‘Musicking’ with MoCA\CT
The upcoming Art, Jazz + the Blues exhibition will tickle most of your senses
Delta Dawn by Eric von Schmidt, oil on canvas, 2002. Long-term loan to Westport Public Art Collections, courtesy of the artist’s family (courtesy MoCA\CT)
There is a terrific new book out by the title of The Jazz Barn.
Written by University of Vermont professor John Gennari, it is a deep academic dive into the unlikely locale – a country estate/inn in Lenox, MA in the 1950s – for the integration of music genres, artistic and scholarly disciplines, and white and Black individuals, all around immersion into, discovery of, and the reinvention (somewhat), of jazz. Early on, Gennari mentions a concept first introduced in 1998 by musicologist Christopher Small called “musicking.”
Musicking takes the concept of music beyond the static noun of the word “music” itself and introduces everything and everybody who participates in making the release and reception of that music’s sound possible, as well as the results after people have heard it. To “musick,” if you will, introduces senses and concepts far beyond the aural foundation of the noun.
And, starting Thursday, the Museum of Contemporary Art Connecticut (MoCA\CT) and the Westport Public Arts Collection will be treating us to what looks to be a superb example of musicking with the launch of the Art, Jazz + the Blues exhibit, which runs through June 7. In addition to the artworks on view and their accompanyng playlists, the exhibition also includes concerts, lectures, and film.
“This exhibition explores the intersections between visual art, jazz, and the blues, musical forms deeply rooted in African American traditions, drawing from the rich holdings of the Westport Public Art Collections (WestPAC),” the exhibit’s announcement page states.
The exhibition centers on Giants of the Blues, a sweeping series of seven group portraits by Westport native Eric von Schmidt (1931–2007) honoring blues, jazz, and folk musicians from the 1920s to the 1960s. Complementing von Schmidt’s paintings are about fifty artworks from the WestPAC collection depicting musicians, inspired by musical themes, or exploring the resonances between musical and visual forms.
Ive Covaci, who curated the exhibition with WestPAC co-chair Anne Boberski and the WestPAC Committee, said the gears have been turning on it for just about a year.
“The topic came to us in part becase MoCA is a performing arts venue as well as a visual arts venue,” she told 8495Jazz. “So they are already set up for this wonderful collaboration around music and art. It’s a very natural space in which to present this particular topic.
“We have under long term loan to the collection those seven murals by Eric von Schmidt. They’ve been hanging in Staples High School, where they are off view to most the community, but these exhibitions at MoCA every year are an opportunity to bring the works out from the schools and present them to the broader community.”
But that is just the start of the exhibition’s musicking. The museum will also host events throughout the exhibition, including:
Feb 26: Opening Reception, 6–8pm, with live music by Butterfield Blues Band keyboardist and WPKN radio host Mark Naftalin. (Members’ Preview at 5pm)
Feb 28: Film Screening: Leadbelly (1976), directed by Gordon Parks, 4–7pm, followed by a Q&A with Prof. Sheila Curran Bernard, author of Bring Judgment Day: Reclaiming Lead Belly’s Truths from Jim Crow’s Lies (2024)
Mar 5: Curators’ Talk with Anne Boberski and Ive Covaci, 6–7pm, “Blues Off the Wall” with Tim Cole on guitar, 5:30–6pm
Mar 8: MoCA\CT Presents: Etienne Charles Quartet, 4-6pm
Mar 26: Community Conversation: Jazz Inspirations, 6–7pm, featuring a panel of musicians. “Blues Off the Wall” with Tim Cole, 5:30–6pm
Apr 9 & 10: Visualizing Sound Art Workshop: Jazz, Blues & Abstract Expression, 12–2pm
Apr 12: MoCA\CT Presents: Brubeck Brothers Quartet, 4-6pm.
The curators have also released companion playlists on both Spotify and YouTube. They feature blues and jazz artists going back to the early 20th century, some very familiar to most audiences, and some not so familiar, yet still vital members of the historical river of the music that came out of the Deep South and transformed the nation’s listening habits and very culture.
Like the exhibition’s visual attractions, Ive said the music selections were a true community effort. Ive, a professor of art history at Fairfield University, is also a regular member of the audience at the Jazz Society of Fairfield County’s Thursday night concerts at the Westport VFW; JazzFC’s vice president, Richard Epstein, who hosts a radio show on WPKN and serves on several cultural boards in Westport, advised Ive on music selection.
“For the general exhibition playlist I tried to collect songs that related to the particular artworks that are on display,” Ive said. “So as a playlist it’s not super cohesive. Labels accompanying associated artworks will have icons that there is music on the playlist that relates to that specific work.”
The tightly intertwined connection between what is often classified as blues and jazz can be heard on the playlists. For instance, the Mississppi Sheiks, best known as a country blues act in their active years (1930-35), are represented by their song “Sitting On Top of the World,” which has been covered by musicians across the spectrum of popular music, from country swing king Bob Wills to Frank Sinatra. And fans of trad jazz standard bearers Tuba Skinny may be familiar with their version of the Sheiks’ “Fingering With Your Fingers.”
The exhibition’s “Giants of the Blues” playlist includes one of John Lee Hooker’s best known songs, “Boogie Chillen.”
And, though Hooker was known almost universally as a “pure” blues player who influenced generations of blues and rock musicians, he was also very familiar with the jazz community, and they with him. When third stream music pioneer Ran Blake received his “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation in the 1980s, he told a Boston TV channel he thought John Lee should also have gotten one. There is also a photo, well-known in the jazz community, of John Lee sitting at a table at the Jazz Barn with a chart of the evolution of the blues behind him.
When asked what she had learned about jazz and the blues through her work on the exhibition, Ive jokingly said “Oh – everything?” before homing in on a couple specifics (among them the fact Huddie Ledbetter lived for a time in nearby Wilton).
