hard earned future. a real look at the american dream. "hard earned". sunday, 10:00 eastern. only on al jazeera america. you. >> this is al jazeera america. live from new york city. i'm david schuster. tonight, iraqi forces are gaining ground against i.s.i.l. but the urban warfare in the city of ramadi has been bloody and chaotic. in chicago, protesters over the killing of la quan mcdonald. live reports.

and hopes and aspirations of peace in the middle east. we begin this hour in ramadi, iraq, where iraqi forces and i.s.i.l. are engaged in strategic battles. i.s.i.l. has controlled the area for most of the last year. but in recent days iraqi forces with u.s. air support have begun to gain ground. it is a tough fight made even more dangerous with the hundreds of bombs i.s.i.l. has left in booby trapped buildings, bridges and roadways. gerald tan has the story. >> as the days go on, iraqi forces trying to retake ramadi have made a sobering admission, it will take time. i.s.i.l. has been in control of

the area since may. troops have gone street by street towards the center. >> morale is high, we are now in tameen district and god willing we will liberate the remaining part of ramadi. >> reporter: iraqi intelligence says there are only a few i.s.i.l. forces left, but they have proved to be a considerable foe. slowing down advancing troops but it hasn't stopped them. >> following the liberation of the area teams from the 16th division started work to remove and defuse the bombs. all the boasms have been >> bombs have been defused. >> there is a wil a well knit p.

the plan is to encircle the areas, i.s.i.l. has lost the balance of power, as it doesn't know which side it's being attacked by iraqi forces. >> this is an urban battlefield. up to 10,000 civilians are thought to be trapped inside the city. the hope is that victory will come swiftly and with no further loss of life but both seem unlikely. gerald tan, al jazeera. injured i.s.i.l. fighters and their family members who are anonymity trapped in a syrian refugee camp will soon be given safe passage out. u.n. has just come to an agreement that will allow i.s.i.l. fighters and staff fair passage out.

in chicago, tonight tensions are high following release of audio tapes, regarding conversations between chicago police and dispatchers as police chased la quan mcdonald before one officer shot him 16 times. >> let me know when he's in custody guys. >> balance oveambulance over he. after the 17-year-old was spotted breaking into cars. officer jason van dyke is now facing first degree murder charges. today to remind everybody with their anger over this sheeting, protesters staged another holiday disruption along chicago's magnificent mile. andy rosegen is there. andy how is it? >> about 100 protesters and a couple of arrests. the disruptions were far less

this time around downtown but this protest still packed a punch. they called it the black christmas protest. marchers once again on the move, past all the high end shops on michigan avenue on this last day of christmas shopping. they called for the resignation of mayor rahm emanuel, they blocked the traffic by laying down playing dead they said in remembrance of la quan mcdonald. >> 16 shots and a coverup. >> big assist from an hispanic protest group. is there any difference between how the hispanic group views this as opposed to the black community? >> there seems to be a bit of disparity but justice over general things so no matter what happened to any of those communities, the same, justice is the same for both communities.

>> reporter: police stayed hands-off as protest leader iggy flow helped the disruption of the apple store. >> that is what's going to take brunt whether the store is shut down. what do you say to that? >> i say if the people who work there really care about what's going on in society they'll come out and join us. >> reporter: between the out of town protesters and out of town shoppers and tourists who gawkd from thgawked from the sie is no question, the word is out. >> happening a lot lately. >> we the news in rome. >> definitely shouldn't happen anymore, it's not right, it's terrible. >> a lot of people thought barack obama was the answer to all our problems. we've got a lot of distance to go.

