the lack of on-site personnel, Dakota Stanton took on the unenviable position of hiring manager. She had the authority to select local talent for their "Hopkins-Weller Medical Facility" operations. Just another soon-to-be abandoned building with secrets nobody outside the Tribune needed to know -- or worse yet, unleash accidentally. More secrets to bury. The Khoros Security Group, Dakota begrudgingly admitted, had become quite good at burying secrets lately. "She's a candidate for guard duty. She won't need society security clearance. If she doesn't work out, we'll fire her. Simple." Paige Newport explained, looking up from her clipboard, assessing the situation in her calmly straightforward manner. Dakota cringed, "You know how much I hate firing new people. It SO feels like I failed them." Paige barked orders to a pair of jumpsuits haphazardly milling about the growing storage zone, a fleet of 18-wheelers lined up at the medical facility's U-shaped concrete road, still more Khoros men in grey overalls collecting equipment, loading the crates and containers into the train, swiftly emptying the building of anything truly valuable. Dakota watched too, following Paige, deftly checking forms on her tablet, tapping to mark orders fulfilled for their Secret Society stockholders -- a dozen gestation tubes, fifty gallons of metamorphic fluid, and a whole bunch of Windows Vista PC towers. We can't all be on the cutting edge, Dakota thought. Dakota and Paige knew each other well. Trusted each other. If only Paige wasn't so stubborn! And anti-social. Dakota flashed a bright grin, "How about coffee? Let's get a coffee tomorrow, before our shift starts. You know, plan our next move." "Right. The usual place. See you at sun's up." Dakota hated to trick Paige, but what other options were left? And Paige needed this! All work and no play, yadda-yadda, right?

"So, do you have any experience with security?" Dakota asked politely. Coffee served, the shoppe buzzed with quiet activity. Biscuits for everyone, the city outside still cloaked in the early-early morning dark. Men in suits or plaid or overalls, dragging their feet across the hard wood, desperate for that pick-me-up to get the day started. "it's so early..." Kim groaned, slumping her shoulders, eyes half-lidded. Not an early-to-bed, early-to-rise type, I see. Dakota Stanton took note. On the other hand, she is going to be on the night shift, so maybe this is an asset! Dakota searched for the bright side -- that was just her. Paige tweaked her brow. Not annoyed, but absolutely disappointed. She remained professionally silent for the meeting, choosing not to reply, her glare doing enough talking. "I'll take that as a 'no'." Dakota swallowed. She could feel Paige's bristling annoyance over her shoulder. She tried to avoid thoughts of the future -- a future where Paige Newport refused every single one of Dakota's future coffee offers. "Why do you want to work for Khoros? My associate, Tobi Vasquez, told me you traveled a long way for this opportunity." As if flipping a switch, Kimberly lit up. "I got prior experience." She nodded confidently, "An' Tobi said that? Ain't she sweeter than iced tea." "Prior experience?" Dakota asked, her confidence renewed. "So you've worked for them? Or... a family member, maybe?" "Somethin' like that! One day they totes knocked on my door an' asked a buncha' questions. But I didn't say nothin'." Kimberly proudly explained. Now that's a strange story, I'll have to ask about that later. Make note. Sharply, Paige interrupted the proceedings. She asked the only question that really, truly matters. "Can you start working tonight? Can you follow instructions? Yes or no." "Duh!" Kim chirped, raising her hands. "And, duh! Er. Yes!" Dakota sunk in her chair. Paige! Did you really have to upstage me like that? Dakota silently admitted, mall cop duty didn't really require the best of candidates. She grinned brightly anyway. "Well, uhm, you're hired! I'm the Hiring Manager, so I guess I'll walk you through your duties. We can get into it today. It's really very simple. There are step-strips that monitor the different patrol routes, and you'll live on the premises. A small skeleton crew of former employees and security live in the dormitory. I'll be there too, so if you have any questions-" Enthusiastically, she interrupted. "Can I start asking questions now?" She raised her hand, for extra emphasis. "Sure?" Dakota squeaked out, surprised, but happy to see this new level of enthusiasm. Though, she wasn't quite prepared for the lengths and depths of Kim's curiosity -- especially for the uniforms. To Kim's annoyance, Dakota explained that their guard uniforms were, essentially, store bought from a national manufacturer. She didn't want to explain that Khoros provided their true employees with much, much better gear. That kind of information didn't need to get leaked to civilians. Maybe Captain Paige Newport won't chew me out afterall, Dakota hoped.

[the-queen-city-blog]

Good evening, Charlotte! We would like you to meet Dakota Stanton, a twenty-two year old hailing from Seattle, Washington. She is currently the manager of Barnes and Nobles, and is living in the NoDa neighborhood. She’s been told she has a striking resemblance to Katherine McNamara, though she doesn’t see it. Fortunately for us, this role is closed. 

