Before looking back at art we loved, a moment to remember artists we lost over the past year. Most recently, the prose poet Louis Jenkins, who died Saturday. A man of rare insight, wry humor, and a deceptively plainspoken way of tackling big subjects, Jenkins gained fame beyond the poetry world for writing a play with Mark Rylance, “Nice Fish,” based on one of his books. We saw him most recently at Plymouth Congregational Church on Oct. 28, his 77th birthday. He read from his latest, “Where Your House Is Now.” Afterward, we shook his hand and shared some memories. He signed two books for us.
Just last week, jazz saxophonist Irv “Mr. Smooth” Williams died. On Thanksgiving morning, Marion McClinton, director, playwright, actor, founding member of Penumbra, and frequent collaborator with August Wilson. A week earlier, blues-soul singer Wee Willie Walker. Arts writer, theater lover, and friend to many John Townsend in October. Blues hero Tony Glover in May. Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Dominick Argento in February. Earlier that month, dapper jazz booster, writer, man-about-town and DJ Larry Englund. And on Dec. 31, 2018, the profoundly influential potter Warren MacKenzie. Seismic changes on our arts landscape.
Of the many arts events we attended in 2019, these rose to the top. They are listed in roughly chronological order, with no ranking implied.
“Star Wars: A New Hope” with Live Orchestra at Orchestra Hall. Sarah Hicks, reigning queen of the film-in-concert genre, led the Minnesota Orchestra in a stellar performance of John Williams’ epic score. Storm troopers hung out in the lobby before the show. Overheard on the way out: “That was cool!”
Robert Bly’s “Collected Poems” book release at Plymouth Church. Bly wasn’t able to attend (he sent a recording), but a long line of friends and admirers came to read his poems and share stories. They included Bly’s children and grandchildren, friends, poets Freya Manfred and Louis Jenkins (to name just two), Rain Taxi publisher Eric Lorberer, Loft director Britt Udesen, and more who have been touched by Bly’s Colossus-like presence on the literary scene.
Celebrating Henry: A Threadgill Festival at the Walker. The Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz composer performed with his quartet on Saturday night. That was a thrill. So was Friday night’s concert, curated by cellist Michelle Kinney, in which 24 Minnesota musicians played Threadgill pieces from the past 40+ years. A special shout to Milo Fine, who brought the Walker’s Steinway to a point of near combustion.
Unnamed solo exhibition by Eric Rieger, aka HOTTEA, at Burnet Fine Art & Advisory. Revealing a different side of the artist known for his yarn-graffiti fences and colorful yarn installations, this gallery-filling show was personal and generous, exploring losses Rieger had experienced and giving space to others’ expressions of grief. And nothing was for sale.
Cosmo Sun Connection: Celebrating the Life and Musical Legacy of Sun Ra at the Cedar. Five ensembles of local, national, and international improvisers marked the 105th anniversary of Sun Ra’s arrival on Planet Earth. Queen Drea conjured up Black Girl Magic during the band changes.
“Museum of the Moon” at the Bell Museum. Created by British installation artist Luke Jerram, a giant, glowing moon balloon nearly 23 feet in diameter hung in the Bell’s lobby for for almost three weeks. Covered with high-resolution NASA imagery, lit from within, it was magical, especially at night. You could see it from all sides, even the dark side.
Mixed Blood Theatre’s “Autonomy” at Saint Paul RiverCentre. Set in 70,000 square feet with a cast of 20 actors, a supporting cast of 40 classic cars, and three scenes running simultaneously, with the audience shuttled from scene to scene in golf carts, this was a wild ride with a solid story. The sheer chutzpah of this production made it a must for our year-end list.
“Hearts of Our People” at Mia. Groundbreaking, game-changing, respectful and powerful, this exhibition made history and raised the bar. The 115+ works spanned 1,000 years of art by Native women artists. Whenever possible, the artist was named, and the label was translated into her Native language. No more “anonymous.” The importance of that is staggering.
“La Pasión según San Marcos” at Orchestra Hall. The Minnesota Orchestra wrapped a Latin American-flavored Sommerfest with fire and passion. Its first-ever performances of Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov’s masterpiece overflowed with percussion, dancing, choirs, vocalists (including Grammy winner Luciana Souza) and several music styles. When Venezuelan singers couldn’t get visas in time, St. Paul’s Border CrosSing came to the rescue.
“Jimmy & Lorraine: A Musing” at Pillsbury House Theatre. Playwright Talvin Wilks used James Baldwin and Lorraine Hansberry’s own words to tell the story of their friendship, their struggles and their times. Part play, part history lesson, his “musing” is exquisitely crafted, lyrical and affecting. Jon-Michael Reese was Baldwin, Vinecia Coleman was Hansberry, and Sasha Andreev was everyone else – five characters, each one distinct.
Ashwini Ramaswamy’s “Let the Crows Come” at the Lab Theater. A fascinating evening of transfer and transformation, and a celebration of dual identities. Ramaswamy’s opening Bharatanatyam solo was interpreted in turn by contemporary dancers Alanna Morris-Van Tassel and Berit Ahlgren. Meanwhile, the music passed from a Carnatic trio to experimental cellist Brent Arnold and DJ Jace Clayton.
The Danish String Quartet at the American Swedish Institute. The Schubert Club’s featured ensemble for 2019-20, the award-winning DSQ played a program of Scandinavian folk tunes from their recent album “Last Leaf.” Their virtuosity, warmth, emotional expressiveness and lush, sensuous harmonies were teasers for the Beethoven Quartets series they’ll perform here in May.
Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Dona Nobis Pacem” at Orchestra Hall. A gorgeous program, a gigantic chorus (actually three choruses: two from South Africa and the Minnesota Chorale) and superb soloists (including glorious South African soprano Goitsemang Lehobye) came together under Osmo Vänskä’s baton for one of the best concerts we heard all year. The stage was extended to hold all the singers and musicians.
“All Is Calm” at the Ritz. Theater Latté Da brought last year’s award-winning off-Broadway production home for several holiday performances and three days of filming. Next year around this time, Peter Rothstein’s tremendously moving show – the true story of a World War I Christmas truce in the trenches – will be broadcast nationally on PBS so everyone can appreciate this masterpiece of music-theater.
The Bad Plus at the Dakota. We haven’t seen this year’s show yet. But it always comes too late in the year to make a year-end list, so it never gets mentioned. That’s just not fair. We’ve seen TBP every year for 20 years, and there are reasons we keep going back: great players, creative music, fun times. Even with a major personnel change – on Jan. 2018, pianist Orrin Evans took over from Ethan Iverson – it’s still the trio we know and love. Dec. 25-28.