starts hereMUSIC

Photo: Greg Kessler

Aristide Maillol. The Mediterranean. 1902–05 (cast c. 1951–53). Bronze. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Stephen C. Clark. © 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris

Photo: Nicole Franzen

DRinks & snACks

5:00–7:00 pM

MUSIC & URBAN pICNIC AT TERRACE 5

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6:30 PM

MUSIC & ART

MUSIC & COCKTAILS

LIVE MUSIC (6:30 pm) MoMA Nights 2012 draws from local and international sources with an eye to the global cross-pollination of styles and genres. A singer from Brazil takes cues from American pop, while a Congolese guitarist forms a breakthrough collaboration in Paris. A tribute to an avant-garde avatar borrows a Japanese form of poetry and involves 100 composers, and a musical legend from Sierra Leone mixes it up with bandmates in Brooklyn. Each of the innovators in this nine-concert series started with a powerful artistic vision and has traveled the globe to realize it.

The series is the fifth organized in collaboration with Olivier Conan, programmer and co-owner of Barbès performance space (barbesbrooklyn.com). He also runs Barbès Records and is a founding member of the bands Chicha Libre and Las Rubias del Norte.

Performances take place in the Sculpture Garden; rain location is in one of the Museum’s theaters.

SNACKS & BEVERAGES IN THE GARDENSeasonal snacks and specialty cocktails, draft beer, wine, and nonalcoholic beverages are available for purchase in the Sculpture Garden on Thursday nights. The Garden Bar, located at the northeast corner of the Sculpture Garden, also sells local gelato and sorbet, ice cream sandwiches, cookies, wine, beer, and specialty cocktails. In the event of rain, a cash bar will be available indoors.

TERRACE DINING (rain or shine) The fifth floor’s Terrace 5 serves Chef Lynn Bound’s light, seasonal cuisine overlooking the Sculpture Garden. An a la carte menu is offered indoors, as well as a special “urban picnic” fixed price menu on the terrace during the summer months, which includes cured meats, cheeses, salads, sweets, and more (with optional wine pairing). Seatings are offered from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Reserve at cafes@artfoodny.com and include name, preferred time, number of guests, and phone number. The “urban picnic” menu is $32 per person (excluding beverages, sales tax, and service)—10% MoMA discount not applicable.

NightsSee MoMA’s collection, visit the summer exhibitions, and enjoy live music in The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden every Thursday in July and August.

Alex Asher, trombone, vocals; Cole Williams, vocals; Josiah Woodson, trumpet, guitar, flute; Cole Kamen-Green, trumpet, electronics; David Bailis, guitar; Mitchell Yoshida, organ, synthesizers, accordion, melodica; Jordan Scannella, bass; Ben Davis, bass, guitar; Jeremy Gustin, drums; Grant Braddock, percussion

Led by trombonist Alex Asher and fronted by vocalist Cole Williams, the Brooklyn-based People’s Champs mash 1980s electro-accordion riffs, neo-soul vocals, and gritty drum grooves. The music is rooted in popular dance music from around the world, and the lush arrangements never lose track of the dance floor. The band mixes jazz, hip-hop, rock, and soul from the United States, Latin America, and Africa, and the result is a passionate new brand of soul music that is equal parts Gorillaz, Michael Jackson, Fela Kuti, and Ornette Coleman. Among many high-profile collaborations, its horn section, under the name Superpower Horns, collaborated with Beyoncé Knowles on her latest album, 4.

JUL 05pEOpLE’S ChAMpS

photo: Ari Joseph

Mauricio Pessoa, vocals, classical guitar; Alexandre Prol, classical guitar; Alex Hernandez, double bass

Rio de Janeiro native Mauricio Pessoa is a 34-year-old singer and songwriter. He rises from a generation of new artists determined to keep the great Brazilian musical traditions thriving in a global context. His original compositions are influenced by both classic bossa nova and Música Popular Brasileira, the genres of musicians such as Antônio Carlos Jobim, Chico Buarque, João Gilberto, Paulinho da Viola, and other greats. After releasing a self-titled debut album in 2007, Pessoa dreamt of recording an album in the United States, where Brazilian music achieved worldwide acclaim. He realized this dream this year in Habitat, with a concept, sonic palette, and repertoire he planned with arranger Zé Luis Oliveira and producer Béco Dranoff. Showing influences of bossa nova, samba, and jazz, the album is a transcontinental trip through diverse rhythms, sounds, and themes.

Tonight’s performance celebrates the 2012 edition of Premiere Brazil! (July 11–27), MoMA’s annual collaboration with the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival. For a schedule of screenings, visit MoMA.org/film or pick up a calendar at the lobby information desk or film desk.

