Christian McBride: The Movement Revisited at Merriam Theater

"The connection between jazz and spoken word reaches back at least as far as the beatnik poetry and jazz performances of the 1950s…McBride drew upon both those sources, sometimes applying the spontaneity of improvisation, sometimes unleashing the inspirational sounds of gospel voices, supporting it all with massed big band textures and a propulsive rhythm section." —Los Angeles Times
In the world of jazz, few contemporary musicians have more proactively, consistently, and provocatively built upon the goals and achievements of each succeeding year as Philadelphia-born Christian McBride...

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"The connection between jazz and spoken word reaches back at least as far as the beatnik poetry and jazz performances of the 1950s…McBride drew upon both those sources, sometimes applying the spontaneity of improvisation, sometimes unleashing the inspirational sounds of gospel voices, supporting it all with massed big band textures and a propulsive rhythm section." —Los Angeles Times
In the world of jazz, few contemporary musicians have more proactively, consistently, and provocatively built upon the goals and achievements of each succeeding year as Philadelphia-born Christian McBride. The Movement Revisited is the culmination of McBride's richly inspired piece lauding four key figures of the Civil Rights Movement:Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, andMuhammad Ali. The Movement Revisited blends a five-part suite for an 18-piece big jazz band, singers from the Philadelphia Heritage Chorale led by music director J. Donald Dumpson, and narrators, to create a powerful evening in which music and famous passages by these historical figures merge to tell the story of the fight for civil rights. The work culminates in a final piece where all four narrators come together to recite President Barack Obama's inauguration speech.

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