IU Art Museum prepares for 20th annual Jazz in July free concert series
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Jazz in July, the Indiana University Art Museum's free, family-friendly summer concert series. The opening concert is scheduled for July 9 at 6:30 p.m. on the museum's terrace with the cool jazz of the Postmodern Jazz Quartet.
The Postmodern Jazz Quartet ushers in the IU Art Museum's 20th anniversary at 6:30 p.m. July 9.
Jazz in July takes place each Friday night throughout the month and features some of the hottest jazz talent in the Midwest.
The July 9 concert will kick off with a festival-like pre-concert event at 5:30 p.m. in the museum's atrium that features interactive, multilevel entertainment by the Jefferson Street Parade Band and the Windfall Dancers. Pizza X, Bloomington Brewing Co. and Oliver Winery will be on hand with refreshments available for purchase on the museum's Sculpture Terrace at all four concerts.
In conjunction with Jazz in July, the IU Art Museum also will debut a new installation of paintings and prints by the late Felrath Hines (1913-1993), whose art was often inspired by the jazz and classical music he listened to while working. This gallery will be open from 5 to 8:30 p.m. each Friday in July.
Hines studied at the Herron Art Institute, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Pratt Institute in New York. He began exhibiting his paintings in the early 1950s, for many years juggling painting with a career as a painting conservator, with positions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Portrait Gallery and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. In 1963, Hines became a founding member of the Spiral Group, an association of African American artists who were active in the Civil Rights movement. While some Spiral-affiliated artists incorporated political themes and subjects in their work, Hines continued to develop his unique abstract style.
All Jazz in July concerts will be emceed by WFIU's Joe Bourne and David Brent Johnson and will take place outside on the Sculpture Terrace. In the event of rain, the concert will be moved inside the IU Art Museum. Seating is limited, so attendees are advised to arrive early.
Visitors to Jazz in July can park without a permit at the Wells Library and Art Museum lots for the duration of the event.
About the bands
July 9: Postmodern Jazz Quartet
The Postmodern Jazz Quartet is composed of talented local musicians who play in the vein of late 1950s Miles Davis groups and musical traditions heavily rooted in post-bop jazz. This performance will include the band's recent additions of jazz trumpet and female vocals to highlight some of its new repertoire of jazz instrumentals and vocal tunes.
Cathy Morris
July 16: Cathy Morris
Electric violinist Cathy Morris has a passion for sharing music with audiences of all ages. After more than a decade of focusing on all-original music, Cathy has begun her own interpretations of contemporary jazz songs spiced with Latin rhythms, some funk grooves, Cajun fun and even a little romance.
July 23: Jazz Fables
One of Bloomington's longest running and most beloved jazz groups, Jazz Fables is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its popular Thursday night concert series at Bear's Place this year. Founded and led by trumpeter David Miller, the group features a rotating lineup of some of Indiana's finest jazz performers. With original compositions and tributes to modern jazz masters such as Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk, Jazz Fables is a not-to-be-missed concert tradition.
Bill Lancton Coalition
July 30: Bill Lancton Coalition
Indianapolis Hall of Fame guitarist Bill Lancton has more than 30 years of experience playing funk, jazz, rock and country. Composed of veterans from the Indianapolis studio and performing scene, the Bill Lancton Coalition seamlessly blends a Latin and funk feel with straight-ahead swing in a fresh jazz style for a truly exciting show.
Works by Felrath Hines: Recent Acquisitions
In February 2009, Dorothy Fisher, widow of the late abstract artist Felrath Hines (1913-1993), generously donated six of her husband's works to the IU Art Museum. Beginning in July, these works will be on view in the first-floor gallery of Western Art in a special installation to complement the museum's annual Jazz in July concert series.
Hines' paintings rely upon a universal language of geometric form and harmonic color. Their rhythmic, musical quality is suggestive of the cadences of jazz, one of the great African American contributions to American culture, and one that defined the Indianapolis of Hines' childhood, when numerous jazz clubs sprang up in the city. Hines also may have been inspired by the jazz and classical music he often listened to while painting.
In an interview late in his life, Hines spoke of his admiration for the music of Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and Duke Ellington, noting that their jazz compositions "were out of control [but] lead you to believe that they are in control." Likewise, Hines's Elevation, painted in 1986, features a bold, asymmetrical composition that looks as if it could spin out of control, with its checkerboards of red and blue perched precariously in the upper half of the composition. Yet the forms are anchored in place by Hines's lyrical sense of design and the thin white outlines surrounding and restraining the pulsating colors. Summing up his approach to his art, Hines said in a 1983 statement, "I prefer painting that gives visual as well as spiritual pleasure and presents a sense of balance and harmony."
Felrath Hines, "Elevation"
In addition to the museum's regular hours, these works will be available for viewing from 5-8:30 p.m. during each Jazz in July concert evening.
About the Indiana University Art Museum
Since its establishment in 1941, the Indiana University Art Museum has grown from a small university teaching collection into one of the foremost university art museums in the country. Today, the IU Art Museum's internationally acclaimed collections, ranging from ancient gold jewelry and African masks to paintings by Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso, include more than 40,000 objects representing nearly every art-producing culture throughout history. The IU Art Museum is located on Seventh Street in the heart of the Bloomington campus. Galleries are open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Angles Café & Gift Shop is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Galleries are closed on Mondays and major holidays. The museum and all exhibitions and programs are free and open to the public.
This story was originally published July 1, 2010.
