{"id":2084,"date":"2016-08-18T14:41:57","date_gmt":"2016-08-18T18:41:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/?p=2084"},"modified":"2019-09-12T12:57:51","modified_gmt":"2019-09-12T16:57:51","slug":"mca-chicagos-terrace-concerts-acing-outdoor-presentation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2016\/08\/mca-chicagos-terrace-concerts-acing-outdoor-presentation.html","title":{"rendered":"MCA-Chicago’s Terrace concerts, acing outdoor presentation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Hear+Now-1\"<\/a>

Hear in Now: Tomeka Reid, Sylvia Bolognesi, Mazz Swift. Photo by Marc PoKempner<\/p><\/div>\n

Chicago’s\u00c2\u00a0Museum of Contemporary Art has aced outdoor music presentations with its Tuesdays on the Terrace series<\/a>, most recently featuring\u00c2\u00a0the string trio Hear In Now<\/a> performing strong yet sensitive chamber jazz. Drawing a thoroughly diversified crowd to enjoy fresh, creative music in open space on a summer afternoon for free (food and beverages extra) shouldn’t be difficult, but it’s the kind of programming New York’s Museum of Modern Art tried off and on for decades, seldom conquering the format’s challenges.<\/p>\n

Cellist Tomeka Reid, violinist Mazz Swift and bassist Sylvia Bolognesi<\/strong> held rapt an audience sitting in folding chairs directly in front of their tented stage, another block of seating on the far side of a stairways in use throughout the two sets, 5:30 to 8 pm, and people at tables on a level above the musicians. Another coterie of attendees was spread across grass on the street level of the MCA’s “backyard” — sound was decently amplified into that space, but no one seemed constrained from socializing, and their conversations did not bleed up into the main music area.<\/p>\n

\"untitledpainter\"<\/a>

Kerry James Marshall’s “Untitled (Painter),” 2009<\/p><\/div>\n

People were also invited to enter the Museum itself, especially to view the powerful retrospective of Kerry James Marshall’s paintings <\/a>— explosive, subversive and celebratory visions of black America. All together, the outdoors music and indoors exhibitions provided a welcoming ambiance for visitors old, young and in-between, black and white and other.<\/p>\n

Marshall’s visions could easily be taken as counterparts of Hear in Now’s music. The painter and the players are all masterful (the retrospective is titled “Mastry”) and multi-layered. Ms.s Reid, Swift and Bolognesi plucked and bowed transparent but dense and busily detailed narratives — that is, pieces that seemed to go somewhere, purposefully. Each of the women plays precisely, virtuosically and with guts. They took chances, seeming to revel in surprising each other, never smug and indeed nearly\u00c2\u00a0giddy with pleasure in their collaboration. All three contributed framework compositions upon which to\u00c2\u00a0expand, Swift sometimes singing along with her fiery\u00c2\u00a0arco work. A version of one of H.T. (Harry) Burleigh’s spiritual-inspired songs was singularly affecting. Their concentration and satisfaction transmitted directly to their listeners — players and witnesses seemed united in one experience, always the goal\u00c2\u00a0of performances.<\/p>\n

However, the achievement of that goal by\u00c2\u00a0institutions offering serious music out-of-doors must not be taken for granted.\u00c2\u00a0MOMA started presenting its Summergarden series of concerts in its sculpture garden in the 1960s — a wonderful Milt Jackson-James Moody album<\/a> was recorded live there in ’65, the same year\u00c2\u00a0Sonny Rollins led an all-star band\u00c2\u00a0in the garden through\u00c2\u00a0There Will Never Be Another You<\/a>. <\/em>Rollins returned to record The Solo Album<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0<\/em>in 1985.\u00c2\u00a0 In the ’90s I went to Summergarden\u00c2\u00a0performances by John Cage, Butch Morris and Henry Threadgill’s\u00c2\u00a0ensembles, among others, but<\/p>\n

\"imgres-7\"<\/a>

Joel Sachs conducts at MOMA’s Summergarden, 2015. Photo by Scott Rudd.<\/p><\/div>\n

