Jesse will create live visuals for Wadada Leo Smith’s Rosa Parks Oratorio at The Kitchen in New York City, April 26-28, 2019.

Wadada Leo Smith‘s Rosa Parks: Pure Love. An Oratorio of Seven Songs pays tribute to Rosa Parks for an action that, in Smith’s own words,”generated a movement worldwide for liberty and justice for human beings.” Through composition, Smith expresses his philosophical and spiritual narrative about his vision of this legendary figure. Embedded in the oratorio are brief excerpts from early recordings by Smith, Anthony Braxton, Leroy Jenkins, and Steve McCall, the four musicians who made up the legendary ensemble known as the Creative Construction Company. The oratorio is concerned with Smith’s ideas and meditation on the Civil Rights movement, reconnecting history to the present through lighting, photographs, and video images.

Vocals – Carmina Escobar  |   Karen Parks    |   Min Xiao-Fen

Strings – Shalini Vijayan   |   Mona Tian   |   Andrew McIntosh   |   Ashley Walters

Trumpets – Wadada Leo Smith   |   Ted Daniel  |   TBD

drums – Pheeroan Aklaff    |  electronics – Hardedge

dance – Oguri  |  live video – Jesse Gilbert

Friday, April 26 – 8pm
Saturday, April 27 – 8pm
Sunday, April 28 – 3pm

Tickets and more information:  https://thekitchen.org/event/wadada-leo-smith-rosa-parks-pure-love-an-oratorio-of-seven-songs

Venue: The Kitchen
512 West 19th Street
New York, NY 10011

[Photo by Aaron Griffith]