An Intimate Night with Johnny Gill in Concert with "Notorious" Star Antonique Smith

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. - May 7, 2014 - PRLog -- A singer behind eight solo and duet Top Ten R&B hits, as well as a member of New Edition since 1987, Johnny Gill was born in Washington, D.C., and began singing at a young age, beside his brothers in the gospel group Wings of Faith. His solocareer began in 1983, when he signed to the Atlantic-affiliated Cotillion label and scored a number 29 R&B hit with his first single,the Freddie Perren-produced “Super Love.” Even then, Gill had a mature and muscular voice — one that sounded more like that of a grown man than a high schooler.  Alongside childhood friend and fellow Cotillion artist Stacy Lattisaw, he scored an R&B Top Ten hit with “Perfect Combination,” the title !     track to the vocalists’ 1984 album of duets.

A second solo set, 1985′s Chemistry, failed to gain much traction. Gill’s career was given new life when he was asked to joined New Edition — as the replacement for Bobby Brown — for the recording of 1988′s Heart Break. In 1989, he was featured on two additional R&B hits: “Where Do We Go from Here,” a number one hit from Lattisaw’s What You Need, and “One Love,” by saxophonist George Howard. Another self-titled solo album was released the following year and sold a million copies on the strength of four major hit singles; “Rub You the Right

Way,” “My My My,” and Wrap My Body Tight” topped the R&B chart, while “Fairweather Friend” merely made it to number two. While that would represent the singer’s commercial peak as a solo artist, 1993′s Provocative and 1996′s Let’s Get the Mood Right both went gold. He teamed with Keith Sweat and Gerald LeVert to form LSG, a group that issued albums in 1997 and 2003 and peaked with the debut’s “My Body,” another number-one R&B single. Gill remained with New Edition, who released One Love in 2004. He would not release another solo album until 2011′s “Still Winning”!

The opening act is Antonique Smith!

Imagine a voice that possessed the melodic soul of Adele, the acrobatic notes of Celine Dion and the high-energy of Beyoncé – that would be the pitch-perfect fusion of Antonique, the artist.

Heralded as “an amazing actress with a great career ahead of her”, by the legendary Sidney Lumet, Antonique is following the career path of Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand and Diana Ross; pursuing a career in film while also continuing to make her dream of a Grammy-winning recording career into the most amazing of realities.

Antonique Smith first garnered attention in her buzz-worthy leading role in “RENT” on Broadway as Mimi Marquez, where director Michael Greif is quoted as saying Antonique “made the whole show better”.  She is now most famous for her starring role of Faith Evans in “Notorious” where she received rave reviews and was praised by critics.

Antonique played CIA agent Sandra Burns in the action movie (http://www.urbanlyfestylesmagazine.com/intimate-night-joh...) ‘Abduction’ opposite Taylor Lautner and Alfred Molina.  In what was one of the most anticipated indie movies of 2011, “Yelling To The Sky”, Antonique played the starring role of Ola O’Hara, opposite Zoe Kravitz and Gabourey Sidibe.  In addition, Antonique had a featured role in the Golden Globe nominated “Across The Universe” and has also guest starred on numerous hit tv shows including Law & Order and HBO’s Bored To Death.

This featured show is part of the 13th Annual BBJazz Concert Series at the Huntington Beach Library Theatre, Orange County’s best kept secret.  Guests will enjoy an intimate experience in the 300 seat theatre. Guests can also enjoy dinner service before each show across the hall and prepared by B&L Catering. DJ and dancing after the final dinner seating.!

BBJazz is a non-profit organization that produces concerts throughout the year featuring R&B, Soul and Contemporary Jazz artists. Proceeds benefit various local charities. For more information on the concert eventcontact: Phone (714) 377-7574; Fax (714) 475-1595 and info@bbjazz.com