April 12th, 2023
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Millard Auditorium
Hartford, CT

Prism 1965

This performance, between Composer-performers Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet), Vijay lyer (piano, Fender Rhodes, electronics) and visual artist Chiraag Bhakta, offered a sonic and visual meditation on the relevance of those past events to our present moment. The performance built on themes presented in Chiraag’s solo show, Designing The Dream State.

Prism 1965 is a new work of live music and visuals focusing on America in 1965, a pivotal year marked by the assassination of Malcolm X, the marches in Selma led by MLK, the US invasion of Vietnam and subsequent protests, the Watts Uprising, and the passage of two key pieces of legislation-the Voting Rights Act and the Immigration and Nationality Act.
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