Sonic Memories In/Site commissioned by Philigrafika for the Paul Robeson House

The Neil Leonard Ensemble in the Paul Robeson House, premiering "Sonic Memories In/Site" a suite of new works celebrating phase one of the renovation of Robeson's home.

Tom Lawton

Lee Smith

Craig McIver

I was commissioned by Philagrafika to compose music to celebrate the first phase of restoration of the Paul Robeson House. This is the house where he spent much of the last ten years of his life. I presented works for jazz ensemble and sound for an installation by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons at the Robeson House in West Philadelphia.

I played with a stellar group of Philly musicians. I was in a band with Tom Lawton (piano) when I was a teenager. We rehearsed every week for two years. The trombonist was Robin Eubanks - The trumpeter was my brother Devin. This will be the first time that I play with Tom in over two decades.

Performance: October 13, 5 pm and 6:30 pm

Neil Leonard - woodwinds
Tom Lawton - piano (Dave Douglas, Don Byron)
Lee Smith - bass (Mongo Santamaria, Cedar Walton, Roberta Flack)
Craig McIver - drums (Max Roach M-Boom, Odean Pope)

Paul Robeson House
Corner/Opera. Rethinking a Site.
A Site-Specific Installation by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons
4951 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA



Re:Print Re:Present Re:View

Re:Print Re:Present Re:View is part of an effort to facilitate critical dialogue about the role of printmaking in contemporary art that will culminate with Philagrafika 2010. Increasingly, artists have embraced printmaking processes as an integral part of interdisciplinary practice and each of the artists participating, Berni Searle, Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, and Rachid Koraïchi, whose use of printmaking reflects their commitment to community, collaboration and an expanded concept of the fine print.

Curated by Salah Hasan, the project includes three artist residencies, an artist publication and the exhibition of the work created over the course of the residencies. The multi-sited exhibition will run September-November, 2007 at our project partner, Temple Gallery in Old City, Philadelphia, as well as site specific installations at Paul Robeson House and Church of the Advocate.

I was honored to work with art historian/curator Salah Hasan (left) who brought our work to the Venice Biennial, 2001.