Art of Performance at The Ringling | Etienne Charles Playbill

etienne Charles Creole Soul

FEB 15 & 16, 7:30 PM

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CREOLE SOUL A band of Global Citizens, Creole Soul explores grooves, song forms and rituals of the Caribbean and greater African Diaspora through original compositions and improvisation. Through the themes of the compositions, the performances spark thought, newfound interest and sometimes debate regarding historical events and their effects on society. The goal of this group is engagement with the audiences; on spiritual, intellectual and primal levels. The ensemble is made up of interpreters and improvisers who in addition to their adept musicianship, are connected to the immigrant experience and with the cultures from whence their families came. This group can be heard recorded on Carnival : The Sound of a People Vol. 1 by Etienne Charles.

As a group they have been featured at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Koerner Hall, Monterey Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, Atlanta Jazz Festival & Java Jazz Festival (Indonesia). Their members have performed with a plethora of luminaries of the idiom including Wynton Marsalis, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Madonna, Roberta Flack, SFJAZZ Collective and many more.

BAND LINE UP ETIENNE CHARLES Trumpet/Percussion GODWIN LOUIS Saxophone AXEL TOSCA Piano ALEX WINTZ Guitar AIDAN MCCARTHY Bass HARVEL NAKUNDI Drums

ETIENNE CHARLES Trinidad born Etienne Charles is a performer, composer and storyteller, who is continuously searching for untold stories and sounds with which to tell them. His lush trumpet sound, varied compositional textures and pulsating percussive grooves enable him to invoke trance, soothing and exciting listeners while referencing touchy and sometimes controversial subjects in his music.

A 2015 Guggenheim Fellow and 2022 Creative Capital Awardee, he researches his compositions by traveling to the regions on which he is focused, meeting with musicians and cultural leaders then observing and participating in rituals to be fully immersed into the cultures that he is studying. As an Afro-descendant, his work is actively connecting the diaspora and drawing lines to regions at the roots of migrations.

Highlighting marginalized communities and engaging with them has been his mission, evident with projects such as San Juan Hill : A New York Story, Carnival: The Sound of a People Vol. 1, San Jose Suite, Creole Soul, and Folklore.

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MAZELFRETEN

BélO

Rave Lucid

FEB 22, 11:00 AM FEB 23 & 24, 7:30 PM

FLORIDA WOMAN

Rosie Herrera + Leah Verier-Dunn MAR 22 & 23, 7:30 PM MAR 24, 5:00 PM

UN POYO ROJO APR 6, 7:30 PM APR 7, 5:00 PM APR 8, 11:00 AM

MAR 8 & 9, 7:30 PM

LA FAMILLE GOLDENCRUST APR 18–20, 7:30 PM APR 21, 11:00 AM

ensembleNEWSRQ

Parisian Refraction

MAY 9–11, 7:30 PM MAY 11, 2:00 PM

Join us this season at the HAT’s pre- and post- show hang out in the Benfer Courtyard. Grab a drink, chat with friends, and discuss the performances in a casual, outdoor neighborhood space.

See you @ the HAT Lounge!

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR 2023/24 ART OF PERFORMANCE SPONSORS

This program is supported in part by the Art of Performance Fund, Arthur F. and Ulla R. Searing Endowment, Dorothy Jenkins Endowment at the John and Mable Ringling Museum, Ellin Family Art of Our Time Endowment, Ed & Elaine Keating Endowment, Ringling Art of Performance Endowment, Selby Foundation Ringling Museum Endowment, Cowles Charitable Trust, Huisking Foundation, David and Mary Benfer, Michael and Kathy Bush, Warren R. and Marie E. Colbert, Leon and Marge Ellin, Judith and Stephen Shank, and Marge and Irv Weiser.

THE RINGLING’S ART OF PERFORMANCE delivers broad access to provocative and timely performing arts that reflect a wide range of experiences, disciplines, and relevant cultural expressions. The series embodies The Ringling’s values of inclusion, inspiration, and excellence through programs that elevate community engagement, equitable partnerships, and the plural exchange of ideas in tandem with visiting artists. Besides public programs, we support Florida-based, national, and international performance makers in developmental residencies and creative research.

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is the State Art Museum of Florida administered by Florida State University. It features an art museum, historic mansion, circus museum, historic theater, conservation laboratory, arboretum, and research library, situated on 66-acres of bayfront property in Sarasota. The Ringling is an extraordinary center of art and culture engaging with the local, state, and global communities, and is accessible to and inclusive of all.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Ringling respectfully acknowledges that we are located on the traditional Homelands and the ancestral territories of the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, as well as the ancient tribes of the Calusa, Uzita and Tocobaga. We also acknowledge the local freedomseeking community called Angola, and the people later known as Black Seminoles.

We honor the resiliency of Indigenous communities, and we extend our gratitude as we live and work on their Homelands. We pay our respect to the Elders, both past and present, who have stewarded these lands and waters through generations since time immemorial.