Rick Robinson writes:
November 8, 2019
Dear Friends,
It's me again, with exciting news! CutTime has two VERY HOT
concerts in the Detroit-area next week and more public gigs coming down
the pike.
CutTime Simfonica returns to Henry Ford's Dearborn mansion Nov. 13 (W) 7:30pm, Fair Lane Manor to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of the Fair Lane Music Guild series with a special program
in the Pool Room. My FATHER sang in an open mic in this building back in
the 70s. I was running around this building when I was 10!
Keep in mind this is another huge, fun variety program featuring MOT Concertmaster Eliot Heaton and Musique Noire's Leslie DeShazor. We open with Chabrier's Espana Rhapsody and Glinka's Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture and add my father's musical gift to the world, First Grief (2011),
which I heard in the moment he was pronounced. This work might have him
live forever. Bring a hanky. It's so liberating to mix blues, gospel
and jazz with classical music like this; to show it is a living and
powerful art form.
We'll also perform two of my latest works, Model-T Magic, inspired by a vision of Henry Ford cranking up his first engines, plus a gospel slice of Phantom Detroit before the big premiere on the other big concert.
Friday November 15 7p, we premiere Phantom Detroit,
a new, multimedia work for the ARTX DETROIT series, sponsored by The
Kresge Foundation. In collaborations with my partners since 2017, The Urban Requiem Project
(URP), we've added context to my soulful blends of urban pop music
(gospel, video game, jazz and funk with the dramatic classical
structures). URP's poets Virgil (Al) Taylor, Claretha (Peace) Bell and
Andre Johnson (aka Kevlar Afrika) will bring piercing authenticity to
the subject of Detroit's rapid changes, reading amplified over the music.
The program opens with Mozart's 25th
Symphony setting the foundation of the evening. It continues with two
of our previous collaborations between Kevlar, Peace Bell and my very
Detroit-flavored compositions. We'll include our top hit, Duke
Ellington's Martin Luther King, and then play my 2009 hit Highland Park, MI: City of Trees not a mile from my childhood home in HP. Joining us in Phantom is the D-Mac Jazz Trio of Duncan McMillan on piano, Damon Warmack on electric bass and Skeeto Valdez
on drums. You won't want to miss this incredible mashup, esp. as we
project street scenes of a changing city during the premiere.
This program is FREE at St. Matthew's and St. Joseph's on Woodward at Holbrook November 15 (Fr) 7pm-9. Come early for church parking and best seating. There's plenty of street parking off Woodward. This church sounds dry for a church, but we will use amplification for the voices and for those in the back. Donations toward this project are still needed. Contact me for details. And of course, please brag about this and tell everyone it's FREE. There's a reception downstairs afterward too.
In more good news CutTime won a mini-grant from CultureSource to fund three Classical Revolution Detroit (CRD) events in the next few months in Detroit restaurants, clubs and bars. Stayed tuned for dates. January 24 (Fr) 8p-11 at PJ's Lager House is already on the calendar.
If you like good fundraisers, consider catching Simfonica play the Holley Institute's annual St. Nicholas Dinner Party at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club on Dec. 4 (W) 6p-8:30.
We play during the silent auction cocktail hour and another set during
the dinner. I'll have a link on our website calendar soon for ticket
info (around $100!).
Well, that's all the good news. Bring up CutTime whenever you hear someone's looking for lively Christmas Party music for office, home and corporate events. Help us inspire your many communities!
Thanks.
- Rick Robinson (Mr. CutTime)
| with Kevlar Afrika at GP Memorial Church |
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