Vipal Monga – Black February

Black February Screening in Minneapolis on Sept. 13 and 14

Black February will be playing at the Ritz Theater in Minneapolis on Sept. 13 and 14.

The screening is part of a tribute to Butch by the Ballet of the Dolls, Ritz Theater and Open Door Music, featuring four Twin Cities-based large improvising ensembles, which have direct and indirect connections to Butch Morris’ work.

The screening on Friday, September 13 will feature performances by IMP ORK. On Saturday, September 14, the Black February screening will follow performances by Cherry Spoon Collective, Improvestra and Coloring Time.

Tickets are $15 or $25 for a two day festival pass.

You can find more information at: http://www.ritz-theater.org/

Greg Tate Discusses Butch Morris and Conduction

Here’s a Q&A with Black February cast member Greg Tate‘s Q&A, which followed the screening at the Blackstar Film Festival in Philadelphia last month.

Greg met Butch in the 1980s and was at Conduction No. 1 at the Kitchen in 1985. An esteemed culture critic, icon of the Village Voice and one of the founders of the Black Rock Coalition, Greg was moved enough by Conduction to start practicing it himself, notably as the leader of the groundbreaking Burnt Sugar Arkestra ensemble.

In the Q&A with Julia Lopez, Greg discusses Butch and the importance of Conduction.

A special thanks to Greg for heading out to the festival and sharing his insights into Butch and his work with the audience.

Black February at the BlackStar Film Festival, Philadelphia

We’re pleased to announce that Black February will be screening at the BlackStar Film Festival in Philadelphia.

The film will play at 6:30 pm on Saturday, Aug. 3 at Drexel University.

BlackStar is a celebration of cinema focused on work by and about people of African descent in a global context.

Butch was acutely aware of his heritage as an African American man and the limitations that society tried to place on him because of that. He saw Conduction as a way of breaking through those racial and musical boundaries, which existed even in New York in the ’70s and ’80s. Part of Butch’s genius arose out of his willingness to actively use Conduction to subvert those limitations and preconceptions.

In the clip below, Brandon Ross, Greg Tate, and Howard Mandel tell the story of Conduction No. 1, which became the celebrated album, Current Trends in Racism in Modern America.

Vision Festival and a DVD Sale

The Vision Festival, New York’s great festival of experimental music and dance, is holding a special screening of Black February on Sunday, June 16 at 4:30 pm.

Butch was a regular performer at the festival, and it’s an honor, if a little bittersweet, to hold the Brooklyn premiere of the film there.

The festival is being at the experimental performance space Roulette. Details about the Vison Fest and Roulette can be found at Arts for Art, which organizes the festival every year.

A special thanks to Patricia Parker, the festival organizer, for helping us pay tribute to Butch.

In celebration of the screening, we’ve put copies of the Black February DVD on sale. It makes a perfect Father’s Day gift for the music lovers in your life.

Black February is Screening at the Vision Festival in Brooklyn

The New York Times announces that Black February will screen at this year’s Vision Festival

Black February will be screening at the 18th Vision Festiva l, in Brooklyn on June 16. The Vision Festival features a great lineup this year, including a lifetime achievement award for Milford Graves.

Butch played the festival several times, and it’s a special thing to be able to screen it for the community of improvisers and music lovers who come to the festival each year.

This year’s festival will be held at Roulette in Brooklyn, June 12-16. Black February screens on the last day of the festival at 4:30 pm.

I’ll post any more details as they become available. But, for now, mark your calendars!

Black February Screening Sunday March 17 at Nublu

Black February will be screening Sunday, March 17 at 8 pm at the East Village club Nublu, home to Butch’s conductions with the Nublu Orchestra. It’s a special way to bring his spirit back to one of his regular stomping grounds, the place of many an epic musical flight by the Maestro and his crew.

Nublu is located at 62 Ave. C between 4th St and 5th St., in the heart of New York’s Alphabet City.

See you there!