Black Saint and The Sinner Lady
Onye Ozuzu & Greg Ward
Premiered at Jay Pritzker Pavilion on August 13, 2015 in Chicago, IL
Co-produced for Made inChicagoby Mike Reed (Constellation) and Roell Schmidt (Links Hall)
Charles Mingus’ 1963 masterpiece – Black Saint and the Sinner Lady – has been re-interpreted by music director Greg Ward and choreographer Onye Ozuzu. Originally presented as a studio album, Mingus alluded to a fuller performance by incorporating dance into the title of each movement. Ward’s reworking of Mingus’ suite features an ensemble featuring:
- Tim Haldeman and Keefe Jackson – woodwinds
- Russ Johnson and Ben LaMar – trumpet
- Norman Palm and Christopher Davis – trombones
- Dennis Luxion – piano
- Jason Roebke – bass
- Marcus Evans – drums
Alongside the musical adaptation, Ozuzu intermingles composed and improvised dance performance featuring:
Erendira pedraZa – Eren,Daniel “BRAVEMONK” Haywood ,William Harris,Paige Caldarella ,Missy Lobes ,Kelsa Rieger Robinson,Keyierra Collins Le Pierce Thompson,Hannah Santistevan,Dedrick Gray,Dalton Rhodes,Mecca Madyun Ajanku,Edson Cabrera,Keisha Bennett
Onye Ozuzu Deanna Downes – acts as dance dramaturg.