it's not just chicago, it's worldwide. >> a strategy for most part has worked. in four weeks of protests there have only been a handful of arrests. but with new groups joining the cause, no word how many arrests are still ahead. mayor rahm emanuel is right now vacationing in cuba. >> andy rosegen, thank you. officials have declared a state of emergency because of severe weather and flooding. more than 2 dozen tornadoes, storms directly to blame for the deaths of at least 11 people. the weather has also caused significant delays causing a ripple effect across the country. al jazeera's courtney kealy has

more. >> relentless rain and winds, and in the distance, a powerful twister. only one of several touching down in mississippi. >> about 150 miles across mississippi took seven lives. >> and destroyed dozens of homes and structures along its path. >> these type of winds could be devastating to any city in and around this area. but as you look at the damage here it is as bad as any tornado we've had and i've been through a lot of them. >> in georgia, heavy rains caused flash floods on wednesday, forcing nathan diehl to call a state of emergency. collision causing one truck to spill glue all over the road. in california, winds picked up to 76 miles per hour, picking up

tractor trailers and forcing cars all oimp th over the road. >> it is difficult particularly this time of year to see such damage and know that heart breaks are -- go along with that damage. that families have lost loved ones. seven mississippians have been lost in this storm. funerals will be planned. this should be a joyous holiday season. and it will not be for many. >> courtney kealy, al jazeera. >> the fire department in washington state is testing out a pilot program aimed at providing better and cheaper medical care. by stationing a nurse at firehouses and as al jazeera's sabrina register reports, the results are intrigue. >> firefighter ryan is on the way to a call in washington. >> she's not getting prolonged

care. >> he's railing patient information to his new partner, sarah. >> so you've seen her? >> several times. >> she brings her stethoscope. together they check the patient. harden is part of the new service. >> the emts and the nurses going out together. that's what makes this model different. >> looking at the types of 911 calls the department receives, more than 70% of the calls that come in here are medical related and of those more than a third are not met emergencies. they don't require er care. kent's emergency responders also realize many of the 911 calls were coming from the same people. elderly residents who were socially isolated, the mentally ill, homeless veterans and

people with language barriers. >> here we have tier 1 patient. >> kent's fire department created a special database to identify who was calling 911 and how often. >> how often do you see that when someone is calling over a period of time, they're calling 911 multiple times for care? >> we see it all the time. >> dozens of people are calling 911. more than 25 times a year. >> they're getting just stabilized, released, stabilized released, as opposed to treated, no continuity of care. >> now the nurse helps to assess whether a 911 call requires a trip to the er. a nurse and a social worker discuss frequent callers to determine who warrants a follow-up house call. >> it makes so much sense when i can talk to the patient and my partner has a different approach and then i come in and i can ask about, well, have you been doing these kind of things? how about these medications?

are you taking these regularly? >> the national quality forum a nonprofit focused on improving health care estimates that unnecessary emergency medical care wastes some $38 billion a year in the u.s. medical professionals say connecting people to the right resources means patients get better care and er visits are reserved for true medical emergencies. >> i think it's gone well beyond people's expectations in terms of taking two disciplines and having them work side by side. >> other areas are looking at lt adopting the same programs. sabrina register, kent, washington. >> up next, are christmas last already reached parts of the world including bethlehem. bun the holiday is overshadowed

by violence between israelis and palestinians. plus, a look at the perhaps greenest office building in the world.

♪ ♪ >> it's already christmas in some parts of the world. and bethlehem, the traditional birth place of jesus the faithful welcomed in christmas with midnight mass at the church of the nativity. festivities in the west bank has been overshadowed by violence in the region.

bethlehem which is mostly bustling at the time of year has been very much less so. imtiaz tyab reports. >> christmas songs old and new, leading the christmas parade was the latin patriarch of jerusalem, and from his headquarters to occupied east jerusalem to bethlehem has him pass through israeli's concrete separation wall. israel began construction on the wall more than ten years ago. they say it's meant to prevent violence and the palestinians say it is a land grab. still palestinians of all faiths came to the square to celebrate jesus's birth. >> it is a very important festivity because it is the birth of christ. the birth of hope. the birth of resilience.

