The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady: Listening Party
Thursday 19 November 2020, 8pm
Part of the EFG London Jazz Festival
- A chance to reconnect with and celebrate one of the greatest jazz albums of all time, which was originally conceived as a piece to dance to
- Rhythmic, explosive music is brought to life through dance and movement, bringing new perspectives to Charles Mingus’ big band masterpiece.
- With commentary from MOBO-Nominated Peter Edwards, Gary Crosby OBE from Nu Civilisation Orchestra; and Clod Ensemble Artistic Directors Suzy Willson & Paul Clark, who will be broadcast live from Shoreditch Town Hall
- Audience members invited to join online from home
- Residents of Shoreditch and Hoxton invited to attend for free, as well as participate in a programme of bespoke dance and music workshops
Trailblazing cross-disciplinary performance company, Clod Ensemble and Gary Crosby & Peter Edwards of the acclaimed Nu Civilisation Orchestra to present a celebration of Charles Mingus’ 1963 masterpiece, The Black Saint and The Sinner Lady as an online listening party. Audiences are invited to experience a new way of listening to this wildly sensual, rhythmically explosive classic album by watching world class dancers bring the music to life, unlocking powerful elements such as its complex structure, beautiful melodies, visceral emotions, moods and feelings. The event will feature the album in its original recorded format, performed by Charles Mingus and his band .
The piece will feature commentary from MOBO-nominated Peter Edwards, Music Director of Nu Civilisation Orchestra and Clod Ensemble Artistic Director Suzy Willson, who will be broadcast live from Shoreditch Town Hall. They will be joined by award-winning bassist and co-founder of Tomorrow’s Warriors, Gary Crosby OBE and Clod Ensemble’s Paul Clark. The audience are invited to attend the Listening Party online.
Clod Ensemble Director, Suzy Willson says, ‘We’re working with a group of incredible dancers who will unlock the powerful elements in the music – its complex structure, beautiful melodies, visceral emotions, moods and feelings. To help us listen deeply to the music we move to it and watch others moving to it. The Listening Party will be a celebration of both the music and the movement it inspires in us, offering a new perspective to this incredible album.”
Dancers will wear archive pieces from renowned East London fashion labels Simone Rocha, Eudon Choi and ArtSchool and Tropical Isles, an award-winning Hackney-based carnival arts organisation will perform during the event, wearing designs from their carnival archive.
Residents of Shoreditch and Hoxton are invited to claim a free ticket for the Listening Party. Residents who are interested in exploring how the music makes them move can book a free bespoke movement workshop for a group of friends or family, connecting members of the public with world-class musicians & dancers.
The Listening Party is part of a wider programme celebrating Mingus’ classic album, featuring an online workshop for people interested in exploring moving to the music, and an artist development workshop in improvisation and jazz aimed at dancers, led by Suzy Willson and Peter Edwards.
The Black Saint and The Sinner Lady is supported by The Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation, and Hackney Council’s Shoreditch and Hoxton Arts Fund, created from a levy on developers to support arts and culture programmes that bring different communiti
The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady: Listening Party | Thursday 19 November 2020 8pm, £5
Moving Music workshop | Monday 16 November 2020, 5.30pm, £5 (or £3 with a ticket to the Listening Party)
Improvisation & Jazz workshop for professional dancers | Wednesday 18 November 2020, 7pm, free
Book for all events: https://www.clodensemble.com/performance/black-saint-sinner-lady
