Through Adversity We Live: An Evening of Brazilian Music and Conversation with MCG Jazz and Special Guests

Talks and Lectures Fri., Nov. 11, 2016, 7:30 p.m.

When: Fri., Nov. 11, 2016, 7:30–9 p.m.
Where: Carnegie Music Hall
Tickets: $30 ($25 Members, $20 Students)

Carnegie Museum of Art and MCG Jazz bring together Brazilian musicians and composers for an evening shifting between the electrifying music and the fascinating stories tying together the art, music, and politics of Hélio Oiticica’s Brazil.

Bassist Nilson Matta, guitarist/vocalist Chico Pinheiro, composer Flavio Chamis, percussionist Lucas Ashby, professor Jay Ashby, and MCG Jazz executive producer Marty Ashby join Hélio Oiticica curator Lynn Zelevansky and associate curator Katherine Brodbeck.

Composite image of musicians with their instruments — The evening will feature (clockwise, from left) guitarist/vocalist Chico Pinheiro, bassist Nilson Matta, professor Jay Ashby, composer Flavio Chamis, and percussionist Lucas Ashby. The group will also be joined by MCG Jazz executive producer Marty Ashby.

Brazilian culture was radically transformed by exchanges between Rio’s vibrant street life and Oiticica’s art practice. Oiticica was no stranger to stirring political controversy, especially after a military dictatorship took power in Brazil. His large, colorful installation Tropicália coined the name of a popular music movement, evoking the colors and sounds of Brazil while subtly protesting political repression. When musicians Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil hung Oiticica’s provocative banner reading “Be an Outlaw, Be a Hero” at a 1968 performance, they were arrested, and later deported. Taking its name from a poetic message hidden in one of Oiticica’s artworks, Through Adversity We Live is a can’t-miss musical journey through this turbulent time.

Photo: P2 Parangolé Flag 1 (P2 Parangolé bandeira 1), 1964, César and Claudio Oiticica, Rio de Janeiro

To purchase tickets, order online or call (412) 622-3288.