The repertoire for this 60 minute programme consists of a number of seminal works, drawn from the 1960/70s African-American avant-garde, which combine vocals and text with experimental jazz forms.
These works illuminate an occluded moment in American cultural history, when the avant-garde aesthetics of new jazz doubled as a metaphor for the imminent politics of civil rights. Composed in very specific response to the perilous condition of black people in America, the works' synthesis of experimental sensibilities, radical political sentiment, and gutbucket expression cuts across boundaries of time and space to resonate universally in the here and now. In the era of #BlackLivesMatter, these works speak powerfully of the need for resistance and resilience, sound stark and original, their hypermodernism firmly rooted in vernacular tradition.
Jason Yarde / sax(s) M.D.
DANTE MICHEAUX'S poems have appeared in various journals and anthologies, in the United States and abroad. His honors include the Oscar Wilde Award and fellowships from Cave Canem Foundation and The New York Times Foundation. Micheaux resides in London and New York City.