Denise La Grassa's THE BLUES AIN'T A COLOR Honors Dr. King Day with Two Shows at Jazz Showcase

Denise La Grassa will present her 75-minute original jazz-theater performance The Blues Ain't A Color to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Day with two shows at Jazz Showcase, the first time the venue has featured a peace and social justice piece. Brief community discussions about Dr. King's legacy will follow each show.

She will also present another performance, followed by a talk back as well, at Uncommon Ground to kick off Black History Month in February.

La Grassa and co-composer John Kregor's music mixes with historical photos, current images, and paintings by the late Swiss artist Maria Kern to highlight issues of race and diversity from the Middle Passage to today, as well as a taped interview with social service Sister Simone Campbell, Executive Director of Network, Catholic Sisters Advocates for Justice ("Nuns on the Bus").

The Denise La Grassa Quartet includes singer La Grassa; co-composer, author, guitarist and co-composer John Kregor; upright bassist Daniel Thatcher, and drummer Michael Carlson. La Grassa's original songs in The Blues Ain't a Color include Davina's Song, I've Had It With The Blues, Color Is The Difference, Spinning Jenny, Vain Game, and the title track, and accompany sung and spoken poetry. The current version also features the song Tiny Star of Peace, co-written with low-income Christian kids, aged kindergarten through 8th grade, from the Western Avenue Community Center in Normal, IL, where she volunteers after school.

La Grassa started volunteer teaching music and composition to children 13 years ago at Chicago's Mercy Home for Boys and Girls. Kids had previously co-written a celebration song with her called Greatest Man in the Land, for Obama's election in 2009: www.pantagraph.com/news/local/children-at-western-avenue-exuberant-over-inauguaration/article_b9858043-b866-5d5b-bf68-86e3acff18ac.html

Following Trump's election, she noticed that her students, three girls and three boys, were scared, so they started writing two weeks after the election. "They saw this bully, this man who would become president saying awful things, calling people names, dividing us instead of uniting us. I wanted to hear what they were thinking. I was surprised to find they were hopeful, joyful and inspired by scripture such as 'The field is the world, and the good seed represents the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one' (Matthew 13:38)." As well as being sung by La Grassa in her show, the students will sing the song as a group in early January when they return to school.

For more information, visit: www.jazzshowcase.com

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