COME SUNDAY NOVEMBER 2, 2008 AT 3PM
FOR THE DEBUT OF THE NEW SUNDAY AFTERNOON SERIES
"COME SUNDAY, JAZZ ON THE SACRED SIDE"
FEATURING DWIGHT TRIBLE
LIVE AT THE JAZZ BAKERY
3233 HELMS AVE, LA, CA 90034
310 271-9039, jazzbakery.org
It's time to take the next step in this sacred jazz journey...I'm so delighted to announce that starting on November 2, 2008 I will curate my first "Come Sunday: Jazz on the Sacred Side" concert at the Jazz Bakery. I'm thrilled to launch this series with one of Los Angeles' greatest vocal treasures, the incomparable Dwight Trible. I often think of the night several years ago when Dwight's group warmed, wait--let me tell the truth--set the stage on fire for our now dearly departed Alice Coltrane at Royce Hall...it was one of those nights I was overcome with gratitude, so steeped in the joy of now. I hear people who miss the great singers of times gone by...shoot, don't I wish I'd been alive and hip enough in 1957 to be hanging in Newport, RI with photographer Lee Friedlander when he took that exquisite shot of Mahalia Jackson above--no question...but what I'm getting at, and why I'm so excited to invite you to this "sacred side" series, is that we are so fortunate to live in the time of Dwight Trible*. I am so grateful to have live access to the voice of my sister and December sacred side artist, Nailah**...right now, right now. So with "Come Sunday: Jazz on the Sacred Side" we respectfully offer these afternoons in the spirit of Duke Ellington, in the spirit of Mahalia Jackson, of John and Alice Coltrane, and so many more jazz artists across a wide range of faith traditions who gathered us together in the past to lift our voices, horns, hearts and hallelujahs...AND the wonderful news is, we have so many musicians right now, today, in this very city, from Baptists, Buddhists, Baha'is and beyond who are going to be swinging on the first Sunday of the month in Culver City, long as we can keep the seats filled up at the Bakery. I want to thank Ruth Price for opening her space for what I do hope will be a long running monthly Sunday series with your support. Spread the word folks! Come Sunday, November 2...what better way to fire us up for election day than to gather with the sounds and rhythms of love, peace, courage, strength and soul of Dwight Trible...sounds that echo the qualities of the man we about to put into office!!!!
Finally, while the interfaith, multi-faith, low faith, high faith, those who have no spiritual practice but are drawn to the force of this music---while the ensemble of ALL of us is crucial in this journey...I want to throw out that the idea of meeting on the first Sunday of the month in many Christian traditions is related to communion, to gathering together to break bread. That excites me for many reasons...many are articulated beautifully in this introductory passage from bell hooks and Cornel West's book of dialogues called "Breaking Bread." In it bell writes about how much she loves to sing the spiritual, "Let Us Break Bread Together on our knees," especially the line, "When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun, oh Lord have mercy on me." She writes: "I liked the combination of the notion of community which is about sharing and breaking bread together, of dialogue as well as mercy because mercy speaks to the need we have for compassion, acceptance, understanding, and empathy." Come Sunday, November 2 at 3pm...break bread at the Bakery!!! How fantastic is that?
*Please visit Dwight Trible's website: http://dwighttrible.com/
**Please visit our December 7th guest Nailah's Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/nailah3
