Can colorful quilts inspire jazz? They can if Rosie Lee Tompkins created them!
Jazz harpist Destiny Muhammad is back by popular demand, presenting a fabulous recital for Santa Cruz Symphony. Our 2023-24 Recital Series continues on Sunday, April 21 with Textures, Colors, Tones: Sketches in Jazz, performed by Destiny and her trio: Sundra Manning on piano, Leon Joyce, Jr. on drums and percussion, and Arthur Chico Lopez on upright bass. Created by Destiny, this program is a tonal tapestry in tribute to the legacy of the late African-American improvisational quiltmaker and fabric artist Rosie Lee Tompkins, whose work The New York Times called “one of the century’s major accomplishments.”
Destiny and her trio will be joined by two incredible poets and spoken word artists. Devorah Major, San Francisco Poet Laureate Emeritus, will speak the energy of Rosie Lee Tompkins. Enid Pickett, Healdsburg Jazz Festival Poet Laureate, will speak the energy of Effie Mae Howard. You can learn more about these featured performers here.
Rosie Lee Tompkins (1936–2006) is the art pseudonym of Richmond, Calif.-based Effie Mae Howard. This remarkable artist used brilliant colors, geometric shapes, and traditional materials to create dazzling, jubilantly creative, inherently subversive quilts. Her works have been compared with modernist paintings and have been added to the permanent collections of many museums, including the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City and the Oakland Museum of California. More than 500 works by Ms. Tompkins reside at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. Destiny Muhammad and her trio will take us on a soul-stirring journey inspired by Rosie Lee Tompkins' life and enduring artistic perspective.
WHEN: Sunday, April 21 at 2 PM
WHERE: Samper Recital Hall at Cabrillo College
TICKETS: 831-479-6154 or cabrillo.edu/vapa
Destiny Muhammad is known as the Harpist from the Hood, a noteworthy musician with an eclectic style that aligns with jazz but ranges from “Celtic to Coltrane,” as she describes it. A favorite of the San Francisco Bay Area music scene, she is known for her work with Azar Lawrence, Omar Sosa, and John Santos. She has curated concerts for Grace Cathedral Christmas Concert Series, SF JAZZ, and SF Symphony SOUNDBOX. A series guest performer with NEA Jazz Master Reggie Workman, she has shared the stage with jazz masters Denise Perrier and Blue Note artist Ambrose Akisemuire.
Destiny has headlined the Healdsburg Jazz Festival and Butchertown Jazz Fest and was the Healdsburg Jazz Festival 2023 Black History Month Artist in Residence. A Guest Workshop Presenter for Amateur Music Network, a collaborator with Santa Cruz Symphony, and Harp Ambassador for Awesome Orchestra Collective and The Marcus Shelby New Orchestra, she is an ASCAP Songwriter Awardee and a California Arts Council Legacy Fellow.