“I guess one thing we discovered are so many of these links between musicians and artists, sharing spaces and engaging with each other, acting as mentors. And how many artists grew up in musical familes.” von Schmidt, who was a central figure in the folk revival movement, was renowned as a creator of album art as well as larger works, for instance.
“So there’s a circularity of artists and musicians finding inspiration in each other,” Ive said.
It all connects. Let’s get musicking.
“Fingering With Your Fingers” is a song by 1930s country blues pioneers The Mississippi Sheiks,. Trad jazz champions Tuba Skinny give it the NOLA treatment here.
Roy Hargrove Tribute Raising Funds for HJS
The Hartford Jazz Society, in partnership with the Greater Haretford Arts Council and Black-Eyed Sally’s, presents the Danton Boller Quintet in tribute to the late trumpet legend Roy Hargrove, Thursday (Feb. 26) at 7 pm at Black-Eyed Sally’s in Hartford.
The show is a fundraiser for the HJS, and all proceeds will go toward funding the society’s programming, scholarship, and educational events.
“During his time with Roy Hargrove, Danton Boller was featured on two of Hargrove’s most popular albums – Earfood (RH Quintet) and Emergence (RH Big Band),” the show’s promo material tells us. “Hargrove’s ‘Strasbourg St. Denis’ opens with Danton’s captivating bass intro, and has gone on to become one of the best known new jazz standards around the world, with over 13 million streams on Spotify alone.”
Joining Danton for the night will be Justin Robinson on alto sax, Haneef Nelson on trumpet, Jeremy Manasia on piano, and Willie Jones III on drums.
Tickets are $28.52 including the service fee and are available here.
Out and About with 8495Jazz
These listings are a curated sampling of shows in the region. As an independent resource for jazz news, 8495Jazz does not receive any consideration, free tickets, or affiliate fees for these listings. Please confirm events are still happening directly with the venue.
Editor’s note: At distribution time, all the events listed below were still scheduled to go on. Given the expected severity of the impending snow storm, that advice to check with the venue directly can not be emphasized enough.
8495Jazz Wild Card Gig of the Week
New England Conservatory, Boston, MA
John McNeil Memorial Concert, Monday, Feb. 23, 7:30 pm. Free.
Faculty and alumni performers honoring McNeil’s memory include saxophonist Allan Chase, pianist Frank Carlberg, saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi, pianist Randy Ingram, pianist Ethan Iverson, trumpeter Jason Palmer, pianist Mark Shilansky, vocalist Allegra Levy, saxophonist Noah Preminger, trumpeter David Adewumi, trumpeter Mark Tipton, and saxophonist Jeremy Udden. McNeil joined the NEC faculty in 1981 and died in 2024. He first gained widespread recognition as a member of the Horace Silver Quintet, with which he toured North America and Europe in the late 1970s. McNeil also worked with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and performed with Gerry Mulligan, Art Pepper, and Milt Hinton, among others.
Other Upcoming Shows
The Falcon, Marlboro, NY
James Francies Trio (piano, combo), tonight, 7:30 pm. $30 suggested donation.
Hartford Public Library, Hartford, CT
Jamile Trio (vocals, combo) today, 3 pm. Free.
Elicit Brewing Co., Manchester, CT
Hartford Jazz Orchestra, Monday, Feb. 23, 7:30 pm. Free.
VFW Post 399, Westport, CT
Ted Rosenthal (piano, combo), Thursday, Feb. 26, 7:30 and 8:45 pm. GA $20.76, student/vet $15.76 for 7:30 show, GA $10.76 for 8:45 show.
Jazz Forum Arts, Tarrytown, NY
Bill Charlap and Renee Rosnes (piano duo), Friday, Feb. 27 and Saturday, Feb. 28, 7 and 9:30 pm; Sunday, March 1, 4 and 6 pm. GA $48.25, child/students $43 including service fee.
Regattabar, Cambridge, MA
Jimmy Greene Quartet (sax, combo), Friday, Feb. 27, 7:30 pm. GA $41.79, students $30.15 including service fee.
Jams
Cafe Nine, New Haven CT
New Haven Jazz Underground jam, usually 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month: free admission
Saturday jazz jam most Saturdays, 4 pm. Free.
Blackeyed Sally’s, Hartford, CT
Jazz Wednesdays, featured set 7 pm, jam session afterward.
Carmine’s, East Hartford, CT
Paisley’s All Star Memorial Jam, various Tuesdays, click link for dates, 7:30 pm. House band set followed by jam. Free.
Mahoney’s, Poughkeepsie, NY
Poughkeepsie Jazz Project, every Tuesday, 7 pm. Free.
Park City Music Hall, Bridgeport, CT
Scott Cushman and Friends followed by jam, first Wednesday of the month.
The Parlour, Providence, RI
First Sunday Jam (first Sunday of the month) with Ben Shaw Quartet followed by jam, music starts at 6. Jammers $5, audience $10.
The Blue Room, Cranston, RI
Newport Jazz Presents Jam Sessions, 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month, 8 pm. House band followed by jam.
Groton Hill Music Center, Groton, MA
Jams every second Tuesday of the month through June, 7 pm. $10 at the door, no advance sales.
Jazz Societies and Organizations (great info on events, festivals, and more)
Jazz Society of Fairfield County
Jazz Fridays at Three Sheets New Haven 1st/3rd Fridays from 6-9pm
Jazz Thursdays at The Cannon New Haven every other Thurs from 7-9pm.
8495Jazz takes its name from the two Interstate highways that cross our region, I-84 and I-95. Within short driving distances from either, you can find incredible entertainment, from local jams to world-famous festivals in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. 8495Jazz: From Newburgh to Newport!
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