JUL 12MAURICIO pESSOA

photo: Adriano Fagundes

Diblo Dibala, lead guitar; Richard Poungou, rhythm guitar; Ngouma Lokito, bass; Oscar Debe, drums; Justa Lujwangana and Gabrielle Joseph, dancers

Guitarist Diblo Dibala is one of Congo’s preeminent exponents of soukous—the rumba-based musical style that is a pillar of modern African pop music. He first came to the attention of the master and pioneer of the genre, Franco, at a young age, and quickly became a top studio player in Zaire. In the 1980s, he moved to Paris and became the guitarist and musical director for the singer Kanda Bongo Man. The band became a global phenomenon, sold millions of records, and transformed soukous into a more contemporary, guitar-driven style geared to the dance floors of urban Africa. For the past two decades, Dibala has spent his time between Europe, the United States, and Africa, and he has recorded with legends such as Juan Luis Guerra and David Byrne. He now performs under his own name and keeps refining his style with the help of a top-notch Congolese group and two dancers.

JUL 19DIBLO DIBALA AND ThE SOUKOUS ShOw fROM ThE REpUBLIC Of CONGO

photo: Bill Farington

Mallu, guitar and voice, with special guest trumpeter Rob Mazurek

Brazilian singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Mallu Magalhães went from a 15-year-old MySpace phenomenon to a bona fide 19-year-old star. Her first album, produced by Mário Caldato, Jr. (Beastie Boys, Beck), catapulted her into international festivals, landed her on Rolling Stone Brazil’s list of best albums of the year, and made her a favorite of MTV Brazil. Established Brazilian musicians such as Tom Zé proclaimed themselves fans. Her latest album, Pitanga, produced by Marcelo Camelo of Los Hermanos, showcases a more mature sound and features songs with a distinctly Brazilian feel; it combines touches of samba and bossa nova with the folk style that first made her popular. Mallu’s lyrics are in both Portuguese and English, with an occasional French song. Her performance at MoMA marks her U.S. debut.

Tonight’s performance is presented in conjunction with New York City’s second annual contemporary Brazilian music festival, Brasil Summerfest (July 21–28). Details at brasilsummerfest.com

JUL 26 MALLU

photo: Marcelo Camelo

Juan “Chuchita” Fernández Polo, lead vocal; Antonio Garcia Caro, gaita hembra; Gabriel Torregrosa Romero, percussion, pito atravesao; Alberto Posada Herrera, percussion, vocals; Wilson Fontalvo Castellar, percussion, vocals; Damian Bossio Figueroa, gaitas, percussion, vocals; John Fuentes Ramos, gaitas, percussion, vocals; Javier Mutis Garcia, percussion

At the very heart of Colombian music lies gaita, an Afro- Carribean style that is also a chief source of the cumbia played by Colombian big bands of the 1950s and their present-day offshoots. Gaita ensembles typically consist of two duct-flutes (gaitas), maracas, and three drums. The music is in turn joyful and plaintive. It is primarily party music, meant to help people dance through nightlong fiestas—but it can also be mournful music performed at funerals. Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto, a group active since the 1930s, is the most prestigious ambassador of gaita music and has played a great part in keeping the tradition alive in Colombia. In addition to performing, its members teach and build instruments, dividing their time between their hometown of San Jacinto and tours that take them around the world. Los Gaiteros was awarded a Latin Grammy Award for best folk album in 2007.

AUG 02 LOS GAITEROS DE SAN JACINTO

photo: Javier Mutis

David Skidmore, Peter Martin, Robert Dillon, Owen Clayton Condon, percussion

The Chicago-based percussion quartet Third Coast Percussion hails the centenary of avant-garde composer and musician John Cage, playing early Cage works and the world premiere of a major collaborative work, RENGA:Cage:100. It was at MoMA in 1943 that John Cage received his first major New York City showcase; the all-percussion concert he organized and in which he performed featured works by Cage, Lou Harrison, Henry Cowell, and others. This evening will not replicate that historic program, but will instead feature Cage works from that period, as well as the premiere of a truly Cagean new work. RENGA:Cage:100 is based on the traditional Japanese poetry practice of renga, in which several poets write a collaborative work; Cage drew on the practice in a number of compositions. The work includes miniature contributions from 100 contemporary composers, including Christian Wolff, Missy Mazzoli, Steven Mackey, Glenn Kotche, Augusta Read Thomas, Joan La Barbara, and Mason Bates, among others.

This performance is a feature of MoMA’s John Cage Day, which includes readings, gallery conversations, and other musical performances. For details, please see the August 9 calendar page at MoMA.org.

