*The Los Angeles Philharmonic has partnered with the Annual Leimert Park Village Book Fair to pay homage to Jazz Legend Thelonious Monk on Friday, March 9, 2018 at 8pm with a special Jazz Book Pop-Up Lounge featuring a special display of jazz books, jazz art exhibits with related memorabilia.
Concert attendees will also receive a complimentary drink in honor of Monk’s classic “Straight, No Chaser” courtesy of Martell’s Cognac.
Exhibiting Participants at the pre-concert reception will include esteemed spotlight author & historian Robin D. G. Kelley, jazz historian Jeffrey Winston (California Jazz Foundation); producer Chet Hanley (host of “Channel 36 | Straight-Ahead Jazz, Plus); multi-media artist Kisasi Ramsess; Amoeba Records; Grammy Museum at LA Live: California Jazz and Blues Museum with Jazz Singer Legend Barbara Morrison and more.
Following the reception, concert attendees will experience Thelonious Monk’s timeless music in a unique cinematic-concert performance featuring multi-Grammy®-nominated John Beasley’s big band MONK’estra, rare film footage of Monk, a spoken word performance of Monk’s philosophy of life and music, and brilliant vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater. Opening the evening will be a homage to one of the most popular albums in jazz history, pianist Erroll Garner’s Concert by the Sea – a passion project of the late Geri Allen. Some of today’s most exciting jazz pianists, along with an all-star rhythm section, reimagine such classics as “April in Paris,” “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” “Autumn Leaves” and many more.
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The image of Thelonious Sphere Monk with his trademark goatee, dark glasses and hat is today a poster image of cool. Jazz fans revere Monk for his ground-breaking compositions and piano playing from the 1950s and 1960s, but to a wider audience, he stands for something much bigger: the very idea of native genius; a quirky, absent minded, unalloyed originality that is the perfect symbol of the undefinable essence of jazz.
For more information on this special celebratory tribute to Jazz great, Thelonious Monk, please visit: https://www.laphil.com/events/performances/115/.
This special program kicks off event the Leimert Park Village Book Fair’s 12th year of promoting and advocating education, literacy and the love of reading in concert with community partners and collaborators. tFor more information on the Book Fair and its activities, please visit: www.leimertparkbookfair.com.
About the LEIMERT PARK VILLAGE BOOK FAIR
The LPVBF is produced by Exum and Associates in collaboration with Supervisor Mark Ridley- Thomas, District 2; the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs; City of Los Angeles and Capri Capital Partners of the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza mall. Philanthropists and community leaders Dr. Bernard W. and Shirley Kinsey serve as the book fair’s chairpersons. The Kinseys are known for their collection of African-American art, books and manuscripts that document and tell the remarkable story of African Americans triumphs and struggles from 1632 to the present. The Kinsey Collection: “Shared Treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey” has been on a national tour and seen by millions. The mission of LPVBF is to promote, encourage and advocate literacy, education and the love of reading throughout the Greater Los Angeles areas. LPVBF is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization dedicated to producing year-round educational programming, as well as to the presentation of events in collaboration with our partners, in addition to the annual summer fair for which the organization is named.
About Spotlight Author | ROBIN D.G. KELLEY
Robin D.G. Kelley is the Gary B. Nash Professor of U.S. History at UCLA. He writes on a broad range of topics, including the history of social movements, music, art, race, and current affairs. His books include, Africa Speaks, America Answers: Modern Jazz in Revolutionary Times; Race Rebels: Culture Politics and the Black Working Class; Yo’ Mama’s DisFunktional!: Fighting the Culture Wars in Urban America.
source:
Cynthia Exum
[email protected]
