Great Black Music Exhibit

Tuesday June 24 was perfect weather - 24C and lots of blue sky.  Alain did a 7.1 km run in the morning in nearby Jardin des Plantes.  After breakfast and some food shopping, we headed off on the Metro to Cite de La Musique to see the "Great Black Music" exhibit.  The Cite de la Musique is a group of institutions dedicated to music in the La Villette quarter, in the 19th arrondissement.  It was designed by architect Christian de Portzamparc and opened in 1995.  Part of the complex is a Museum, which holds two temporary exhibits a year.

Cite de la Musique

Another view

The introduction to the exhibit focuses on the origins of the term "Great Black Music" and the back-and forth development of the various sounds from America and Africa.

Everyone was given a head set and smart phone in one's language of choice, as most of the exhibit was music and narration.  The exhibit started with a room featuring small play stations, where one listened to a biography interspersed with music and an video of 21 "Legends of Black Music".  They included jazz legends such as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Nina Simone, Billie Holliday; African musicians such as Miriam Makeba, Salif Keits, Fela Kuti as well as Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley, and Michael Jackson.   These bios were extremely well done and interesting and we were in the first room for over an hour.  There was a real focus on the musicians' role in social justice movements.  Most of the American artists chosen played a role in the civil rights movement, which was discussed in the bios.

Listening stations- lots of folks at the exhibit including a number of student groups

This pic was from the internet- gives an idea of the room

The next room was entitled "Mama Africa."  It had four huge screens, where one chose what music one wanted to hear.  Some of the sections included narration- for example dance in South Africa, which showcased a number of music styles and the political background.  Others were excerpts from concerts.  A wide breath of music was showcased-- we could have spent even more time in that room then we did.  Lots of musicians that we hadn't heard of.

                                            Multiple screens with music from different parts of Africa

The next room was entitled "A Historic Thread" and featured a huge time line in which historic events-- some going back centuries were linked to various music styles and artists. It was a very creative approach.  One could listen to a number of the listed songs on the smart phone.

One example was linking 1492, the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, to a song by Bob Marley.

Words from Bob Marley 1980 song Columbus from the Burning Spear album

1930 was shown as the date when Haile Selassie became emperor of Ethiopa- this was linked to another Bob Marley album- Selassie is the Chapel.

The year 1975 was entitled Saigon, which signalled the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam.  This event was linked to Jimi Hendrix's rendition of the Star Spangled Banner and Martin Gaye's "What's Going On" album.

Katrina was the event listed for 2005, with a very powerful song by John Boutte.

There was another section on "The Black Americas" as well as rooms dedicated to Disco and HipHop music and the "Global Mix",  most with a narration explaining the political backdrop to the music. 

We spent three hours in the exhibit-- there were definite themes about the origins of many types of black music- often created in harsh conditions (slavery, apartheid, political and economic hardship) and the cross fertilization between African, Caribbean and American styles.  A very comprehensive exhibit, well worth the visit.

We headed back by Metro and got off at the Bastille stop. We checked out the concept store Merci and had a coffee at their film-themed cafe.

Cafe at Merci

Lots of film photos

Merci constantly changes their displays.  This year featured an area where folks could relax in beach chairs and watch videos about Palm Springs and the Riviera.  Alain is in the pic.

Relaxin' at Merci

There was a display of more artists' covers for the imaginary magazine The Parisianer  (we had seen a number of the covers at L'Hotel de Ville on Monday) and Merci was selling prints.

                                                                  One of our favourites

We then walked through the Marais and stopped for a rest in the sun at about 7:30 p.m.

at the beautifully landscaped small Square du Temple parc near the 3rd Arrondissement City Hall.

                                                   A beautiful setting to sit in the sun

As we were leaving we noticed a plaque installed in 2007 with the names and ages of Jewish children from one school in the 3rd arrondissement who were deported and murdered at Auschwitz.  There is a specific reference to the arrest by Vichy government police.

We continued our slow walk back to the apartment.  The light on the Seine was beautiful and many people were enjoying the lovely warm evening.  The following two pictures were taken looking at the Seine from different sides of the bridge. 

We got back to the apartment just after 9:00 p.m. for an Alain home-cooked dinner.