Romare Bearden: Up at Minton's

Up at Minton's, 1980, by Romare Bearden (1911-1988). Much of Romare Bearden's art is impelled by, and suffused with, music. His raggedy Deep South blues pickers, Kansas City R&B shouters, Caribbean drummers, and smooth New York jazz bands provide a euphony of subjects to match his mastery of composition. The hot lights and cool jazz of the paint-augmented collage Up at Minton's are classic Bearden. To the visual and tactile satisfactions of working a jigsaw puzzle, Up at Minton's adds the pleasure of imagining the sounds of this horn-bass-piano trio in full stride.