the birth of love. and so this is what people are celebrating. >> reporter: palestinian leaders scaled back christmas celebrations across the occupied west bank, after months of violence that has left around 20 israelis and more than 130 palestinians dead. bethlehem has seen some of the most intense protests and many residents say that after nearly 50 years of israeli occupation all they want is peace. >> translator: ta today bethlehem livetoday bethlehemli, daily killings of its sons. bethlehem has turned from a city that carries a message of peace from 2,000 years ago to a city of the tortured. >> reporter: many do seem to want to be able to celebrate christmas in the spirit of the holiday. still in the background of celebrations is more violence, and more loss of life. in separate incidents across the

occupied west bank, israeli forces killed at least four palestinians on christmas eve. despite the heavy crack down by israel's military the anger that has fueled the months of violence only seems to be growing even on a day that celebrates hope and peace. imtiaz tyab,ing al jazeera, bethlehem, occupied west bank. >> pope francis celebrated christmas eve mass. >> hallelujah ♪ >> the pope spoke about the simplicity of jesus's birth and encouraged are christians to live balanced lives. more mass in front of tens of thousands in st. peter's squares. held hostage in tehran, iran 36 years ago.

last week, president obama signed a bill that would give each of the hostages and their estates up to $4.4 million. captured in 1979 spent 444 days in captivity. several americans were subjected to physical and psychological torture. the payment will begin next year. in presidential politics, a major fight against president obama and the democrats who hope to follow him into the white house. administration officials confirm that department of homeland security plans to conduct raids, dependence those who came to the united states illegally. all the democratic candidates are criticizing the administration's acts.

hillary clinton said: bernie sanders called the reports disturbing. and said quote: and the republican nomination race, texas senator ted cruz is now facing a barrage of negative adds in iowa. polls in the hawkeye state, say polls leading the field, marco rubio is now hitting cruz with this. >> our leaders must keep america safe but when ted cruz had the chance to fight barack obama's dangerously weak antiterror policies he didn't. instead cruz voted to weaken america's ability to identify and hunt down terrorists. >> that's right. ted russia who wants to car pet bomb i.s.i.l. territory innocents be contaminated, now

among gop activists. two of the lower tier gop candidates are suggesting their campaigns might not survive past the iowa caucuses. mike huckabee spoke last night on a conservative talk radio show. >> if we can't come within striking distance of the victory or win it then i think we recognize that it's going to be hard to take that on to the other states. >> at the moment in iowa polls suggest huckabee is running 8th. kentucky senator rand paul is barely ahead of him and he says he will not participate in the next republican debate night if polls keep him from qualifying from the main stage. lump of coal to democratic front runner hillary clinton. in the form of an attack ad in iowa and new hampshire. >> t'was the morning of christmas at the clinton house.

the gifts were open, a new server and mouse, a reset from putin, she'll send him a thanks. >> the lamp by the way was a reference to a carolina e-mail when mrs. clinton and her aid huma abadene seemed more imerngd concerned about lighting fixtures than a terrorist threat. more on presidential politics. a christmas present for actor robert downey junior. president obama has given him a fuldoes not expunge the convictn but restores citizenship rights like voting. in seattle, architects and engineers are now claiming the ultimate success when it comes

to environmentally friendly office buildings. the six story office structure is running so efficiently that tenants don't have to pay for an ounce of electricity. al jazeera's allen schauffler takes us on a tour. >> the greening of the 52,000 square foot office building is beginning with building materials. concrete is used for the first two floors because it's considered a carbon emitter due to the energy used in creating it. the top two floors are wood, laminated beams laminated by a steel core. >> most energy efficient building in the world. and it's not that hard. >> dennis hayes, the man who organized the first earth day runs the nonprofit ecofriendly bullet foundation. >> we wanted to place a very sharp bet that shows what is

going on in green building doesn't begin to show what's possible. the theory that once it exists it's possible. >> the concept here is biomimiccary. build a building that operates like a plant. >> we tried design this building as if it were a doug fir tree. using the sun for energy, composting its waste. >> a building that takes its cues from nature. >> there's weather station, feeding information into our system, the wind speed, the wind direction, if it's raining or sunny. >> what do we have up here? >> there are panels grp how many panels? >> 575 panls they produce 232,000 kilowatt hours. >> the rooftop solar array,

