Interlude - September 1
September 1, 2020
Kids' concerts return, CEO talks safety, remembering "Bird" and more
Welcome back to Interlude! Enjoy today’s roundup of news and online arts opportunities.
Children's concert series returns this month
The Center’s Faegre Drinker Peanut Butter & Jam series is back with another great season of performances for kids ages 1-7 and their favorite grownups! Each month from September through May brings a fun Saturday morning outing for families.
PB&J Sponsor
First up on Sept. 26 is a returning favorite, the Indianapolis trio Dorin, whose catchy tunes and whimsical, heartwarming lyrics engage children and adults alike.
This season, all performances will take place in the Center’s Studio Theater, allowing appropriate physical distancing between families. Face coverings are required for all visitors 8 and older and strongly encouraged for children ages 3-7.
Learn more and buy tickets here.
Video: CEO outlines Center's safety measures
With the return of on-site events at the Center, you might be wondering, “What are those folks doing to help me, my loved ones and the entire community stay safe and healthy?”
Conveniently, Center President/CEO Jeff McDermott is happy to explain the Center’s extensive set of pandemic policies and procedures, from cleaning and disinfection to physical distancing, face coverings and no-touch ticket scanning. Watch the safety video here, and read more about our reopening policies here.
Sing along with this Songbook Take-Home Packet
Although the Great American Songbook Foundation’s Perfect Harmony program is unable to meet with its participating senior living communities right now, the staff is still working to keep music at the forefront of people's lives.
With this Songbook Take-Home Packet, Hits of the Songbook, you can listen and even sing along with Songbook Foundation Program Coordinator Chelsea Reynowsky as she performs hits from the likes of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Rodgers & Hammerstein. You can view Chelsea's video and follow along with the lyrics and song facts in the packet.
For more music packets and activities you can enjoy at home, visit the Foundation’s website.
Celebrating a century of "Bird"
Saturday was the 100th birth anniversary of Charlie Parker, the alto saxophonist who revolutionized jazz with virtuosic improvisation and complex harmonies in a style that came to be known as bebop. Parker was just 34 when his troubled life ended in 1955, but his legacy still looms large in the jazz world and in our popular culture.
The Parker centennial is being celebrated worldwide, including at the Center and the Songbook Foundation. The new JazzTalk online discussion series (free to attend) kicks off Oct. 13 with The Genius of Charlie Parker. And though the man nicknamed “Bird” was best known for his original compositions and instrumental solos, he delved deep into the American Songbook in 1950 with two album releases titled Charlie Parker with Strings, re-released in a 1995 compilation with bonus tracks. Though controversial with bebop purists, the recordings were among Parker’s best-sellers.
For more on this giant of American music, check out:
- A recent segment of NPR’s Fresh Air featuring an appreciation by jazz writer Kevin Whitehead and archival interviews with former bandmates and admirers including Max Roach, Red Rodney and Jackie McLean.
- A panel discussion on Parker featuring artists from several musical genres, presented by Jazz Congress 2020 and Jazz at Lincoln Center.
- A New Yorker analysis of Parker’s impact with an accompanying Spotify playlist of recommended listening.