MOMA’s amplification system did not deliver evenly throughout the walled space, traffic commotion on adjacent 54th St. was typically disruptive,there was often a stiffness in the presentation\u00c2\u00a0and an abiding\u00c2\u00a0sense that MOMA was concerned its free offerings might be\u00c2\u00a0too<\/em> popular, the sculpture garden not big enough to handle all comers and those attendees potentially\u00c2\u00a0unruly, too. Perhaps these problems were solved for the four Sunday night Summergarden concerts<\/a> MOMA produced this year.<\/p>\n

\"imgres-6\"<\/a>

MCA rear view, grass and terrace. Stage is usually set up on the upper level, at left – Lawndale News (no copyright infringement intended)<\/p><\/div>\n

The MCA’s physical situation has some advantages, not\u00c2\u00a0least of them being\u00c2\u00a0its\u00c2\u00a0terrace’s distance above\u00c2\u00a0busy Chicago Avenue running along side. Traffic noises still threaten — Hear in Now at one point dealt confidently\u00c2\u00a0with an ambulance siren cutting through the air by continuing to press its group sound, enfolding the whine.<\/p>\n

I can’t say how this works at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) which has won ASCAP\/Chamber Music America awards for its adventurous programming<\/a>, but one thing is clear: People\u00c2\u00a0love the musical and social opportunities these museums provide. Local artists and citizens from anywhere meet at these cool places for happy occasions. Applause for the musicians and the presenting institutions, too.<\/p>\n

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Chicago’s\u00c2\u00a0Museum of Contemporary Art has aced outdoor music presentations with its Tuesdays on the Terrace series, most recently featuring\u00c2\u00a0the string trio Hear In Now performing strong yet sensitive chamber jazz. Drawing a thoroughly diversified crowd to enjoy fresh, creative music in open space on a summer afternoon for free (food and beverages extra) shouldn’t be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2085,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1403,1355,20,1405,1407,1055,1406,1404,1408],"class_list":{"0":"post-2084","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-main","8":"tag-hear-in-now","9":"tag-howard-mandel","10":"tag-jazz","11":"tag-mazz-swift","12":"tag-moma-summergarden","13":"tag-museum-of-contemporary-art","14":"tag-sylvia-bolognesi","15":"tag-tomeka-reid","16":"tag-tuesdays-on-the-terrace","17":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/HearNow-1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1i3CL-xC","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2139,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2016\/12\/jazz-warms-chi-spots-hot-house-alhambra-palace-aacm-promontory.html","url_meta":{"origin":2084,"position":0},"title":"Jazz warms Chi spots: Hot House @ Alhambra Palace, AACM @ Promontory","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"December 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"There are good arguments for building venues just\u00c2\u00a0for jazz.\u00c2\u00a0But speaking of arts communities in general: Most are moveable feasts, fluid, transient, at best inviting to newcomers to the table. It's demonstrable that when jazz players and listeners\u00c2\u00a0alight\u00c2\u00a0at all-purpose spaces such as Chicago's Alhambra Palace, where Hot House produced the trio\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/unnamed-12.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2067,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2016\/07\/chicagos-free-summer-music-cornucopia-deutsch-pokempner-photos.html","url_meta":{"origin":2084,"position":1},"title":"Chicago’s free summer music cornucopia – Deutsch, PoKempner photos","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"July 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"With a 10th annual\u00c2\u00a0Latin Jazz festival produced in the neighborhood Humboldt Park by the Jazz Institute of Chicago and dynamite downtown concerts with headliners such as Nigerian juju star King Sunny Ad\u00c3\u00a9 and Afro-Cuban progressive Eddie Palmieri put on by DCASE, the city's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/MPK2791.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/MPK2791.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/MPK2791.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/MPK2791.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2622,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2019\/09\/chicago-jazz-fest-echoes.html","url_meta":{"origin":2084,"position":2},"title":"Chicago Jazz fest images, echoes","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"September 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Roscoe Mitchell onscreen, presiding over The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Pritzker Pavillion Millennium Park Chicago, 8\/30\/19photo (c) Marc PoKempner The 41st annual Chicago Jazz Festival has come and gone, as I reported for DownBeat.com in quick turnaround. 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