takes and gives. the building rouses 60% more electricity every year than it uses. tenants who meet conservation goals don't pay for power. >> it's totally aligned with who we are as a company. makes absolutely sense. >> the building is heated and cooled by a mixture of water and glycol. geothey are ma'am wells are drilled 300 feet deep. in summer the liquid as well as through the floor floors for co. >> hot air comes in the top and goes out the bottom. >> self-opening windows help tweak temperature as needed. louvers adjust automatically to the intensity of the sun. a computer helps run the building by itself. >> the building operates like an organism.

tries the keep itself regulated. >> eventually, all the water needs will are what has fallen out of the sky. water captured into a cistern. >> into a cistern, ceramic filters, ultraviolate light, we pass it through activated charcoal and chlorine. we want to make sure we deliver high quality clean potable water. >> gray water is gathered into the basement and is passed through an artificial wet land. what doesn't evaporate is released into sidewalk landscaping filtering down through gravel-filled tubes into the water table beneath the building. toilets use minimal water and waste is composted on site and treated for use as fertilizer. a two-year process.

>> we think this is the world's only six story comoatin compostg facility. >> and the parking lot comments only bicycles no cars. >> it's a slow beast to turn but we've got to turn it. >> allen schauffler, al jazeera, seattle. >> thank for watching. we'll see you back here at 10:00, with world tonight. and a main story, the effort of iraqi forces in the city of ramadi to take it back from i.s.i.l. we'll have the latest at 10:00 p.m, eastern.

trail blazers and ground breakers. >> >> trail blazers and ground breakers. you know the songs. ♪ don't make me over >> now hear the stories behind them. >> i said wait a minute. it is my song. >> tonight, musical innovators share their career highs. >> when i grow up i'm going to be an internationally known jazz singer. >> and their personal lows. ♪ >> and i also knew that if i didn't talk about it i wasn't going to make it. >> how they made music.

>> i never set out to write a hit record. >> that has touched the masses. >> hi everyone i'm john siegenthaler. we hope you're enjoying the holiday. tonight a special edition of our program. our regular viewers know we often include arts and culture segments in our broadcast and tonight we'll look at some of the most interesting interviews with some of the most talented musical stars in the world. we'll begin with dionne warwick. songwriters like burt bacharach and hal david, she created songs worth millions. i asked her what her life was like now. >> i'm happy. still working, running around this world putting the butts in the seats. singing the songs that they love. which i'm grateful for. >> what was the first burt

bacharach song -- >> don't make me over. that i told them to ever try odo. >> they did? >> they broke a promise. >> tell me. >> i was doing demonstration records as well as background work of their music and there was a song, a demo that i did called "make it easy on yourself." i fell in love with the song and they kept badgering me, you have to record you have to record you have to record, okay fine, i'll make it my first record. i had the radio on, and all of a sudden i heard this, "make it easy on yourself" with jerry butler. i said wait a minute, that's my song. they promised it would be my song. i had to have a couple of words with them. i wasn't a happy camper when i finally met with those songs.

and i said the first thing you tried do is make me over. hal david the brilliant here cyst hlyricsist he was, he wrot. ♪ don't make me over >> the triangle marriage of the industry because everything was so completely different than anything that was being done in that part of the '60s, we kind of carved our own little nearby out in thnichein the music worl. ♪ do you know the way to san jose ♪ ♪ going back to find some peace of mind in san jose ♪ >> your name is interesting to me, it wasn't warwick.

