Los Angeles Black artists of the ‘60s and ‘70s created performances and installations to imbue their art and the everyday life of their communities with African rituals and traditions. In doing so, they transformed how art forms and artists were defined. Drawing from the radical experimentation pioneered by artists of the Black Arts Movement, this two-part series features live music by innovators of free jazz alongside younger artists at the intersections of jazz, R&B, electronic, hip-hop, and soul. The title takes its inspiration from LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka) and Larry Neal’s “Black Fire: An Anthology of Afro-American Writing”.
Join us this summer for Black Fire Sessions at The Broad, which present two evenings of jazz, contemporary hip-hop, and R&B inspired by the landmark exhibition, “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963-1983”, on July 17 and August 14. Each of these two programs will present innovators and masters of progressive jazz, including Roscoe Mitchell (July 17) and Anthony Braxton (August 14), along with a new generation of Los Angeles artists, such as Georgia Anne Muldrow, Busdriver, and Kelsey Lu, who are keeping the language of jazz vital in contemporary music. The events will also feature choreographed interventions by dancers in the “Soul of a Nation” galleries and throughout the museum.
Black Fire Sessions Lineup:
July 17, 2019 – Roscoe Mitchell + Brett Carson, Busdriver, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Teebs, and Mecca Vazie Andrews
August 14, 2019 – Anthony Braxton + Jacqueline Kerrod, Kelsey Lu, Beans, Jimetta Rose, and Maurice Harris
Image credit: Georgia Anne Muldrow. Courtesy of the artist.
