Jazz on a High Floor in the Afternoon:
Oliver Lake

Floor 8

Curated by celebrated jazz pianist, composer, and visual artist Jason Moran and Whitney performance curator Adrienne Edwards, Jazz on a High Floor in the Afternoon is a series of live in-gallery performances presented over nine weekends. The series features cross-generational artists performing within Moran’s three mixed-media “set sculptures”—STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1 (2015), STAGED: Three Deuces (2015), and STAGED: Slugs’ Saloon (2018). Each installation pays homage to an iconic New York jazz venue.

The daring and uncompromising artistic vision of saxophonist, composer, poet, and visual artist Oliver Lake has secured his preeminent place in the progressive jazz scene. A founder of The Black Artist Group in 1968, he continues to this day to work with his groups Organ Quartet, Big Band, the World Saxophone Quartet, OGJB, and Tarbaby as well as with individuals including Roscoe Mitchell, Geri Allen, and Meshell Ndegeocello. Lake has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Mellon Jazz Living Legacy Award, Doris Duke Artist Award, and commissions from the Library of Congress. He has curated and participated in the City Of Asylum’s Jazz Poetry concerts for more than ten years.

Friday, October 25
7 pm

Tickets for performances during Pay-What-You-Wish hours (Fridays, 7–10 pm) will be distributed day-of, on a first come, first served basis at the Museum starting at 7 pm.

Saturday, October 26
4 pm

This event has reached ticketing capacity. A limited number of standby tickets may be available at the admissions desk on a first-come, first-served basis. The standby line will open one hour prior to the program’s start time.

See all performances from the Jazz on A High Floor in the Afternoon series.