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Event
Farewell to Storyville: Commemorating the Cradle of Early Jazz
New Orleans-based clarinet crusader Evan Christopher returns to Chicagoland to team up with ragtime authority and MacArthur Fellow Reginald R. Robinson. Together, they will commemorate the centenary of the closing of Storyville, the fabled district where pioneers of traditional New Orleans music transformed the popular ragtime of the day.
This duo of extraordinary musicians has devoted their talents to preserving the traditions of classical ragtime and traditional jazz while taking these vintage American styles into contemporary directions.
The MO's intimate Madison Room provides the ideal acoustically-rich setting to take in these two practitioners of America's rich musical legacy.
Seating is very limited.
About the performers:
EVAN CHRISTOPHER, CLARINET
Anchored in the musical vocabulary created by early Creole clarinetists such as Sidney Bechet and Barney Bigard, Evan Christopher has created a highly personal brand of "contemporary early-jazz" that strives to extend the legacy of the New Orleans clarinet style. Charismatic and versatile, Christopher was drawn to the Crescent City from his native California in 1994 by the city's rich cultural landscape for which he advocates. His intimate approach that exhibits a deep respect for the New Orleans tradition has prompted critics to describe it as a triumph, joining the present seamlessly to a glorious past.
REGINALD R. ROBINSON, PIANO
Robinson was raised by working class parents in Chicago. Captivated by the infectious rhythms of Scott Joplin as a teen, the self-taught pianist has evolved into a formidable composer, educator and advocate for classic ragtime. Several recordings for Chicagos renowned Delmark label preceded Reginalds naming as a 2004 MacArthur Fellow often called the Genius Grant - which bolstered his resolve to not only preserve the genre but advance it into the 21st century.
A gifted pianist, he evokes the range of passion and liveliness contained within the classic ragtime compositions of the early 1900s. He has explored in detail the great works of Scott Joplin, Eubie Blake, and other classical ragtime composers and has composed dozens of harmonically daring, structurally complex works. In addition to his composition and performance, Robinson has studied the history of ragtime music thoroughly; he discovered and recorded a previously unknown Joplin fragment found in the archives of Fisk University. Critics have praised his composing style as work with "dizzying technical requirements" that "bristles with a spirit of invention."
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LocationThe Musical Offering (View)
743 Custer Ave.
Evanston, IL 60202
United States
Categories
| Minimum Age: 8 |
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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