Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Third Season of Friday Nights at the de Young Begins January 18
The third season of the popular Cultural Encounters: Friday Nights at the de Young series begins this Friday, January 18. This time it's an opening celebration with special extended hours of 5–10 pm. Friday's program presents Jazz at Intersection, with eight of the musical groups who participated in that program returning to the de Young to perform original compositions inspired by either works in the de Young's permanent collections or works from special exhibitions presented at the museum. It should be a pretty exciting evening.
The lineup features: The Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra, Erik Jekabsen's "West Coast" Quartet + Strings, Howard Wiley and the Angola Project, The Kasey Knudsen Group, Angela Wellman's New Roots, The Ben Goldberg Quintet, The Babatunde Lea Quartet, and Mitch Marcus Quintet + 13.
We've posted some sample audio tracks by each of the participating groups, some of which are even the compositions to be performed on Friday. You can listen to them through our handy MP3 jukebox above (if you don't see it you'll need to install Flash player).more]
Posted by: Andrew Fox | January 16 at 2:48:46 PM
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Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Question and Answer with Marcus Shelby
Marcus Shelby
Edward Hicks (American, 1780–1849) The Peaceable Kingdom, ca. 1849. Oil on canvas. 1993.35.14
The Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra’s piece has been inspired by The Peaceable Kingdom by Edward Hicks.
At the opening event for the third season of Friday Nights at the de Young on January 18, 8 musical ensembles will perform original works that have been inspired by either a work in the de Young’s permanent collection or a work from a recent special exhibition. The de Young presents this program entitled Jazz at Intersection in collaboration with Intersection from the Arts, San Francisco’s oldest non-profit alternative arts organization.
The Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra will be the first ensemble to perform on Friday, January 18 at 6:30 pm. Shelby has composed a tone poem for a 15-piece jazz orchestra and speaker for Jazz at Intersection. Shelby has been playing the acoustic bass for 23 years, during which time he has received many awards and accolades. Shelby was bandleader of Columbia Records and GRP Impulse! Recording Artists Black/Note and is currently the Artistic Director and leader of The Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra, The Marcus Shelby Septet and the Marcus Shelby Trio. He was the recipient of the Charles Mingus Scholarship in 1991 and named as one of the “Top Ten Most Influential African Americans in the Bay Area” by City Flight Magazine in 2005. Shelby is currently working as the artist in residence at Rooftop Elementary School.
Q: What work of art in the de Young’s collection inspired the composition that you will be performing on Friday night?
A: The piece was inspired by Edward Hicks’ painting, The Peaceable Kingdom, completed in 1846. This painting is part of the de Young’s permanent collection of American Art.
Q: How did you choose this work?
A: Over the course of about three months, I spent lots of time in exhibits and various collections at the de Young to see which pieces resonated with me. I also took my daughter with me on several of these visits to see what works resonated with her as well and what speaks to kids. I wanted to incorporate my experiences from teaching at Rooftop Elementary School in Twin Peaks, where I have been teaching as an artist-in-residence... [more]
Posted by: | January 16 at 2:32:59 PM
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