GET TO KNOW HER;

Dakota loves hiking, mountain climbing, and zip lining. Anything that makes her heart beat super fast. She also enjoys the nature views that come along with those activities. It brings adrenaline and joy to her.

Dakota speaks fluently in 5 languages.

As a child, Dakota’s parent forced her to learn to play piano.

[+] devoted, passionate, open-minded [-] sarcastic, impulsive, stubborn

EVERYONE HAS A SECRET;

Dakota’s parents believe she is still attending Columbia University, but the truth is she dropped out of University after freshman year and moved to Charlotte.

CONNECTIONS;

Connection One; Information here.

Connection Two; Information here.

Connection Three; Information here.

[classicladiesofcolor]

Singer Dakota Stanton

[blewnotes]

Jazziversaries June 3rd

Dakota Staton (vocal) 1932 - 2007  :: was an American jazz vocalist who found international acclaim with the 1957 No. 4 hit, “The Late, Late Show”.  She was also known by the Muslim name Aliyah Rabia for a period due to her conversion to Islam as interpreted by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community,

She studied music at the Filion School of Music in her home town of Pittsburgh. Later she performed regularly in the Hill District, a jazz hotspot, as a vocalist with the Joe Westray Orchestra, a popular Pittsburgh orchestra. She next spent several years in the nightclub circuit in such cities as Detroit, Indianapolis, Cleveland and St. Louis. While in New York, she was noticed singing at a Harlem nightclub called the Baby Grand by Dave Cavanaugh, a producer for Capitol Records. She was signed and released several singles, her success leading her to win Down Beat magazine’s “Most Promising New Comer” award in 1955. In 1958, Staton wed Talib Ahmad Dawud, a black Antiguan Ahmadi Muslim trumpeter and noted critic of Elijah Muhammad. She released several critically acclaimed albums in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including: The Late, Late Show (1957), whose title track was her biggest hit, In the Night (1957), a collaboration with pianist George Shearing, Dynamic! (1958) and Dakota at Storyville (1961), a live album recorded at the Storyville jazz club in Boston. Staton moved to England in the mid-1960s. She continued to record semi-regularly, her recordings taking an increasingly strong gospel and blues influence.

Grachan Moncur III(trombone) 1937 :: Bornday greetings to Grachan Moncur III. Grachan is an American jazz trombonist who has mostly played free jazz, as well as being a prolific composer. He is the son of jazz bassist Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper.

While still in school he began sitting in with touring jazz musicians on their way through town, such as Art Blakey and Jackie McLean, with whom he formed a lasting friendship.

After high school he toured with Ray Charles (1959–1962), Art Farmer’s and Benny Golson’s Jazztet (1962), and Sonny Rollins. He took part in two classic Jackie McLean albums in the early 1960s, One Step Beyond and Destination… Out!, to which he also contributed the bulk of compositions and which led to two influential albums of his own for Blue Note Records, Evolution (1963) with Jackie McLean and Lee Morgan, and Some Other Stuff (1964) with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter.

Moncur joined Archie Shepp’s ensemble and recorded with other avant-garde players such as Marion Brown, Beaver Harris and Roswell Rudd (the other big name in free jazz trombone). During a stay in Paris in the summer of 1969, he recorded two albums as a leader for the famous BYG Actuel label, New Africa and Aco Dei de Madrugada, as well as appearing as a sideman on numerous other releases of the label. In 1974, the Jazz Composer’s Orchestra commissioned him to write Echoes of Prayer (1974), a jazz symphony featuring a full orchestra plus vocalists and jazz soloists. His sixth album as a leader, Shadows (1977) was released only in Japan. Unfortunately, he was subsequently plagued by health problems and copyright disputes and recorded only rarely. Through the 1980s he recorded with Cassandra Wilson (1985), played occasionally with the Paris Reunion Band and Frank Lowe, appeared on John Patton’s Soul Connection (1983), but mostly concentrated on teaching. In 2004 he re-emerged with a new album (Exploration) on Capri Records featuring Grachan’s compositions arranged by Mark Masters for an octet including Tim Hagans and Gary Bartz.

Memphis Minnie(guitar) 1887-1973 ::  Lizzie Douglas (a.k.a. Memphis Minnie) was born on June 3, 1897 in Algiers, Louisiana. She was the eldest from her 13 other siblings. Her parents Abe and Gertrude Douglas nicknamed her the Kid during her early childhood. At the age of 7 she and her family moved to Walls, Mississippi, which was just south of Memphis. The following year after she moved, she received her first guitar for Christmas. She began to practice and learn how to play both the banjo and the guitar and it was seen that she had a great talent as a musician. When she first began performing she did not use her first name Lizzie, but played under the name Kid Douglas. When she was 13 years old she ran away from her home to live on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. She would play on street corners for most of her teenage years and would eventually go home when she ran out of money. She began to get noticed singing and playing guitar on the street corners. This brought an opportunity for her to tour, travel, and play with the Ringling Brothers Circus. Eventually she came back to Beale Street and got consumed in the blues scene.

