What a magical night at BAM. If you didn’t know, Solange has curated a concert series at BAM ,“Eldorado Ballroom, that celebrates “intergenerational expressions of experimental and transcendent performance through the decades”. And honestly, how fitting is this form of curation and artistic expression being showcased at BAM. Good Friday night, I sat in the Glory to Glory (A Revival for Devotional Art) show and it was phenomenal. It was literally a packed house of praise.
The show opened with gospel saxophonist Angella Christie, who performed classic hymns of the church like Total Praise and Every Praise. Call and response is integral within the Black Church and the way she was able to garner audience engagement with just her sax was incredible. There were a couple of wet faces in the audience during this powerful and passionate performance. Her performance really hit you in all of the feels and really set the tone for the rest of the night. The standing ovation was well deserved.
New York Philharmonic’s choral director Malcom J. Merriweather led a 14-person choir through spiritual compositions of late pianist, arranger and composer Mary Lou Williams. Merrieweather was accompanied by pianist Artina McCain, who was so brilliant and interesting on the piano. Mary Lou Williams was baptized in Catholicism so naturally, her music reflected the praise and worship style of the Catholic church. As a Catholic, I so appreciated that perspective because being Black and Christian isn’t a singular experience. Unfortunately, some members of the audience did not resonate with that style of praise because it isn’t common in Black American culture. Praise doesn’t look the same for everybody and that’s okay.
The incomparable legendary Clark Sisters closed the show with a celebration of Twinkie Clark. Twinkie is a legendary pianist and composer that ministers through her gospel works. Jackie, Dorinda and Karen celebrated Twinkie’s groundbreaking musicianship performing hits like Jesus Is A Love Song, Is My Living in Vain and You Brought The Sunshine. When I tell you the crowd went up and the blessings came down! Dorinda’s scatting and Karen’s runs were even more amazing in person. They looked beautiful and all 4 sisters sounded so good. Definitely a night to remember.
Throughout the performance, the legends themselves thanked Solange and the audience for supporting and showing up for their music. BAM and Saint Heron have a history of curating, celebrating and showing art that both shapes and reflects the human experience. Saint Heron especially, seeks to amplify Black creative works both new and archival to empower us as a people and offer reverence to our pioneers of the past. Solange did an incredible job curating the performances for Good Friday and I have no doubt the other shows were as equally amazing as this.
Check out my IG stories to get a peek into the magic of that night!