LPR Presents STRANGE & BEAUTIFUL: The Music & Art of John Lurie, Now thru 9/27

(Le) Poisson Rouge haso announce Strange & Beautiful: The Music & Art of John Lurie, a festival celebrating the work of genre-twisting iconoclast John Lurie. The festival will span three concerts at Le Poisson Rouge, one concert at Town Hall, a gallery exhibition in The Gallery at Le Poisson Rouge, and an exhibition at the Cavin-Morris Gallery.

John Lurie is an artist who needs little introduction. His work has been felt across genres and generations, from his seminal band The Lounge Lizards (featuring, at different times, luminary members like Marc Ribot, Billy Martin, Evan Lurie, Steven Bernstein, and John Medeski) to starring roles in pivotal American independent films like Stranger Than Paradise and Down By Law, from his Grammy-nominated soundtrack work on films like Get Shorty, Mystery Train, and Animal Factoryto a late-career foray into painting, it's hard to underestimate the impact of Lurie's oeuvre.

Lurie's resume is endless, with gallery exhibitions springing up around the world in esteemed museums like the Musee Des Beaux-Arts De Montreal, the Musee d'Art Modern Grand-Duc Jean, and the Watari Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, which gave their entire museum over to the presentation of Lurie's art. That list still leaves out his album as Marvin Pontiacand the cult favorite TV show-now a part of the Criterion Collection-Fishing with John, which featured guests like Dennis Hopper, Tom Waits, Jim Jarmusch, and others.

Strange & Beautiful will open tonight, September 9 with a 6pm gallery opening at The Gallery at Le Poisson Rouge. The installation, titled The other side of The Great Wall of Fuck, will feature limited edition prints of Lurie's paintings. Often surreal and kaleidoscopic, the work revels in the unexpected, the improvisatory, turning the cherished image in on itself toward an uncanny valley of objects and things, oddly juxtaposed and phrased in familiar terms. The gallery opening will feature an open bar and the first look at work that may be unfamiliar to fans of his music, to whom the New York Times' Roberta Smith has said, speaking on Lurie's turn toward painting, "music's loss may turn out to be art's gain." The exhibition will be up at The Gallery at Le Poisson Rouge through November 30, 2014.

Immediately following the opening today, September 9 there will be a performance of Lurie's string quartets alongside arrangements of his music for string quintet performed by Ensemble LPR. The performance will give a unique turn on Lurie's music with The Lounge Lizards, which the New York Times' Robert Palmer described as "staking out new territory west of Mingus, east of Bernard Herrman." The quintet will perform arrangements by John Medeski, Evan Lurie, Ensemble LPR co-founder David Handler, Anthony Coleman, Doug Wieselman, Jane Scarpantoni and others.

On September 16 LPR will host Sexmob performing Lurie's film music with special guest openers Greg Saunier's Inner Greatness. Sexmob, featuring Lounge Lizards collaborator Steven Bernstein, will perform music from Lurie's vast catalog of film music that includes music from the films Stranger Than Paradise, Get Shorty, Animal Factory, Mystery Train, Down By Law, and many others. Greg Saunier (of Deerhoof) will bring his erratic trio to LPR as the opener. The trio features Adam Brisbin and frequent Lurie collaborator and ex-Lounge Lizard Doug Wieselman. They will perform Lurie's music as well.

And on September 18, the Cavin-Morris Gallery will open an exhibition titled John Lurie: There Are Things You Don't Know About, which will feature paintings by Lurie. This installation will last from the 18th through October 25.

The final performance at Le Poisson Rouge, on September 25, will feature renditions of The Lounge Lizards' music performed by the great Antibalas and Hellbent (Michael Blake, Steven Bernstein, Marcus Rojas, and Calvin Weston). Stemming from Lurie's interest in African music, the concert will feature Antibalas performing afrobeat interpretations of Lurie's music.

The crowning concert will take place on September 27 at The Town Hall in New York. Strange & Beautiful: A Celebration of the Music of John Lurie, The Lounge Lizards and Marvin Pontiac will feature a star-studded litany of guests includingJohn Zorn, Flea (of Red Hot Chili Peppers), John Medeski, Marc Ribot (performing sextet renditions of Lounge Lizards music), Evan Lurie, Billy Martin, Michael Blake, Calvin Weston, Steven Bernstein, Curtis Fowlkes, Mauro Refosco, Doug Wieselman, Smokey Hormel, Tony Scherr, Jesse Harris, Sofia Rei, Jane Scarpantoni, Kenny Wolleson, EJ Rodriguez, Tony Garnier, Bryan Carrott, Shanir Blumenkranz, Todd Clouser and many more to be announced in the coming weeks. This night will be a knockout evening that is sure to be one of the most memorable nights of music in New York this fall.