Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center: Evolution

Evolution

Eric Essix's Landmark 20th recording: Birmingham 1963 -

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist church bombing, UAB's Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center is developing and producing community events and performances the week of September 15, 2013, to engage the community through the healing power of the arts.

As a cultural center that unites UAB and the Birmingham community, we believe the events and performances in 2013 will offer a time of community reflection on the past, evaluation of the present, and hopeful dialogue about the future. Our commissioned performances during this week of remembrance will uplift hearts, encourage souls, and bring peace to minds as we look back.

Who better to commemorate 1963 than Birmingham Native and Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame Inductee Eric Essix. Essix will perform songs from his landmark 20th recording titled Evolution, a musical diary that examines the progress of Birmingham over the past 50 years and into the future. A guitarist with intimate personal, family, and community connections to the subject matter, Essix has produced and recorded songs that have a direct connection to the Civil Rights Movement for more than a decade:

2000 – For Four (An original composition dedicated to the girls who died in the bombing)
People Get Ready (Curtis Mayfield)
2004 – Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round (march anthem)
2005 – Abide With Me (a ten-song collection of Negro spirituals and hymns)
2009 – We Shall Overcome and Shuttlesworth Drive (An original composition dedicated to the late Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth) on Essix's Birmingham album. The latter was a #1 contemporary jazz hit that stayed in the top 5 of the national jazz radio charts for more than 20 weeks.

Essix has solidified plans to present Evolution in several contexts, especially ones that are educational, including The Alabama State Council on the Arts Touring Artists Program and performances in conjunction with the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau. In addition, Essix will tour Los Angeles and other West Coast cities with the Alys Stephens Center, and he will tour internationally with the Birmingham Sister Cities Program

Evolution

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