AUG 09ThIRD COAST pERCUSSION pRESENTS REvOLUTION: ThE CAGE CENTURy

photo: Saverio Truglia

Stephen Ulrich, guitar, steel guitar; Itamar Ziegler, guitar, bass; Mick Rossi, keyboards; Peter Hess, bass clarinet; Yuval Lion, drums

Stephen Ulrich and Itamar Ziegler are two of the most inventive musicians to emerge from New York City’s downtown music scene. Guitarist Ulrich first made his mark in the 1990s with his instrumental guitar trio Big Lazy, a moody, surf-like outfit featuring tremolo guitars, slowed-down tempos, and exotic touches, whose music The New Yorker described as “stunningly beautiful.” Ziegler, one of the creative forces behind the noise- pop group Pink Noise, is currently a member of Balkan Beat Box. Their new collaboration is an intensely lyrical yet quirky affair. At once noir and otherworldly, the elegantly gritty ensemble plays evocative, cinematic music that conjures images of everything from seedy backrooms to stark landscapes. The band’s first album is due out this fall. This MoMA Nights concert is their first live appearance as a group.

AUG 16ULRICh ZIEGLER

photo: Vann Apragal

Shara Worden, solo voice and multiple instruments

Growing up all over the United States in a family of traveling evangelists, Shara Worden gave her first public performance at age six. Classical music and Motown became her twin passions, and she pursued a degree in opera at the University of North Texas, where she wrote and recorded original material for the first time. After moving to New York by way of Moscow, Worden recorded three albums and joined the ranks of Sufjan Stevens’s Illinoisemakers. On stage this chanteuse evokes Martha Graham as much as Edith Piaf, and she has collaborated with visual artists and filmmakers such as Matthew Ritchie, Matthew Barney, Shoplifter, and Murat Eyuboglu. Worden recently moved to urban Detroit, planted a garden, and started a family. Her latest album, All Things Will Unwind, draws inspiration from the Motor City. More folk-inspired than her previous work, it addresses the juxtapositions of life and death, class and race, pantries and politics—as heard through the mesmerizing lullaby of a new mother.

AUG 23 My BRIGhTEST DIAMOND

photo: Denny Renshaw

Janka Nabay, vocals; Boshra AlSaadi, vocals; Jonathan Leland, drums; Michael Gallope, keyboards; Doug Shaw, guitar; Pat Noecker, bass

Vocalist Janka Nabay is the king of bubu—Sierra Leone’s brand of electro-pop. In his hometown, he electrified traditional bubu music by adding drum machines and synthesizers, giving it a frantic edge and making him a national hero. Now based in the United States, he has hooked up with Brooklyn musicians who call themselves the Bubu Gang and share a similar fascination with the old and the new. They mix modern beats and analog keyboards with call-and-response vocals, improvisation, and touches of 1970s psychedelia. The collaboration capitalizes on the best of all worlds; the result is musically stimulating and just as danceable as Nabay’s early hits. The group’s first full-length album will be released on Luaka Bop this summer.

AUG 30 JANKA NABAy AND ThE BUBU GANG

photo: Carly Rabalais

THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART momA.oRG/NIGhtSmomA.oRG/StARt

FIGURE IN THE GARDENThe current Sculpture Garden installation, which continues through spring 2013, brings together figurative works from the late 19th century to the present day. Featured prominently is Figurengruppe/Group of Figures (2006–08) by German artist Katharina Fritsch (b. 1956), comprising nine life-size figures (among them St. Michael, a Madonna, a giant, and a snake), all rendered in precise detail and finished in bold colors. Perennial favorites like Pablo Picasso’s She-Goat (1950) and Joan Miró’s Moonbird (1966) are on view as well, in addition to works by Renée Sintenis, Elie Nadelman, Max Ernst, Alberto Giacometti, Auguste Rodin, Henry Moore, and Tom Otterness. New this summer, and in conjunction with the exhibition Alighiero Boetti: Game Plan is Autoritratto (Self-Portrait), the final work of Boetti’s life. Autoritratto (Self-Portrait) is a slightly smaller than life-size bronze sculpture of the artist, looking somewhat disheveled in a baggy suit, and holding a hose that streams water onto his head. The work is heated from within, causing the water to evaporate in a cloud of mist.

Organized by Ann Temkin, The Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture.

Please note: The Sculpture Garden closes during inclement weather.

MATERIAL LABTouch, assemble, and, create with a multitude of materials in this interactive space for kids of all ages. Material Lab is located on the first floor of the Education and Research Building, and is open until 7:30 p.m. on MoMA Nights.

Family Programs are made possible by an endowment established by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. Additional support is provided by The Contemporary Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art, FX de Mallmann and Natasha Elkon, and Christina R. Davis.

Software and equipment for Material Lab provided by Microsoft. High-definition monitor provided by Sony Corporation of America. Seating provided by FlexibleLove.

MoMA SUMMERMoMA offers more chances to visit with extended hours in July, August, and September.

Monday 10:30 Am–5:30 pm

Tuesday OPEN 10:30 Am–5:30 pm (through September 25)

Wednesday 10:30 Am–5:30 pm

Thursday 10:30 Am–8:00 pm

(through August 30)Friday 10:30 Am–8:00 pm

Saturday 10:30 Am–5:30 pm Sunday 10:30 Am–5:30 pm

The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden exhibitions are made possible by a partnership with

Volkswagen of America.