The
Museum of Modern Art presented an elegant black-tie gala, Jazz Interlude,
on Tuesday, November 18, 2008, hosted by The Friends of Education,
a Museum affiliate group devoted to encouraging greater appreciation
of art made by African Americans and the participation of African
Americans at MoMA. The event was chaired by Sherry B. Bronfman
and honored Agnes Gund and David Rockefeller, Jr. Proceeds from Jazz
Interludebenefit The Friends of Education Fund, which totaled over
$550,000 this year.
The evening included a cocktail reception, followed by a jazz performance
and a black-tie dinner. The jazz performance, produced by George
T. Wein, featured drummer Roy Haynes, bassist Bob Cranshaw, trumpet
player Jeremy Pelt, and jazz pianist Mulgrew Miller.
Since the last Jazz Interlude held in 2006, the group has provided
extensive support to a number of exhibitions at MoMA, including Jazz
Score (2008), Martin Puryear (2007), and Comic
Abstraction: Image Breaking, Image-Making (2007) and helped
acquire David Hammons, Untitled (Rock Head) for the Museum's
permanent collection. The group has also provided contributions
to the Exhibition Fund in honor of Peter Norton and Gwen Adams at
P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center.
Guests included artists Fred Brown, Mel Edwards, Deborah Grant,
Trenton Doyle Hancock, Jennie C. Jones, Glenn Ligon, Martin Puryear,
Pipilotti Rist, Jean Claude Samuel, Ming Smith, Will Villalongo,
and William T. Williams. Other special guests included: Gayle Perkins
Atkins, Klaus Biesenbach, Patricia Blanchett, Ron Carter, Glenn Close,
Dale Cochran, Ornette Coleman, Gordon J. Davis, Howard Dodson, Marquita
Pool-Eckert, Knut Eckert, Philip Glass, Agnes Gund, Vivian Hewitt,
Joyce Mullins-Jackson, Nancy L. Lane, Jo Carole Lauder, Reginald
Van Lee, David Levering Lewis, Stuart Lewis, Glenn Lowry, Terry McMillan,
Kynaston McShine, Peter Norton, Gwen Norton, Richard D. Parsons,
Laura Parsons, Carlos Picon, David Rockefeller, Jr., Lowery Stokes
Sims, B. Smith, Isabel Stewart, Don Stewart, David Teiger,
and Ann Temkin.
