Blues Suite (1958)

(New Production - 2015) Choreography: Alvin Ailey

Restaging: Masazumi Chaya Music: Traditional

Décor and Costumes: Ves Harper Costumes Redesigned by Normand Maxon

Lighting: Nicola Cernovitch "Blood memories" of rural, Depression-era southern Texas, come to life in Blues Suite, Alvin Ailey’s hugely popular ballet that launched Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at its first performance 57 years ago. With the rumble of a train and the toll of distant bells, a cast of vividly-drawn characters from the barrelhouses and fields of Alvin Ailey’s southern childhood are summoned to dance and revel through one long, sultry night. Last re-staged for the Company’s 50th anniversary 2008-2009 season, Ailey’s first masterpiece poignantly evokes the sorrow, humor, and humanity of the blues, those heartfelt songs that he called “hymns to the secular regions of the soul.” All performances of Blues Suite during the Company’s 2015 – 2016 New York City Center will be danced to live music performed by Kenny Brawner and The Brawner Brothers Band.

It is extraordinary that Alvin Ailey was just 27 years old when the dance premiered and it was only the sixth ballet that he had choreographed. It is recognized as the moment where he found his own miraculous voice as a creative artist presenting real people on the concert dance stage, and defining his choreographic genius. Filtering the barely understood images of boyhood through the sensibilities of a man, Mr. Ailey imagined beloved but troubled characters as they gather for a bawdy night of partying and blues in an old barrelhouse. Joe Nash, the African American dance historian, said, “When I saw Blues Suite, it was almost as if you were peeking in on the lives of people.”

AAADT in Alvin Ailey's Blues Suite. Photo by Steve Vaccariello.

Beginning with the blues, Alvin Ailey was subsequently able to take us through a wide range of emotional and kinetic experiences in his choreographic output. The characters in Blues Suite, reflections of people he knew from his childhood in Texas, went to the Dew Drop Inn on Saturday evening to relax and have a good time while preparing to repent at church on Sunday morning. This is the repentance later seen in Revelations, which was created two years later. As Mr. Ailey said, “In dance, I deal with these two very different worlds.” “Blues Suite galvanized the crowd and announced the arrival of a major choreographer. The rest, as they say, is history.”

-Dance Magazine, 2004

“…vivid choreographic evocations of the passion, the sorrow and the grim humor of the blues.” - The New York Times, 1989

“It remains one of Mr. Ailey’s best pieces.” - The New York Times, 1985

“…Ailey's first masterpiece, in which he has found his own voice as a creative artist.” - The Los Angeles Sentinel, 2001

“…American modern dance classic” - The New York Times, 1987

About The Brawner Brothers Band: The Brawner Brothers is a dynamic jazz -funk group that infuses Blues, R&B and Latin elements into its extensive repertoire. The group has been highly acclaimed over the years by audiences and critics, while performing at some of the most prestigious music venues around the country. Kenny Brawner, a keyboardist, vocalist and composer leads the group, which includes his brother Everett Brawner on bass. A guitarist, drummer and percussionist round out a very strong rhythm section that is complimented by a powerful but fluid and smooth horn section. Kenny plays his own distinctive style of Jazz, Funk, R&B and Blues. John Wilson of the New York Times once described his style as "rich, romantic with bold striking figures and a strong stomping beat." Curt Davis of the New York Post described Kenny's writing, playing and singing as strong and assertive. For nearly a decade he led and composed for a jazz-funk recording band called "Raw Sugar." During that period, one of his compositions was chosen, "Showstopper of the Week," on WBLS, in New York, and another, a production collaboration with Onaje Allan Gumbs achieved a large degree of success. The Brawner Brothers have appeared in recent years, backing up B.B. King in a Wendy's Hamburger commercial and have regularly worked in King's clubs around the country backing up Stanley Abernathy the lead trumpet player in Mr. King's band. They have also appeared regularly at the St. Nicholas Pub, one of Harlem's premiere jazz venues, and at Terra Blues and The Cutting Room, two of downtown Manhattan's renowned music clubs.