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BLACK PERFORMANCE AND CULTURAL CRITICISM Valerie Lee and E. Patrick Johnson, Series Editors All Rights Reserved. Copyright © The Ohio State University Press, 2015. Batch 1. All Rights Reserved. Copyright © The Ohio State University Press, 2015. Batch 1. Theatrical Jazz PERFORMANCE, ÀS· E· , A N D THE POWER OF THE PRESENT MOMENT Omi Osun Joni L. Jones THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS | COLUMBus All Rights Reserved. Copyright © The Ohio State University Press, 2015. Batch 1. Copyright © 2015 by The Ohio State University. All rights reserved. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jones, Omi Osun Joni L., 1955– author. Theatrical jazz : performance, Àse, and the power of the present moment / Omi Osun Joni L. Jones. pages cm — (Black performance and cultural criticism) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8142-1282-0 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8142-9387-4 (cd) 1. Performance art. 2. African American theater. 3. Jazz—Philosophy and aesthetics. I. Title. II. Series: Black performance and cultural criticism. PN1584.J66 2015 781.65'112—dc23 2014047887 Cover design by Janna Thompson-Chordas Text design by Omi Osun Joni L. Jones and Juliet Williams Type set in Adobe Minion Printed by Thomson-Shore, Inc. Cover image: “Women on Horseback,” by Carl E. Karni-Bain “BAI.” The four quadrants of the painting offer repetition with a difference. The barely discernable galloping black horses arch their necks in the up- per right sections while their hind legs glide forward, each quadrant offering its own experience. Photo by Elisa Durrette. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Stan- dard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. ANSI Z39.48-1992. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 All Rights Reserved. Copyright © The Ohio State University Press, 2015. Batch 1. CONTENTS List of Illustrations vii A Note on Yoruba Orthography x Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii Introduction Troubling Jazz / Abínibí / Black Theatre for the Twenty-First Century 1 Part One The Ensemble / E· gbé· / Community 23 The Marrow: Laurie Carlos 36 The Blue Note: Daniel Alexander Jones 78 The Roots: Sharon Bridgforth 118 Part Two The Break / Awo / Process 165 Part Three The Bridge / Às· e· / Transformation 199 Appendix I Laurie Carlos: An Abbreviated Chronology of Work 227 Appendix II Daniel Alexander Jones: An Abbreviated Chronology of Work 230 Appendix III Sharon Bridgforth: An Abbreviated Chronology of Work 236 Notes 240 Glossary of Yoruba Terms 253 Bibliography 255 Index 263 All Rights Reserved. Copyright © The Ohio State University Press, 2015. Batch 1. All Rights Reserved. Copyright © The Ohio State University Press, 2015. Batch 1. ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1 “Oxum,” by Werllayne Nunes xvii Figure 2 “Double Take,” by Moyo Okediji 4 Figure 3 “Untitled,” by unknown artist 12 Figure 4 “Shiny Black Stars,” by Senalka McDonald 13 Figure 5 “Untitled,” by Wura-Natasha Ogunji 15 Figure 6 “Miel de Abeja (Para Ochun),” by Yasmin Hernandez 17 Figure 7 Frontera@Hyde Park Theatre, Austin, Texas 19 Figure 8 FronteraFest poster 20 Figure 9 Helga Davis with ensemble in blood pudding at New York SummerStage Festival 35 Figure 10 Laurie Carlos in Kshoy!/Decay! 37 Figure 11 “Open the Sky,” by Tonya Engel 43 Figure 12 Laurie Carlos teaching hip movement during con flama rehearsal 50 Figure 13 con flama gestures and language sheet 51 Figure 14 Laurie Carlos teaching gestures during con flama rehearsal 52 Figure 15 Laurie Carlos teaching ensemble movement during con flama rehearsal 53 Figure 16 Sonja Parks, Ana Perea, and Florinda Bryant performing ensemble movement during con flama production 54 Figure 17 Laurie Carlos indicating specific muscles during con flama rehearsal 55 Figure 18 Postcard from Djola Branner’s Mighty Real 58 vii All Rights Reserved. Copyright © The Ohio State University Press, 2015. Batch 1. viii Illustrations Figure 19 Lou Bellamy, Laurie Carlos, and Kathryn Coram Gagnon in Talking Bones 64 Figure 20 Daniel Alexander Jones gesturing in The Book of Daniel 35:1 79 Figure 21 Daniel Alexander Jones and Daniel Dodd Ellis in Blood:Shock:Boogie 80 Figure 22 Daniel Alexander Jones’s notes for Blood:Shock:Boogie 81 Figure 23 Daniel Alexander Jones’s poster for The Owl Answers 98 Figure 24 Daniel Alexander Jones’s handmade book for Phoenix Fabrik 98 Figure 25 Daniel Alexander Jones’s drawing for the Phoenix Fabrik program cover 99 Figure 26 The Book of Daniel, Chapter 7: Immortality poster, designed by Daniel Alexander Jones 99 Figure 27 Daniel Alexander Jones’s artistic lineage 101 Figure 28 “Leroy and Moon,” by Walter Kitundu 105 Figure 29 Bel Canto, set designed by Kat Conley, Actor’s Express 110 Figure 30 Daniel Alexander Jones in The Book of Daniel 35:1 