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Join us at the Chazen Museum of Art for a special evening celebrating Nordic Utopia? African Americans in the 20th Century.5 p.m. Complimentary appetizers and cash bar in the Mead Witter Lobby.
5:30 p.m. Remarks from exhibition co-curators Ethelene Whitmire, professor, UW–Madison; and Leslie Anderson, chief curator, National Nordic Museum.
6 p.m. The Dexter Gordon Tribute Band, performing the influential jazz of Dexter Gordon.
The event is free and open to the public. RSVPs are appreciated.
This event is generously supported by the Scan Design Fellowship Program, fostering Danish-American relations at UW–Madison.
About the exhibition:
Love, adventure, educational opportunities, career advancement, sexual exploration and racism are among the myriad reasons African American artists traveled to Nordic countries during the first half of the 20th century. While some visited to learn and perform, others relocated in search of a vastly different life. Nordic Utopia? African Americans in the 20th Century, explores this often-overlooked time. Organized by the National Nordic Museum in Seattle, the exhibition is the first comprehensive pan-Nordic show to illuminate the artists’ motivations and experiences abroad.
This exhibition is on view in the Chazen's Garfield Gallery August 10 - November 10, 2024.
About The Dexter Gordon Tribute Band:
Arun Luthra, saxophone
Eric Koppa, saxophone
Pawan Benjamin, saxophone
Johannes Wallmann, piano
Peter Dominguez, bass
Matt Endres, drums
The Dexter Gordon Tribute Band performs music composed and recorded by the American jazz tenor saxophonist and bandleader Dexter Gordon (1923 – 1990). Gordon's performance career spanned over four decades, during which he recorded more than 80 albums primarily for Blue Note, SteepleChase, Prestige and Columbia Records. Among the most influential bebop-era musicians, Gordon moved to Europe in the mid-1960s, where he spent 14 years in Copenhagen and Paris, performing with American expats and touring musicians, as well as top musicians from the burgeoning European jazz community.
First formed for the occasion of a Madison book reading by Gordon's biographer and widow Maxine Gordon in 2019, the Dexter Gordon Tribute Band has performed at Cafe Coda and at the Arts + Literature Laboratory in Madison. Led by musical director and pianist Dr. Johannes Wallmann, UW – Madison's Peterson Professor of Jazz Studies, the sextet features an all-star front line of three tenor saxophonists: Arun Luthra and Pawan Benjamin were both mainstays of the New York jazz scene who have recently relocated to Madison (with Luthra joining UW's jazz faculty), while Eric Koppa spent a decade as Madison's first-call tenor saxophonist before moving to the Fox Cities, where he is vice-president of the Jazz Corner Society. Rounding out the sextet are UW jazz faculty members Peter Dominguez on bass, and Dr. Matthew Endres on drums.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Chazen Museum of Art, 750-800 University Ave,Madison,WI,United States
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