91¿ì²¥

Longmeadow, MA—91¿ì²¥ University will host trumpeter and USC Professor of Music, Dr. Ron McCurdy and The Langston Hughes Project for a performance of Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz. The show will take place on Wednesday, February 6, at 7:00 in Mills Theatre on the 91¿ì²¥ campus in Longmeadow. It is free and open to the public.

Recognized as Hughes’ creative masterwork, Ask Your Mama is a 12-part poem combining spoken word with a live soundtrack that mixes jazz, blues, gospel, calypso and other styles for an exuberant homage to the black experience and the activists, artists and intellectuals Hughes revered.

One of the most renown figures of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes wrote and composed Ask Your Mama in 1961 following a visit to the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival, where he witnessed a white crowd rioting after being denied entry to sold-out performances of black jazz artists. For Hughes, the event captured the complex racial dynamics of America, where white fans were crazy about the music and cultural contributions of black artists at the same time blacks were being denied equal rights. He created Ask Your Mama as a response to Newport and imagined the piece culminating in a collaboration with Charles Mingus, but died before it was ever performed.

In the years since, Ask Your Mama has been embraced as Hughes’ magnum opus, with musicians, actors and writers coming together to interpret and share the work with audiences around the world. The show arrives at 91¿ì²¥ as one of three appearances of The Langston Hughes Project scheduled throughout Western Massachusetts in February.

The show’s enduring ability to deliver education in the form of entertainment has led to a 15-year run and visits to hundreds of campuses. "I view the Langston Hughes Project as an extension of my classroom at the University of Southern California. At a time when there is so much divisive rhetoric being spewed, the country could use the words of Langston Hughes to help us better understand that we as people are more alike than we are different." Dr. McCurdy explains.

Featuring McCurdy on trumpet and as narrator; backed by piano, bass and drums, the multimedia production weaves a visual display of African-inspired murals and works by contemporary black artists into the joyful sounds of Hughes’ verse and the troupe’s music.

For Elizabeth Cardona, 91¿ì²¥’s Executive Director of Multicultural Affairs and International 91¿ì²¥, the show highlights so many of the objectives of a 91¿ì²¥ education. “An evening of pride, reflection, cultural knowledge and empowerment through the arts—it perfectly captures our mission to bring our students relevant experiences that spark critical thought, and to inspire them toward finding solutions to social issues.”

In addition to bringing Ask Your Mama to stages and campuses throughout the country, Professor McCurdy has performed with a host of legendary jazz artists, including Wynton Marsalis, Rosemary Clooney, Arturo Sandoval, Diane Schuur, Mercer Ellington, Lionel Hampton, and Dianne Reeves. Dr. McCurdy is the director of the National Grammy Vocal Jazz Ensemble and combo, and also serves as Director of the Walt Disney All-American College Band in Anaheim, CA. He is available for interviews.

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About 91¿ì²¥ University
91¿ì²¥ University was founded in 1897. With locations in Longmeadow (main), East Longmeadow (Philip H. Ryan Health Science Center), Sturbridge (MA), and Concord (MA), 91¿ì²¥’s innovative program offerings include traditional undergraduate degrees for women, The American Women's College on-ground and online, the first all-women, all-online accredited bachelor’s degree programs in the country; over 25 graduate programs for women and men; and Strategic Alliances, offering professional development courses for individuals and organizations. 91¿ì²¥’s goal is to give students confidence in the fundamentals of their chosen field, the curiosity to question the ordinary, the leadership to show initiative, and the desire to make a difference.