In his honor

Today I decided to find some photos I took of the Martin Luther King Jr. assasination site in Memphis in March 2008.







In Kansas City, probably the biggest memorial ceremony will be held at St. Stephen Baptist Church on Truman Road.  Every year I have been there, it has been a very moving experience.  I have come to think of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a champion for American freedom, not just freedom for one group or another.  In my opinion, anybody who apposes equality and justice for everyone is espousing ideals that run against american ideals.  You can never expect just freedom for some.  Defending the rights and freedom of everyone is the best means of defending the rights and freedoms for ourselves.

YJ's Jazz Jam Livestream on www.justin.tv/stevosvoboda
How do I segway from a memorial to one of the biggest peacemakers in the history of the United States to Jazz?  Well, it should be noted that the first efforts at integration often came on the dance floors and dance halls and clubs.  So much so that the conservative backlash against this form of integration was often to ban or censor what was often called "devils music".  To see people working at and preserving a musical form which is essentially an integration of African and European forms of music is a perfect dedication for this day....

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Watch live video from Svoboda KC on Justin.tv

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Watch live video from Svoboda KC on Justin.tv

Watch live video from Svoboda KC on Justin.tv

Watch live video from Svoboda KC on Justin.tv

Watch live video from Svoboda KC on Justin.tv

Watch live video from Svoboda KC on Justin.tv

Watch live video from Svoboda KC on Justin.tv

Watch live video from Svoboda KC on Justin.tv

Watch live video from Svoboda KC on Justin.tv

Red Light Winter, Sofa Paintings and Saints of Capitalism

RED LIGHT WINTER
I really didn't do this play justice in my last entry as I was too busy enjoying the performance to take decent pictures, so when I was invited by the producers to come back redeem myself, I obliged....







MEANWHILE....
In the same performance space, another happening is taking place until the end of January 2010....

Peter Lawless composes music in the Fishtank Performance Studio



SOFA PAINTINGS
At the Late Show Gallery run by Tom Deatherage, I was treated to two great openings. The first was a set of rather impressive sofa paintings of... sofa's. They are very creatively crafted by Adolfo Gustavo Martinez and are a must see....

I am reminded of another artist, Rick Probst, who also did sofa paintings, but in a more overtly humorous way....



SAINTS OF CAPITALISM
Also at the Late Show Gallery.....



LIVESTREAMING ON JUSTIN.TV

www.justin.tv/stevosvoboda

Watch live video from Svoboda KC on Justin.tvALSO WATCH STUFF FROM CHROMETUNA'S

SUPER NATURAL BOLONEY Watch live video from Chrometuna's Super Natural Boloney on Justin.tv

Upcoming Events Finally... I have my handy dandy google calender with all the upcoming events in the area and beyond... 

BLOG DOG

PLEASE LOOK AT AND COMMENT ON MY BLOG...

If you are interested in expressing your opinion about art, or this blog, or if you have ideas, calender updates or even blog entries, send me a message at http://www.facebook.com/Svoboda.KC TMI, BRD

PS
More YJ's Jazz Jam

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Watch live video from Svoboda KC on Justin.tv

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Watch live video from Svoboda KC on Justin.tv

Red Light Winter

Some pix taken at the presentation of the play, Red Light Winter at the Fishtank Performance Studio, Sunday 27 December 2009...






Red Light Winter by Adam Rapp
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Best of 2009

BIRD LIVES!

I never see a reason for putting out lists for the best of.  Time really doesn't work that way.  I like to think of better things to come.  Tonight, however, I was at YJ's, and hanging up on the door in the cafe is a poster from August 2009.  The poster is from the 'Bird Lives' festival at the Mutual Musicians Foundation. A new tradition is taking place there.  About every 10 years, they gather all the musicians for a group photo in front of the foundation.  It was first done on May 4th, 1930.  69 years later, musicians gathered for another group photo...

Source UMKC....

10 years later, this year, at this years festival, the foundation did it again.  I realized this was a special moment in history as it will never happen again.  These artists will never gather together in this spot to have this photo made.  When you realize that, suddenly, every memory, every moment of this year falls away in importance.

video by Rick Ryan, Youtube user Rrwmissouri
 These are my poor attempts at capturing the moments....










































NEW YEARS EVE WITH KELLY HUNT
This one is for a good cause and happens at a great venue. Liberty Hall in Lawrence, Kansas will host this benefit for ECKAN/Just Food.  For more information call the Liberty Hall box office 785.749.1972.