In the ongoing celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), women in jazz and other music will be the focus when the DuSable Museum of African American History presents some of the leading ladies of the AACM in “Cutting Edge Spirit Music: The Women of the AACM,” a mini concert and conversation.
Featured musician/composers are AACM stalwarts Ann Ward, Coco Elysses, Maia, Shanta Nurullah, Sherry Scott and Rita Warford. The conversation will be moderated by Kai EL’ Zabar, executive editor of the Chicago Defender Newspaper. The free program takes place at 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 29. Reserve tickets at https://thedusablemuseum.eventbrite.com.
The women will perform an improvisational mini concert followed by a stimulating and informative conversation about women and music. The program is being held in conjunction with the exhibition “Free at First: The Audacious Journey of the AACM,” on view at the museum through September 6, 2015. The exhibit is co-curated by jazz advocate Janis Lane Ewart and Dr. Carol Adams, retired CEO of DuSable Museum. It is designed by muralist/fine artist Dorian Sylvain. Patrons are encouraged to come early to see the exhibit before the program.
Internationally renowned for unparalleled contributions to modern music, the AACM was founded in Chicago in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Arts Movement on May 8, 1965. The vanguard institution had the audacity to compose, perform, publish, own, and institutionalize their own music and to prepare future exponents of their genre-bending, experimental form through the free AACM School of Music.
The exhibit, “Free at First: The Audacious Journey of the AACM” is as broad and wide-ranging an exhibition as the music created by the AACM. The exhibit features over 80 items including historic and iconic photographs, a musical soundscape inclusive of AACM founders and the newest generation, a significant body of film and video, performance costumes, uniquely crafted awards of recognition, and performance posters from around the globe. Original instruments like the frankiphone modeled on the African mbira by AACM co-founder Kelan Phil Cohran, and an interactive installation piece by Douglas Ewart called “StepHopThread Airborne” are also featured.
The DuSable Museum of African American History is located at 740 E. 56th Place. For more information on the museum and its programs, call 773-947-0600 or visit www.dusablemuseum.org . For more information on AACM, visit www.aacm.org.
Organized by DuSable Museum of African American History, “FREE AT FIRST: The Audacious Journey of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians” and related programs is sponsored by The Chicago Community Trust, the Illinois Humanities Council, The DuSable Museum of African American History, and United Airlines, the Official Airline of the DuSable Museum. This project is partially supported by a grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The DuSable Museum gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Chicago Park District.
About The DuSable Museum of African American History
The DuSable Museum of African American History is one of the oldest institutions of its kind in the country. Our mission is to collect, preserve and display artifacts and objects that promote understanding and inspire appreciation of the achievements, contributions and experiences of African Americans through exhibits, programs and activities that illustrate African and African American history, culture and art. For more information on the museum and its programs, please call 773-947-0600 or visit www.dusablemuseum.org.
About Post Author
