Jesse created live visuals for several performances in Wadada Leo Smith’s inaugural Create Festival at Firehouse 12 in New Haven, CT, April 8-9, 2017.

Saturday, April 8

Seminar 1:00pm- 3:00pm

A dialogue illustrating Wadada Leo Smith’s music, with a focus on the compositions being performed during the festival, with video images by Jesse Gilbert. Premium coffee brewed by Wadada and Creole gumbo prepared by Gianna Chachere.

Concert 7:00pm

1. Lamar Smith Experiment
Lamar Smith- guitar
William Brennan- guitar
Bentley Lewis- guitar

2. New Dalta Ahkri
Wadada Leo Smith- trumpet
Dwight Andrews- saxophones/flutes
Bobby Naughton- vibraphone

The Earth, a blue sanctuary of translucent light: Gardens of Fire-flowers, Underground Seas and Pomegranate Lagoons

3. Mbira
Wadada Leo Smith- trumpet
Min Xiao Fen- pipa and voice
Pheeroan akLaff- drums and percussion
Dark Lady of the Sonnets
Mbira / RedKoral Quartet / Jesse Gilbert- video artist

The Montgomery Bus Boycott: 381 Days: Fire (from Rosa Parks Oratorio)

4. RedKoral Quartet
Shalini Vijayan- violin
Mona Tian- violin
Lorenz Gamma- viola
Ashley Walters- cello

String Quartet No. 9
Ma Rainey
Marian Anderson
Rosa Parks
Angela Davis

String Quartet No. 10
Ellingtonia / Reminiscing in Tempo (Movement No. 1)
Anthony Davis- piano with RedKoral Quartet

5. Wadada Leo Smith’s Golden Quintet
Wadada Leo Smith- trumpet
Anthony Davis- piano
Ashley Walters- cello
John Lindberg- bass
Pheeroan akLaff- drums
Jesse Gilbert- video artist

America’s National Parks:

New Orleans: The National Cultural Park USA 1718
Yellowstone: The First National Park and the Spirit of America- The Mountains, Super-Volcano Caldera and Its Ecosystem

Sunday, April 9

Seminar 1:00pm- 3:00pm
A dialogue concerning Ankhrasmation, a symbolic music language, with video images by Jesse Gilbert. Premium coffee brewed by Wadada and Creole gumbo prepared by Gianna Chachere.

Concert 7:00pm

Wadada Leo Smith: A Thelonious Reflection
Wadada Leo Smith- trumpet
Crepuscule with Nellie
Monk and his Five Point Ring at The Five Spot
Ruby, My Dear
Round About Midnight

2. The Crystal Sextet
Stephanie Griffin- viola
Gwen Lester- viola
Tanya Kalmanovitch- viola
Jason Kao Hwang- viola
Hardedge- electronics
Wadada Leo Smith- trumpet
Pacifica, Viola Quartet No. 12 with Trumpet and Electronics

3. Wadada Leo Smith’s Golden Quintet
Wadada Leo Smith- trumpet
Anthony Davis- piano
Ashley Walters- cello
John Lindberg- bass
Pheeroan akLaff- drums
Jesse Gilbert- video artist

America’s National Parks

The Mississippi River: Dark and Deep Dreams Flow the River- a National Memorial Park c. 5000 BC. Eileen Jackson Southern, 1920- 2002: A Literary National Park. Sequoia / Kings Canyon National Parks: The Giant Forest, Great Canyon, Cliffs, Peaks, Waterfalls and Cave Systems. Yosemite: The Glaciers, the Falls, the Wells and the Valley of Goodwill 1890.

World Premiere

All Compositions by Wadada Leo Smith, KIOM Music, ASCAP. except “Crepuscule with Nellie,” “Ruby, My Dear” by Thelonious Monk, and “Round About Midnight” by Thelonious Monk, Bernie Hanighen & Cootie Williams.

CREATE Festival is made possible by the generous funds from Doris Duke Foundation, Creative Capital, and private donations.