St. Louis native Josephine Baker was one of the most acclaimed, controversial and ultimately beloved African-American performers of the 20th century. Her sensual allure and sharp comic timing caused a sensation in Paris during the 1920s, a time when U.S. popular culture remained largely segregated.
At 8 p.m. April 28, the Edison Theatre OVATIONS! Series will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Baker’s birth with a one-night-only performance of The Josephine Baker Project: A Life of Le Jazz Hot, which premiered earlier this month at the August Wilson Center for African-American Culture in Pittsburgh.
Conceived and developed by Imani Winds, the innovative Latino and African-American wind quintet, The Josephine Baker Project combines many of Baker’s signature songs — performed by acclaimed jazz vocalist René Marie — with French and American Jazz Age repertoire; archival film footage; and original music by ensemble members Valerie Coleman (flute) and Jeff Scott (French horn).
Directed by Bobbi Leann Williams, the show also features percussionist Rolando Morales-Matos as well as solo dance works choreographed by Christopher Huggins, a former member of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, and performed by Rachel Ashley.
Josephine Baker
Baker was born June 3, 1906, to Carrie McDonald, a St. Louis washerwoman, and Eddie Carson, a vaudeville drummer who soon abandoned the family. At age 13, she began waiting tables at The Old Chauffeur’s Club, where she met and married Willie Wells, the first of her four husbands.
In 1919 she toured the United States, performing with The Jones Family Band and The Dixie Steppers, and in 1922 she became a chorus girl in Shuffle Along, the first all-African-American Broadway musical.
Following a stint at New York’s Plantation Club, Josephine (now married to Willie Baker) traveled to Paris as a dancer in La Revue Négre. Her skimpy costumes, uninhibited movements and charming, mock-clumsy demeanor caused an overnight sensation (and led to an estimated 1,500 marriage proposals).
By 1927 she was the highest-paid entertainer in Europe, starring in stage productions such as La Folie du Jour as well as four films, most notably Zou-Zou (1934) and Princess Tam Tam (1935).
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Additional all-ages matinee Imani Winds will also present an all-ages matinee performance of How Jeff Got His Groove Back — a musical adventure that follows Jeff, a young French horn player beset by a bassoon-riding witch — as part of the ovations! for young people series at 11 a.m. April 29. Tickets are $7. |
Baker became a French citizen in 1937, and during World War II she worked undercover for the French resistance, smuggling messages on her sheet music.
In the 1950s and ’60s, she became increasingly involved with the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, skirmishing with Walter Winchell, the pro-segregation columnist, and speaking at the 1963 March on Washington.
Baker died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1975.
Imani Winds
Founded in 1997, Imani Winds explores the links between European, African and American musical traditions. (The name is derived from a Swahili word for “faith.”) The group’s innovative repertoire combines classical wind instrumentation — horn, flute, bassoon, clarinet and oboe — with influences drawn from jazz and world music as well as original compositions by ensemble members.
“Its goal is nothing less than to change the face — literally — of the classical wind quintet,” noted The Washington Post. “Imani Winds represents nothing less than the future of the once-quaint notion of the wind quintet.”
Imani Winds has performed extensively across the United States. Recordings include Umoja (2002), the group’s self-produced debut, and The Classical Underground (2005), nominated for a Grammy Award as “Best Classical Crossover Album.”
Its latest release is Imani Winds (2006).
René Marie
Marie is one of today’s most acclaimed jazz vocalists, frequently compared to the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. She began performing professionally as an R&B singer at age 15 but married one of her bandmates three years later and put her career on hold for the next two decades.
She began performing again in 1996, with the encouragement of her sons, and in 1998 released her self-produced debut, Renaissance.
Live At Jazz Standard (2003), hit Billboard’s jazz charts a month before its official release. Her most recent release, Serene Renegade (2004), features nine original songs inspired by her own remarkable story and by the lives of her family members.
Edison Theatre
Edison Theatre programs are made possible with support from the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency; the Regional Arts Commission, St. Louis; and private contributors.
Tickets are $28; $24 for seniors and WUSTL faculty and staff; and $18 for students and children. Tickets are available at the Edison Theatre Box Office and through all MetroTix outlets.
For more information, call 935-6543 or go online to edisontheatre.wustl.edu.