Contact: Mark Baszak, 413.545.3530
(to obtain an advance copy of the book proof for review)
To download photographs and more information, visit the pressroom at:
For Immediate Release
Join the festivities
surrounding the Fine Arts Center Department of Multicultural Programs new book
of photography and firsthand accounts of the music (jazz, blues, and gospel)
and performers given tribute at annual Black Musicians Conferences and
Festivals held at the University of Massachusetts from 1989 – 1999. Events revolve around the publication of
Such Sweet Thunder: Views on
Black American Music – a unique collection of essays, panel discussion transcripts
and photography edited by Mark Baszak, and featuring the photography of Edward
Cohen. Cohen’s exhibition in
Augusta Savage Gallery is the core of the celebration scheduled from February
18 through March 14, 2003.
Such Sweet Thunder (both
the book and exhibit) features photographs of Art Blakey, Betty Carter, Doc
Cheatham, Dorothy Donegan, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Abdullah Ibrahim,
Christian McBride, Bobby McFerrin, Odetta, Max Roach, Richard Smallwood, Dakota
Staton, Sarah Vaughan, Marlena Shaw, and Marion Williams among many others who
performed at the University of Massachusetts.
Ever wonder what it might
be like to share musical ideas and play blues with Eric Clapton, grow up in the
same neighborhood as Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson, or discuss race matters
on the phone with Miles Davis?
What about hearing Grammy-winning gospel group Take 6 perform in your
own living room before they were famous, collaborating with rapper Black Thought
of The Roots, or working with all the bebop greats in 1940s era Manhattan when
modern jazz was just being formulated?
Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Marvin Winans, Jean Bach,
Teodross Avery, and Billy
Taylor are just
a few of the artist-authors who tell their stories in Such Sweet Thunder: Views on Black American
Music.
Events planned in
conjunction with the release of the book include a film, lecture, and
masterclass presentation featuring Tony-nominated actress Tsidii Le Loka on
Thursday and Friday, February 20 and 21, and a film screening of the
documentary In The Shadows of
Motown followed
by a Motown and Hip Hop dance party on Wednesday, February 26. (please refer to
the attached schedule of events for additional information)
For the latest information
regarding all activities surrounding the publication of Such Sweet Thunder, or to purchase copies of
the book, visit www.suchsweetthunder.com. The book will also be available for
sale at Augusta Savage Gallery during exhibit hours, and at every venue of
scheduled activities.
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