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31-01-2025
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Wynton Marsalis, Twyla Tharp, 'Groundhog Day,' Black artists: Your weekend in metro Detroit
Metro Detroit is punching back at winter weather with another packed weekend of great arts options in the region. Here are eight to catch between here and Monday: In a first-ever collaboration between two historic, local civil rights organizations, the Detroit Branch NAACP and the Dayton, Ohio Branch NAACP have partnered with Detroit's Carr Center for 'Everyday People,' a vibrant display of paintings, photographs, sculptures, and mixed media works that immortalize the ordinary moments of life. With contributions from celebrated artists such as Dean Mitchell, Ronald Jackson, Kevin Williams, Robert Peterson, Sabrina Nelson, Mario Moore, and Ernie Barnes, this exhibition highlights the extraordinary in the everyday. Part one of this show opens Friday, Jan. 31, with a reception from 5-8 p.m. and runs through April 11. The Carr Center at the Park Shelton, 15 E. Kirby St., Detroit. Free to attend. Wynton Marsalis and the 15-piece Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) return to the University of Michigan's Hill Auditorium on Saturday, Feb. 1, for a celebration of the cool jazz and hard bop movements in American jazz history. JLCO saxophonist Sherman Irby is the co-music director of this program, which explores the shared themes of these two genres. The performance includes reinterpretations of iconic recordings by Miles Davis, the Modern Jazz Quartet, the Max Roach-Clifford Brown Quintet, Horace Silver, and Art Blakey, alongside newly commissioned works by Benny Green and Luther Allison. Hill Auditorium, 825 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor. Limited tickets remaining, starting at $46. Sunday at 4 p.m. at Ann Arbor's Michigan Theater, UMS will host a screening of 'The Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit,' the first documentary film that explores the dynamic story of Detroit's innovative and influential jazz musicians. Set within Detroit's dramatic rise and fall as an industrial power and the struggles and triumphs of its African American community, the film features interviews with many great Detroit jazz musicians. Writer and producer (and former Free Press reporter) Mark Stryker will discuss the film in a Q&A after the screening. Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor. Free; sign up at link. Related: Documentary debuting at Freep Film Fest explores Detroit as powerhouse of musical culture More: 'More Than Motown' Black History Month lecture will explore Detroit's rich musical legacy Legendary choreographer Twyla Tharp celebrates her 60th anniversary with a Coast-to-Coast tour featuring her Olivier-nominated 'Diabelli,' set to Beethoven's masterpiece the Diabelli Variations. The first and only choreographer to take on the intensely demanding and demonically complex work, Tharp makes visible the elegant humor and depth of the composer's layered genius. The program also features a new work, 'SLACKTIDE,' in collaboration with composer Philip Glass, their first since 1986. A reimagining of Glass's 'Aguas de Amazonia' score is augmented with new music and accompanied live by Chicago-based Third Coast Percussion, performed on a unique collection of custom-designed percussion instruments. They'll perform twice: Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway St., Detroit. Tickets start at $30. While covering the annual Groundhog Day celebration in upstate New York, a jaded weatherman (Bill Murray at his finest) lives the same day over and over again in the life-affirming 1993 cult classic "Groundhog Day." The beloved film will be screened at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 2 (Groundhog Day itself!) at Detroit's Redford Theatre. Redford Theatre, 17360 Lahser Rd., Detroit. Tickets $7 general admission, $5 for kids and seniors. Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Friends of African and African American Art will present the 32nd Annual Alain Locke International Award to artist and Michigan native Titus Kaphar for his work as an artist, sculptor, and filmmaker, creating socially and politically powerful works that reflect on the experiences of Black Americans and his own life story. The Alain Locke Recognition Award will be received by Detroit-based artist and former Free Press photographer Rashaun Rucker, renowned for his drawings, sculptures, printmaking, and installation art. Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit. Free with registration; a reception will follow. Related: Detroit Artists Market suffers severe flooding damage, seeks temporary home Popular now: Beloved Luther Vandross documentary finally at theaters, also airing on OWN in February Detroit's Wasserman Projects gallery will open its winter 2025 season on Saturday with a solo presentation of Gerhardt Knodel's new and recent work in 'Imagined Futures,' a colorful exhibition that invites us to drift into his immersive and magical world. Multiple dimensions of Knodel's four-year adventure through Sumatra inspire reflection on the potency of cultural inheritance as a resource for contemporary action. Saturday's opening will include a reception with the artist from 5-8 p.m. The exhibition will remain on view through April 26. Wasserman Projects, 3434 Russell St. #502, Detroit. Free to attend. Friday from 5-7 p.m. at the University of Michigan's GallerDAAS hosts the opening reception for 'Devotion,' a powerful exhibition of paintings by Jonathan Harris and murals by the School of Jon Onye Lockard. Harris (1988 – ) and Lockard (1932 – 2015), both native Detroiters, span generations and time, but their art engages in similar topics of current events and the issues of the African Diaspora. Using vibrant colors and powerful themes, the two artists have attained reputations for their commanding styles of painting that reveal their incredible imaginations. GalleryDAAS, inside Haven Hall, 505 S. State St., Ann Arbor. Free to attend. Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Wynton Marsalis, 'Groundhog Day' and more: Your weekend in metro Detroit
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Entertainment
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'More Than Motown' Black History Month lecture will explore Detroit's rich musical legacy
Detroit's dazzling musical history will be brought into focus this weekend when City Historian Jamon Jordan delivers his third annual City Black History Month Lecture at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Titled 'More Than Motown: Detroit's Impact on All Music,' the program will span multiple genres, with Jordan accompanied by renowned pianist Alvin Waddles. 'I'm going to be talking the history of Detroit's role in the creation of so many different forms of music,' said Jordan, 'from spirituals and gospel to the blues, soul music, even rock and roll and of course the Motown sound. But the center of Detroit's role in the production of music was really jazz. Whether we're talking about big band or bebop, it's going to be a major part of the presentation — although we'll be talking about all these other forms, from Aretha Franklin and Berry Gordy, Jr. to Paradise Valley and Black Bottom musicians, all the way up through the techno and hip-hop performers. 'Detroit was so intricately involved in the production of so much music that some people know nothing about. Many people know about Motown. But outside of Motown, people (often) don't understand Detroit's role in both popular music and some of the other genres that may not have been as popular, but are very important.' More: Documentary debuting at Freep Film Fest explores Detroit as powerhouse of musical culture See also: Beloved Luther Vandross documentary finally at theaters, also airing on OWN in February Wright Museum president and CEO Neil A. Barclay said the institution is proud to host the event. "We look forward to kicking off Black History Month with this program and partnership," said Barclay. 'Particularly through such challenging times, Jamon Jordan is an important voice who provides critical historical facts and also the connection of how our past impacts our present and future." Rochelle Riley, director of the city's office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship, seconded Barclay's praise. 'I've visited 28 countries and could stop on any street corner and start singing a Motown song and someone would join me,' she said. 'Techno, jazz, rock and roll, hip-hop — Detroit has been at the forefront of all of it, so it's time we own our city's excellence. No one is better able to tell that story than Jamon. And no one is better to show that story than Alvin Waddles, who has offered brilliance around the world for decades.' Jordan called Detroit 'a music center' that should be recognized nationally and internationally for its contributions. 'Everyone knows New Orleans as a music center,' he said. 'Everyone knows New York and Los Angeles, and some people even know Chicago and St. Louis as music centers; everybody knows Memphis. Well, Detroit is one, too. I'm not taking anything away from all those other places, but Detroit is just as important. 'There are a few reasons why we don't get the acclaim that we should. For instance, Motown is so big that it overshadowed Detroit's role in other forms of music. You can't really talk about jazz without talking about Detroit. You can't talk about gospel without talking about the city of Detroit. You can't talk about techno, for sure, which started in Detroit. And you can't talk about blues and funk music without talking about Detroit. I'm going to raise the consciousness about how Detroit is as important in all these other forms as we are with Motown.' Jordan's Black History Month lecture will be held at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (315 E. Warren Ave.) T 2 p.m Sunday, Feb. 2. The event is free, but registration is required. Register and find more information at Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 'More Than Motown' event will explore Detroit's rich musical legacy
