Saturday, May 25, 2013

Jazz. Covers. Politics

Join us for a conversation  
with the writer/co-curator of the exhibition,
Robert O'Meally, and musician Randy Weston
  
Thursday June 6, 6:00-8:00 pm   
  
The Nathan Cummings Foundation 
475 Tenth Avenue, 14th floor
(between 36th and 37th Streets) 
New York, NY 10018
  
       Free and Open to the public      
  
Please RSVP by June 3
  


Robert O'Meally is the Zora Neale Hurston Professor of English and Comparative Literature, and founder and former director of the Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University. Along with Diedra Harris-Kelley and C. Daniel Dawson, he has curated this exhibition and a series of shows for Jazz at Lincoln Center (NYC). He has written extensively on jazz, Ralph Ellison, Billie Holiday and Romare Bearden.  O'Meally will lead the program with an overview of the exhibition and conversation with Randy Weston.  
Pianist/composer Randy Weston has had a long engagement with the music and musicians of Africa. Though Weston cites Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Art Tatum, and of course, Duke Ellington as his other piano heroes, it was Monk who had the greatest impact.  "He was the most original I ever heard," Weston remembers.  "He  played  like  they  must  have  played  in  Egypt  5000  years  ago."  Several of Weston's album covers are featured in the exhibition's "Black to Africa" section. He remains always on the case with
titles such as Afrika Uhuru, Khepera, Ancient Future
.
     
Jazz.Covers.Politics 
Album Art in An Age of Activism 
On view April 11 -August 23, 2013

The Nathan Cummings Foundation 
475 Tenth Avenue, 14th floor
New York, NY 10018
 
by appointment only exhibits@nathancummings.org  
 
  
  
 Curated by C. Daniel Dawson, Diedra Harris-Kelley and Robert G. O'Meally
organized by the Romare Bearden Foundation