>> it is still warick. >> what happened? >> the first album. they got the name wrong. i became a wick instea instead a rick. >> were you subject to racism? >> i didn't know what it was. first tour in the south i decided to get a drink of water, i went up to the front where they had the water fountains. that's when it kind of hit me, my goodness. there was a white side and a colored side. there was this white woman, we bent down to drink at the same time and we bumped heads, oh members of congress.

i must say, don't you think it's kind of strange? yes you have your side and i have my side, but the water is coming out of the same pipe? i thought woman was going to choke. she almost fainted. that's how stupid that really is, you know? how -- what's the reason for it? >> we're glad that you're here and we're glad that you're still singing and we're proud to have you on the program. it's nice to see you. >> my pleasure, thanks for having me. >> now to another star whose music has inspired us. many of her songs reflect the social activism, judy collins opened up about her career, her politics her personal life. i asked her if she already had a passion for politics. >> i was always politically inclined. my dad was very active, spoke out, encouraged us to speak out and expected us to do our best at all times. and to vote. >> what was different about activism in the '60s compared

to today and especially with artists? >> i think a lot of people are doing a lot of things today. you know i once asked pete, whom i asked i was very close to pete seeger, a couple of years before he died. he said i've never been more optimistic. i said why is that? he said because everywhere in the country everywhere in the world, people are working on trying to make change. i think he saw something that i find a harder time seeing but i do have to say that there are lots and lots of good things happening. we don't have the kinds of marches, the kinds of organized events that i was involved with. i wasn't necessarily getting arrested on the steps of the capital in washington, d.c. >> you were testifying at the chicago 7 trial. >> yes. >> and being admonished by prosecutors and judges -- >> shut up and not saying, "where have all the flowers gone?"

>> you were at the forefront of the yippy movement. >> yes i was. >> with abe hoffman and -- hotel americana. >> yes for the yippies. i went down and i knew these guys, i always admired and adored david dellinger. and renee davis and so on. kunsler was their lawyer. he said would you please arrive and speak and do whatever you do. that's when i opened my mouth and said, "where have all the flowers gone?" i was the judge or the guard or whoever, who said we don't sing here. i had a memory loss, i thought when judge hoffman shut me off i

didn't say anything more but i went on and own talking. >> you have shared so much of your personal private life -- >> more than is probably prudent. >> very painful i think about many things, you talk about the alcoholism in your family about booul eem ybulimia and the deatr son. what makes an artist want to share those things? >> it's a question of what makes anybody share them. >> i lost you on a winter's day ♪ a cold city far away >> if i hadn't written about my son's suicide i wouldn't have gotten over it. but i knew that if i didn't write about it, i wasn't going to make it. and i also knew if i didn't talk about it, i wasn't going to make it. and i know people that have like disappeared in this cloud of postsuicidal depression and taboo. so i also saw the taboo.

as an activist i know there are certain things we don't want to talk about. we don't want to talk about you know the fact that we need a higher minimum wage. we don't want to talk about the racism that still exists in this country but we still have to. which is clear because these things are coming out and we have to talk about them. in order to get well we have to. so that's the answer of why i write about these things. >> thank you for sharing your music, thank you for sharing your stories with us and continued success. keep on going for a long time. great to see you. >> thank you john it's a pleasure to be with you. >> so coming up next. >> i never set out to have a hit record at least not initially. >> singer producer todd rundgren. and snl band lead are g.e. smith.

>> "inside story" takes you beyond the headlines, beyond the quick cuts, beyond the soundbites. we're giving you a deeper dive into the stories that are making our world what it is. >> welcome back. i'm john siegenthaler. tonight we continue our look back at some of our conversations with music legends over the past year. one of them was todd rundgren. he's known as the rock 'n' roll maverick. some of the top musical acts in the country he produced. we began talking about many of the musical instruments rundgren

plays. >> technically i only play the guitar. that's the only instrument i'm comfortable playing in front of people. but most of the other instruments i've played is it's anecdotal. i learn as much as i need oknow to get the sound out of it. >> you have had so many hits that have weathered the test of time. did you know when you wrote them, did you know when you played them they were going to be hits? >> i never set out to write a hit record. at least not initially. there were points in time when i figured music had become so in formulaic, that -- ♪ hello it's me ♪ >> it's the first song i ever wrote and it's haunted me as an albatross. >> you were wanted by many people to write their music. >> when the group broke up not

long after it was formed, 18 months, arounds i left the band, by the time we had the second record i had enough hands on experience in the studio to take on the production. >> did you like performing better or producing? >> at the time i didn't think of myself as a performer. >> you didn't? >> like me doing a lot of work for the grossman organization and having -- continuing to write songs, you know, i was still into music and still into the idea of making a record. i was not into the idea of either putting a band together or going out and fronting as myself. because i didn't think of myself as that kind of performer. ♪ ♪ >> suddenly i found myself in the position of being like the unlikely performer, the reluctant performer. and had to go out and learn how to perform in front of people, after i had had a hit record. >> that didn't come naturally to you? >> not at all.

