By Matt Micucci
Reuben Hoch’s Chassidic Jazz Project will be performing at Art After Dark at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida, at 7 pm on January 7, 2016.
Art After Dark is Norton’s popular weekly program that includes exceptional music of all genres, captivating conversations with curators, docent-led-tours, art activities, film, dance, wine tastings, chef demos and more.
The performance of Reuben Hoch’s Chassidic Jazz Project will be taking place in conjunction with a special exhibition entitled This Place: Israel Through Photography’s Lens. The exhibition features fascinating photographs of Israel and the West Bank by a dozen world-class artists from nine different countries.
The Chassidic Jazz Project was founded in 1998 by the Reuben Hoch, with the aim to fill a void in jazz and world beat music and bring music of the Jewish people to a larger audience by using jazz as a vehicle for musical expansion. Urged by Charles Fisherman – Dizzy Gillespie’s manager – he chose to unfurl his Jewish heritage by applying his love of jazz to his religious background.
The South Florida based-band has performed internationally. Aside from Hoch on drums, the current lineup includes founding member Tom Lippincott on guitar, Debbie Spring on viola, Jared Cooper on cello, Don Coffman on bass and Carlos Averhoff on saxophone. The combination of instruments creates a gorgeous chamber music effect, that blends elements of jazz, fusion, Chassidic and world music to create a multi-cultural sound.
Art After Dark is free with museum admission, and on January 7 will also include a discussion of the Masterpiece of the Month, David Hammons’ Untitled (Basketball Drawing), presented by Curator of Contemporary Art Cheryl Brutvan, and a tour of the exhibition, The Summer of ’68: Photographing the Black Panthers.