to do during the week? Did that girl who does the Calendar of Events not put anything interesting enough for you in it again? Well my friend, expand your horizons and take a trip to a little town called Toledo.
That’s right, Toledo. For years Toledo has had a great jazz background. Establishments like Murphy’s Place and the former Rusty’s Jazz Cafe, are a few places where inspiring new jazz talent can feel what it’s like to be up on the stage, playing their hearts out for people’s enjoyment.
The Toledo Museum of Art now has an exhibit open that hopes to bring a little jazz history back to Toledo in the form of over 45 pictures of famous jazz musicians.
The Lee Friedlander: American Musicians exhibit has been open since February 6, and will remain open, free of charge, until May 2. It is borrowed from the artist’s personal gallery in St. Louis.
The Ward and Mariam Canaday Gallery at the museum houses a small portion of pictures by photographer Lee Friedlander. Among the photos are jazz legends Miles Davis, Ray Charles and John Coltrane, as well as the singing sensation Aretha Franklin. Lee Friedlander’s photos express the surrealistic qualities that were the 60s and 70s. They focus on many things including landscapes and even his wife and children.
According to a few informative plaques on the walls inside the exhibit, Friedlander first took up the camera at the young age of 14 and studied at the Art Center in Los Angeles. He eventually met Marvin Israel, an Atlantic Records designer, who began using Friedlander’s photos of musicians for his album covers. The pictures that are displayed were chosen as a result of Toledo’s history for housing great jazz talent.
“Toledo has such a rich background in music so we thought it would be a good idea to bring the exhibit here where it will be appreciated,” Jordan Rundgren, communication manager for the museum said.
Another source from the museum staff comments that, “The pictures are absolutely fabulous. Friedlander took a few more domestic pictures as well as the artists in action to show his audience the quiet side of each musician. Also, because of the camera angles, it almost seems as if you can hear the artists playing.”
The exhibit has brought many new faces to the museum with the number of visitors rising to over 9,000.
To add to the exhibit, concerts with artists like Kelly Broadway Quartet and The Scott Potter Trio were arranged to be put on during the exhibit’s duration.
Although these artists have finished performing for this particular exhibit, the museum still holds live music Fridays from 6:30-9:30 p.m. in Club Friday.
“We like to let everyone have access to the art and the experience so we tend not to charge admission” explains Rundgren. The Toledo Museum of Art has housed various other exhibits in the past and has plans to add a few new ones in the future. June 11, they will open an exhibit filled with art from the Toledo area artists. The exhibit will be judged so the artists will be given the chance to win awards for their art.
Also, in September they plan to open “Unseen Art of the TMA” which will show museum visitors how the art is chosen to be displayed.
So if you are looking for something to do during your free time, this exhibit is worth a look, especially to people interested in art and/or jazz.
