Generate Music
“a leaping, spirited pandemonium, transforming klezmer, jazz, gospel, and rhythm and blues into a shimmering tapestry of sound” —Parterre Box
“a timely, stylistically rich, and utterly profound body of music, poetry, and dialogue.” —I Care if You Listen
“Take that, Joseph Goebbels!” —The Forward
In 2018, PRISM encountered a Nazi-era poster of a Black saxophonist wearing a Star of David, the central image of a museum exhibit on “degenerate music.” Generate Music is PRISM’s response, turning “that poster’s ugly purpose inside-out by offering premieres of original music written and performed by some of the best Black and Jewish musicians around” (The Forward). Transforming hate into empathy, PRISM commissioned eight composers to explore the rich and complicated relationship of Black and Jewish Americans through personal experience, with music ranging from exuberant klezmer and funk to stark, searching laments. PRISM is joined by Pulitzer winner Tyshawn Sorey, clarinetist David Krakauer, poet/vocalist Ursula Rucker, violinist Diane Monroe, and trumpeter/vocalist Susan Watts, all of whom contributed pieces, plus guitarist David Gilmore and bassist Reuben Rogers. The program also features new works by Yotam Haber, Myra Melford, and Fred Wesley.