Children have no notion of history. Even that of their own family. It takes their own curiosity or the initiative of an adult to help shed light on who they are and how they fit into the world. For most of the Black children whose parents and grandparents left the South between 1901 and 1970, there wasn’t a name tied to their leaving Arkansas to go to Pittsburg. Or Mississippi to go to Chicago. Or Georgia to go to New York. But there was always a reason; few of them frivolous and not all of them spoken. The root explanation for most could simply be called survival; of the spirit as well as the flesh. You might be compelled to leave because you took a stance for your own dignity and chose not to pay for it with your life. Or you might leave because your cousin told you General Motors was hiring in Detroit and you were fed up with picking that “dirty” cotton. Over those 70 years more than 6 million Black Americans left what could be thought of as bondage of the mind and spirit to go somewhere that had to better than where they were.
It’s that long, painful and ultimately triumphant pilgrimage that Jason Moran and his wife Alicia Hall Moran celebrated at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra last night in a fete that proved as extravagant as it was ambitious. As beautiful visually as it was musically.
Intended as a homage to the resilience, fortitude and creativity of those who gambled and traveled north, Two Wings, The Music of Black America in Migration was just as much as reflection of the Morans and their personal heritage.
Outlining their own families’ migrations from Oklahoma in mezzo soprano’s Alicia Hall Moran’s case and Louisiana and Texas in MacArthur Genius recipient Jason Moran’s, they wove a coat of many colors using strands of classical, blues, jazz, and opera to showcase the breadth of impact black music has had and is having on the culture. And they used the narrative of Pulitzer Prize winning cultural critic Margo Jefferson to bind it all together. Jefferson’s clear eyed recounting of growing up black in Chicago proved colorful and beautiful in its own right.
Born in 1947 as the child of a pediatrician and his socialite wife, Jefferson grew up in a city still ballooning with the influx black Americans heading north. She saw and felt the impact of the migration directly. Even as a child of black privilege, neither she or her parents were immune from the large and small slights of racism. Her words as the evening’s host were used to link each segment of the fast gliding three-hour program that included more than its share of highlights. Words have rarely been so effectively and attractively used to form the foundation of a musical presentation.
Mr. Moran seemed to intentionally downplay his intimidatingly virtuosic piano skills to let everyone else shine. His rendition of Carolina Strut was one sparkling exception. Written by James P. Johnson in the early 20’s with “a bass line that walks” and all “about movement and syncopation”, it was a tremendously popular staple of the day. Ace musicians in Harlem routinely used it to test one another’s creative breadth and technical skills. Moran’s electrifying rendition left the Symphony Center audience surging.
On the other end of the spectrum, his four-part chamber piece performed with renowned wind ensemble, Imani Winds, was wrapped in subtlety and lovely melody with whiffs of a New Orleans wrapped in chiffon and was a dedication to the soil from which his family first began its journey.
Joined by an elite squad of pinnacle artists that included Pastor Smokie Norful whose performance segued from the raucous release of a Saturday night to the reverential reflection of a Sunday morning, he riveted the audience with refreshing intellectualism, passion, and explosive singing talent.
Mr. Moran’s cousin and mentor Tony Llorens later slid in to escort the piano through a round of exceptional blues with the Rico McFarland contributing sumptuous colors on electric guitar.
Collaborating frequently on projects like the one culminating in Two Wings, The Morans always manage to look forward even when they’re paying tribute to the past. Mr. Moran, whose connections with Chicago go deep; has also established a close relationship with Hyde Park’s Kenwood Academy’s Jazz Band. With his interest and involvement, the band has travelled to D.C. to perform at the Kennedy Center and has recorded a highly capable and successful album with the acclaimed pianist. It was their youthful energy clothed in tuxes and the simple elegance of one piece long black dresses that filled the Symphony Center stage with an undeniable freshness and glimpse into the future. Accompanied by eight members of the school’s drum and bugle corps, resplendent in red marching jackets and ornate military styled hats, the ensemble added visual flair and the soul rattling urgency of rolling drums to an exhilarating and memorable celebration of musical heritage.
Two Wings: The Music of Black America in Migration
Symphony Center
May 24, 2019
220 S. Michigan Ave.