>> it was hard? >> actually i emulated as can you see in some of these pictures right here -- >> i'm looking at this picture and i'm thinking, this doesn't look like it was hard for you. >> i thought of myself as a guitar player principally. i could jam all night long no problem with that. but singing, i didn't learn how to be a singer in my teens like most people do. most people if they decide they want to be in a band or sing or something like that they step up front and start developing those skills. i didn't have those when the record came out. i was able to sing in the studio because you could stop the tape and take a breath again and start out live again but when we went out performing, i couldn't perform for more than 20 minutes without losing my voice. >> they called you the rock 'n' roll maverick. >> that's what happened.

i decided to make a record like no one had ever played a record before or i had ever played a record before. i was going to imprint directly onto the recording medium, using the least traditional filtering. never was allowed to be said oh that doesn't sound like a single. we don't care, it's not supposed to be a single, it's supposed to be something nobody's ever heard before. >> you're performing you're writing you're putting out albums. what's this like for you so long after your initial success? >> i'm working harder than ever actually. and a lot of it is because of changes in the music business, that previous structure where you sort of had some sort of guaranteed cash flow from a record label because you would make a multialbum deal and you would get an advance on each record. those kinds of deals don't really exist for very many

artists anymore. so i had to go back to what artists have done since before there was such a thing as a recording medium. and that's performing live. ♪ >> and the secret is, and it's amazing how many artists don't even understand this. is that the life love -- life blood of an artist has always been live performance. ♪ ♪ >> you made a lot of incredible music and made a lot of people happy with it. we're proud to have you on the program. >> now to our conversation with gevment smith. you mighg.e. smith. you may know his name but he has made a name for himself working with hall and oats and david

beauie. i asked him when he realized that music was going to be his calling. >> i lived in strassberg, pennsylvania, there was an old guitar on the wall, i asked could i have it? yeah, it's been hanging there for ten years, you can have it. that was it, i was obsessed. >> you probably would get the award for the most talented guitarist with the most expressive face. do people ever talk about those poses on saturday night live? >> not everybody liked it. you can't please everybody. it makes me happy when i play. that's the only time -- people say are you nervous when you go on stage in front of all these people? i say no, that's the only time i'm not nervous. the rest of the time i'm nervous. when i'm without my guitar i'm nervous. >> in 1985, supreme written

books how wild and crazy saturday night live was. >> yes, it was young people for most part working there, younger people, not teenagers but certainly there were a lot of people in their 20s and 30s. and you got a bunch of people that age together and they have fun, you know? but there was a lot of hard work. >> hard work. >> a lot of hard work, all nighters by the writers. >> tell me with the artists, for instance david bowie. >> i met david bowie at a party. he was going to do a video as it turned out the next day for a video called fashion. he needed people with unusual faces. he saw me and said, do you want to be in my video tomorrow, i said sure. then later in the party he came back and said, why don't you tell me you played a guitar? you could be a guitar player in

the video. >> you were with hall and oats for how long? >> six years, 68 to few of. >> you toured with them all over the world. how was that? >> fabulous. they had a couple of years where they weren't doing so great and i got hired, in there i was getting $twoond week $200 a wee. why $100 to drive the car and $100 to play the guitar. we were playing bars! things go up and down, you know, show bis you know. and i happened to hit in a time when things were doing great. ♪ private eyes ♪ watching you >> what would you tell a young kid who had the same passion for comoousk anmusic and guitar --

