Jazz At MOCA To Feature Miami Big Sound Orchestra On December 27

The Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami (MOCA) is thrilled to welcome back Miami Big Sound Orchestra as part of the monthly "Jazz at MOCA" series on Friday, Dec. 27. Known as downtown Miami's resident Latin Jazz big band since 2006, Miami Big Sound Orchestra combines 21st-century big band jazz with Afro-Cuban and Brazilian music, funk and soul. Their repertoire includes original compositions by Rafael "Cali" Valencia, legendary Miami bassist/composer; Chino Nunez, GRAMMY Award-winning producer; and Jaui Schneider, former pianist/composer of Ray Barretto; along with classics from legends such as the great Mario Bauzá.

The members of the Miami Big Sound Orchestra are all veteran Miami musicians who have performed and toured with top-name artists including Celia Cruz, Gloria Estefan, Issac Delgado, Jon Secada, Chayanne, Rey Ruiz, Tito Nieves, and K.C. and the Sunshine Band, among others.

The public is invited to enjoy the vibrant sounds of Miami Big Sound Orchestra, rain or shine. Guests may also walk through MOCA's two exhibitions, Cecilia Vicuña's "About to Happen" and Alice Rahon's "Poetic Invocations." Cecilia Vicuña's "About to Happen" traces the Chilean artist's career-long commitment to exploring discarded and displaced materials, peoples and landscapes in a time of global climate change. The late French-Mexican surrealist painter Alice Rahon's "Poetic Invocations" aims to contribute to the scholarship and recognition of under-explored women artists, and to the intercultural influences on European artists in exile in the Americas, whose work was often deeply marked by indigenous and archaic cultures. Both exhibitions are on view from Nov. 26 through March 29, 2020.

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), North Miami is dedicated to making contemporary art accessible to diverse audiences through the collection, preservation and exhibition of the best of contemporary art and its art historical influences. MOCA began operating in 1981, opened a new building in 1996 designed by Charles Gwarthmey of GSNY, and was the first collecting institution in Miami. MOCA has previously presented solo and survey exhibitions of artists including Bill Viola, Tracey Emin, Edouard Duval-Carrié, Virginia Overton, Purvis Young, and Wangechi Mutu, among many others. Under the direction of recently appointed Executive Director Chana Sheldon, MOCA premiered AFRICOBRA: Messages to the People during Art Basel Miami Beach in 2018. AFRICOBRA: Nation Time, the next chapter of the exhibition, was selected as an official Collateral Event of Biennale Arte 2019 in Venice, Italy. The museum has been recognized with grants and awards from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

MOCA is an inclusive cultural hub, embracing the diversity that defines its dynamic community, and organizing exhibitions that propel art and ideas connected to its South Florida home into the global cultural conversation. The museum is located at 770 NE 125th Street, North Miami, FL 33161. It is open Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday - Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m. (closed Mondays and major holidays). Admission to the museum is $10 and free to MOCA members and North Miami residents. For more information, visit mocanomi.org, call 305-893-6211 or email info@mocanomi.org.