She had been married three times in her life; first with Will Weldon sometime in the 1920s, then Joe McCoy (1929–1934), and finally to Earnest Lawlars (a.k.a. Little Son Joe), in 1939. She and McCoy would perform together during their marriage. During this time, a talent scout from Columbia Records discovered her. When she and McCoy went to record in New York, she decided to change her name to Memphis Minnie. During the next few years she and McCoy released many singles and duets. She released the song “Bumble Bee” in 1930, which ended up being one of her favorite songs, and led her to a recording contract with the label Vocalion. Under this label, they continued to produce recording for two years, one of them being “I’m Talking About You”, which was one of her more popular songs. They soon decided to leave Vocalion and move to Chicago. She and McCoy introduced country blues to the urban environment and became very well known.

Memphis Minnie continued to have success throughout the years recording under many different labels like Decca Records and Chess Records. Some believe her fame was the reason for her divorce with McCoy due to jealousy and resentment towards her. She remarried after to Earnest Lawlars (a.k.a. Little Son Joe) and began recording material with him. She became very well known in the blues industry and ended up being one of the most famous blues performers of all time, competing with both men and women.

By 1935 Minnie had settled in under the supervision of Lester Melrose and was able to easily handle the transition from rural-downhome blues to a more sophisticated sound. Back on her own, Minnie began to experiment with different styles and sounds. She recorded four sides for the Bluebird label in 1935 in August of that year, she returned to the Vocation label. Minnie had teamed up with manager Lester Melrose, the single most powerful and influential executive in the blues industry during the 1930s and 1940s. By the end of the 1930s, Minnie had recorded nearly 20 sides for Decca Records and eight sides for the Bluebird Records.

In 1939, Minnie returned to the Vocation label. Her recordings with Son Joe are in duet style, with piano, bass or drums added on some sessions. Minnie and Little Son Joe also began to release material on Okeh Records in the 1940s. The couple continued to record together throughout the decade. In May 1941 Minnie recorded her biggest hit, “Me And My Chauffeur Blues.” A follow-up date yielded two more blues standards, “Looking The World Over” and Son’s “Black Rat Swing (issued as by Mr. Memphis Minnie).” At the dawn of the 1940s Minnie and Joe continued to work at their “home club”, Chicago’s popular 708 club where they were often joined by Big Bill, Sunnyland Slim, or Snooky Pryor. They also played at dozens of the other better known Chicago nightclubs. The forties treated Minnie and Son Joe well and they performed both together and separately depending on finances, (they could make more money playing separate gigs). Minnie, presided over Blue Monday parties at Ruby Lee Gatewood’s Tavern playing an electrified National arch top in front of a band that included bass and drums. The poet Langston Hughes saw her perform New Year’s Eve 1942, at the 230 Club, and was thoroughly overwhelmed by her “scientific” (i.e. loud) sound. He described the sound of her electric guitar as “a musical version of electric welders plus a rolling mill”. Clearly she had by that time embraced the next phase of the blues.

Ted Curson (trumpet)1935-2012  ::  Ted Curson was an American jazz trumpeter. He is perhaps best known for recording and performing with Charles Mingus.

Curson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He became interested in playing trumpet after watching a newspaper salesman play a silver trumpet. Curson’s father, however, preferred that his son should become an alto saxophone player like Louis Jordan. Finally, when Ted was 10 years old, he received his first trumpet.

Curson attended Granoff School of Music in Philadelphia. At the suggestion of Miles Davis, he moved to New York in 1956. Curson performed and recorded with Cecil Taylor in the late 1950s and early 1960s. His 1964 Eric Dolphy tribute composition “Tears for Dolphy” has been used in numerous films.

Curson was a resident of Montclair, New Jersey. He was also a familiar face in Finland, having performed annually at the Pori Jazz festival each year since the beginning of the event in 1966. In 2007, Curson performed at Finland’s Independence Day Ball at the invitation of president Tarja Halonen.

Al Harewood (drums) 1923 -2014:: Jazz drummer  Al Harewood was a musician and teacher, born in Brooklyn. As a drummer Harewood worked with many jazz musicians including the J.J. Johnson/Kai Winding group, the Art Farmer/Gigi Grice band, David Amram, and the Curtis Fuller-Benny Golson Sextet. He played on many notable soul jazz recordings by Lou Donaldson, Horace Parlan, Ike Quebec and Grant Green and had a long association with saxophonist Stanley Turrentine from 1959 to the early 1960s.

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Dakota Stanton singing "My Babe" (1960)