>> get involved being a doctor or lawyer. that's what i tell them. >> somebody is going to come along and be the next g.e. smith right? >> i hope not. that person would not be dissuaded from that path will they? >> how much travel do you do nowadays? >> the past five years i worked with david walters. incredible experience, i thought i had done big tours before, nothing like that, that was a gigantic production. ♪ >> do you have a favorite moment in your career, favorite time in your career? >> yes, now, always now. right? >> why? >> that's all we got is now. the memories are nice. i remember certain wonderful moments. there was a time in london with bob dylan, we're on stage doing

acoustic part of the show, me and bob, he's singing mr. tambourine man. i can't believe there's beatles on the side of the stage watching us. i always get that thing, how did little george smith from strassberg, pennsylvania get to this spot? there's been a lot of great guitar players but i've been very lucky. thank you john. >> thank you for coming. coming up. >> i told my parents, i'm going to be an internationally known sing are. >> deedee bridgewater.

>> i'm the enemy. >> i'm really pissed off. >> all of these people shouldn't be dead. >> it's insane.

>> and welcome back. i'm john siegenthaler. now to the world of jazz. where dee dee bridgewater is aan icon. she won two grammies and a tony. >> i thought it was something everybody could do. i always could sing. ♪ lady sings the blue >> i thought everybody could do it. it wasn't until i was a teenager that i realized, oh, okay, so my

sister really can't sing. my mom, she really can't hold it. my mama cannot hold a note. >> i think a lot of people know you for to wiz. you've done so many great things. did you ever imagine that you'd have this success when you were growing up? >> you know what, john, when i was growing up i just -- i always, because i always sang, i always felt that was what i was going to do and i told my parents when i was seven, when i grow up i'm going to be an internationally known jazz sing are, i'm going to be well respected by musicians. i told them i was going to live in paris, france. >> oh my goodness. >> i was going to buy a house and ocar. ♪ there is a hues in new york city ♪ >> how did you get the wiz gig? >> i went on a cattle call.

i did a total of four auditions before i saw the director. i did four auditions. i went in with my little jazz songs and would i sing, and yeah and then i went away and i went on a tour, and when i came back they said oh we want to see you again. i thought oh my goodness i thought they had cast it. >> had you ever been on broadway before? >> no. >> so this was pretty big right? ♪ you can always stay at my place ♪ >> the wiz changes my life. >> did it? >> a lot of ways. >> what does jazz mean to you? >> well, jazz to me john means complete freedom of expression. ♪ you are so stupid >> what it is becoming for me is, almost a kind of lifestyle

because of being in jazz music. because i've been singing jazz for over 40 years. even though i did some little detours and did some pop stuff and some fusion things, jazz has always been and traditional jazz has always been my root. so because it is a liberating experience for me, i kind of feel like my whole life kind of revolves within this world of freedom. so i kind of -- i take care of my own music. i hire my own musicians. i have my own little label. >> and you do this in your new album dee dee feathers.

>> this is the only album i didn't produce myself. since '93 i left the producing reins to ervin mayfield because he is from new orleans. i was working with the new orleans jazz orchestra, because the music i wanted us to do was all new orleans music. that's not my world. so i think i'm inteblght enough to know thaintelligentenough tow things well enough i should than reins over. >> somebody told me you had fun with this album. >> i think you could tell. we partied. >> in new orleans yeah. >> we hear something special when we hear you sing. >> do you? >> we hope we hear it for a long long time. >> goodness john thank you. thank you so much for having me

on your show namaste. >> thanks for all the artists who shared their stories with us. you have a happy holiday. i'm john siegenthaler. >> i'm ali velshi "on target" homeless on the home front let's >> i'm ali velshi. "on target" tonight. little or nothing. that's choice for disabled americans who make way less than the federal minimum wage and it's all perfectly legal. plus, rum wars on the streets of havana. eufl meet a rum run were a thirst for black market booze. tonight i want to talk about a group of american workers who earn less than the federal minimum wage. but first, some conte