113 Figure 31 Sharon Bridgforth composing River See 119 Figure 32 L.A. map used in con flama 121 Figure 33 Sharon Bridgforth and her family 122 Figure 34 “Boom Boom Girls,” by Tonya Engel 125 Figure 35 The root wy’mn Theatre Company 127 Figure 36 The root wy’mn Theatre Company flyer 128 Figure 37 con flama, Penumbra Theatre program cover 135 Figure 38 Florinda Bryant, Ana Perea, Zell Miller III, and Sonja Parks during con flama production 146 Figure 39 Florinda Bryant, Ana Perea, and Sonja Parks during con flama production 147 Figure 40 The ensemble during blood pudding production 149 Figure 41 “Yemaya,” by Yasmin Hernandez 155 Figure 42 “Boddica,” by Carl E. Karni-Bain “BAI” 166 Figure 43 Alaskan Heat rehearsal 169 Figure 44 The ensemble on the bed during Alaskan Heat production 171 Figure 45 The ensemble with gestures during Alaskan Heat production 173 All Rights Reserved. Copyright © The Ohio State University Press, 2015. Batch 1. Illustrations ix Figure 46 Heavenly Shades of Night poster 175 Figure 47 Zell Miller III, Sarah Richardson, and Omi Osun Joni L. Jones in Heavenly Shades of Night production 176 Figure 48 Raul Castillo and Omi Osun Joni L. Jones in Heavenly Shades of Night production 177 Figure 49 Florinda Bryant and Omi Osun Joni L. Jones in Heavenly Shades of Night production 178 Figure 50 Laurie Carlos carrying Ana Perea during con flama rehearsal 181 Figure 51 Ana Perea carrying Sonja Parks during con flama rehearsal 181 Figure 52 Half-Breed Southern Fried (check one) poster 188 Figure 53 Daniel Alexander Jones’s floor plan for The Book of Daniel 35:1 190 Figure 54 “Untitled,” by Wura-Natasha Ogunji 201 Figure 55 “Self Portrait,” by Minnie Marianne Miles 202 Figure 56 Program for The Book of Daniel, Chapter 7: Immortality, designed by Daniel Alexander Jones 204 Figure 57 Robbie McCauley in Sugar 213 Figure 58 Erik Ehn’s Maria Kizito, the Soulographie Series 214 Figure 59 Program cover from Grisha Coleman’s The Desert 217 Figure 60 Walter Kitundu’s “Ocean Edge Device” 218 Figure 61 “The Three Graces,” by Carl E. Karni- Bain “BAI” 220 Figure 62 The Soulographie Series reading at Daniel Alexander Jones’s apartment 221 Figure 63 “Devotee,” by Arleen Polite 225 All Rights Reserved. Copyright © The Ohio State University Press, 2015. Batch 1. A NOTE ON YORUBA ORTHOGRAPHY olloWING conventional Yoruba orthography, I have used diacritics on Yoruba words to mark Yoruba tones and to distinguish between /s/ and F /sh/ throughout the book. I have also adopted the customary practice of not applying such marks to persons’ names and to words such as Yoruba that have become recognizable by many English speakers. Words that are not in general use in Yorubaland, such as Legba and Ellegua, and words that are onomatopoetic drum sounds, such as iragbagba, have not been given diacritics. In quoting passages with Yoruba words, I have retained the English spellings and absence of diacritics as used by the author. These marks have been applied in consultation with Yoruba speakers and linguists, although any errors are solely my own. x All Rights Reserved. Copyright © The Ohio State University Press, 2015. Batch 1. PREFACE S I BEGAN WRITING this book—not just talking about it, or research- ing in preparation for it, but actually beginning to make sentences across A the simulated page of the computer screen—I was told over and over again that it was urgent that I get the word out. Urgent. There was a pressing need, to chart this territory, to tell these stories. My self, my identity, was wrapped up in this telling. In the Yoruba-based practices I explore throughout this book, Legba, the Divine force who gives us an opportunity to be in sync with our life path or in opposition to it, let me know that I must do this writing work daily. Because of Legba’s particular relationship to words, to àsẹ or the life force, and to communica- tion, I knew it was a message designed to pierce my stubborn Orí (head as destiny) and compel me to work now. What exigency could there be about a book that looks at the intersections of jazz aesthetics, theatrical performance, and Yoruba-based theology? While I may never know precisely what the Òrìsà or Deities/Divinities and the ancestors deemed imperative about this work, I believe the urgency is about transformation using the tools I have been trained to employ—words and interaction, networks and com- munities, art and intellect that is intimately guided by the heart and spirit. This urgency is about not being distracted by an illusory reality in order to immerse myself in the awo, or mystery, that is the nature of art and writing. In so doing I may provide others with the desire and courage to transform personally and com- munally as well. A fundamental principle of the jazz aesthetics discussed in this book is the act of opening one’s intuitive powers.

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