Against the background of Victorian elegance of the King’s Ballroom, join ground-breaking ensemble Urban Bush Women as they present a special mixed bill inspired by jazz greats. Renowned for their breathtaking and innovative work, and led by the founder and visioning partner Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, the company return after their acclaimed performances at last year’s festival to celebrate International Dance Day and launch LDIF17 in style.
Included in the line-up the company will be performing an excerpt from ‘Walking with Trane, Side B’, an extension of work presented at the festival last year. Inspired by the musical life and spiritual journey of John Coltrane, a composer at the forefront of jazz innovation in a racially-charged America of the 50s and 60s and informed by the unpredictability of the bandstand, the “Band State,” the scary, risky place that potentially extends into “transcendence,” this ethereal investigation lives within multiple layers of Coltrane’s music, spirituality and life. Side B: Freed(om) is a free-fall of “states”, exploring the artistic imprint of Coltrane’s seminal work A Love Supreme. A riff on pursuance, and plunging into the depths of Coltrane’s formidable legacy with diagonal pulls, suspended silences, chaotic spirals, and, ultimately, transcendence. The piece is encapsulated by an original masterful composition, played live by Grammy award-winning composer George Caldwell.
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