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Fri, Jun 21, 2024
By popular demand, jazz makes a big comeback in the months ahead
For the 35th anniversary season at the Wexner Center for the Arts, the multidisciplinary contemporary arts center at The Ohio State University will offer more of one of the foundational elements of its programming: jazz music.
Among the jazz artists coming to the Wex for the 2024–25 season are crowd favorites making return appearances, such as the iconic composer and saxophone great Joshua Redman and Meshell Ndegeocello, winner of the inaugural Best Alternative Jazz Album award at the 2024 Grammys. The lineup also includes the Columbus premiere presentations of musicians like the innovative trumpeter, composer, and “stretch music” maker Chief Adjuah, and recent Pulitzer Prize winner Tyshawn Sorey, who’ll perform a world premiere work that was commissioned by the Wex alongside Columbus native Aaron Diehl.
Other highlights for the season include a newly choreographed dance work celebrating legendary jazz artist Max Roach, the Columbus premiere of a theater work with deep connections to the nearby city of Coshocton, Ohio, a revealing investigative drama from Italian theater artist Giuliana Musso, and a return to the Wex stages by the performance and choreography duo Brother(hood) Dance!
Tickets are available now for the first program in the lineup. For additional shows, member pre-sale begins June 18 and tickets go on sale to the public July 2.
Calling Hours, courtesy of Tom Dugdale
Anne Cornell, Tom Dugdale, Jeffrey Jacquet, Michael Schmidt, and OBLSK: Calling Hours Wed July 17 | 7 PM Mershon Auditorium Stage Free admission with ticket
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the nation’s largest coal fired power plants, AEP Conesville located 70 miles east of Columbus, ceased operations months ahead of a planned closure, while employees were isolated in their homes.
The final product of The Ohio Coal Communities transdisciplinary research project at Ohio State, which brought together fields from geography to the arts, Calling Hours was written as a memorial service that should have been. The multidisciplinary work—featuring text, live music, and projected animation—will be performed entirely by residents of Coshocton.
Calling Hours is presented in partnership with The Ohio State University Office of Academic Affairs and The Ohio State University Sustainability Institute.
Brother(hood) Dance!: Black on Earth Fri–Sat Sept 13–14 | 7 PM Performance Space
Black on Earth is an innovative and thought-provoking project that seamlessly integrates dance, agriculture, and technology to explore the stories and experiences of Black farmers and address the urgent issues of food justice and sustainable farming practices.
Utilizing projections, soundscapes, and interactive elements, the project transports the audience into the world of Black farmers to foster a deeper understanding and empathy for their challenges and triumphs.
Meshell Ndegeocello, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin Sun Sep 22 | 7 PM Mershon Auditorium
The Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter pays musical tribute to James Baldwin and his revolutionary work The Fire Next Time with her album No More Water, slated for release on August 2, 2024—James Baldwin’s 100th birthday.
Cécile McLorin Salvant Thu Oct 3 | 7 PM & 9 PM Performance Space
A composer, singer, and visual artist, Salvant is also a three-time Grammy Award winner, a former MacArthur fellow, and recipient of a Doris Duke Artist Award in 2020. She makes her Wex debut with this engagement, joined by pianist Sullivan Fortner, who also played on her genre-blurring 2023 album Mélusine (Nonesuch).
Salvant has developed a passion for storytelling and finding the connections between vaudeville, blues, folk traditions from around the world, theater, jazz, and baroque music. She's also an eclectic curator, unearthing rarely recorded, forgotten songs with strong narratives, interesting power dynamics, unexpected twists, and humor.
Ayodele Casel, Rennie Harris Puremovement, and Ron K. Brown’s EVIDENCE, A Dance Company: Max Roach 100 Wed Oct 23 | 7 PM Mershon Auditorium
The Wex joins a nationwide centennial celebration of the iconic drummer, composer, and activist Max Roach with an evening of dance works made in tribute to this legendary jazz pioneer. Curated by Richard Colton and commissioned by the Joyce Theater, this program brings artists together in conversation with Roach’s legacy, set to recordings of the late musician performing his greatest works.
The event is one of several to be presented at the Wex as part of the celebration of Max Roach's centenary and is presented in conjunction with the Autumn 2024 exhibition Ming Smith: Wind Chime.
Tyshawn Sorey trio, photo © John Rogers
Tyshawn Sorey Trio with Aaron Diehl and Harish Raghavan + Sandbox Percussion Wed Nov 13 | 7 PM Mershon Auditorium World Premiere!
A prolific, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and percussionist who’s performed alongside such jazz greats as Bill Frisell and John Zorn, Sorey will continue the season’s celebration of Max Roach’s centenary with a new, Wex–commissioned piece. His trio, featuring Columbus-native pianist Diehl and bassist Raghavan, will be supported by the contemporary ensemble Sandbox Percussion.
Presented in partnership with The Ohio State University Office of Academic Affairs.
Chief Adjuah Thu Jan 30 | 7 PM & 9 PM Performance Space
Chief Xiah aTunde Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott) comes to Columbus with his innovative style of “stretch music.” Trained as a trumpet player in New Orleans by his uncle, jazz saxophonist Donald Harrison Jr., Chief Adjuah has invented this jazz-rooted, genre-blind musical form to “stretch” jazz conventions to encompass multiple musical forms, languages, and cultures. The mix includes New Orleans jazz, West African, and African diasporic styles.
Archiving Black Performance Sat Feb 22 | 7 PM & Sun Feb 23 | 3 PM Performance Space
Ohio State’s Department of Dance has led a multiyear project that aims to establish a vision for how the work of Black women performers and choreographers can inform future generations about identity and race. The culminating performance of these efforts will explore the work of six Black women artists and their commitment to the performance of Black lives through Black bodies.
Joel Ross' Good VibesThu Mar 6 | 7 PM & 9 PM Performance Space
The vibraphonist and composer joins the Wex jazz series on the tail of his fourth release for Blue Note records, nublues.
Born in Chicago and based in Brooklyn, Ross has paid tribute to the greats of the past through projects inspired by Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett while supporting the work of innovative contemporary artists, including Marquis Hill and past Wex guest Makaya McCraven. His Good Vibes Quintet features saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, pianist Jeremy Corren, bassist Kanoa Mendenhall, and drummer Jeremy Dutton.
Giuliana Musso: Dentro Mon–Tue Mar 24–25 | 7 PM
With Dentro, one of Italy’s most compelling voices in contemporary theater explores the traumatic effects of silence when abuse occurs at home. A mother discovers the worst. A father is innocent until proven guilty. Waves of doctors, social workers and other “helpers” don’t really want to know. Dentro is not documentary theater, but an investigation of truth denied and of innocence lost.
Joshua Redman Group featuring Gabrielle CanvassaThu Apr 3 | 7 PM & 9 PM Performance Space
Rounding out the jazz programming for 2024–25, Redman returns to the Wex for a can’t-miss performance showcasing music from his latest album, Where Are We (Blue Note). The collection of covers focuses on songs referencing “a specific geographical location (city or state or region) in the United States.” Accompanied by rising young vocalist Cavassa, Redman lends his remarkable tone and nuance to songs by Woody Guthrie, Bruce Springsteen, and John Coltrane, among others.
Performing Arts programs are made possible by the Doris Duke Foundation.
