anyone seen melvin van peebles live?

Ars Nova Workshop and Johnny Brenda???s are pleased to present a rare performance by Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative, the exciting collaboration between Van Peebles and members of Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber.

Global film legend, Broadway musical producer, composer, author, and recording artist Melvin Van Peebles is considered the father of blaxploitation and to some the father of the "spoken word" genre. With his starring role in 1971???s Sweet Sweetback???s Baadasssss Song, Van Peebles ushered in a new era of self-affirming African-American cinema. The fusion of soul jazz and spoken word he served up on records like Brer Soul and Ain???t Supposed To Die A Natural Death anticipated rap music a good decade before its inception.

Burnt Sugar has been described as a ???funk-rock-electronic-samba-soul-jazz-fusionwhatever ensemble??? and counts among its influences Bitches Brew-era Miles Davis, Funkadelic, Bad Brains, Band of Gypsys, Sun Ra and Herbie Hancock???s Mwandishi. Bandleader Greg Tate ???plays the band??? using a technique called conduction, which was developed by jazz conductor Butch Morris. Employing a series of gestures, baton twirls, eye contact, and facial expressions that are used to communicate directions to the band, the bandleader can change the melodic and harmonic structure, creating a one-time composition that could not have been predicted nor repeated.

When asked why the new band was called Laxative, Melvin replied, "Why? ...'cause they're a crew of musicians who make shit happen and get shit done. That's why!" In these rare performances, Van Peebles will share songs he has penned, plus hilarious, hard knock lessons picked up from his adventures on the road of life.