Rootwork Gallery is proud to present an intimate evening of performance and conversation featuring two of the leading musicians In Chicago’s experimental music scene, Renee’ Baker and David Boykin.

As a violinist Baker’s approach is shaped by both her long tenure as a classical musician and her development as a member of the legendary AACM. A prolific player and band leader on the free jazz scene, Boykin’s work is deeply influenced by Sun Ra and contemporary Afro-futurist discourse.

This event will begin at 7:30 pm. Attendees will have the opportunity to view Rootwork’s current exhibition, “Altar Call: The Architecture of Black Sacred Space” for an hour before the program.

Free and open to the public. No RSVP required.

See artist’s bio below.

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Called “visionary” by Downbeat Magazine, Renee’ Baker is founding music director and conductor of the internationally acclaimed Chicago Modern Orchestra Project(CMOP), a polystylistic orchestral organization that grew from classical music as well as jazz. Ms. Baker is a member of the world renowned AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) and was a founding member as well as Principal Violist of Chicago Sinfonietta for 26 year. She has performed around the world with numerous cutting edge groups abroad in such cities as Cologne, Berlin, Netherlands, London, and Bimhuis (Amsterdam) and at home at the Symphony Center (Chicago). Ms. Baker has composed over two thousand works for ensembles ranging from pieces for solo instruments, ballet, opera to large orchestral works that bridge the classical, jazz and creative music genres. Her ability to embrace traditional compositions as well as various creative parameters in her work has led to 2 commissions for the Chicago Sinfonietta, numerous commissioned pieces for the Chicago Sinfonietta Chamber Ensemble, Berlin International Brass, PEK’ Contemporary Project, Joffrey Ballet Chamber Series, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium and DanceWright Project, among many others. Currently she is working as a film score composer, having composed and released a new score for Oscar Michaeux’s “race film” masterpiece BODY AND SOUL (1925) with the music performed by her Chicago Modern Orchestra Project ensemble. Included in her first world cinema series was Body and Soul, A Page of Madness and The Golem, all with original scores written by Ms Baker. She also runs the Eclectic Cinema Film Series at Dominican University with 4 newly scores films being presented in the 2016-17 season and is developing a series for libraries which includes the silent films of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino for 2017. To her credit Ms Baker has composed cutting edge scores for more than 100 films.

David Boykin is a composer and performer of spiritual, experimental, hip hop, soul, and free jazz musics. He plays saxophones, clarinets, and drums; and sings and raps. He is also the founder of Sonic Healing Ministries; an organization dedicated to the evolution of humanity through music. Their core belief is that music/sound/vibration the power to transform matter and their mission is to consciously create music that improves the wellness of their listeners and themselves. He leads several bands of his own, including: The David Boykin Expanse, The David Boykin trio, The Sebau, and The MicroCosmic and MacroCosmic Sound Orchestras. He has also collaborated with other artists such as Nicole Mitchell’s Black Earth Ensemble, the Josh Abrams Quartet, and Mike Reed’s Loose Assembly. His work is performed at music festivals and venues in places as far flung as Chicago, Paris, Krakow, Moscow, New York, Finland, Hong Kong and St. Louis. In 2014 he began creating conceptual art with the installation, Drone of Testimony, which was exhibited at the David and Reva Logan Center for the Arts. His current creative pursuit is experimentation with electronic music making utilizing turntables, digital samplers, drum machines, and synthesizers.

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Tags: Baker and Boykin: Collaboration and Conversation, Chicago, David Boykin, Illinois, Lower West Side, Renee Baker, Rootwork Gallery