Bard Conservatory of Music Events
Music Program and Bard College Conservatory of Music Present
Thursday, April 18, 2024
The Enduring Influence of the Blues
Bitó Conservatory Building, Performance Space
1:30 pm – 2:50 pm EDT/GMT-4
1:30 pm – 2:50 pm EDT/GMT-4
The Power of a Feeling: Black Music, Literature, and the Creation of an Aesthetic.
• A performance by Marcus Roberts (piano) with Marty Jaffe (bass), Dave Potter (drums), Boyce Griffith (alto and tenor saxophones, clarinet).• A class by Professors Donna Ford Grover and Marcus Roberts
This performance by Bard Distinguished Visiting Professor of Music Marcus Roberts showcases the blues in its many shades and colors and will demonstrate how the blues in jazz connects with other great art forms including literature. This performance grows from the spring 2024 class entitled “The Power of a Feeling: Black Music, Literature, and the Creation of an Aesthetic”. Some of the seminal literary works from the class include Sonny's Blues (James Baldwin), The Blacker the Berry (Wallace Thurman), and Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston).
The themes in these stories involve black life and identity in America and each author expresses their unique personality through their prose. Jazz musicians do the same. From Louis Armstrong to Charlie Parker and Duke Ellington, and on to the present day, each jazz musician has an individual sound and identity. The blues also appears throughout American music and has as much variety as there are people who play it. This performance showcases the enduring influence of the blues in music and American life. Please join Professors Donna Grover and Marcus Roberts who, with his fellow musicians, will explore the connection between the blues and these great American literary works.
This class/performance is free and open to the public.
For more information, call 845-758-6822, or e-mail [email protected].
Time: 1:30 pm – 2:50 pm EDT/GMT-4
Location: Bitó Conservatory Building, Performance Space
Save this Event: Music Program and Bard College Conservatory of Music Present
The Enduring Influence of the Blues
The Power of a Feeling: Black Music, Literature, and the Creation of an Aesthetic.
• A performance by Marcus Roberts (piano) with Marty Jaffe (bass), Dave Potter (drums), Boyce Griffith (alto and tenor saxophones, clarinet).• A class by Professors Donna Ford Grover and Marcus Roberts
This performance by Bard Distinguished Visiting Professor of Music Marcus Roberts showcases the blues in its many shades and colors and will demonstrate how the blues in jazz connects with other great art forms including literature. This performance grows from the spring 2024 class entitled “The Power of a Feeling: Black Music, Literature, and the Creation of an Aesthetic”. Some of the seminal literary works from the class include Sonny's Blues (James Baldwin), The Blacker the Berry (Wallace Thurman), and Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston).
The themes in these stories involve black life and identity in America and each author expresses their unique personality through their prose. Jazz musicians do the same. From Louis Armstrong to Charlie Parker and Duke Ellington, and on to the present day, each jazz musician has an individual sound and identity. The blues also appears throughout American music and has as much variety as there are people who play it. This performance showcases the enduring influence of the blues in music and American life. Please join Professors Donna Grover and Marcus Roberts who, with his fellow musicians, will explore the connection between the blues and these great American literary works.
This class/performance is free and open to the public.