For Immediate Release
7 December 2016
Contact: Jodi Joseph
Director of Communications
413.664.4481 x8113
jjoseph@massmoca.org
Steven Bernstein’s
Universal Melody Brass Band
Horns aplenty following MASS MoCA’s annual Free Day
NORTH ADAMS, MASSACHUSETTS — Presiding over consciousness-expanding arrangements of Sly and the Family Stone, Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton, Allen Toussaint to The Band, and more—with a wicked horn section—trumpeter/bandleader Steven Bernstein whips up a blowout Free Day concert with his Universal Melody Brass Band that will alter your brain chemistry on Saturday, February 4, at 8pm, following MASS MoCA’s annual Free Day.
Prolific trumpeter, arranger/composer, and bandleader, Steven Bernstein is no stranger to the MASS MoCA stage. With 30 years of arrangements under his belt, Bernstein is known for his band-leader efforts in Sexmob, the Millennial Territory Orchestra, The Lounge Lizards, Butler, Bernstein & the Hot 9, and Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble Band. Bernstein has been awarded three Grammy Awards, four DownBeat Critics Poll Awards, and The London Times’ “Jazz Record of the Year.” He has collaborated with both classic and contemporary musical icons, including Marianne Faithfull, Roswell Rudd, Rufus Wainwright, Bill Frisell, Elton John and Levon Helm, Courtney Love, and My Morning Jacket. At MASS MoCA, he’s the guy we call to guarantee a real good time.
Bernstein returns to North Adams with The Universal Melody Brass Band, an all-star group that features musical cohorts Billy Martin of Medeski Martin & Wood, tubist Marcus Rojas, trombonist Curtis Fowlkes, The Klezmatics trumpeter Frank London, NYC musical madman Oscar Noriega, woodwind specialist Matt Darriau, and master of the slide trombone Art Baron. Together playing two trumpets, two trombones, two saxophones, tuba, and drums, the band rolls out original numbers and funked-up favorites from The Rolling Stones, Nino Rota, and Scott Joplin. Dancing shoes are required for this performance that’s guaranteed to get the whole family moving on Saturday, February 4, at 8pm.
Join us before the show for Free Day from 11am to 7pm, when MASS MoCA swings open the doors for an extensive program of art-making, galleries, tours, and pop-up performances. Lickety Split, MASS MoCA’s café, serves up crisp salads, hearty soups, and lip-smacking pub fare. A full bar serves Bright Ideas Brewing beers and Berkshire Mountain Distillery spirits. Tickets for The Universal Melody Brass Band are $10 for students, $16 advance, and $22 day of. Tickets for all events are available through the MASS MoCA box office located on Marshall Street in North Adams, open 11am to 5pm every day except Tuesdays. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during box office hours or purchased online at massmoca.org.
Sponsorship
Free Day is sponsored by Berkshire Gas.
Images
High-resolution images of MASS MoCA’s spring 2017 events are available through this link: bit.ly/MMWinterSpring2017.
About MASS MoCA
MASS MoCA is one of the world’s liveliest (and largest) centers for making, displaying, and enjoying today’s most important art, music, dance, theater, film, and video. MASS MoCA will nearly double its gallery space in spring 2017, with artist partnerships that include Laurie Anderson, the Louise Bourgeois Trust, Jenny Holzer, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, and James Turrell.
Gallery admission is $18 for adults, $16 for veterans and seniors, $12 for students, $8 for children 6 to 16, and free for children 5 and under through May 21, 2017. Members are admitted free year-round. The Hall Art Foundation’s Anselm Kiefer exhibition is open seasonally, spring–fall. For additional information, call 413.662.2111 x1 or visit massmoca.org.
Hours
11am to 5pm, closed Tuesdays
