Dead King Mother at the Capri Theater
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April 4, 7:30 p.m.
Capri Theater: 2027 W Broadway Ave, Minneapolis $15 / $10 students & seniors |
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Dead King Mother tells the story of a near-forgotten event in North Minneapolis and United States civil rights history that has been with composer Davu Seru since early childhood. Performed by Zeitgeist and special guests, Dead King Mother is presented on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the very neighborhood where the events of the Dead King Mother story unfolded. The performance will be followed by a panel discussion led by Arleta Little of the McKnight Foundation.
Minneapolis native Davu Seru (b. 1978) is known internationally as a free-jazz drummer and performs regularly in jazz, rock and avant-garde improvised music. He currently works in a trio with French clarinetist Catherine Delaunay and French bassist Guillaume Seguron, the bands Click Song (with Marc Anderson), Merciless Ghost (with George Cartwright and Josh Granowski), and is co-leader with Mankwe Ndosi of The Mother of Masks, an improvising ensemble of poets, storytellers, activists and musicians. His work as a PhD scholar of African and African American literature and culture colors his musical and artistic sensibilities. Dead King Mother
On April 4th, 1968, upon hearing of the news of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Davu Seru’s great-uncle, Clarence C. Underwood stood before family on Minneapolis’ northside and announced that he was going to kill the first white man that he saw--and he did. When encountered by the police he raised his hands a remarked, “shoot me, they killed my king.” The last time Davu saw Clarence was at the funeral of the wife he had left behind once he was committed to prison for murder. Reflecting on his sacrifice during the eulogy, Clarence remarked, “those were different times for our people.” The story has been with Davu since early childhood, but is near-forgotten in Twin Cities and U.S. history. Dead King Mother, a blues for female vocalist and ensemble, attempts to rewrite this near-forgotten event into North Minneapolis and United States Civil Rights history. Read more about Dead King Mother and Davu's reflections on the story on Davu's blog. Guest performers include: Sarah Greer, vocals; Scott Fulz, flute; DeVon Russell Gray, bassoon; Ben Mansavage Klein, tuba; Omar Abdulkarim, trumpet. Tickets can be securely purchased by credit card or through your PayPal account in advance, or by cash, check, or credit card at the door. Tickets purchased online will be held at the door. Due to the snow storm on Feb. 24, tickets purchased for Zeitgeist's Playing it Close to Home concert on Feb. 24 will be honored at the April 4 performance at the Capri Theater.
Zeitgiest, in partnership with Davu Seru, is a fiscal year 2017 recipient of a Cultural Community Partnership grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board and a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature; and by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
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